Christmas Eve in Hong Kong

I figured since everyone on the team will be on vacation, work will be slow, so why take vacation? I can save up my vacation for other times in the year. However, as Christmas approached, I realized why everyone leaves for home. Chatting with my friends in the US, I realized how much I miss everyone and spending Christmas in Hong Kong simply is not the same. I miss the cold weather (or at least the cold walking from inside to the car). I miss the spirit that is all around in the U.S. Here in Hong Kong, on Christmas eve, everyone is partying, bars are hopping, and it's like any other Friday evening. Less than 5% of Hong Kong children spend Christmas with their family. It just doesn't seem as big of a deal here, even though the lights and deocorations are full out (even though they are quite tacky and terrible with purple reefs and yellow lights). Fortunately, a friend invited me to join him and his friends for Christmas eve dinner. However, it's really not the same to spend Christmas with strangers you just met, no matter how friendly they are. I am grateful for the friends I have here in Hong Kong, but I miss home in this holiday season. Now I know why people return despite the lack of work. As much as I enjoyed my travels, I will look forward to the next holiday season with my family.

Christmas in Cebu

I never knew why people went to resorts. Wouldn't it be so boring to do nothing for a few days? Then, I was converted. The 3 mindless, taskless, stressless day I spent in Cebu was exactly what I needed after a few grueling months of high-octane work. Literally everyday, we spent it laying in the sun by the beach or the pool, sipping cocktails. I managed to make quite a dent on my book list by reading The Time Traveler's Wife and finishing Fathers and Sons. Great achievements given I have been wanting to read The Time Traveler's Wife since July and been waiting patiently to not rent the movie. The books definitely help me remembered that I once had outside interests other than banking.

Also, I have discovered my love for scuba diving. At the resort, I did Discovery Scuba with my friend who had a diving license. It was the single best water sports activity I have ever done. The water was crystal clear. It was so much fun looking at the different fishes, corals, and crustaceans that I did not even know the name of. Below the surface is a whole new beautiful world that I always knew existed, but never had the privilege to explore until last weekend. So enchanted by this newly found world and absolutely unable to contain myself, I have decided that I definitely want to diving license in the next few months. My friend tell me it is actually quite easy, where I just have to pass a written exam and then do 3 more ocean dives, given I have already done one in Cebu. I cannot wait. I need to now plan a vacation to Thailand or Malaysia to do that. Even though I can do the dives in New Terrorities in Hong Kong, the water is so gross that nothing can be seen underneath. That ruins the whole point of scuba diving. With the diving licenses, hopefully, I'll be able to explore the Australian coral reefs in Queensland, which is suppose to be the best scuba diving adventure in the world.

With absolutely nothing to do in Cebu, my mind slowed down as well. In Japan and Hong Kong, the hustle and bustle made me stressed. I was stressing out about all sorts of things I had absolutely no control over. However, in Cebu, my mind completely relaxed, not worrying about things that I cannot do anything about in the Philippines. Now I know why people take these total relaxation vacations without sightseeing or cultural references. It is healthy for the body to slow down now and then to rest and catch up. Good for my mental health as well.

Despite being an island paradise inside the Shangri-la resort, Philippines is a developing nation. Even in the best resort on the island, there is no wireless in the room (not even any you can purchase). The airport is basically a shack, with the most primitative immigration queue and waiting areas. The ride from the resort to the airport, there is absolutely nothing. Not even farmland. There's just small shacks and stores selling a few basic items. Going into the resort, there are bomb sniffing dogs and guards around the entire area. Tourists are cautioned from leaving the resort given the fact that they are often kidnapped for ransom. When we turned on CNN on Christmas, it reported that a church bombing on Christmas day, which is deeply saddening given the strong Catholic convictions of its people. While we are privileged enough to enjoy these vacations, it's a constant reminder of how lucky we are and how we share a responsibility to improve. Those with abilities have the responsibility.

1 month, 5 countries (at least passport stamps)

Decemeber 2010 represented the reason I came to Hong Kong, the access to new and exciting places in a short distance, broadening my horizons and shedding the image of the egotistical american with zero clue about the world. In a few short weeks in Decemeber, I managed to be in Hong Kong, Taiwan, PRC, Japan, and Philippines. While I will be writing in further details in future entries about the trips, I feel like I have experienced so much in a very short amount of time. From a further understanding of a country that I considered a rogue state most of my life to discovering the complete foreign nature of the Japanese culture to the complete relaxation state in the beach resort of Cebu. All of this done, with only 3 vacation days taken.

While close to many places in Asia, most of the places to travel would require 3 days rather than just the weekend given the flight times. Unlike London and Europe, where everything is a 2 hour flight away. Asia is significantly bigger and only a few places can be reached in a 2 hour flight. Even Beijing, which many consider possible for a day trip for business, is close to 4 hours away. I think any flight over 3 hours away would be quite difficult to make it a weekend adventure.

So next on my list to tackle in Asia: Vietnam, Australia, and Myanmar. Let me know if anyone is game!

Lost in Translation

Despite being considered one of the most developed countries in the world, surprisingly, Japan is one of the most confusing places to be for visitors who do not know Japanese. You see, even though Japan is wealthy and considered very "western" in Asia, it's actually much less English friendly than some of the newer developed economies like China and Thailand. The subway system is not particularly easy navigate given the multipe number of carriers and much of it is in Japanese. While being Chinese helped me to understand and bettter remember the name of places, I was still very, very lost most of the time. However, I have never met such polite and friendly people as the people of Tokyo. Everyone was so nice, even if they can't speak English. One girl actually took our train ride with us to make sure we got off at the right stop.

Tokyo reminded me much of LA, given its sprawling nature. The food, however, was amazing. After going to the fish market at 5AM and tasting the sushi/sashimi, I decided I can not have proper Japanese sushi without being in Japan. The sushi we had, a simple tuna roll, melted in my mouth as I attempted to consume it. The most wonderful edible feeling I have ever had in my life.

The Japanese style was also distinguishly different. The girls wore extremely short skirts and knee-highs while shoping with their mother! There's no way I would ever allow my mother that anything more than PG-13 related is happening in my life. Maybe it's my conservative nature. However, I feel lke 16 year old girls with their mother should at least show small amount of restraint.

The best part of staying in Japan, however, is the Ryo-kan. This traditional style hotel is definitely the way to go for anyone going to Japan for a cultural experience. First, the rooms are decorated in the traditional style, with the cots on the floors for sleeping and removed during the day with the use of the low tables. Second, traditional dinner fare is included and it's absolutely delishes. Things you'll never see in a Japanese restaurant because it's too strange. Our Ryo-kan had over 10 different small dishes/courses for us. Definitely the best hotel experience of my life. Do not miss this if you go to Japan.

The Inevitable Question

On Friday night, over a couple of burgers, we discussed the successful model of life. For men, it is well laid out. They work hard, get to become an MD, and have a housewife to raise their children. We thought through all the MDs, that is exactly the lifestyle they have. For women, the successful model is less clear. The few MDs there are in banking, did they hire an army of caretakers for their house/kids? What does society actually think of that? What position is the husband suppose to have? I don't know of any female banker that is married to a stay-at-home father. So do they marry ppl with normal 9 - 5 jobs or do they marry high-powered men as well? The path is much unclear for a woman.

Coming up on 3 years of banking, I wished I knew there was a clear path for success. It does not seem like a continuation along this route is a path for success, yet it doesn't seem like anything else will be as well.

