Coronavirus and restaurant dining

The restrictions have returned to Hong Kong and we're back to only being able to dine in groups of 8 again.  The restaurants also have to keep their capacity at only 60% which must be causing all sorts of problems for them.  A few of us had booked dinner on the first night of the returned restrictions, but there were only four of us.  Luckily for us, we made the cut with our booking and we didn't get cancelled.  Other diners wouldn't have been so lucky.  We knew other restaurants had full bookings, so there would have almost certainly been a culling of the list of reservations.

The dinner we had was good.  We had decided on a steakhouse and we ate a dinner that was heavy and full of dense but satisfying food.  The meat was cut thick and the sides were creamy and generally fried.  I looked through the wine list before we started and knowing the dominating and overwhelming flavours we were facing, ordered a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape with its stronger and more intense taste. 

We really were the lucky ones.  We were able to enjoy one another's company with great food, even as things around us slowly ground back to a halt.  Others wouldn't be so lucky and the general suffering that many were going through seemed to be increasing by the day.  There was still the odd bit of humour to be found though.  As we walked past the drinks trolley, we saw a large bottle of hand sanitiser placed in the middle.  This was now the selection of spirits in the age of coronavirus!

I walked out and decided to walk back home.  I felt full.  A bit too full which seems to usually be the case when you go to a steakhouse.  The streets were empty as I walked back.  Another Saturday night in Hong Kong which had been quietened by an unseen terror.

Trash

I love my picturesque Cheung Chau.  I repeatedly tell people that it's my favourite place in Hong Kong.  It's a place that makes me feel happier and more relaxed.  I've walked around the island so many times now that there aren't too many places I haven't wandered past at least once.  It's given me a familiarity to the place.  I now have a visual memory of most of the areas which helps me to explore and also to find the places I want to revisit.

The flip side to that knowledge and memory I have of the place is when I see it in a less than ideal state.

Some recent storms and the flow of the currents meant that certain parts of Cheung Chau had become filled with trash.  The oceans had brought in all the detritus floating around straight into all of the little coves on the South West of the Island.  It was disgusting and upsetting to see the normally clean beaches turned into garbage dumps.  I had seen other beaches of Hong Kong covered with trash on different occasions, but this was my first sad experience with this on Cheung Chau.  The tides and currents would eventually changes push a lot of these rubbish out to other areas, but it was still disappointing to see.

Thankfully my favourite beach was clear.  The currents carrying all the junk were on the other side of the island and so today was still a day for a swim.  After hiking around the entire Southern section of the island, I had arrived at the beach drenched in sweat.  I quickly changed and dove straight into the water.

From my vantage point in the middle of the water, I looked back at all of the umbrellas and deck chairs.  It was an inviting sight and I soon swam back for a cool drink.

Coronavirus and tourism

I was off to visit my grandmother who lives out in the New Territories when I saw an incredible sight out of the bus window.  I pulled my phone out as quickly as I could and tried to take a photo as best as I could as what I saw quickly flew out of view.

Inside one of the container terminals along there harbour, were dozens of tour buses all mothballed away.  The combination of protests and coronavirus had first reduced, then completely eliminated the need for these tour buses.  Normally, they would spend their time constantly ferrying mainland Chinese tourists in and out of Hong Kong.  The spending habits of the Chinese tourists had driven the Hong Kong economy for years and these buses had effectively been the arteries which let their money flow.

The buses have disappeared from our streets for a while and I like most, had assumed they were all parked somewhere in China.  Seeing all these buses now parked and out of use in this container terminal, I could only imagine how many more were now sitting unused in some parking lot somewhere in China.

Coronavirus and no one cares

My concerns about the death of Hong Kong's nightlife were clearly premature.  With the relaxation of the restrictions on bars, the party restarted very quickly.  Things weren't meant to be back to normal as there were meant to be some limitations on how everyone was meant to be behaving, but by and large it seemed like a return to normal.  Peel street in particularly has roared back to life.  As I was walking past one night, I saw the cops had pulled up to enforce some of the social distancing measures.  They weren't doing a great job.  The sirens were blaring and they were on the loudspeakers telling people to observe social distancing, but no one seemed to pay them any attention.  They walked around and asked people to behave, but most people ignored them completely.  After a while, they got back in the police car and drove away.

It's been incredible that Hong Kong has escaped most of the worst parts of the coronavirus, but it seems incredible that this has been the case at times given how little people seem to care at times and how poorly the officials are able to enforce anything...

