The limits of internationalism...

...are reached in karaoke bars in Mongkok, Kowloon. And I have a sore throat to prove it. An evening which started off with a buffet dinner and a cheery mood turned into a war between nations. Our group of twelve nationalities beamed with openmindedness and international solidarism as we entered the little window-less compartment, where we (little as we knew) were to spend the next five hours in agony and bitter contestation.

The Hong Kongers only wanted to sing Andy Lau. The Europeans ganged up (not without intra-continental rivalry, of course) as we united our forces in old Beatles hits. And a Swedish duet was supported by a Norweigan choir in performing Abba classic "Dancing Queen". After a few hours of Asian-European-Asian-European rotation in choosing songs, our ideals of fairness and equal opportunity were replaced by intercontinental warfare. Microphones were thrown across the room (sorry, box). Performers were interrupted in mid-vibrato as enemies took control of the music switchboard. I admit, even I contributed to the hostilities by hiding the Cantonese songbook for a while.

So what to learn of this violent episode? That we need to promote inter-cultural exchange and understanding? Perhaps, but more urgently - Hong Kong has a huge surplus of sappy love songs, but a shortage of upbeat rock tunes. You do not have to be an economist to see the logical solution here. I just hope something happens fast, before I drown in a sea of mushy ballads...