Unicef Half-Marathon

Two weekends ago, I completed one of the milestone goals before my 25th birthday. I completed a half-marathon. No walking, all running, all in 2 hours. I was actually quite pleased with the results of the half-marathon. it was definitely a very painful journey: starting with training and the actual run itself. As difficult as it was to wake up at 4 in the morning for the run, it was worth all the pain and trouble. I signed up for another one already in Jan. Wish me luck.

P.S. I would like to dedicate my run to my best friend Juliana, who got me into running by forcing me into the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in DC and to Robert, my associate who was kind enough to let me sleep while he worked until when I woked up at 4Am so I would able to run the race.

Weekend in Taipei

Weekend in Taipei

One of the main selling points every always talked about in Hong Kong is the ability to travel around Asia on weekends. In fact, the main airline of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, makes it incredibly easy by providing affordable travel packages to almost all major Asian destinations together with round trip plane tickets and hotel accommodations. Last weekend, I finally took that opportunity and took a weekend trip to Taipei.

My friend and I took advantage of a Cathay Pacific Taiwan package for less than HK$3,000 (Less than US$400) and jetted off. First thing we noticed about Taipei is the air is significantly better than Hong Kong. The sky is actually blue. The transport into the city was surprisingly easy, with buses that dropped us off right in front of our hotel (San Want Hotel – I think it’s actually owned by the famous Taiwanese snack company Wan Wan because it has its mascot everywhere and its snack in the room for its guests).

While one can navigate Taiwan with just English, it is much more Mandarin/Chinese focused than Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, many people will start the conversation in English. In Taipei, even though I was with a white girl, people still started the conversation in Chinese. I kind of liked the fact that everyone spoke Mandarin and not Cantonese.

Taipei is a great place for a weekend get away. There are enough to do for a two-day adventure (but not so much that you feel like you missed out on something important). As Culture vultures, we went to Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world and enjoyed a beer float on the deck. At CKS memorial, we say tributes to CKS (weirdly contributing random events to CKS but wasn’t really relevant) and almost got ran over by the changing of the guards. The National Palace Museum houses the greatest collection of Chinese art, given the KMT took everything they could with them during their escape.

Taipei is also a heaven for food. The night markets are amazing. Food stalls everywhere and everything you buy off the street is good. If I am from Taiwan, I would never want to live anywhere else given there’s nowhere else in the world that serves congealed blood, anything fried, oyster pancakes, stinky tofu, etc. Taipei really took the best of mainland and mastered it.

Partying in Taipei put Hong Kong to shame. First, the people are beautiful. Boys and girls are some of the best looking Asians around. Second, they are wild. There are more dancing on tables, free grinding and dance floor make-outs with strangers than I have seen anywhere else (including Meatpacking in NYC and Prive in HK). If you want to have a bachelor party or just a good time, Taipei is the place to be.

Karoke in Wanchai

The British love the pubs. The Americans love the sports bars. The French are all about the wine and cheese. What really gets a Chinese party going is Karoke. And here in Hong Kong, it is legit.

First, you can't do it unless you stay out til at least 3-4AM, easily. Second, the private rooms are enormous. The "small" room we got can comfortably fit at least 20 people without a problem. Our group of ten seemed very tiny for the room. Third, the drink you consume is whiskey and green tea. Now, it sounds weird but actually the mix is quite good. You can barely taste the whiskey in a mixture that is half and half (very potent). It's also great because you're drinking green tea the whole time, you don't get a hangover.

Lastly, the singing is amazing. There are multiple flat screen TVs. 4 mics for use. high-tech controls. It is built to make the experience as easy as possible. The selection of songs is amazing. There is all the English songs from Lady Gaga to Journey to Bohemian Rapsody. There is also a very wide selection of Japanese, Korean, and Chinese songs.

The best part is it is always a ton of fun here in Asia. No one ever dislike it and it's very reasonably priced for everyone invovled. For 3 bottles of Johnny Walker Black Label and a bucket of beers, it was a little under HK$300 per person. That's 4 hours in a private room with a large quantity of alcohol for less than $50 bucks.

China's Unlimited Appetite

Recently, I purchased a brand new laptop in Hong Kong. A 14' in HP at Fortress, the Hong-Kong version of Best Buy. The same laptop in the U.S. would retail for $100 USD less. When I wondered why, I mean all the laptops are made in China, a local told me, because of the unlimited demand in China. See, piracy and counterfeit is a huge issue in China. In Hong Kong, the legal and regulatory system is much sounder, creating a market where the consumer can trust what they buy in the stores (it's true, you can buy fake LV bags in major shopping centers in China). Hoards of people cross through into Hong Kong to purchase items in stores they can trust to be real, creating a huge influx of demand over the supply available in Hong Kong, marking up the prices. Even then, things are rarely in stock. My friends told me when you go into a Louis Vuitton store, almost everything is out of stock because of the mainland consumers just sweep through and purchases through. The same would be true for all the luxury brands. This is why Hong Kong can support over dozens of Louis Vuittons, Chanels, Gucci's, etc for a city with only a population of 8 million. There are very strict rules in Hong Kong when it comes to piracy so the consumers feel much more at ease here than in mainland China. That's not to say, however, that hoards of people won't go into mainland for the exact opposite reasons.

Liquor-Treating

Halloween's sacred status in Hong Kong might actually rival its lofty position in New York City amongst the population. Like New York, it is one of the biggest party event of the year. Children and adults of all ages take it very, very seriously. Treat-or-treating is widespread amongst the expat communities according to all the MD's with children. Festivities officially begins on Friday and lasted the whole weekend given Halloween was on a Sunday. Like New Yorkers, Hong Kong dwellers take any good excuse to dress up.

On Sat evening, the big night for Halloween parties, 3 friends and myself decided to honor a Yale-conceived tradition called "Liquor-treating". Thanks to my friend's genius idea and her friend's diligent planning, we each planned a shot at our respective apartments where the guests come and collect their treats. The first stop brought out all the stops with 3 different types of shots including gummy liquor, peanut butter and chocolate, and Arnold Palmer infusion. At the second stop there was constant favorite red headed sluts (the host is a red head as well). At my apartment, mango flavored jello shots were provided followed by an all out DJ/dance party at the last apartment. The fun started at 9PM and by 1AM, I was thoroughly exhausted. The party was a thorough success. At one point, I think there was over 40 people in my apartment (which is less than 500 sq. feet). I actually had no idea that many people can actually fit into my apartment. I loved the jello shots so much I think I will definitely be making them again very soon. When I was making them the night before, I began to freak out because I had to use paper cups instead of plastic (because there was no grocery store that sold plastic shot cups!) and I thought the paper was starting to break given everything in Asia is a bit less durable than US (due to a various of environment savings and just cheap quality). However, they turned out perfectly well and the mango flavors masked the vodka quite well. The party was extremely taxing however. So much so, I didn't even manage to go witness the insanity that is LKF in Halloween. Supposedly, the entire blocks are barricaded and patrolled by police officers and all the pedestrians must walk in one direction into LKF. Absolute madness.

The Halloween costumes were absolutely nuts as well. When I showed my friend my flapper outfit, she looked at me with a straight face and said "is that a costume? Hong Kong people wear that normally." Given the insanity in clothing in normal days, Halloween is even more intense. A favorite trend here in Hong Kong is cross dressing, especially drag by the men. My friend wanted to go drag but I convinced him otherwise. At the party, there was a chubby white boy in a curly blonde wig as a Barbie doll. Then a few minutes later, Sarah Plain showed up (the person is definitely male). While in the US, very few occasions and communities would find drag in Halloween. Here in Hong Kong, it's actually quite a popular concept. Straight men in the US would be much more unwilling to go drag but here, it seems perfectly fine without any consternations

Da Ping Huo Private Kitchen - the legit spicy food experience

A page out of Vancouver's book, Da Ping Huo is a famous private kitchen in the Soho district of Hong Kong. At the private kitchen, there is no choice of food. One must dine at the chef's discretion. At this private kitchen, there's a 12 course Sichuan food, where the courses are alternating spicy and not spicy. Sichuan food is designed to be the one of the spiciest food in the world. Given the private kitchen is located in the heart of expat Hong Kong, the alternating idea is probably designed for people, such as myself, who can't handle spicy food as much.

