Quick Update

Hello everyone! My mom just came to visit for 8 days and we had a lovely time! We went to Beijing in the mainland for 3 days and spent the next 5 days in Hong Kong. Everything worked out perfectly. I would like to take credit for my excellent planning and strategic predictions of weather and timing, but really it just happened by chance! We had lots of time to see touristy things, sit and relax and watch people, and explore the places I go during my everyday life here. I will update the blog in more detail soon, but wanted to just let everyone know how great the trip was and to be expecting a proper blog in the next few days (hopefully).

I will leave you with a video from Ned Kelly's and the fabulous Michael Srey playing piano. Update on Neds: we go here way too often, but in a good way. I have met Colin, the band leader, and he remembered my name and has called me out twice while playing. Once he told me to get my camera ready and he would cue me when to take pictures and then last night we all waved to him from our corner and he said, ahh the Whitney Crew back there. I feel like such a regular! We also finally got to talk to Barry, the 84 year old, and get our picture with him. Really interesting guy!

This song was composed by Michael and is absolutely beautiful. Enjoy!

Wallace and Idy

Wallace and Idy are the owners of China Home Fashions and we met them while we were in Shanghai on our tours. Their children live in Hong Kong and they often have business meetings here so they let us know when they were coming in town for two days. Luckily it worked out and we were able to meet up with them after their full day of meetings for some dinner and the catch up! We met them at Causeway Bay, Times Square MTR exit. (Wallace in his blazer jacket and Nike sneakers) None of us have been to Times Square yet (ridiculous I know) so we were mesmerized by the market section we walked through. This is one of the main markets that housewives come to for their weekly supply from barbecued meat shops, butchers, fresh produce stands, etc. Wallace decided he wanted to take us to a really local seafood place that was quite popular. We walked up, Wallace waving the amount we had in our group as we got closer, and they had the table ready for us, covered in plastic (this could be interesting). We sat down long enough to clean our silverware and bowls and get a cup of tea poured, then Wallace ushered across the street to large thermos type boxes with tons of different types of LIVE seafood in them. Here is where we got to pick exactly what we wanted to eat for dinner. He picked a large creepy type shrimp, regular shrimps, a pomfrit (or something? kind of fish), clams, oysters, and conch. We told him we would try anything once, although secretly I was kind of nervous. The guys helping us were really funny and were using the nets to pull up the seafood to show us the quality and type. We sat back down and waited for them to cook our choices. They started bringing dishes out... and they just kept coming (as always when eating with Wallace and Idy). The final dishes included fried oysters (Dad I actually ate them and liked them) with bean curd inside, cooked fish, steamed shrimp, garlic creepy large shrimp, clams with a delicious sauce, conch that you pulled out with a little toothpick type thing and pulled off the "nail", cooked lettuce, meat and vegetable soup, broccoli, chicken, and pork ribs. Basically enough food for 8 people, but we actually did pretty good on it! Everything, even the clams and conch, was really good!! I love going to meals with locals because they know the right stuff to order and it encourages you to try so much more! I should also note that the restaurant was outdoors, as in tables set up in the middle of the street with cars driving by that were about 2 feet from Debbie's chair.

Notice the amount of food

After this we walked to try and find a dessert spot and bought a local waffle on the way. Delicious. We eat way too much food when we are with these two!! The dessert place they were thinking of had moved so we walked back through Times Square to the other location, again not there so we resorted to yet a third option. This place called "Healthy Dessert" was right next to Wallace's other option for dinner that specialized in snake soup, but he didn't want to scare us he said. The Healthy Dessert place had SO many choices so we all got different things. Andrew's dessert literally had sparrow spit (still not sure how they collected this) and the fat of a frog that lives in cold weather. Wallace and Idy said it was very good for you, helps your skin maybe? Andrew said it actually tasted pretty good. I got mango pudding and mango ice cream with fresh fruit and Debbie got a Cantaloupe medley of items.

