Hong Kong’s winter doesn’t seem so threatening at first glance of the numbers, but those numbers belie how the weather actually feels.
香港的冬天，數字上看來比不少國家溫和，實際上的感覺卻是另一回事。
A cold spell arrived on Sunday last week and brought 4 successive grey chilly days afterwards with daytime maximum temperature struggling to make it to 10 degrees in the urban area. My second hometown of Melbourne doesn’t even see such a long string of such weather – usually 2 days maximum – in a typical winter despite it being in the southernmost part of the Australian mainland with a latitude of 38°S (Hong Kong is only 22°N). I went home on Thursday evening and was looking forward to a warm home to give me a bit of respite from the 7°C night and its slightly chilly air. But little did I expect a gush of cold air rushing out as soon as I opened the door, and it felt colder than the outside!
上週一至四，一連四天陰陰沉沉，市區最高溫才勉強升至十度，連第二故鄉墨爾本——差不多是澳洲大陸最南端，緯度38度（香港是北緯22度）——這樣的天氣也甚少超過連續兩天啊。星期四晚回家，外面7度，空氣有點冷，想著回到溫暖的家有多好，但甫開家門時卻讓我吃了一驚：一陣寒流從家中湧出來，感覺比外面還冰冷！
Admittedly I left two of the windows slightly ajar to let some air in, which gave rise to the cold gush, but Hong Kong doesn’t have central indoor heating unlike Melbourne or my third hometown of Munich. The chilly evening must have reminded me of those places and made me anticipate a heated home after a long day away. How wrong and naïve I was. But then it also finally dawned on me why Hong Kong people would find temperatures like 7 degrees unbearable.
誠然家中還有兩扇窗開了一幾隙通風，所以才會有那股寒風隨門開而湧至，但香港可不但墨爾本或第三故鄉慕尼黑般，室內有中央暖氣，7度的晚上，大概令我想起那兩個地方，還以為我現在的家也有暖氣，實在想得太美了。我也終於明白為甚麼香港人會覺得7度的天氣這麼難受。
A cold home was definitely not very comfortable, but that turned out to be a smaller concern. On Monday (2 days ago) the weather warmed up very quickly and provided some welcome relief with its warmth and sunshine. But the accompanying humid air caused a big headache as it formed extensive condensation on the cold walls, ceiling, mirrors and floor in just one afternoon. So much water accumulated on the walls that it started dripping to the floor to form small puddles. An emergency drying and cleaning effort was in order after dinner. While humid days causing wet homes are a rather common occurrence in Hong Kong, it still took me by surprise since I haven’t experienced and dealt with it for the last 20 years away from Hong Kong. I also had a sense of urgency since the weather forecast for yesterday and beyond was for the return of more cold weather. If the whole place isn’t properly dried up by then, a cold and damp home will be the last place where I want to be. Fortunately a relative came over yesterday afternoon to help me with some odd jobs at my place, and he had gone the extra mile of cleaning the floor and drying the walls for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I stepped into home after work!
冰冷的家固然不好受，但更大的問題在後頭。到了前天，天氣忽地回春，放晴回暖當然令人叫好，但隨之而來的潮濕氣流，遇到家中還未完全暖透、仍有點冷的牆壁、天花、鏡和地板，馬上凝結成水，祇消一個下午，牆上的水竟然多得流到地板形成一攤攤水，害得我飲後要緊急請理。本來回南天和梅雨天在香港是家常便飯，但畢竟離港已二十年，來得這麼急確教我措手不及，而且天氣預測昨晚起再度轉冷，如果這些積水不及時清理的話，家便會變得又濕又冷，令人更渾身不自在，幸好昨天下午有親戚到我家幫忙處理一些家中瑣事，趁天氣轉得乾爽時順道把地板和牆好好抹一遍，令我回家時眼前一亮！
Last night turned cold as forecast, and a bit of wind picked up. But closing all the windows didn’t shut out all the wind, as gaps were still left in a couple of windows and wind could still rush in between the windows and the frames. When there were keener winds in the last couple of months, there was even a whistling of air to be heard and it sent a shiver down the spine. I couldn’t think of a way to overcome this problem until I learnt this simple trick from a mainland Chinese student: just seal the gaps with tapes!