I must say, that is the best dining experience I've had in Hong Kong. So much better than the fancy, pretend restaurants that you see around Hong Kong. The food is well made, portions generous, and the taste hits you at different pace, keeping you on your toes. http://www.followmefoodie.com/2010/05/hong-kong-sichuan-da-ping-huo-restauarnt-private-kitchen/ This link has a much better description of the food than I can provide.

One of the craziest thing about this kitchen, however, is that the wife of the couple that owns it sings Chinese opera after the end of the meal. She's actually quite good! Chinese Opera is completely different from the other types of music in the west so many of the guests really have no idea what hits them!

Pre-Halloween Bash

I've been told that Halloween is a big deal here in Hong Kong. In New York, it's basically an excuse to dress quite scandalously in a costume and drink all weekend. Here in Hong Kong, they take it even further.

Halloween is celebrated in both the traditional (actually doing haunted scary things) and the yuppie way (partying). This weekend, I went to the Halloween Bash at Ocean Park in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. Ocean Park is an amusement park in Hong Kong that is actually quite fun and a good tourist spot if you ever come to Hong Kong.

People went ALL OUT. It's two weeks before Halloween and thousands people dressed in all sort of witches, ghosts, zombies, etc. participated in the highly popular bash. The haunted houses included a western version in the Museum of Terror and a eastern version in the Ghost of "Guangzhou", featuring different cultural difference on what is considered scary. Where there were spiderwebs in the western version, there were deadfishesin the eastern one. The blood and gore is universally present and in large quantities. What I found most scary was a ride called "Burned Alive", where you are placed into a coffin and move through a cave. There is no one in front of you so I have no idea what to expect. When the skeltons and ghosts are dropping on you from above and you trapped in the coffin and can't move because of the fire that's surrounding you outside, it is truly one of the scarier experiences I have been in. Coincidentally, the day I went to Ocean Park, New York Times Travel section did a piece on this expecting event.

http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/halloween-fun-at-hong-kong-theme-park/

The event illustrated that 1) Hong Kong is quite the most densely populated place ever and 2) labor is very cheap. For each of the rides, it is not out of the question to wait over an hour in-line. The lines move very efficiently so basically there were thousands of people waiting for each houses at a particular time. At 11PM, the amusement park is PACKED with people. The most popular attraction, Zombie Hunt, had a 2-hour line. 2) Inside the haunted houses, on the streets, anywhere in the amusement park, people are dressed up and their job is to follow you around and scare you. I must have encountered over 100 of these employees, whose sole jobs are to scare you. If labor wasn't cheap, there is no way the amusement park would spend such an amount of money where probably 20 people would have been able to create the same effect. Even when we are waiting in line, there are 5-10 people just directing traffic and the lines.

Homesick

Coming home to dc has brought me all these feelings that I did not anticipate. Many people thought it was crazy that I flew half way around the world for a wedding. However, given what has happened in hong king the past 2 weeks, this was a much needed break from the place. Everything here just had something about it that I needed to get away from.

With the memories still fresh, here are some fundamental differences that hit home during this trip.

1. Glamor. Hong Kong is so much more modern and glamorous than NYC or DC. No doubt at all. Even the airport is more upscale than Tysons Galleria, the most upscale mall in the Northern Virginia area.

2. Service. There are WAY more service personnel in Hong Kong than in America. Going shopping for a David Yurman bracelet was a way difference experience in US than HK.

3. Air. It is unbelievable how great it is to run outside in DC. The crisp, clean air that makes you want to be outside forever. Even on a good day, running outside in Hong Kong is hazardous to one's health.

4. Transportation. Everything was in cars/driving in US. Now, it's great that I got to ride in a sweet car to a countryside wedding this weekend. HK public transportation is the best I have ever seen. Trip back from the airport was fast, efficient, and comfortable.

5. Food. The calories in US is out of control. I think I gained 5 lbs this weekend.

6. Space. I got lost in my own townhouse in Virginia. I really liked being away from the crowds here. It's good where there's plenty of space and places to move in the US.

7. Football. The joy I experienced watching the Redskins-Packers overtime game and the cowboys-titans game was amazing. I would give anything to have football access (at a decent time) here. Alas, the 12 hour time difference ruins any possibility of that.

8. Credit Cards. It's good to be able to swipe your credit card everywhere again and not carry around loads of cash. And, they accept Amex everywhere. Score.

9. Customs. As a US citizen, it took me 1/2 hour to get through US customs (I shudder to think about the internationals). After being in Hong Kong for 2 months, the automatic booth let me in and out in about 5 minutes.

10. Friends. It's been too long.

Overall, I think Hong Kong and the US ranks pretty evenly with each other with its own pluses and minuses. However, I didn't realize how much I missed the US until I returned.

Every Flight Out of Hong Kong is an International Flight

Hong Kong airport is a work of masterpiece.

First, the airport express from Hong Kong Station in Central is extremely fast. Much faster than cabs. it took 20 minutes from the station to the airport and it drops you right at the airport. Usually it would take an hour to get there by car. The best part is, you can check your luggage right at the MTR station so you don't have to carry your luggage around as you go to the airport. There are check in counters for every airline right inside the MTR station. You can even check in a day before. Smartest idea I have encountered in airport travel.

The airport itself is quite ridiculous as well. Because every flight out of Hong Kong is an international flight (given flying to China is considered international travel given Hong Kong is a SAR), its immigration process is extremely streamlined as well. Each Hong Kong ID has a chip in it. You put the ID into the kiosk, walk in, scan your thumb print, and you're done with immigration! No waiting in line, no stamping, no passports, nothing! It really reduces the time necessary for immigration by least half.

Inside the airport, given its all international, the amount of duty free and high-end shopping involved is no less than the IFC mall in Hong Kong. Cartier, David Yurman, Ferragamo, Versace... you name a luxury brand and the Hong Kong airport carries it. Again, this is a tribute to the amount of shopping and superfaciality Hong Kong exhibits. Even the airport is a shining reflection of the mentality of the its residents: efficiency and luxury for those who can afford it. My friend said something very wise about Hong Kong: "Hong Kong is designed by the rich for the rich. And it is very well runned for those who can afford it."

Tough out here

One of the toughest part of being far away from friends and family is our ability to cope through difficult situations. Always, something strikes us and the first people we turn to are our closest friends. For me, it has been very tough the past few days.

Something happened in my life that propelled me into a general state of sadness. While we don't need to go into why, it has been very difficult to cope. At least when I was in New York City, my friends and I were in the same time zone. I know the calls won't be dropping randomly. I don't need to wait until awkward times to speak to them. Here in Hong Kong, it makes it so much tougher. What's really tough is that there are few people here I can truly confide in. Even when I do confide in them, it is not the same. I feel I cannot be as free. I still hold back. There are some things I do not share, in fear of how they would judge me. On Wednesday night, at the time when I was in my deepest sadness, I could not think of a single person in Hong Kong I could talk to. Instead, I called my friend in DC. I know I would have felt much better to confide in person, but it was just not a possiblity in the realities of Hong Kong.