90s night

Everyone has been entranced with the Michael Jordan documentary "The Last Dance" lately.  With most of the world in quarantine, the binging on different documentaries and series has gone into overdrive.  It seems like there couldn't have been a more perfect time for this Michael Jordan propaganda piece to come out.  I like most others was also interested in it, so I had been following it closely.  I was a child of the 90s, so I watched the battles that Jordan had against everyone closely (though I was a Phoenix Suns fan as a kid and loved Charles Barkley).

With the final two episodes on air, a friend and I decided that we would turn this into a true "90s night".  We set up the two episodes and then we ordered out Pizza Hut pizzas.  There didn't seem like anything more 90s than Pizza Hut after all!

We didn't just get any old pizzas though.  We go one stuffed crust and one cheese bite.  Both of them were shamefully delicious.  I can't remember the last time I had eaten Pizza Hut, but it hit a spot that neither of us realised we had.  We had looked at the two pizzas in front of us and thought that there wasn't a chance we would be able to finish even one of them.  Yet as the second episode started to come on, we both looked down and realised that we had almost finished both pizzas.  Gluttony it seems knows no bounds.

By the end of the second episodes we both felt terrible.  The combination of beers and Pizza Hut left us feeling bloated.  The documentaries were good though and it was a trip down memory lane to see the Bulls playing at their peak.  Still... the pizzas were probably a mistake.

It's back

It's not a great that I've kind of become accustomed to the sound of sirens.  In part, this is just a result of living and working in a densely populated city.  Sadly, another one of the reasons has been because of the protests.  There seems to have been a flurry of activity lately in the lead up to legislative debate about the introduction of laws regarding the Chinese flag and anthem.  Anger has built up on both sides and threats of action have been growing.

I was sitting in the office when I heard the sirens start.  At first I barely noticed them, but then I heard them get louder.  There were lots of them as well.  I went to the window and looked out.  Hundreds of people were slowly walking down the road.

The protesters looked to be slowly moving from Causeway Bay towards what I could only assume to be LegCo.  The traffic ground to a halt and soon the horns started.  The interesting times experienced in Hong Kong seem to be continuing.

Landscape artists

I hadn't been to the Hong Kong Museum of Art for years.  In fact, I was fairly sure I hadn't been there since I had moved to Hong Kong.  I had some recollections of having visited when I was younger, back before I lived in Hong Kong and I also remembered it being very ordinary.  Things have changed dramatically for this place.  A huge refurbishment took place and it's now something worthy of its prime location overlooking the harbour.

This was my first visit and I had come to see a landscapes exhibition showing off in particular, some works from Constable and Turner which had been shipped in from the Tate in London.

The paintings were unsurprisingly beautiful.  They showed all of the talent of these great artists and I felt lucky to be able to see these works.  In the past, when I had seen some of these types of traveling exhibits, I felt like I was being given a glimpse of some of the leftovers that the European museums couldn't be bothered showing.  This had some very high quality works.  They had even brought over some of the palettes and paintboxes used by the two artists as well.

Alongside these two famous artists were also a variety of other landscapes from other artists in the collection of the Tate.  The museum was now more than big enough and modern enough to properly accommodate these displays.  I was also very impressed by the staff who were looking after the works.  Gone were the sleepy Hong Kong guards who were normally staring into the distance, with no care at all for the paintings or for the location itself.  The security guards here were still older folk, but they patrolled with vigour and were frequently reminding people to keep their distance and to respect the quiet of the rooms.  It was nice to see them care.

The very top floor had been set aside for a large work from Hockney.  It was meant to be the "finale" of this exhibition, but it was completely lost on me.  It was very "big", but that was about it.  Looking closely at the large work, I couldn't help but get the feeling that this was something akin to an ambitious high school student's final year art project.  Whatever skill and technique that was used, I clearly couldn't appreciate it.

Next to this room, was a large exhibition hall dedicated to some large installation art.  Since we were finished with the landscapes exhibition, we decided to go and look around for a bit.  Once again, I was impressed by what had been put together and the space itself.  The high ceilings and the large windows overlooking the harbour gave the space and light and airy feeling that I hadn't experienced in any gallery in other cities in the world.  This made this place a bit more special than I remembered it and maybe it was something which would provide a unique selling point for artists in the future.

The gallery was quiet.  The impact of the coronavirus was still being felt as people were staying away from the crowds.  This suited Matty and myself.  We were able to take our time and look at everything we wanted to at our own pace.  We weren't rushed and there was no feeling of needing to move on for the sake of politeness.  You take the silver linings whenever you can.