Yummy Dessert

We thought, it is kind of late, they have already spent a lot of their time with us so they will probably want to head home. Wrong. Wallace said, ok now we were thinking of going to the rooftop bar at Excelsior Hotel around the corner, okay? Um yes please. We got up to the very nicely lit lobby of TOTT's bar at the Excelsior and headed to the bar. The view from here was fabulous and for one of the few times we could see the Kowloon night skyline. Depending on where you walked in the bar you could see about 180 degrees around HK. Wallace, Andrew, and I split a bottle of red wine, Idy got her standard hot tea, and Wallace forced Debbie into getting a "hot tottie" with whiskey, lemon, and honey for her sickness. There was an excellent live band with maybe 5 out of 7 of the black people in all of Hong Kong. Andrew made friends with the guitar player and learned that they are from all over the world and were signed on to work at the Excelsior for 4 months, have now been there 1 year, and extended their contract for 6 more months. Again, they were really great! Idy had to go home after a bit to pack for their 8am flight the next day, but Wallace stayed. A bit later Wallace said he had to go meet his brother, but to stay as long as we liked and order whatever we wanted, they had his card, and he would be back after while. We sat and enjoyed the scene for quite a while, each ordering one more cocktail (Patron with splash of orange, passionfruit martini, dirty martini). When Wallace came back up he took us out the rooftop part of the bar that was closed for service so no one was out there and it was almost perfectly quiet looking down on the bright, busy city. From here he showed us the place he used to go to to think and relax (he grew up in HK and knows every little nook he said). The spot was out on a pier at the yacht club where he had to jump a fence to get out there, but then you sit on the pier and look out and it feels like you are the only person in the world. I want to try and get here one evening, but I am worried I will get arrested... I think I will try and brave it though.

At the bar for drinks

The entire evening was just lovely. We asked some questions about business, politics (regarding HK reverting back to China rule), etc., but for the most part we just enjoyed each other's company and talked about life and normal things. I told Wallace, and it was true, that he is literally one of the nicest and most caring people I have ever met. You are walking down the street and he will put his hand out so you don;t walk into the street, he keeps checking to make sure your dinner is okay and you don't need anything, he asks you questions and is interested in the answer.

Week of Excursions

Vincent Fang Dinner –

As soon as we came back from Shanghai we were able to meet with Mr. Vincent Fang for dinner with Mrs. Fang, Dr. Cassill, and Nancy Webster. We met at the Marco Polo hotel and were picked up by Mr. Fang and taken to the Pacific Club for dinner. We had our own private room where the servers had to knock on the door before they entered and they served every course individually and put your sauce on your food for you. The food was amazing! We had Peking duck, beef that melted in your mouth, some kind of breaded, fried, half of a crab, fresh fruit, and multiple more dishes. The conversation was great.  The Fangs are very important people, but are so humble and open about their lives and their business. Mrs. Fang was dressed to the nines in one of their designs and spoke about the part she played in the company, mainly managing the offices in Toppy Tower. They were both very fascinating people and they invited us to visit the Toppy Tower to learn more about their operations and see their sample room and different areas of the corporate side of Toppy. We are all looking forward to this!

Wine and Dine –

Part of Festive Hong Kong is their annual Wine and Dine Festival. A group of us went to West Kowloon for the festival. It was a neat experience because it was something out of the ordinary to do in HK. There were lots of tents set up from various countries that had different authentic wines and foods. We spent most of our time at the French area and got some good cheese and sausages. We found a few American booths, but not too much. There were tons of people from all over. It was cool night so it was a really nice atmosphere for wine tasting and wandering through the exhibits.

Group at the festival

Sausage stand

Kowloon Park –

Andrew and I ventured to Kowloon Park to read one day. The park does not actually have much grass, but there is a neat sculpture area, hedge maze, bird area, and multiple fountains. It feels pretty secluded from the city, even though it is the middle of Kowloon. We found a peaceful bench across from a playground and read for an hour or so, watching people that walked by. On our venture back from the park we walked down the famous Nathan Road that has a lot of stores, shops, and random vendors, also lots of creepy people trying to sell you watches and sometimes marijuana. We walked home along the harbor and stopped at Starbucks for an Iced Shaken Black Tea Lemonade. We sat here for another hour or so just chatting about life.