The toughest part of being so far away is missing the friends, family and support.

Canto 101

While I can speak Mandarin, Cantonese is something I have never tried before. The written characters are completely the same (unless it’s in traditional, which is a whole different topic). However, the pronunciation could not be more different. The tones are completely different and it is impossible to comprehend if you spoke one language but not the other. Before I came to Hong Kong, my family, which only speaks Mandarin and English, told me that just use English in Hong Kong, everyone is fluent. It will get you farther than if you used Mandarin.

While in most places, it is sufficiently enough to just speak English, the one thing I use frequently that English is not always sufficient for is cabs. While some cab drivers understand English, there have been many times where I got into a cab and the cab driver has no idea where I am trying to go. Especially since the fact that the "q" sound is very different in Chinese/Canto, cab drivers have no idea where Mosque Street is. In Chinese, it is “魔罗庙街“。 However, the cab drivers usually cannot understand Mandarin Chinese either. Therefore, I consulted one of my colleagues for the catonese pronounciation. It is pronounced as "moll law miu kai". Definitely WAY different than the mandarin pronounciation, which is "muo lo miao jie". When I tried to repeat it several times, my friend bursted out in laughing. I figured it's because I'm doing it so sadly, however, he just said "actually, you speak cantonese with an american accent. if you were on the phone, i would have never guessed you were chinese." Even though I do not speak mandarin with an accent (I usually get applauded for my ability to speak mandarin without an accent), it seems that the dominating accent in my repertoire is american.

The World of Mixed Martial Arts Fighting

On Friday night, I experienced an event I would have never had the opportunity to experience in New York: Professional Mixed Martial Arts Fighting.

Seriously, I went to watch grown men beat the crap out of each other in a ring. Unlike boxing, mixed martial arts (mma), has very little rules. You can kick, punch, wrestle, etc. etc. There are of course a few generic rules of safety like (don't kick anyone in the head or balls, etc.), but really anything goes as far as this goes. During one of the nine fights displayed, I saw a fighter lift another one upside down and slamming his head on the ground, 3x! I have no idea how he was not paralyzed after all of that. He did leave the ring in a neck brace but seems to still have movement in his limbs.

The fight was actually quite interesting. I usually am not a big fan of violence. Blood tends to make me queasy (and a few of the fights definitely produced a LOT of blood). However, for unknown reasons, I was very intrigued by the thought of men competing with each other without made up rules. I feel the winners of these fights are legitimately great fighters because they can use any techniques. I thought it would make me really uncomfortable (and at the beginning it definitely did). I was oddly and unexpectedly entertained.

Corporate Travels

Last week, I embarked on my first business trip to Beijing with the rest of my team. Business travel in Asia is absolutely in another stratesphere.

First, my MDs and VPs travel so much around the world that they're all diamond plus members on Cathay Pacific (the airline that flies in/out Hong Kong exclusively). With their diamond plus membership, I was able to join them in the first class lounge. It was absolutely something else. There are gourmat food, fine champagne, excellent service, internet, comfortable couches, even showers and rooms for sleeping, all for free. When I asked for the restroom from one of the waitresses, she showed me a room with beds rather than a bathroom. The luxury of business travel in Asia is really something else.

The Hotel we stayed at - the Park Hyatt in Beijing - is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been. The rooms were gorgeously designed - everything was perfectly made. The great part is, it was CNY1,300 - a little over $200 USD. You cannot get this type of quality with that much in New York. Not even close.
http://beijing.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

After check-in, the team went to celebrate our MD's birthday at the rooftop bar. Everything was beautifully decorated and it seemed a piece of western seclusion in the bustling town of Beijing.

However, Corporate travel does have its downsides. In one day, we managed to squeeze in 3 2-hour meetings with three different clients. In transit, we managed to get a ticket because the license plate was the wrong license plate for the day in Beijing (in Beijing, only certain licenses can come out during certain days to limited the traffic). Even then, we sat in traffic for over 2 hours to the airport. We barely made our 8:30PM flight even though we were done with meetings by 5:30PM. Thank goodness because it was the last flight out of Beijing for Hong Kong.

My MD and VP were scheduled for the 7:30PM flight - however, since they were triple diamond members, they managed to get on the 8:30PM flight, business class. I don't even know who they bumped to get those seats. All I know is the ladies at the CX counters were freaking out during check-in when they realized their MarcoPolo status.

While the luxury of corporate travel was something I have never seen before, I don't envy those who have to do this. It was truly exhausting. I did not get home until past 1AM. If I had a family like some of the senior bankers, I wonder when I would actually have time to spend with my family.

Things I miss

1. Firefly Vodka - unfortunately, the glorious sweet tea vodka from Charleston has yet to make its way to Hong Kong. Maybe I should start an importing business surrounding the vodka.

2. Banana Republic - without my favorite brand, I am at a lost for shopping. I don't even know what I would wear here. Such a despair. In fact, right now, I'm wearing a Banana dress and a Banana jacket.

3. Victoria's Secret - someone told me all the sizings here work differently between the Chinese brands, the Japanese brands, and the western brands. I'm sad VS chose not to have any stores abroad.

4. Icebreaker sours - my favorite mint. Gone. Eclipse is available but it is just not the same.

5. Western food - really none here. Very expensive and not worth it at all. Chinese food more than makes up for it though.

6. My iPhone - that's my own fault. I need to find time to unlock it.

7. Black cars - New York banking had black cars that makes it so much easier to get home in the rain. Here in Hong Kong, it's almost impossible to catch a cab in the rain and it is almost always raining.

8. Nail salons - I'm sure they are very easy but I haven't figured it out yet.

9. Newest movies - some of the movies release later here in Hong Kong, which is a bummer.

10. Friends and family. It's been exciting here but it hasn't been the same without the support and love from those who cares about you.

Hello, Lightning

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-09/hong-kong-hit-by-record-13-000-lightning-strikes-during-one-hour-of-storm.html

Weather is not a joke here in Hong Kong. And this was only a "yellow" rain. I wonder what "black" rain is like.

College, part 2?

As an expat in Hong Kong, I can't help feel that I am transported to the adult, foreign version of College. Much of the lifestyle and mentally are crazy similar. Everyone comes to Hong Kong knowing that they will be staying for a definitive amount of time (usually a couple of years). Some people end up staying for a long time (think of all the graduate students and Ph.D.'s who never leaves college), but everyone came in at least thinking it was just a short-time gig.

All the young expats are concentrated in a close quarter called Mid-levels. Bars and alcoholic places are usually a couple of minutes walk away. People are stumbling around drunk at all hours of the day. Everyone lives so much on top of each other that I have 3 friends who are literally 1/2 a block from my apartment. We all either live on Mosque street or Mosque Junction (the street above Mosque Street). After work, I would go around visiting people's apartments in my PJ's - either drinking or just hanging out on random weekdays. It is as if we lived in dorms again. Since the bars are so close by, everyone just randomly go drinking on Monday nights, Wednesday nights, and simply stumble home. No need to plan ahead or worry about transportation. Especially since everything is so close by, it's even hard to turn down a late (after 10PM) weekday requests because it's less than a 5/10 minute walk.

People also all had the college mentality. Since everyone comes to Hong Kong knowing few or no one at all, everyone is incredibly open to meeting new friends. That was the one aspect that I missed in New York. Outside of work, I made no new friends in the city because everyone already had their set group of friends/circles. Outsides of work, people barely have enough time catching up with their old friends, let alone meet new ones. Here in Hong Kong, I have definitely made many new, meaningful friendships outside of work. That is something I have missed.