昨晚一如所料轉冷，而且颳起一點風，自然得把窗關好，但那也不能把所有的風擋住：有些窗關上後，窗和框之間還有點空隙讓風乘虛而入，之前一兩個月風勢更大時，絲絲冷風夾雜著嘯嘯風聲，聽得心也發抖，但苦無應對之法，直至上週跟一國內學生談起，才學會這個土法：用膠紙封住那些空隙！
Speaking of windows, the windows in Hong Kong’s residential buildings have generally let me down. Apart from the inability to seal properly when shut, Hong Kong’s windows open to the outside, which not only make insect nets impossible unlike in Australia (think about the mosquitoes in summer!) but also make window cleaning a treacherous undertaking (think about what happens when one leans the body outside and loses balance during cleaning!) Privately built residences in Hong Kong typically come with humongous inside window sills, which would very well suit the inward-opening German-style windows as the window will only occupy the space of the sill and window cleaning will become so much easier. German windows are also double-glazed and seal properly, which definitely helps to retain warmth in winter.
說到窗，這是讓我對香港房屋最失望的地方之一，除了不能完全密封，香港的窗是向外打開的，既不能像澳洲般在窗戶加裝隔蟲網（香港夏天蚊可多呢！）又令抹窗倍添危險，把身子伸出去抹窗，如此在半空一失重心跌出去隨時性命不保！香港新建的房屋，尤其私人興建的，大多有大得無與倫比的窗台，但偏偏不安裝德國式的窗戶，既是向內打開，放便清潔（有大窗台的話也不會阻礙地方），關窗後又完全密封，再加上雙層玻璃，有助冬天時幫助室內保暖。
Central heating is not very economical because Hong Kong doesn’t see so many cold days in a year after all, but the more environmentally friendly means of insulation was almost totally off the radar of Hong Kong’s constructions. Little surprise then the inside would be colder than outside during cooler days and hotter than outside during hot days. This is a complete contrast to Australia or Germany, where one could feel an immediate respite from the weather outside at the moment stepping into home. Hong Kong people pay and sacrifice a lot for an abode, but when basic installations such as insulation and decent windows that make life more comfortable and raise the quality of living are overlooked, it is really debatable whether people are getting value for their money.
香港家中沒有中央暖氣，畢竟冷天少，中央供暖不划算，但香港的建築向來忽視隔熱，所以室內冷時更冷、熱時更熱，跟在澳洲和德國，一踏進家中有種可逃離外面天氣的舒服感覺截然不同。港人為房子付出和付上不少代價，但最終連密封的窗和隔熱這些令生活更舒適、生活質素提升的裝置也欠奉，錢有沒有白花就讓大家判斷好了。
On cold days like these, thinking about the warm abodes in my two other hometowns is indeed a way to seek some comfort.
古人畫餅充飢、忘梅止渴，如此天氣獨自在家，我也靠回想另兩個故鄉的溫暖的家取取暖吧。
香港的冬天，數字上看來比不少國家溫和，實際上的感覺卻是另一回事。
A cold spell arrived on Sunday last week and brought 4 successive grey chilly days afterwards with daytime maximum temperature struggling to make it to 10 degrees in the urban area. My second hometown of Melbourne doesn’t even see such a long string of such weather – usually 2 days maximum – in a typical winter despite it being in the southernmost part of the Australian mainland with a latitude of 38°S (Hong Kong is only 22°N). I went home on Thursday evening and was looking forward to a warm home to give me a bit of respite from the 7°C night and its slightly chilly air. But little did I expect a gush of cold air rushing out as soon as I opened the door, and it felt colder than the outside!
上週一至四，一連四天陰陰沉沉，市區最高溫才勉強升至十度，連第二故鄉墨爾本——差不多是澳洲大陸最南端，緯度38度（香港是北緯22度）——這樣的天氣也甚少超過連續兩天啊。星期四晚回家，外面7度，空氣有點冷，想著回到溫暖的家有多好，但甫開家門時卻讓我吃了一驚：一陣寒流從家中湧出來，感覺比外面還冰冷！
Admittedly I left two of the windows slightly ajar to let some air in, which gave rise to the cold gush, but Hong Kong doesn’t have central indoor heating unlike Melbourne or my third hometown of Munich. The chilly evening must have reminded me of those places and made me anticipate a heated home after a long day away. How wrong and naïve I was. But then it also finally dawned on me why Hong Kong people would find temperatures like 7 degrees unbearable.
誠然家中還有兩扇窗開了一幾隙通風，所以才會有那股寒風隨門開而湧至，但香港可不但墨爾本或第三故鄉慕尼黑般，室內有中央暖氣，7度的晚上，大概令我想起那兩個地方，還以為我現在的家也有暖氣，實在想得太美了。我也終於明白為甚麼香港人會覺得7度的天氣這麼難受。
A cold home was definitely not very comfortable, but that turned out to be a smaller concern. On Monday (2 days ago) the weather warmed up very quickly and provided some welcome relief with its warmth and sunshine. But the accompanying humid air caused a big headache as it formed extensive condensation on the cold walls, ceiling, mirrors and floor in just one afternoon. So much water accumulated on the walls that it started dripping to the floor to form small puddles. An emergency drying and cleaning effort was in order after dinner. While humid days causing wet homes are a rather common occurrence in Hong Kong, it still took me by surprise since I haven’t experienced and dealt with it for the last 20 years away from Hong Kong. I also had a sense of urgency since the weather forecast for yesterday and beyond was for the return of more cold weather. If the whole place isn’t properly dried up by then, a cold and damp home will be the last place where I want to be. Fortunately a relative came over yesterday afternoon to help me with some odd jobs at my place, and he had gone the extra mile of cleaning the floor and drying the walls for me. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I stepped into home after work!