So many coins

I've collected a lot of coins over the last few years in Hong Kong.

I mean A LOT of coins.

I have a habit where I generally don't spend my coins.  Whenever I get any change, I will generally just add it to the collection jars I have at home.  Over time, the amount of coins I have grows.  And grows.  And grows....  In fact, it had reached a point where I had filled up all of my jars and collection vessels.  Annoyingly, the banks in Hong Kong don't really provide a convenient service for coin collection.  They require you to self count and bag the coins, and even then, many of them will charge a "processing" fee.  Instead, you have to track a series of coin trucks run by the HKMA which drive around Hong Kong.  They provide a free way to change your coins into notes or to top up your Octopus card.  

So I carried my enormous amount of coins over to one of the trucks when it was close to my work.  I filled up the feeder and watched it work.  There's also something very satisfying about watching the coins slow rushing into the counter.  The noise it makes is almost zen like.

After all the saving, I walked away with several thousand dollars to take away.  They might have started as small amounts, but they certainly grew to be something big!

First beach day

Some of the restrictions on gatherings and activities had been lifted.  We were now allowed to gather in groups of up to 8 people.  The limits of activities in Hong Kong had been relatively restrained in comparison to most other countries, so while this wasn't a huge change, it was still a welcome one.  With the weather looking good, I thought a trip out to Cheung Chau would be the best way to enjoy our greater freedoms. 

The weather was warm and none of us had any intention of a tough and arduous hike.  Instead, this was going to be a nice stroll on the island.  We started out the morning with some dim sum, sitting in one of the local restaurants relaxing over cups of tea and dumplings.  Then we very slowly set out.  We looked at the map and decided to cut out much of the loops around the southern part of the island.  Instead, we cut through the town and straight towards some of the temples on the coast.

It was a different way of walking around Cheung Chau.  I was used to taking the longer and more scenic routes around the outside edge of the island.  This normally offered the best views and best walk, but we had different goals in mind today.  After a pleasant walk which took us through areas that I had amazingly never been before, we reached the area near the beach.  My favourite beach in the whole of Hong Kong.

We had walked at a much slower pace than normal not just for our own sake, but also for the sake of our old friend we were taking for a walk.  Mers had decided to foster one of the friendliest dogs I've ever met, Amber.  Her family had left Hong Kong, and had sadly been unable to take her with them due to her health condition.  She was an old dog, but calm, inquisitive and keen to say hello to everyone she met.  Given how old she was, we didn't want to push her with too strenuous a hike.

We got to the beach and had some food at the cafe next to the helicopter pad.  The first sip of the ice cold drink was as always, the best.  After that, we migrated down to the beach where I jumped straight into the water for a swim.  The water was still cool, the temperatures in the sea not yet having caught up with the weather yet.  I pulled myself back onto the beach where I fell asleep.  Amber was also tired and she soon dropped herself down next to me for a rest as well.

When I finally stirred, I opened my eyes and found myself face to face with Amber.  She didn't seem at all fussed as she starred at me, then suddenly she turned her head and started sneezing.  It was a strange wake up experience.

Dogs aren't allowed on the fast ferry, so we all joined Mers on the slow ferry back to Hong Kong.  It is quite a bit slower, but on this nice day out it was fine.  The open decks meant that a cool breeze was blowing and it gave us an opportunity to look out at Hong Kong as we arrived back home.

Coronavirus and social distancing

It turns out that Hong Kong has really gotten off lightly compared to many other parts of the world.  Whilst other places have gone into full lockdown mode, we in Hong Kong have been able to continue our lives with only mild interruptions.  This is quite a bit change in circumstances from only a couple of months ago.  I remember being on video chats with friends from Europe, Australia and the US, all them being curious about what was happening in Hong Kong and whether we were all wearing face masks.  All of us in Hong Kong were considered to be the ones suffering as people from other countries looked at us with pity.  Times and circumstances have now changed dramatically as I now find myself checking back with them to see how long it's been since they've been allowed out of their homes... 

None of this is to say that life has changed in Hong Kong.  The bustling nightlife is now long gone.  I went for a walk through Lan Kwai Fong one night to have a look at the extent of the carnage.  I expected to see it quiet, but I didn't expect it to be completely deserted.  Walking down to LKF from Soho, I passed by Dragon-I which was now shuttered.  The models and the bankers are all gone and the party was well and truly over.