When I was working in New York, I felt I only met people in my field. My friend circle has became very homogeneous. In college, there were people with various nationality, backgrounds, interests, and majors. Here in Hong Kong, because of the diverse people you are with, everyone you meet is not a banker. Instead, they are pursuing new interests and ideas. Some have vastly different values and lifestyles than mine. It is incredibly meaningful to have that exposure again after 2 years of cookie-cutter lifestyle in New York.

Business attire

One thing has stood out to me in the office here in Hong Kong – women’s work clothing. At the investment bank I work at, business professional is the dress code. However, when people are not meeting clients, everyone tend to trend towards business casual. That makes sense to me. Ties are uncomfortable. Suit jackets can be stuffy. Happens in NY all the time. In NY, however, there was a standard for business causal. Everyone still looked professional and belonged in a corporation. Here in Hong Kong, the clothing can be much more, creative.

Today, when I was walking into the office, I saw someone wearing cotton cargo shorts and a flow-y, floral-patterned tank top. It’s the equivalent of this top with flowers instead + cargo shorts. http://www.forever21.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=FOREVER21&category%5Fname=top&product%5Fid=2072913003&Page=1&pgcount=100

Yesterday, another analyst was wearing a shiny cream top with a puffy purple skirts and bright blue snake-skin heels with a bow on top. I couldn’t help but stare. This ruffled dress is also quite popular with the women here. http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/luella-pink-ruffle-dress I saw similar versions in pink and grey this week.

In a way, I feel very old-schooled and conservative as I am writing this blog entry. I feel that I am actually quite liberal in dress back in the office in New York. I wore bright colors, I rarely wore a jacket, and I probably pushed the business professional line on quite a few occasions. Sometimes, in Hong Kong though, I feel that the attire is not even close to business casual. Some of the clothing are clothing I would wear going out on a Friday. Some of the clothing, I don’t think I would wear just lounging around my house. I don’t mind the clothing because it’s showing skin. Quite opposite, I think people here wear far more clothing than Americans, despite the hot weather. I am just confused on the combination of the clothing everyone is wearing.

Phuket's Sat Night

Now, I know we all went to Phuket for work function. However, given Phuket's fame around the ladyboys, I had to go take a peak. On Sat night, I went out with a hostful of co-workers to the "sin city" of Phuket - Patong. The city is famous for its ladyboys, Thailand's 3rd gender.

We took a van/minibus 30 minutes to Phuket after dinner on Sat. For B2,000 (roughly B30 = $1), the van/minibus will wait all night for you to be done partying and drive you back. Roughly 12 people can fit in (usually more since everyone is drunk). We all went to a club called Seduction (think of Prive or Pink Elephant but with trashy tourists and ladyboys). The place got so intense that I had to leave because I had no idea who was a girl and who was a guy.

Next, I went to Tiger Bar, where I watched from the balcony on these pole dancers on tables below (similar to the Spanish Medallion in Myrtle Beach). I tried to convince my two co-workers to go hit on the girls dancing to figure out if they are really girls or hot ladyboys. However, since both of them were married men, they refused.

A few more drinks in and we decided to wander around. It was 5 male bankers and me. Regular day in New York City but in Phuket, all the girl/ladyboy bartenders started pulling me into their bars on the street. They actually gripped my arms and wouldn't let me go! It all got very aggressive, but entertaining. Once we crossed the agressive bar street, an MD we were with still wanted a drink. The moment he said that, two small Thai men came out with menus that said free "ping pong" show. At this point, I had no idea what it is. But I wanted to be agreeable so I suggested we drink and maybe watch. My co-workers stared at me and said "do you know what a ping-pong show entails?" After their descriptions, I would say that going to a strip club would be considered G-rated by comparison. If you need to know, just google it. I am embarrassed just thinking about it.

Phuket Weekend Offsite - Firm Bonding Activities

One of the best perks of coming to Asia so far is the Asia-Pacific-wide offsite in Phuket, Thailand. Basically the offices of Asia span from India to Australia to Hong Kong to Japan, it’s very difficult for the members of the different office to form a bond together. Usually working through email or phone, all the bankers’ relationships are terse and superficial. Every year, the division would have a regional offsite at a location in Southeast Asia because it is the center for most of the divisions. This year, the firm picked a tropical resort on the Northern part of the island of Phuket. A few reasons why Phuket was chosen: 1) it’s more centrally located to most offices, 2) it’s incredibly cheap given it is rainy season, and 3) everyone would enjoy themselves on the beach.

Despite being rainy season, the weather last weekend was absolutely perfect. Over 300 people flew into the island on various different flights. Interesting fact, the firm couldn’t fit everyone onto the direct flights because of the special “business continuity” rules. There are a set number of bankers that can be on the plane on the same time. Just in case the plane crashes, the firm would not lose an entire office. The weekend was PACKED with activities. Friday night reception was held at the courtyard by the pool, where everyone mingled with all the different offices. Being new to the Hong Kong office, I was delighted to have been able to meet quite a few new faces in the Hong Kong offices as well as many of my counterparties in India and Australia. The Australian bankers are totally hilarious. Chill and funny, no wonder everyone wants to be at Australia. While many people decided to venture out to the streets of Patong (to be explained later), I stayed and hung out at the beach. The beach under the stars at night was one of the most gorgeous views and Phuket’s beach was no different. However, we could not go into the water because the waves were too strong. There were guards on the beach making sure no one goes in.

On Sat, everyone woke up bright and early for their morning bonding activities, where everyone had to pick an activity of their choice. While I ended up with my second-choice of go-carting, it was by far the best activity of the choices. It turns out there are heats and waves and races. Put 60 competitive male bankers in a go-cart with races involved and you’ll get the most intense go-carting experience of all times. The MDs and Directors literally ran people off the road, driving aggressively and bumping into anyone that’s in their way. One of the first-year girl’s cart almost got ran into the barrier by one of the MDs’. Everyone got so into the races and the competitive tension was super high. Definitely the most fun activities of them all. It totally went above and beyond my expectations.

Immediately after the morning activity and lunch, we gathered on the beach for “IBD Olympics”, where everyone got divided into 16 teams of 25 and battled each other in all sort of random camp bonding activities. Definitely got competitive as well, where the head of IBD Asia pulled me and another girl onto the floor trying to pull out our flags (during a flag football type of activities). At first, I thought it would be corny and annoying, but turned out everyone got super into the activities and it was a great experience. Unfortunately, our team, the Grey Goose, did not win. All good fun though. During the activities, the leader of our group, head of Corp Fin, decided that we needed to steal the flags of other teams and we stole the battle flag of Head of IBD’s group. Everyone totally had a lot of fun.

After the activities, the division went to a private island to have dinner with everyone, where entertaining skit was provided by the analysts making fun of all the senior bankers and groups around the region. The analysts really did a great job. While the food wasn’t great, the atmosphere was engaging. It was well planned in that every table of 10 had 2 reserved seats for MDs only, forcing the junior and senior bankers to mingle with each other. Costumes were also required from every group representing their groups. The FIG team won with their FIG decorated yogas. The Japan team definitely went all out as well, even performing a sumo dance on stage. For 3rd place, there was a dance off among the Australian team, the Financing Team, and the Vikings (co-heads of Corp Fin). The Vikings won with their Haka dance, imitating the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby War dance. Afterwards, everyone participated in the Thailand tradition where we put our wishes on an hot air balloon and released into the sky. Overall, the entire event was extremely well planned and definitely achieved its goals. I left Thailand with a much better sense of team spirit and feels much closer to several of the offices around the region.

