Update
May/22/08 10:19 PM
So we just finished our first week of classes here at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Aside from classes we had two speakers/site visits this week. On Tuesday we met with the General Director of InvestHK, a government entity that seeks to attract financial and capital investment in Hong Kong. From the board room of a beautiful skyscraper looking out over Hong Kong's harbor the director spoke to us about the intertwined history of China and Hong Kong and how Hong Kong has evolved as a world-class business center for Western companies. We also learned that Hong Kong's fierce rival for investment is Singapore, which the director claims offers similar, but not quite as good investment opportunities with better marketing and advertising. The meeting lasted about an hour and after that we ventured to Stanley Market.
The trip to Stanley Market was probably the best part of the evening. We trekked for over half an hour on the city double-decker bus through the Repulse Bay community, which is situated on a high mountain overlooking the city and bay. Skyscrapers tower in a seemingly perilous manner surrounded by dense trees and forest, looking like they'll blow over with the slightest blow of wind from a typhoon. There are also a lot of imperial-looking mansions overlooking the bay, complete with Rolls Royces parked in the driveways (Hong Kong has the highest Rolls Royce per capita in the world, interestingly). The Stanley Market reminded me of the Mexican markets from Tiajuana where shopkeepers sell cheap goods mainly aimed at tourists (though I did find a pretty sweet pair of foul-weather rain pants that I'll use for work this summer). The market was pretty dead, though, because of the rainy weather. We then all ate dinner at a wharf that was just a tourist trap full of expensive Western restaurants (though I thoroughly enjoyed my BBQ ribs and fries, even if it cost me over 20 bucks).
After class on Wednesday we took a bus to the Hong Kong Jockey Club where we heard Susan Tang, the PR Director, discuss the history of the prestigious club and its role with the horse events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which are being held in Hong Kong. The Club is an intriguing place. It was created to combat illegal gambling a few decades ago and currently exists as the only legalized method of gambling in Hong Kong. Interestingly, it is a not-for-profit organization that donates hundreds of millions of (HK) dollars back into the community each year for various athletic, health, and environmental projects. It also supplies 8.5% of all of Hong Kong's tax revenues- a gigantic percent for one organization. The group prides itself on its spotless reputation and its intense pursuit of fair horse racing, from all sorts of drug testing to intense camera monitoring of races. It has helped to fund the stadium that the Olympic horse races will take place in later this summer. The horse races that we were supposed to see after the meeting had been cancelled earlier in the week because of the 3 day morning period set by the government for the Chinese earthquake victims. Unfortunately, we had to attend the meeting with a bunch of University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business MBA students who, yes, are just as obnoxious and arrogant as you would expect them to be. Yuck.
We then went back to Tsim Tsa Sui to see the waterfront at night, which is incredibly lit up by thousands of different colored lights and signs. We ate dinner at a British pub. I think all non-Chinese food here is expensive. I guess its wisely targeted at desperate Americans like myself who will do almost anything for meat, dairy, fully-cooked, bone-free food. I paid HK$120 (about $15) for a huge BBQ (if you can't tell already...I really like BBQ) bacon cheeseburger. I think I threw the waiters for a loop when I asked for American instead of Swiss cheese. It must not be called American cheese outside of the good 'ol USA. I don't know what I got on the burger, but it sure wasn't American.
Today we just had class in the morning with a new professor, Professor Lau. He's pretty hilarious and class should be okay for the remainder of the trip. It was really the first day without any other speaking/travel activities planned, so most of us have just been laying around and resting this afternoon.
We have Tai Chi tomorrow morning and then I'm sure we'll find some tourist things to do over the weekend. We still have to see the Giant Buddha and I've heard the islands off the coast of HK are really nice. And we're in the process of planning a weekend trip to Phuket, Thailand for an upcoming weekend.
Hope all is well back home in the USA and that everyone is having a good summer. Send me an email (dee7@georgetown.edu) to let me know how home is!
The trip to Stanley Market was probably the best part of the evening. We trekked for over half an hour on the city double-decker bus through the Repulse Bay community, which is situated on a high mountain overlooking the city and bay. Skyscrapers tower in a seemingly perilous manner surrounded by dense trees and forest, looking like they'll blow over with the slightest blow of wind from a typhoon. There are also a lot of imperial-looking mansions overlooking the bay, complete with Rolls Royces parked in the driveways (Hong Kong has the highest Rolls Royce per capita in the world, interestingly). The Stanley Market reminded me of the Mexican markets from Tiajuana where shopkeepers sell cheap goods mainly aimed at tourists (though I did find a pretty sweet pair of foul-weather rain pants that I'll use for work this summer). The market was pretty dead, though, because of the rainy weather. We then all ate dinner at a wharf that was just a tourist trap full of expensive Western restaurants (though I thoroughly enjoyed my BBQ ribs and fries, even if it cost me over 20 bucks).
After class on Wednesday we took a bus to the Hong Kong Jockey Club where we heard Susan Tang, the PR Director, discuss the history of the prestigious club and its role with the horse events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which are being held in Hong Kong. The Club is an intriguing place. It was created to combat illegal gambling a few decades ago and currently exists as the only legalized method of gambling in Hong Kong. Interestingly, it is a not-for-profit organization that donates hundreds of millions of (HK) dollars back into the community each year for various athletic, health, and environmental projects. It also supplies 8.5% of all of Hong Kong's tax revenues- a gigantic percent for one organization. The group prides itself on its spotless reputation and its intense pursuit of fair horse racing, from all sorts of drug testing to intense camera monitoring of races. It has helped to fund the stadium that the Olympic horse races will take place in later this summer. The horse races that we were supposed to see after the meeting had been cancelled earlier in the week because of the 3 day morning period set by the government for the Chinese earthquake victims. Unfortunately, we had to attend the meeting with a bunch of University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business MBA students who, yes, are just as obnoxious and arrogant as you would expect them to be. Yuck.
We then went back to Tsim Tsa Sui to see the waterfront at night, which is incredibly lit up by thousands of different colored lights and signs. We ate dinner at a British pub. I think all non-Chinese food here is expensive. I guess its wisely targeted at desperate Americans like myself who will do almost anything for meat, dairy, fully-cooked, bone-free food. I paid HK$120 (about $15) for a huge BBQ (if you can't tell already...I really like BBQ) bacon cheeseburger. I think I threw the waiters for a loop when I asked for American instead of Swiss cheese. It must not be called American cheese outside of the good 'ol USA. I don't know what I got on the burger, but it sure wasn't American.
Today we just had class in the morning with a new professor, Professor Lau. He's pretty hilarious and class should be okay for the remainder of the trip. It was really the first day without any other speaking/travel activities planned, so most of us have just been laying around and resting this afternoon.
We have Tai Chi tomorrow morning and then I'm sure we'll find some tourist things to do over the weekend. We still have to see the Giant Buddha and I've heard the islands off the coast of HK are really nice. And we're in the process of planning a weekend trip to Phuket, Thailand for an upcoming weekend.
Hope all is well back home in the USA and that everyone is having a good summer. Send me an email (dee7@georgetown.edu) to let me know how home is!
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