冰冷的家固然不好受，但更大的問題在後頭。到了前天，天氣忽地回春，放晴回暖當然令人叫好，但隨之而來的潮濕氣流，遇到家中還未完全暖透、仍有點冷的牆壁、天花、鏡和地板，馬上凝結成水，祇消一個下午，牆上的水竟然多得流到地板形成一攤攤水，害得我飲後要緊急請理。本來回南天和梅雨天在香港是家常便飯，但畢竟離港已二十年，來得這麼急確教我措手不及，而且天氣預測昨晚起再度轉冷，如果這些積水不及時清理的話，家便會變得又濕又冷，令人更渾身不自在，幸好昨天下午有親戚到我家幫忙處理一些家中瑣事，趁天氣轉得乾爽時順道把地板和牆好好抹一遍，令我回家時眼前一亮！
Last night turned cold as forecast, and a bit of wind picked up. But closing all the windows didn’t shut out all the wind, as gaps were still left in a couple of windows and wind could still rush in between the windows and the frames. When there were keener winds in the last couple of months, there was even a whistling of air to be heard and it sent a shiver down the spine. I couldn’t think of a way to overcome this problem until I learnt this simple trick from a mainland Chinese student: just seal the gaps with tapes!
昨晚一如所料轉冷，而且颳起一點風，自然得把窗關好，但那也不能把所有的風擋住：有些窗關上後，窗和框之間還有點空隙讓風乘虛而入，之前一兩個月風勢更大時，絲絲冷風夾雜著嘯嘯風聲，聽得心也發抖，但苦無應對之法，直至上週跟一國內學生談起，才學會這個土法：用膠紙封住那些空隙！
Speaking of windows, the windows in Hong Kong’s residential buildings have generally let me down. Apart from the inability to seal properly when shut, Hong Kong’s windows open to the outside, which not only make insect nets impossible unlike in Australia (think about the mosquitoes in summer!) but also make window cleaning a treacherous undertaking (think about what happens when one leans the body outside and loses balance during cleaning!) Privately built residences in Hong Kong typically come with humongous inside window sills, which would very well suit the inward-opening German-style windows as the window will only occupy the space of the sill and window cleaning will become so much easier. German windows are also double-glazed and seal properly, which definitely helps to retain warmth in winter.
說到窗，這是讓我對香港房屋最失望的地方之一，除了不能完全密封，香港的窗是向外打開的，既不能像澳洲般在窗戶加裝隔蟲網（香港夏天蚊可多呢！）又令抹窗倍添危險，把身子伸出去抹窗，如此在半空一失重心跌出去隨時性命不保！香港新建的房屋，尤其私人興建的，大多有大得無與倫比的窗台，但偏偏不安裝德國式的窗戶，既是向內打開，放便清潔（有大窗台的話也不會阻礙地方），關窗後又完全密封，再加上雙層玻璃，有助冬天時幫助室內保暖。
Central heating is not very economical because Hong Kong doesn’t see so many cold days in a year after all, but the more environmentally friendly means of insulation was almost totally off the radar of Hong Kong’s constructions. Little surprise then the inside would be colder than outside during cooler days and hotter than outside during hot days. This is a complete contrast to Australia or Germany, where one could feel an immediate respite from the weather outside at the moment stepping into home. Hong Kong people pay and sacrifice a lot for an abode, but when basic installations such as insulation and decent windows that make life more comfortable and raise the quality of living are overlooked, it is really debatable whether people are getting value for their money.
香港家中沒有中央暖氣，畢竟冷天少，中央供暖不划算，但香港的建築向來忽視隔熱，所以室內冷時更冷、熱時更熱，跟在澳洲和德國，一踏進家中有種可逃離外面天氣的舒服感覺截然不同。港人為房子付出和付上不少代價，但最終連密封的窗和隔熱這些令生活更舒適、生活質素提升的裝置也欠奉，錢有沒有白花就讓大家判斷好了。
On cold days like these, thinking about the warm abodes in my two other hometowns is indeed a way to seek some comfort.
古人畫餅充飢、忘梅止渴，如此天氣獨自在家，我也靠回想另兩個故鄉的溫暖的家取取暖吧。
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