Pure Fitness

In Hong Kong, the selling of gyms are very intense. Their selling tactic is similarly aggressive. Last Saturday, I went to Pure Fitness in Soho. It’s the ultra fancy gym that all the expats go to. I went and a man named Steve showed me around. It’s a super luxury gym with 4 floors of facilities and locker rooms. Each machine has a personalized screen and the gym’s DVD library would put blockbusters to shame. The female locker room has a long hall of mirrors and stools for freshening up afterwards. On the first floor, there’s a RED bar which is a deck of open air with a bar next to it. Overall, the gym is the luxurious atmosphere that everyone said it would be.



With all the luxury, obviously there is intense selling involved. When we were finished with our tour, Steve asked if I wanted to get a free fitness test. Why not? I got on this scale looking thing, held onto some gadgets. After standing there for 10 minutes, the machine prints out your results. For me, personally, everything was normal. I’m not skinny but I am comfortable with myself. Here in Asia, I am definitely not slim but what I didn’t expect was the personal trainer started to tell me that I had too much fat, not good, I needed to lose fat. I would be better if I lost 2 kilos (which is like 5 lbs). Maybe it’s because in America, weight is such a sensitive issue. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone saying something without being prompt. Even to a fat person, I don’t think I would ever say anything about their weight (especially telling them to lose weight) unless they started the conversation first. I think I would be even uncomfortable agreeing with someone who said he/she needed to lose weight. Here, the guy is trying to sell me on the gym by making me feel insecure about myself. Their tactic is to try to scare all of its members to join the gym. However, I feel it’s a very cruel way. I currently don’t have weight issues but if I did, I would feel so terrible after my visits to the gym, which completely defeats the point since I tend to go to the gym for a positive uplift.



Either way, 2 things happened that probably was not what Steve intended. I did not become so obsessed with myself that I had to sign up for the gym on the spot. Also, I was rather turned off by the pressure tactics and will probably be joining a different gym simply on principle.

Miu Miu

Call me fashion backwards but I have never heard of the brand Miu Miu before last week. Supposedly, it’s a younger, hipper, but pointedly not less expensive spin off brand of Prada. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention in New York, but I don’t think I have ever seen a Miu Miu bag in the U.S. Walking the streets often, I have seen my share of Louis Vuittons, Chanels, Pradas, Guccis, etc., but I feel like most people had reasonable bags as well: Coach, Marc Jacob, Kate Spade, Dooney & Bourke, etc. Here in Hong Kong, however, it’s a whole new level.

The reason I noticed Miu Miu was that one of the first year analysts in Hong Kong was carrying one the first week. She’s right out of college and young, so I thought Miu Miu was kind of a college girl brand. When I asked her, she seemed shocked that I did not know that it is of the same “stature” as Prada, but for younger, hipper people. It was a very lovely bag so I just nodded, telling her that I never saw it in New York before, maybe it hasn’t hit the streets yet. She follows it up with “it’s right next to the Prada store in Soho, you never seen it before?” At this moment, I am thinking ‘why would I go to the Prada store in Soho? I was a first and second year analyst in New York. There are really much wiser ways to spend $2,000 dollars than a bag.’ I just smiled to her, didn’t know what to actually say. Then she goes on telling me the pressure here in Hong Kong. Turns out, in Hong Kong, everyone must carry a $2,000 bag or else people will look down on you. I carry a Longchamp bag because it’s easy, durable, and practical. But according to my fellow analyst (after she sees my Longchamp bag), she wears Longchamp in New York all the time, but here in Hong Kong, it’s really not up to par. She has to step it up a few notches for the office because everyone has a stylishly expensive bag. Anything less than a Louis Vuitton would be a sin. Plus, you must have many of these stylishly expensive bag to show off how much you make. She pointed me to the receptionists and the assistants, stating that everyone has a ridiculously expensive bag. I did some noticing and that is quite true. My assistant carries a Gucci.

I really do feel for the first-year. She is native in Hong Kong and has lived through this “pressure” her entire life (today she’s carrying a Louis Vuitton). But I just can’t imagine wanting to spend that much money on a purse for the office. Maybe if it’s for a very special occasion, yes. But the office? Who am I trying to impress with my bag? If I have to impress people, I would want to spend it on my clothing or jewelry and not a purse I leave at my desk all day and no one ever sees. Maybe I will succumb to the pressure one day after some time here, but right now, the idea of spending that much on a work bag just seems foolish.

Education Security in Hong Kong

I have had a few interactions with testing centers in the U.S. I took the series 7, 63 and GMATs in New York. The security was tough. We had to get our palm printed everytime we entered or exited the testing room. Room had video surviellance. Everything was locked in a locker and the key and your government-issued ID was the only thing allowed on your desk. Security was definitely strict. Here in Hong Kong though, it has all of that plus a whole other level.

I arrived at Pearsons in Central this afternoon taking my Continuing Education for Series 7 and 63. It's a simple training where you can't possibly fail because you would take the modules over and over again until you pass. I walked in and the lady says in an intense manner, "two IDs" please. Turns out, one government issued ID isn't even enough here. You need two. Luckily, I had my passport and was able to produce two IDs. Then, she asked me to sign the agreement on an electronic pad. I did it. But she rejected it, saying "you must sign the exact same way you signed on your passport". I had to sign it 4 times before it was satisfactory to her that it is the same signature. Just when I thought it couldn't get any more secure, she told me to take off all my jewelry, watch, even earring studs because they might contain electronic communication devices in them. Obviously all these Chinese students are capable of getting their hands on James Bond-Level super technologies to pass a standardized test. It was the first time I was without my class ring for over 4 years! Lastly, she asked if I had pockets because if I did, I had to be padded down. Luckily, my dress had no pockets and I didn't have to endure a stranger padding me during an educational session. I don't think the airports in US are this intense. If they were, there would never be a terrorist threat ever again.

This really shows you how seriously education is taken here in Asia. Lesson Learned: don't wear too much clothes/jewelry when you take exams in Asia. Someone just might have to strip search you for any potential cheating tools.

Partying in Hong Kong

Every talked about Prive. Everyone talked it up. Everyone talked about the massive banker hang out it is. So of course, I went to check it out on Friday night.

It started out as any other Friday evening in New York, I went to a first-year's apartment to pre-game. The door opened and this tiny 500 sq ft apartment was PACKED with over 40 people. People were falling on the bed, standing on tables, etc. I knew it was going to be a wild night. Of course, Andre was served. There was, however, real glasses so that was classy.

In Hong Kong, everything is very close to each other. All the bars are at this area called LKF. After the pre-game, we started our trek to the bars. When we walked past a 7-11, the boys said: "we're going to stop at club 7-1-1." Turns out, 7-11s in Hong Kong sells alcohol. There is no open container laws in Hong Kong. So it is customary to buy a beer at 7-11 and drink on the way to the club. Very efficient use of the travel time.

We lined up at this fancy looking gate thing with velvet ropes. Our first year definitely bribed the bouncer to get us in. Turns out in Hong Kong, everyone belongs in these clubs and get membership. You commit to spend $10,000 Hong Kong dollars there in a year and you can get into the clubs.

As I walked into Prive, I realized, I recognizes the place. It looks exactly like the clubs in meatpacking. When the bottle service came, the only thing that was missing was the sparklers. One of the first years even mentioned it. I think one phrase sums up what Prive is: Bull Market Meatpacking Partying in 2007 with Asian Bankers.

