Houston Astros Quiz (1962-2003): 1) Who is the only rookie of
the year? 2) Who is the only MVP? 3) Who is the only Cy
Young winner? 4) Who are the five whose uniforms were retired
(all players…you’ll never get this)? 5) Who are the three to hit
40 home runs in a single season? 6) Who am I? I had a no-hitter
in 1963 and my initials are D.N. Answers below.
From Hong Kong
This is going to ramble a bit. I’ve been using the business
center at my very nice hotel here in Hong Kong just because it
seemed easier. But tonight I thought I’d order up the adapter
necessary to plug my laptop into the room hookup and this
woman quickly came with the correct one (believe it or not, this
is rare when you travel overseas). Well, this is the same woman
who turns down the bed and I said ‘not necessary’ last evening,
but since she gave me the adapter I said ‘sure, go ahead.’
So I’m plugging in the laptop as she’s working away, giving me
fresh towels and such, when suddenly it hits me. “Oh no! Stop!”
I had left my contact lenses in a water glass (in solution) and it
was too late. Down the drain they went. Don’t worry, I kept my
cool having brought what I hoped would be enough
replacements, and even though I kept saying “my fault,” she felt
awful. And so your experienced traveler screwed up again, not
thinking ahead like I should have.
Otherwise, I had an interesting day (Tuesday). I was in Hong
Kong 3 years ago but didn’t get to take a side trip to the
gambling den of Macau, so this time I vowed to do so.
Macau, for those of you not familiar, was a Portuguese colony,
similar to the relationship Britain had with Hong Kong until
1997. In 1999 Portugal turned Macau over to the mainland
commies, though the 450,000 people on Macau aren’t screaming
for democracy like they are in Hong Kong. [Far more on this
last issue in the upcoming “Week in Review”…not that I’m
responsible for that piece as well.] Anyway, Macau is 50 miles
from Hong Kong, accessed by a high speed ferry that gets you
there in less than an hour.
But first I had to get a ticket at the terminal and there isn’t a lot
of English spoken here like there is in most of the other places
around Hong Kong, so when I ordered it the guy asked “Super
Class?” “Ah, yeah…sure.” The roundtrip was about $70 and I
could have saved $35 because super class wasn’t that much
better than what the others had. Nonetheless, it was a
comfortable trip.
So I get to Macau and you have to clear customs, which was as
crowded as any airport I’ve ever been in. You see Macau is the
third largest gambling destination in the world, based on casino
revenues, next to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. There are 8
establishments with at least another 3 shortly on the way,
including a Sands that is opening in June. The locals used to
have a monopoly on things, but now they’ve been forced to open
up and U.S. and Hong Kong tycoons are eager to participate.
Steve Wynn has a $500 million casino on the drawing board, for
example.
And why would Macau be such a popular destination in the
future? The mainland Chinese, that’s why. With China’s
burgeoning middle class, in particular, it’s already junket city
and you know how folks in this area love to gamble to begin
with.
Well, I had done just a little reading on the place and since I
planned on spending less than 4 hours here, I hopped in a cab
and told the driver, “Hotel Lisboa,” the oldest establishment. In
the span of five minutes, the driver gave me a great little history
lesson and emphasized that Macau was “good gambling, good
seafood, good relaxation, and lovely ladies.” Yeah, I kind of
heard about the last bit beforehand…cough cough.
Boy, I walked in Hotel Lisboa, a rather garish spot, and
immediately was swept up in this maze of jewelry stores. But
what I really wanted was a good bite to eat so I sought out
the concierge. Next to the concierge was check-in and lo and
behold, there were 20 of the most beautiful women I’ve ever
seen…in fact the greatest single assemblage to be found on
Planet Earth, I imagined. Well, there isn’t much more to this part
of the story, but if you ever hear that I’m going back to Macau
…………..
Now where was I? Oh yeah. So I asked the concierge which
was the nicest restaurant in the joint and he personally escorted
me upstairs to Rabuchon. Folks, to make a long story short I
proceeded to have the best lunch of my life as I sat amongst the
tycoons of the island. For starters, they wheeled out this exotic
bread wagon, with about twenty different types to choose from,
and then I progressed to ‘little artichoke with foie gras soup,’ the
John Dory fish plate, and some kind of marinated pear.
Everything was scrumptious and all washed down with a few
glasses of vino. How much? Ah, let’s just say it was expensive.
I’ll deal with it later…but the memories will linger.
After lunch, I finally hit the casino…and this was no surprise.
There were probably only 2 or 3 other English folk like myself
and almost all the gaming tables were for Chinese games I have
no clue on as to the rules, but it was great fun just watching the
action. I did find a blackjack table, but what I first thought was a
$20 minimum was more like $200…so I said ‘thank you very
much’ and hit the bar. And yes, I made my return boat back to
Hong Kong, designated gambling cash still in hand.
Stuff
–So a few years ago I went to Taiwan and in the national
museum I described some of the works of art that Chiang Kai-
shek looted from the mainland when Mao’s forces drove him out
of China and onto Taiwan. I think I said back then that you can
only look at so much jade…it gets kind of boring after awhile.
Well, I just saw in the paper here that some jade from the era of
Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) sold at auction for U.S. $1.2
million, with other pieces going for $1.1 and $1.0 mm. These
were freakin’ cups, folks. Goodness gracious. And then a blue
and white “dragon brushwasher” went for $5.3 million. Ergo,
this stuff that Chiang took (and there is literally a mountain full)
would fetch $billions. No one mentioned this in the articles I
read, but to my many readers in Taiwan you all should see that
some of your national treasure is sold off and put to better use.