The Park

Hollywood Street –

This is a street near SoHo that is lined with antique shops and boutiques. The antiques are really expensive, but we found a lot of neat trinkets from all over the world. First off we got a smoothie to help with our immune systems and my mind not overloading. We wandered into a nearby shop and met a lovely older couple that has owned this place for about 20 years I believe. They were really interesting and told us how in their day people did not just get up and move to Asia… but they did. We promised to come back and tell some people about them. They said they enjoyed meeting polite young Americans like us, “isn’t that just so nice”. We wandered on and found a really neat bookstore (again, Taylor I thought of you). They had shelves made out of regular wood and lots of neat architecture and culture books on HK and other Asian countries. They also had cool little pocket sized books where you could learn Cantonese slang and curse words. The phrases were really random so it was hilarious! We had class later in the evening so we decided to go ahead and eat to have time to get back from the island. Of course we wandered to SoHo for some Western food. We went to a little pub/bar type place and I got a grilled vegetable Panini (I try and eat vegetables whenever I can because it isn’t often here!) and Andrew and I decided it would be a good idea to split a carafe of Sangria. It was very delicious and we just sat relaxing until it was time to head back to Kowloon for class!

Ned’s –

As you may have noticed from facebook pictures, Ned Kelly’s is one of our favorite places. I have written about it before, but every time is very different. After dinner with Vincent Fang, Andrew and I went to meet the wonderful, talented Jon Cordiano at Neds. We just sat and had a drink and chatted about Australia and his design tactics, and where he got his excellent blazer. This time at Ned’s was a Monday so it was much more calm, you actually had a place to sit, and you could kind of hear other people talking. We were not there for too long, but a great time at Neds once again.

The most recent time we have gone to Ned Kelly’s was this past Friday after we saw the movie RED (surprisingly funny). Michael Srey (Frenchman) was on the piano again so ALL of the exchange students came. We brought the Norwegian and German speaking girls for their first experience at the jazz bar. We occupied the entire front of the bar (about 4 tables) and another block segment of the bar (2 tables). This was the largest group we have had at Ned Kelly’s by far and it was such a great time! The bandleader, Colin, (I introduced myself during a break) was hilarious as always putting wigs on the band members and telling ridiculous stories. When it was time for Michael to play, everyone went crazy. The back two tables had everyone standing and clapping along the entire time. The environment in this place is one of the nicest I’ve ever been in. The combination of music, the dark wood and lighting, and the crazy energetic exchange students really just makes the place. During the next break I introduced myself to Michael Srey again and we decided to hang out sometime, not at Ned Kellys! I’m sure next week we will all be in the same place again to enjoy wonderful music and each other’s company yet again.

Taking over the bar

The rowdy back corner

Starbucks –

I spend far too much money on Starbucks. I did in the States and the trend has continued in Asia. After lunch yesterday, Jean-Baptiste suggested going for a coffee to sit and chat. I cannot pass up Starbucks to a group of us walked to a nearby Starbucks in Whampoa and grabbed a coffee. We discussed how in France you would never walk with a coffee, and you would never actually drink a coffee, probably only an espresso. We ran into another group of French people and there was nowhere to sit, so we decided to walk only a short distance with our coffee and then sit at the harbor and enjoy it together. What a great idea! It was a gorgeous day after rain the two days before, and a group of 7 of us went and sat on benches right on the harbor overlooking the city. I sat in between Michael Srey and a new French boy, Amaury. We discussed the different areas of Paris, how their accents are different, how Michael got into music, why they came to HK, good movies, Christmas dinner in France, etc. We all sat on the harbor for about 2 hours watching the locals fish and learning about each other and their countries. There was a nice breeze and it was extremely peaceful to be sitting out there with new friends.

Later in the evening I went to watch some of the exchange boys (about 28) go play pick up futbol at school. It was quite interesting to see all of them wear their home country futbol jerseys and having a good time running around together. Another lovely evening of weather so I really enjoyed getting to watch some sports!

Chinese Halloween

Halloween week was filled with several festivities. The celebration started on Wednesday with a Halloween Costume party at a LKF bar called Sugar that was put on for exchange students throughout Hong Kong. I was pretty impressed because everyone ended up going all out with their costumes!

Debbie and I went shopping for costumes at this crazy little shop in Mong Kok. There were bags, masks, boas, make up... on the floor in bags, hanging on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, hanging outside the shop, everywhere. It was the most chaotic shop I have ever been in and so tiny!! Welcome to Asia yet again. We found some interesting costumes, but decided on firefighter and pirate wench. The next day I went back with Andrew to find him a costume and somehow got talked into buying a black wavy wig because it would just complete the outfit!