HSBC

Bank of America is a pretty terrible bank. Customer service sucks. The bank doesn’t offer you a lot of perks and it charges random fees all the time. The most redeeming quality of the bank is the fact that it is everywhere in the U.S., providing convenience to its customers. HSBC is a similar case, except way worse. Bank of America was slow and inefficient; HSBC is slow and incompetent. Bank of America will tell you when a service doesn’t exist and not offer any solutions. HSBC will actually just pretend services exist or when it does actually exist, its employees are not properly trained to carry them out for the customers.

The Similarities:

1. It takes about 20 minutes of automated phone menus to reach a customer service representative.
2. Everyone is segregated into tiny little departments so no one can actually help you in a holistic way.
3. Does not offer many benefits to consumer, except for the sheer size of its ATM and branch networks.

The Differences:

1. At Bank of America, there are standard rules and procedures. If a customer service rep. doesn’t know the answer, at least he/she does not make it up. Here at HSBC, I spoke with 3 different people at two different branches and on the phone, each person has given me a different version of the type of documents I need to apply for a credit card. First, Priscilla, the lady who submitted my application at the Causeway Branch on Hennessy Road told me an employment letter will be sufficient since I just moved from the U.S. I gave her a photocopy. Today, I found out my application was rejected. I went to the Headquarters Central Branch to ask. Alex, the bank teller, told me that an employment letter is not considered official documentation and I must provide 3 months worth of paystubs. Frustrated, I had no idea what to do, my colleague told me to call the hotline to see if HSBC can check my US credit history as a reference. The representative on the phone, Eric, turns around and tells me that in fact I did not have an employment letter so I did not have proof of employment but if I just faxed in my employment letter, I can be reconsidered for a credit card. That’s 3 different stories from 3 different representative of the same bank!
2. Online banking. Wiring money out of the U.S. is difficult given the U.S.’s fears of funds supporting terrorism activities. I understand. The banks can’t do anything about that. However, at least with Bank of America Online Banking, I was able to wire a little bit of funds into my Hong Kong HSBC account. I logged into my HSBC US account to wire money to HSBC Hong Kong account. Total disaster. HSBC USA online banking does not even have an option to wire money abroad, not even to its own Hong Kong branches. I cannot understand how HSBC can call itself a global bank, when its international divisions can’t even communicate with each other. I went to the HSBC branch here to ask them for help on the transfer, the branch simply said it can only be done online. When I asked if they can show me, even they couldn’t figure it out. In the posters in the airports, HSBC claims to be the world's global bank. It can't even transfer money between its own international branches.
3. HSBC actually unilaterally decided to change my name on my application. In Hong Kong, most people have an English name, but they have Chinese names as well, so legally, the would go by their surname, chinese name and forgo their english name. When I filled out the application, I made it clear that my name went by the American way, with an English name first then the surname, given that's what all my legal documents are. Nope, HSBC decided to unilaterally drop my English name and transformed my name to my surname and my chinese name (which is actually my middle name legally now). Basically, they were keeping my money under a name that's not legally mine. When I tried to point this out to the bankers, they were confused on why I insisted to change my name back. How can such an international institution not recognize that you cannot unilaterally change people's name when you are keeping people's money? It's these technicalities that cost people their life savings in court because the money is not kept legally to you as an entity.

My Haircut

 

This weekend, I went to Guangzhou to visit my grandmother. Since there wasn’t much to do after dinner, I decided to get a trim at the local hair salon. Nothing fancy, just a little shop that could probably take care of 5 or 6 customers at a time. The moment I walked in, a lady rushed up asking if I wanted a hair wash. It turns out that having a professional hair wash is a service people indulged in. As I laid on a massage table with a sink attached, the lady washed my hair along with a soft head massage. It was definitely a rare luxury I have never experience. It does help to have my head massaged. However, what confused me was that the lady spent over 30 minutes washing my hair, shampooing and conditioning it 3 times. When I asked her what is going on (I was confused on why my hair needed to be washed multiple times), she replied “oh, you mean you don’t want to continue washing it?” It seems that it’s a thing here people do multiple shampoo sessions during a professional hair washing session.

Culturally, the hair salon is quintessential Chinese. The lady that washed my hair started by asking me about my hair, what products I used, moved onto how old I was, where I was born, am I in school, where do I live, where does my parents live, what do I do, how much is my rent to Hong Kong, and how much I made monthly. The last two questions, I didn’t even know how to answer and tried to ignored it. However, she kept on pushing! She probably would make a great member of the FBI personal background investigation team. If I answered all her questions, she would have known me better than most of my friends in the U.S.

 After my hair washing session, I sat down in a hair dresser’s chair. A guy about my age dressed in the most non-gay, metrosexual way I have ever seen came behind me to cut my hair. Like any hair dresser, he commented about my hair, I told him I just wanted a trim with a blow dry to make my hair straight. The great thing about being in China is that the hair dressers only deal with Asian hair, and knows exactly what to do. My hair dresser was not only good, but one of the most meticulous hair dressers I have ever met. Instead of using the sheared scissors for layering and thinning Asian hair, my hair dresser did it piece by piece with a regular scissors. Then, he blew dry my hair four different times to make sure the hair is perfectly straight. He even wanted to use an hair straightener to straighten my perfectly blown straight hair, saying that there was a little bit at the end that was not perfectly straight. I felt tired just looking at his meticulous work and politely told him that the hair was perfectly fine and I didn’t need any further straightening. My hair right now is probably the straightest it has ever been my entire life.

Of course, my conversation with the hairdresser also got intense. He wasn’t as prodding about my life as the lady. He seemed a bit more shy. Since my uncle was with me, he kept on mentioning him. At first, with all the background noise of hair washing, blow drying, and people coming in and out, I didn’t realize what my hair dresser referred my uncle as. After a few minutes of conversation, I realized my hair dresser thought my 45-year-old uncle was my husband. When I corrected him, he turned tomato-red and apologized profusely. Then he tried to tell me that my uncle looked young, and he sees many old-men, young-girls couples around, etc. I almost felt bad for correcting him because he was so embarrassed.

After all this, the hair cut was only about $6 USD equivalent. When I tried to tip my hairdresser (he kind of endeared me during the hour-long blow dry session), he refused twice before I convinced him that I just thought he did a good job. Finally he accepted about $4 USD equivalent of tips.

Perks in Hong Kong

So many things in Hong Kong just blow your mind. In many ways, I can see why someone stays here for decades. The city really makes your life so much easier. The purchasing power (if you know where to purchase) is quite great. Here are the top 10 things why Hong Kong is amazing.

10. Cabs are incredibly cheap - it's about 2 dollars to get to work - cheaper than a subway ride in New York

9. I just discovered that you don't have to pay U.S. taxes on the first $90,000 you make in Hong Kong. I feel like I now have so much more discretionary income because Hong Kong taxes is only 17%.

8.  No real tipping is expected in Hong Kong. The prices you see are the prices you pay. You might tip 10% if the service is amazing.....

7. Everyone here is super friendly. Strangers who are introduced by friends of friends just hang out and go out. That would never happen in New York City.

6. Alcohol can be purchased everywhere - including 7-11. It is sold 24/7.

5. No open container laws. Enough said.

4. MTR = cleanest, most efficient, easiest way of travel by subway compared to any other city in the world. Trains come every 5 minutes - and they are hyper air conditioned and clean. London Tube is clean, but no AC. DC metro has AC, but not as clean. NYC, subway is just sketch.

3. Typhoons tend to cancel work. I hear it typhoons quite often in August/September. YES!

2. For our company summer offsite, we are going to Phuket for a weekend. I thought the Nat Res Golf Outing on Long Island was intense. This will make that seem like a day in the office.

1. It's good to be at a place where high quality Chinese food can be found again.

Confusion

Many things here are very confusing.