Downstairs on Wyndham Street, there wasn't much difference.  Normally, it wouldn't matter what day of the week it was, there would still be people milled around drinking and there would be cars constantly driving past.  Not on this evening though.  I stood in the middle of the road to take the photo with no need to avoid any oncoming traffic.

Further down in Lan Kwai Fong itself, I stood in a ghost town.  This was the very heart of Hong Kong's nightlight... or it used to be the very heart of Hong Kong's nightlife.  Now, there was quite literally nothing.  Every single shop was closed and there weren't any of the usual touts trying to get you to go into their bars.  There was a tragedy to it all, it felt like part of Hong Kong had died.

I kept wandering around the area and walked up Pottinger street for a little bit.  This is one of my favourite old streets in Hong Kong, with its old paved stone steps.  I wondered when it was that these steps had last been empty for such a long stretch of time.

Further down at the bottom of LKF was the biggest shock of all.  Tsui Wah, the old late night dining institution of LKF had permanently closed.  It didn't seem like it was possible for this place to close.  There were so many nights over the years that I had found myself sitting inside greedily eating some noodles after spending far too long out with friends.

Even after the worst of the restrictions pass, I wonder how much will be left to reopen.  Will there be a rebirth of the nightlife or could this be the death of the party that used to never end?

Suicide Cliff

The weather in Hong Kong has been spectacular for the last few months.  The lack of the China haze has given Hong Kongers an opportunity to not only breathe, but to experience a climate that is far more temperate than normal.  In other years, by this time of year it would normally already be hot and humid beyond what is tolerable.  It seems like the drop in the industrial output globally may have had an unintended positive outcome for the climate.

All good things come to an end though and the cooler temperatures were now starting to give way to the heat.  It seemed like a good time to do a more strenuous hike before the overbearing heat prevented that.  With that in mind, we decided we would climb Suicide Cliff, but we would take the long way from Sha Tin.  The trip out to the start was annoying, with several station changes required before we reached City One.  Once there, we started walking through the town to reach the start of the hike.  In hindsight, it was a waste of time to walk from the station and it would have been far more efficient to have taken a minibus or a taxi to the start.  When we finally did start walking, we went past village houses, small farms and quite a bit more construction than expected.  At one stage, we were walking past intricately terraced banana farms.  The terraces, constructed with stones, reminded me of the terraces in Cinque Terre.

By taking the long way to Suicide Cliff, we ended up seeing some incredible sights and views.  The path took up up behind the back of Kowloon and we eventually connected to the Maclehose trail.  We pushed on through and eventually reached a road and dozens of a cars.  Others were clearly also keen to see the views and experience some of the fresh air, but they weren't so keen on the lengthy hike we had taken!  We were a bit pressed for time though as we wanted to get to Suicide Cliff before sunset and so we pressed onwards.  One of the last big pushes was to get over to the top of Kowloon Peak.  Getting to the top of this involved clambering on all fours up a fairly steep rock face.  It was tough, but still extremely fun.  It had been a long time since I had done anything like this, so it was a welcome challenge.  At the top, we saw 360 views across all of the New Territories.

We still didn't have that much time, so we continued onwards.  Our quick pace meant that the rest of the hike was done in far less time than we expected and we found ourselves passing the television broadcasting towers and cresting the final peak before we reached the edge, the section of the rise with some of the best views of all of Hong Kong.

The top of this climb was a bit treacherous and there were several bouldered up areas that required some climbing over.  The paths were quite narrow by this point and it's not a place I would bring someone who isn't physically fit or agile enough.  Still, it wasn't the deadly climb that some people seem to think it was.  The views were also very much worth the climb up.

Further along at the end, there was a sheer cliff that had me truly terrified.  I crawled up to the edge on my belly and looked over and down.  I then backed away, before standing up and shuffling closer again to look over.  I'm not amazing with heights and I could feel an unsettling sensation in my legs as I looked over the edge.

The views from the top showed that the clearer skies of Hong Kong were sadly gone.  The factories in China had restarted and so the familiar haze was back.  It was a bit harder to see into the distance, but the sky did have a nice reddish shade as the sun began to set.

As the skies darkened, we decided to start leaving before it was too dark.  From the other side of the peak, we could see towards Marina Cove and Sai Kung.  The sheer volume of vantage spots this hike provides really makes it one of the best in Hong Kong.