The crazy Halloween store

Remember that the costume party was on a Wednesday so as we walked through the streets to the bar everyone stared. Lots of people were taking pictures of us with their phones and then we all gathered and posed for them to make it easier. We went to the Halloween costume party and were the first ones there. Tons of people ended up coming in great outfits! There was a group of 5 or 6 guys from another school that were different animals in jumpsuits with hats of the animal's head. Great. My favorite costume was our friend Lauren that made hers herself. It was a skintight black outfit that she had painted a skeleton on. It looked so good!! The evening was pretty normal except for the fact that everyone looked a bit odd with the costumes.

Taking a picture with a local

The next day we had tickets to the Ocean Park Halloween Bash 2010. Ocean Park is the amusement park we visited earlier in the semester. It is known for having an extremely elaborate and scary Halloween attraction every night during October. Yvie, Meli, Andrew, Christine, and I went together and we scared from the moment we walked in! The person greeting you has a chainsaw that he is trying to attack you with. We then walked to the bathroom and about 3 people jumped out at us from nowhere! In total there were 8 Haunted Houses you could visit so we started at the Museum of Horror. Yvie and I walked through clutching each other's hands! The makeup and costumes were so detailed and looked amazing! I kept laughing the entire time we walked through and after someone scared me I proceeded to tell them, oh wow, you are frightening OR your outfit is great! We went to a total of 3 Haunted Houses, one being a laser tag type experience. We also got to go on their biggest roller coaster called The Dragon. The entire park was decorated so well and the people walking through the park were very scary! We had a blast!

The best girl we saw. SO odd.

The next big Halloween event was the day itself. Lots of people had work to do so there was a relatively small group of us exchange students that went to LKF for the evening, but it was still a good time. Walking up the street, which they had blocked off for the big event, people were stationed with their cameras to get pictures of all the costumes coming in. Andrew and I stood at the entrance to the street we were going to for literally 10 minutes taking pictures with different people that kept joining in with us. Finally I said, okay everyone cameras up! This way I got a picture of all the photographers and it turned out pretty well! Everyone met at Oysters, PolyU's standard starting point... and then never left. My new roommate, Agnes from Hong Kong, was at Oyster's so I got to see her and buy her a drink! (She is really cool and sweet) Eventually made our way home after another fun night of costumes!

Group on Halloween (Agnes on Left)

Winnie

Background: For those that do not know, my grandmother was Winnie Mae. Somehow over the years, my uncles began calling me Whitney Mae after her, which I have always thought was really special. I would also love to name my daughter with the middle name Mae after my grandma.

Present: For some reason I cannot pronounce my own name correctly. Quite a few times I have introduced myself here, usually when introducing to Asians, and people think my name is Winnie. In Beijing a girl thought my name was Winnie and I did not correct her. This was easier. She was so excited... "Like Winnie the Pooh!" she said. Now some of the exchange students have started calling me Winnie as a joke and yet another person today thought my name was Winnie. Even if they associate it with Winnie the Pooh, I do not mind because it reminds me and connects me once again to my lovely Grandma Winnie.

Nancys In HK

Once we got back to HK with the Nancys we had two more days with them before they flew back to the US. We started on Sunday with a lovely lunch at the famous Peninsula Hotel with their live band in the balcony. We ate delicious food and chatted about what we had learned in Shanghai during our visits. The Nancys gave us an assignment that we are working on about what we have learned about the business system in Asia and about each of our foci. From lunch we did a bit of pearl shopping and then headed toward Central to go to the Peak.

At the Peak

We went up at the perfect time as the sun was setting and all of the lights came on in Kowloon side. The Peak was much more commercial than any of us had expected, but the view was still beautiful. We did not spend too much time at the top because we had to get to our dinner reservation. We ran home quickly to change and met the Nancys again for our Beggar’s Chicken dinner. The restaurant is known for this chicken that they wrap in leaves and baked in clay. It was very delicious and we got several other dishes to complement. After dinner we went to the Intercontinental hotel on the harbor for dessert and a glass of wine.

Intercontinental Hotel

Here I announced that textiles talk was forbidden and that we wanted to hear about their lives and interests. It was great to just be able to talk to them both and learn more about where they came from and how they got to where they are today back in Academia. The entire trip with Dr. Cassill and Nancy Webster was so much fun! We were able to learn a lot from them, from the companies, and have a good time.