Strike while the auction gavel is hot, I always say. [Actually,
I’ve never said that before in my life…but there is a first time for
everything.]
–Vijay Singh just won his 17th PGA Tour event. This guy has
had one helluva career, in case you haven’t noticed.
–For those who are curious, my flight path from Newark to
Hong Kong (the 15 ½ hour deal) was straight up over Montreal
and Quebec City, then northwest to just 120 miles below the
North Pole, then straight down through Siberia and China.
Unfortunately, it was cloudy almost all the way – unlike a trip I
took to Tokyo one year where I got to see the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge in all its splendor and oil potential – and I didn’t
get to wave to the Russkies on the ground.
–And now…another Bar Chat exclusive. Today we launch
“Beer Count.” Undoubtedly, you all saw the new research study
that revealed those drinking 100 or more beers a month suffer
brain damage. Well, there’s no doubt you all can tell when your
editor has passed this limit because the quality of the work goes
down considerably.
Now to be honest, I’m probably around 60 a month, except when
I’m traveling like this…so I’ll give you a running account of
consumption thus far. [Of course I reserve the right to stop this
segment at any time once it gets too incriminating.]
Sat. One beer in Newark Airport…two on the plane, which for a
15 ½ flight was pretty good of me, don’t you think?
Sun. Ah ha! We crossed the international dateline and I didn’t
get to my Hong Kong hotel until about 8:00 PM and went right
to bed. Zero beers!
Mon. There’s a great restaurant at the peak of Hong Kong Island
that I went to last time I was here so I sought it out for lunch this
day. It was 11:00 AM, but that meant it was 11:00 PM on my
New Jersey clock so it was certainly time for a beer, make that
two. Then around 6:00 PM, I hit Kowloon and the
Intercontinental Hotel for the world’s greatest view from a bar,
anywhere in the world, where you can stare at the action in Hong
Kong Harbor. It’s mesmerizing. Two beers here. Then two
more for dinner.
Tues. Two glasses of wine and one beer in Macau. Call it three
mugs of beer. But nothing the rest of the day…thus far. [Oops…
update…had a San Miguel from the mini-bar as a nightcap.]
So…our four-day tally is 13 beers, on pace for 90+. It’s going to
be touch and go, in other words. Will the editor be able to write
another column? Will I have the guts to keep reporting the
count, knowing that I have some loved ones reading it who may
not be amused? Stay tuned for another edition of…………Beer
Count!
–The South China Morning Post, a super paper here in Hong
Kong, had a rather steamy piece the other day on the number of
times various nationalities have sex. According to a study done
by condom-maker Durex (ergo, the results are in question
already), Hungarians lead the way, having sex 152 times per
year. “Even boring-in-bed Hongkongers (apparently one of the
world’s most sexually inactive people) do it 103 times a year.”
But in Singapore, where I’m headed next, it’s only 96 times.
OK. You all know this is a crock because as the article points
out the researchers only question sexually active people and
second, “because interviewees tend to be in a narrow and highly
sexed age band of 15 to 40.” 15?! Goodness gracious. When I
was 15 I was more interested in playing catch and shooting
hoops. [That same year I also discovered poker, and it’s been
downhill ever since.]
Well, a separate piece listed some practical ways that
Hongkongers could have sex more often. Change your lifestyle
and diet. Avoid stress, cigarettes, alcohol (uh oh), coffee (uh
oh), tea and sugary drinks. Make sure you have protein at each
meal and eat fresh and fiber-rich foods. Nothing on Chex Mix,
however. Other than this terrific advice, you’re on your own.
–And we had this episode the other day in the district of Sha Tin.
“Sean Philip Stevens had a Pabst beer bottle explode in his face
and has been trying to seek compensation without much
success.”
According to Mr. Stevens, he purchased the Pabst from a
ParknShop and one of the bottles blew up as it was being placed
in the fridge. A ParknShop official replied, “We are very
concerned about it…and have referred it to Pabst.”
What the heck are people in Hong Kong doing drinking Pabst?!
Not for nothing, but my beer of choice in these parts is San
Miguel. Now that’s a tasty brew and I’ve never had any
problems with the container.
–35 have died in Bangladesh from the Nipah virus, which has a
mortality rate of 66%. You get this from eating fruit that has
been touched by the flying fox, a bat-like monster with a
wingspan of up to 5 feet! Yikes…………………………..
–Darnit…I just saw where the Yankees had a stirring come from
behind victory. But Mets win! Mets win! And note to Mets
phenom Jose Reyes. Yoh, Jose. Stop babying your injury and
put the damn uniform on.
Top 3 songs for the week of 4/29/78: #1 “Night Fever” (Bee
Gees) #2 “If I Can’t Have You” (Yvonne Elliman) #3 “Can’t
Smile Without You” (Barry Manilow)
Houston Astros Quiz Answers: 1) Jeff Bagwell is the only Astro
to win the rookie of the year award, 1991. 2) Jeff Bagwell is also
the only one to win an MVP award, 1994. 3) Mike Scott is the
only Cy Young winner, 1986. 4) Retired uniforms: Jose Cruz,
Jim Umbricht (pitcher with a 9-5 record who died in 1964), Mike
Scott, Nolan Ryan, Don Wilson (104-92 with two no-hitters,
committed suicide). 5) 40 HR: Jeff Bagwell (3 times), Richard
Hidalgo, Lance Berkman. 6) Don Nottebart tossed a no-hitter in
1963.
Next Bar Chat, Tuesday. Tales from Singapore.