The final walk back down was the worst part of the entire hike.  It wasn't too long, but it was a hike down a lengthy set of uneven stairs in the dark.  We had some torches and headlamps which helped us down, but it was still tedious.  Some of the steps had worn away or be broken, leaving only the metal rods still sticking halfway out of ground.  There were a few near misses, but I luckily didn't break my ankles on any of these.  We walked past a cemetery and finally reached the road on the bottom.  We found ourselves in amongst some of the nicest houses I have ever seen in Hong Kong, enormous mansions in a city where people can live in a space of under 400 sqf.  We managed to get a cab and headed back to Elements where we devoured some burgers before heading home.  Once I was home, I jumped in the shower and washed away the layer of dirt and grime that I had accumulated through the day.  The moment I was in bed, I was out.

Coronavirus and dining at a distance

So I was catching up with a friend when we walked past "Duck and Waffle" in the IFC mall.  I had never been and he had only ever been when he lived in London.  There was no line so we thought this would be a good opportunity to try it.  We both ordered the namesake dish of confit duck leg served on a slice of waffle.

It was "good", but it certainly wasn't worth the price.  If anything, it was probably overpriced by at least half.  There was something very conveyor belt to everything in front of us.  Every element looked like it could be made quickly (and in advance) except for a few of the final flourishes like the egg, making the assembly line the perfect way for these dishes to be churned out quickly and efficiently.  I poured on the maple syrup sauce which added an exceedingly sweet finish to the whole plate.  Again, it was tasty enough, but there wasn't anything special to what I was eating.  It is as described.  Duck.  Waffle.  Covered in sugar.

Sitting in the restaurant itself, in the middle of the day on a Saturday, I couldn't help but think about how much they and other restaurants must be suffering.  There are already restrictions on the number of people who can be inside each restaurant along with further restrictions on how many can be in a total party and the distance that must be in place between groups.  Even with all of these restrictions in place, people are still wary of going out and the restaurant was almost completely deserted.  I can only imagine that it is a combination of reasons, people are worried about going out because of the virus but on top of that, there must also be growing financial concerns amongst large parts of the population.  The idea of going out and spending at restaurants (irrespective of how much) is probably the last thing on their minds.

Coronavirus and hotel death

Getting a hotel room in Hong Kong used to be painfully expensive.  A room on the island would always cost over HKD1,000 a night and even a room in one of the decrepit hostels in Chunking Mansion or Miramar Mansion would cost more than HKD200 a night.  Those prices are now a thing of the past.  The hotel industry had already been devastated by the ongoing protests, but now it seems as though there is almost nothing left as the coronavirus means that all travel has effectively ground to a halt.  The few travellers left coming through Hong Kong are now able to get hotels on the island for under HKD200 a night.  One friend who was staying in a hotel on the island even noted with confidence that even with those prices, he was the only person on the entire floor.

Walking along Nathan Rd, through the heart of Kowloon one evening, I could see very clearly the devastation on Hong Kong's hotel industry.  Looking up at the windows of many of the hotels you could see floor after floor of blackened rooms.  The few lights that were on seem to come from utility rooms.

Further along the road, other hotels weren't doing much better.  There were only a few scattered lights on the entire building.  Rumours have been coming out that some of the most famous hotels in Hong Kong are down to single digit room occupancy.  On top of that, many of the activities associated with some of the big hotels are also struggling.  The high tea at the Peninsula Hotel is often touted as one of the highlights of any trip to Hong Kong, and it used to require a long line up.  Now, it's easy to walk in and get a table, with sittings often only half full at best.

It's gotten so bad in fact that I have friends living in Hong Kong who have decided to stop renting apartments altogether, but have instead opted to move into hotels for the time being.  The price of a hotel is now far cheaper than renting your own place and you even have the added benefit of having someone turnover your room everyday!

Coronavirus and the death of nightlife

Well it happened.  More shutdowns.

On the weekend, the level of shutdown was increased.  Social gatherings of more than four are now banned.  Bars and other venues that are "exclusively or mainly used" for the sale of alcohol have been shut.  Early in the week, the government finally relented with the closure of karaoke bars and mahjong parlours, but only after another cluster of people fell ill after a visit to a karaoke bar.

Everything has gone deathly quiet, even as the lights are still on.

The street party on Peel street is now long gone.  I look at the emptiness with this feeling of sadness and nostalgia for what was once there.  Only weeks ago, this was a bustling hub for people around the world to congregate and to socialise.

Elsewhere famous pubs and bars have also been shuttered.  The streets are quiet and the steps that used to act as benches are now being used as thoroughfares once again.

Even the MTRs have gone quiet.

