Here are journal entries from the past three weeks that I have been in Hong Kong. Can't believe so much time has already gone by! I decided to start this blog to share what I am doing and to serve as a digital journal.
Thursday, August 25: Arrive HKG at 7pm from JFK on Cathay Pacific. Take taxi to Lan Kwai Fong Hotel. Don't really get any sense for the city because it is dark out and I am jet lagged.
Friday, August 26: Eat breakfast at hotel and start researching apartments. See City Lofts apartments with Stanley – first impression – tiny tiny tiny!!! Like dorm rooms. Approx HKD8,000 – 10,000 per month. View apartments in Causeway Bay and Sheung Wan. Still a bit clueless as to the layout of the city and different neighborhoods. Am hit with heat, humidity and the number of people around, especially in Causeway Bay. Meet Calvin for lunch in Causeway Bay.
Saturday, August 27: Social orientation for school (HKUST). Met UCLA folks at Causeway Bay Metro at 8am to be at school by 9am. Take subway to Hang Hau then bus to campus. Meet other exchange students and set off on the following:
Time Itinerary for the Day Tour
10:00 – 10:30 Campus Tour (Meeting point: Main Library, HKUST campus)
10:30 Shuttle bus pick-up next to Hang Seng Bank, HKUST to Chi Lin Nunnery
10:50 – 11:30 Chi Lin Nunnery
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| Chi Lin Nunnery |
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| Chi Lin Nunnery |
12:15 – 13:45 Lunch at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant in Aberdeen (Chinese Dim Sum)
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| Jumbo Floating Restaurant |
13:45 – 14:15 Sampan ride in Aberdeen
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| Boat in Aberdeen |
14:45 – 15:30 Stanley Market 15:30 – 17:00 Victoria Peak
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| Hazy day at Victoria Peak |
18:00 Return to the HKUST Campus
Sunday, August 28: Back to work with the apartment hunting. Move in with fellow MBA Lisa in her temporary studio on Elgin. 7-story walk up, but great space and location.
Week of August 29: Continue apartment hunt! Take a few breaks – academic orientation on Tuesday at school – get student ID cards, etc. Wednesday, August 31 head to Macau for the day. Go to the Venetian on the Cotai Strip and visit Taipa Village. View apartments in locations ranging from Mid Levels to Tin Hau. Prices range dramatically based on location location location!
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| Hot, hazy day in Macau |
Thursday, September 1: Lock down apartment at 75 Caine Road, just above SoHo near expat central (the escalator). Class starts this evening! Politics and socioeconomics of China with professor David Zweig, who is originally from Canada but who moved studied abroad at Peking University in the 1970s and lived on mainland China for many years after. Class is 7pm-10:30pm in Central at 9 Queens Road. Friday, September 2: Met crazy American ex-pat Kris at Peak Bar. She lives in Macau but has a place in Central. We go out to dinner with her and a few Brit ex-pats. Meet up later with friend from the U.S. Karin who crashes in the studio with Lisa & me.
Saturday, September 3: Doing Business in China class. 9am-12:30pm in Kowloon with professor Cassian Cheung (former president of Wal Mart China). Afternoon project finance class cancelled today. Return home to find Karin & Lisa hanging out. Go out with them for dinner and girls’ night out! First drinks at Four Seasons with Jamie and other ex-pats (mainly Brits) who are all in black tie and heading to a boxing match at the Peninsula Hotel. We go to dinner at i-Thai in Causeway Bay followed by drinks at Solas and Lilly & Bloom in Lan Kwai Fong. Crazy how many people are out here on weekends (well, really any and every night of the week!)
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| Girls night out - Lisa, me, Karin |
September 4: Champagne brunch at Totts on roof of Excelsior in Causeway Bay. Very nice with live cover band from Australia. A nice treat but too expensive to make this a habit.
September 5: Spend day at Pui O Beach on Lantau. Spend evening at the American Club on the 49th floor of Exchange Square 2 at a UCLA Anderson Alumni event.
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| Beach at Pui O |
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| Return on ferry from Pui O |
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| UCLA Anderson event at the American Club |
September 6: Move in to apartment! Haul our luggage down the 7 flights of stairs, then up the escalator to our nice, newly-renovated apartment on the 20th floor of a doorman building. The apartment is about 600 square feet with two bedrooms.
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| Getting the TV working |
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| Kitchen |
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| My bedroom |
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| Lisa's room |
September overall: Explore Hong Kong! Wander around different neighborhoods. Eat at ex-pat restaurants in SoHo as well as local joints on Wellington St. Hike up to Victoria Peak. Play tennis at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay with Calvin (45 minutes is all we could do with the incredible heat). Attend Mid-Autumn Festival party at HKUST. See the Mid-Autumn Festival parade and celebrations in Victoria Park with hundreds of thousands of Chinese out celebrating a national holiday.
Friday, September 9: Visit Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Market is up when we are there... fingers crossed. Struck by how old the machines on the trading floor seem.
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| Market is up! |
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| A hard day's work |
Sunday, September 11: Watch rugby world cup! Opening day. Tournament being played in New Zealand.
Tuesday, September 13: Hike MacLehose Trail in Sai Kung! Difficult 8 mile hike, with lots of ups and downs. Very beautiful. Stop for lunch along the way as well as swimming. Careful to drink enough water as we are all drenched from sweating.
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| A few hidden restaurants along the way |
Wednesday, September 14: Opening day at Happy Valley race track! Very festive atmosphere with plenty of drinks, food and live band set against 8 horse races. Thursday, September 15: Lunch at sushi restaurant in Causeway Bay. Class in the evening... followed by 3 bottles of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with professor, Rita and Christoph at the Ladies Rec Center in the Mid Levels (our prof's club).
Friday, September 16: Yacht all day! Hang out on beach, swim, banana boat, inner tube, Asians singing karaoke (the boat was fully equipped with a karaoke set up), Asians playing mah jong, etc. Great time overall. Came back exhausted with sun-burned back despite applying 80 SPF sunscreen numerous times.
Saturday, September 17: Class 9am – 6pm in on HKUST's campus in Kowloon. Come home to a delicious home cooked Cajun meal thanks to roomie Lisa. We invite over a few of the guys to join us for food, then head to Maya/Joey/Jason’s rooftop party in Causeway Bay. Leave at 12:25am with Calvin and Lisa to head to another party in Tsim Sha Tsui for a local’s birthday party. However cover is HKD250 for girls and HKD350 for guys (!) so instead we look for another bar. End up at Ozone in the Ritz on the 118th floor! Incredible views of Hong Kong and the harbor.
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| Rooftop party |
Sunday, September 18: Spend most of the day at Oolaa with just about all of the other expats in SoHo. Have brunch, watch rugby, do schoolwork. Go for walk in the evening around Sheung Wan, Central and Admiralty. Eat dinner at Classified on Hollywood Road.
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Oolaa on Bridges St in SoHo
Oolaa |
Monday, September 19: Spend the morning at O Cafe down the road from our apartment on Caine Road catching up on emails and writing up these journal entries. Come home for lunch and learn how to cook a delicious Cajun pork dish from Lisa. Get an afternoon game of tennis in with Calvin... we did a little better this time, thanks to the weather cooling off a slight bit and our getting more used to the heat. Playing tennis in such heat still exhausts me so much that I go to bed early. Tuesday, September 20: Early morning yoga and strength training! Followed by some errands. Bought a squash racket today for a match tonight with another ex-pat living over here.
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