Winter Wear

What's winter really like in Hong Kong?

This has been covered in The Joy of a Cold Toilet Seat, so there's no need to rehash all that.

But I never mentioned how I dress when working at home without the heater on (we stopped using it to cut down electricity consumption). The trick is to layer, because though it may be 6 or 7C at 5.30am, the daytime high can shoot up as much as nine degrees.

So I begin with a long-sleeved thermal undershirt covered with a tee shirt, followed by a sleeveless fleece vest topped with a hoodie (eliminating two layers of sleeves prevents obstructed arm movement, and walking around looking like the Michelin Man). If the morning temperature is a few degrees higher, I'll skip the tee shirt.

As the day heats up, the layers come off, but slowly as the concrete bunker we live in is slow to release trapped frosty air. Sometimes I have to ditch the layers faster after drinking or eating something hot, such as congee, the perfect lethal weapon winter food.

The process is reversed as night descends and the temperature plummets.

Climbing into bed is an adventure; although we have excellent blankets, the sheets are chilly and it takes a few minutes before body heat is converted into a warm cocoon. This in turn makes getting out of bed the next morning a challenge: who wants to leave snug comfort for the sudden shock of frigid air?

Or that cold toilet seat? But I'm not complaining, because this is far more preferable than high summer and sweating all the time.

Too bad it can't be winter all year round.

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