Everyone has been filled with concern about using the public transportation system, but ironically this is probably one of the safer ways to get around now.  With no one using the MTR, there's little chance you're going to come into contact with anyone or be close enough to someone to catch anything.

I'm sure this will all pass one day.  I just wonder what will be left once it does pass?  What will recover and what will be gone forever?  I used to think the party never ended in Hong Kong, but the music has now most definitely stopped.

Coronavirus and deserted streets

Everything seems to be getting worse.

When all of this started a few months ago, it seemed to be a bit of an inconvenience.  Precautions were being taken in Hong Kong, and we had luckily managed to avoid most of the issues that China was going through.  Fast forward a few months and this is now a global issue.  Those who fled Hong Kong at the start are now returning and they are sadly bringing back the very infections they sought to avoid in the first place.  The pride most of us had in only having a hundred cases has evaporated as the returnees brought back over 400 cases in the space of a couple of weeks.

The whole world is locking down, and sadly Hong Kong is now no exception.  Whilst we haven't reached the extremely tough measures implemented in some other countries, there has definitely been a dramatic escalation.  Restaurants and bars can now only be half full and they must also not have more than 4 people in a group.  Public gatherings of four people are also now banned.  Beyond those legal requirements, the people of Hong Kong have also retreated into their homes as the streets and public places are now emptier than I have ever experienced.

Place after place, once bustling areas of shopping and commerce are now ghost towns.  Many shops have either closed temporarily or disappeared for good.  The shops that continue seem to only have a fraction of the staff they used to employ as they try desperately to ramp down their costs.  The ones who have closed have clearly made the decision that even staffing costs aren't worth it anymore given how little foot traffic there is.

Even the public transportation areas are now emptied of people.  The ferry terminal around TST is normally one of the big gathering points for locals and tourists alike, but it now sits empty.  The tourists are long gone, having been already driven away by the protests, the last of them are now completely gone.

In the central checkin area for the Airport Express, there are no more travellers, so the remaining staff sit waiting for patrons who will never come.  Amazingly they still show up day in and day out for what must now be an exceptionally boring job.  Yet they are still probably thankful they still have jobs to go to at all.  Many others aren't so lucky as layoffs in Hong Kong have skyrocketed in the last few months.  There have been some small measures undertaken by the Hong Kong government, with the promise of HKD10,000 being paid to all Hong Kong residents, but this now seems to pale in comparison to the actions being taken by governments overseas who are concerned about the wellbeing of their unemployed citizens.

Closer to home, the lights were on in Central, but there were few people walking in the warm glow.

These strange times will hopefully end sooner rather than later, but it's hard not to be shocked by the complete change in our lives.

Coronavirus and the global shut down

The air in Hong Kong has been exceptionally fresh.  It is incredible how clear the skies have been since China shut down.  Looking out of my window, I can still clearly see the hills in the New Territories.  This is normally something you don't see until an intense tropical storm of typhoon clears the haze out of the city.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I found myself still clinging to some of my old habits from Australia.  I was still searching for the same foods, the same activities to continue with.  I also found myself watching Aussie Rules most weekends rather than going out.  It wasn't a great habit, but even now it's nice to be able to watch a game in the same timezone.  My brother often has to wake up in the early hours of the morning if there's a particularly important game he wants to watch.

I started my Sunday like I did many others.  I slept in, then I migrated over to the couch to watch some Aussie Rules.  The first game came and went and then my beloved Hawks came on.  It was the first game of the season, a season which looked to be in danger from the moment it began as travel restrictions and bans on gatherings had started.  The games were already being played in empty stadiums as large gatherings were now considered to be too dangerous.

As halftime approached, the commentators announced that there would be an emergency press conference with the CEO of the AFL at halftime.  The voices of the commentators betrayed what they all thought.  My chat groups all lit up as we all started to discuss what we knew wast coming.  The halftime siren sounded with the Hawks and Lions fighting a close game.  The CEO came onto the screen and announced that the season would be suspended at the end of the round for the next two months.

We all knew this was coming, but we had all been hoping to get a few weeks of games at least.  The rest of the game was strange to watch.  Apparently the players weren't told about this news and they fought out the game.  The Hawks slowly took over and pushed ahead of the Lions.  The Hawks midfield looks better than it has been for years, which makes the end of this season even more tragic. Watching an old player like Shaun Burgoyne continue to display his incredible skills also felt bitter sweet, as I thought about whether or not he would still be be able to play once the league resumed.

The siren sounded to end the game and the Hawks had won.  For me, Australia had now truly shut down.