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!