1. At a Chinese fast food restaurant, there would be a place you place the order and pay. Then you have to hand the receipt to someone down the line, who prepares your order and then give you a different receipt.

2. Beer here cost the same as fruit juice at a restaurant.

3. At the immigration office, you must line up for a number/app first, then wait for your name to be called for someone to process your paper work and fingerprints, then have someone else print a temporary ID on a piece of paper after fingerprinting the same fingers again within a span of 10 minutes.

4. The temperature is only around 80 degrees outside, yet I can't run more than a mile because my cardiovascular system simply cannot handle the humidity outside. Usually in NYC, I wouldn't even break a sweat after a mile, here, I would be drenched.

5. It would be completely sunny outside - and be pouring down rain at the exact same time. However, the rain does not actually decrease the humidity in the air.

6. Everyone thinks a 5 minute walk is far away.

7. According to a recent survey, over 2/3 of Hong Kong residents enjoys shopping as their number 1 hobby. This is all citizens, not just the female citizens.

8. All the cars drive on the left, but the people walk on both the left and right hand side. The escalators are arranged in mixed fashion - sometimes the left ones would be up, sometimes the right ones would be down. Half the time, we're suppose to stand on the right and left people pass, sometimes we're suppose to stand on the left. Running is an even worse disaster - with people all over and faster runners must weave through the people to pass.

First Day of Work

The Cheung Kong Center, where our office is located, is beautiful. Brand new, the building would make any skyscrapper in New York City jealous. Through the glass walls, there is a spetacular view of the skyline of skyscrappers in front of the beautiful mountains of Kowloon. In a clear day like today, you can even see Mainland China. The sitting arrangement is quite similar to the other regional offices (Houston and Calgary) I have visited, where the analysts - VPs sit on a trading floor style and the MDs sit in offices surrounding the floor. The office is fancy and beautifully designed. The equipment inside is pretty much the same as New York - 2 computer screens, the exact same Cisco IP Phone. It even has the same white boards for the MDs.

Many things, however, are much more difficult here in the Hong Kong office. For example, to purcahse items at the Pacific Coffee Shop on the floor, I must use a coupon booklet with monopoly looking money to purchase the food. They don't accept cash. It's good that these booklets are sold at a discount: $100 for $125 worth of fake money. However, it seems very unnecessary and gimmicky. Second, to get a building ID is a fairly difficult problem. In New York, we just went to the securities office, took a picture, and they printed you an ID. Here in Hong Kong, it seems to take weeks to get an ID ready. It's just a magnetic card that allows you access to the doors. My aparment building in NYC could produce it faster than Hong Kong.

The entire first day seems very disorganized in general. Nothing about the transfer seem to have gone through smoothly. It's actually very frustrating. My computer is still based in New York, making it extremely slow here in Hong Kong because of the server issues. There was issues transferring my account so I have yet to receive a Hong Kong blackberry or number. A whole host of other issues also are presented with the transfer. I wished there was better organization regarding the transfer. From the US til now, it's all been one of the most frustrating part - the utter beauracracy and lack of efficiencies regarding the transfer.

Housing Headaches

Housing in Hong Kong, at least for the expats, is a stressful experience. All the expats in Hong Kong tend to live in Mid-levels, Soho, and Wan Chai, with Wan Chai being slight further (10 minutes away) from the other two districts. Expats tend to come on their own, so the market is designed with more apartments for one person than for roommates that are sharing. I was worried when I first came that I would not be able to find an apartment for one person, but seems to be more of the norm than finding an apartment for 2 people. The apartments here are incredibly small, with the rooms usually in weird shapes, not even able to fit a full-size bed.

Anyways, I was luck to have found a decently satisfactory place in my first day of apartment hunting. It's a 470 sq. ft studio converted into a one-bed room. The apartment came decently furnished: I only need to provide a couch, TV, and mattress (there is a mattress in the apartment but I want to sleep on memory foam). While it's in the upper end of my budget, it was in Soho, the heart of the expat world. I had my agent discuss the apartment with the landlady. We seem to have come to a decent conclusion on the lease.

Then Friday night, I get a frantic call from my agent - another person wants the apartment. The landlady is basically saying, who ever signs the tenant agreement (an agreement saying that the apartment is reserved and we will sign the lease later once all the conditions such as cleaning and fixing appliances are done). To sign the tenant agreement, the tenant must put up the first months rent in HKD either in cash or check, which is close to $2,000 USD. At this time, obviously, things get complicated for me since I do not have close to that amount of money in HKD and the banks are all closed for wire transfers. I tried to withdraw that amount of money from the local ATM, only having been denied. When I called to figure out what's up - Bank of America informs me, there is a daily limit on cash withdrawals. Luckily, my agent, who deals with expats on an exclusive basis, offered to put up $4000 HKD (around $500 USD) for me to help me cover the initial deposit.

The Hong Kong real estate market is absolutely INSANE, even compared to New York City.

Out of Place

I look Chinese. I swear.

Coming to Hong Kong, I thought I'd just blend into the streets along with the millions of other Chinese people that resides on this tiny island. Since coming here, I would say half the time, people tries Catonese with first and the other half English. I dismissed it as the level of English that is present here in Hong Kong. After all, the classes are taught in English in Hong Kong schools.

Today I went to SOGO, an Hong Kong department store that I would compare to Macy's. I wanted to look for a memory foam mattress (which seems to be hard to find in Asia). When I waited for the elevator to leave, there was a white male staring at me. Not like he was looking randomly, but actually staring for several minutes. In the elevator, he decided to strike up a conversation with me, in English. He was a French expat working in Hong Kong. When I asked him what made him decide to strike up a conversation with me rather than the 10 other people waiting for the elevator, he told me something about me stood out. I seemed I would be Westernized. That's when I realized, the people here aren't speaking English to me because that's the norm, they're speaking English to me because something about me must be screaming American. Let me know if you have a theory on why I look American.

One theory I have is that I look like a tourist since Hong Kong is a major tourist destination spot. Since I look lost and confused most of the time when I'm on the streets, I am sure I look like a tourist. However, given how I look, the logical conclusion is that I would be a tourist from Mainland China - ethnically, that is who I am. But the people here don't ever speak Mandarin towards me, the way they would speak to a Mainland tourist. Any other theories?

First Impressions, part 2

This place rains a lot. It hasn't stopped raining since I arrived last night. Sometimes, it'd be drizzling; sometimes, it'd be pouring. No matter what, however, the humidity doesn't seem to fade. It's actually not crazy hot outside: only around 80 degrees. Normally, I would not turn on the air conditioning in that type of temperature. However, I tried to leave the air conditioning off in my apartment - the humidity became unbearable after just an hour. Everything felt sticky and damp. Even right after a downpour, the humidity would not dissapate. I'm beginning to worry what this place feels like under the sun with all the humidity...

Another thing I have noticed here in Hong Kong - everything Japanese is good and expensive. Seriously. Half the things I saw in drugstores and groceries stores were purely Japanese with no English or Chinese characters. I have no idea how anyone even knows what they are or how to use them. They are also priced much higher than its counterparty American and Chinese brands. I always thought the Chinese had an infuctuation with its western brands from Europe and America, but it seems like Japan is really the big dogs in the house.

One inconvienent thing I have discovered about Hong Kong is that everything is made with short people in mind. I don't mean to be insensitive or mean, but seriously, everything is short! I actually have to bend down a good 1/2 feet to a feet to simply open the door to my partment. The doorknob and keyhole are literally below my hips. The closet, all my dresses touches the floor even though they are all knee length (or maybe shorter).

Lastly, I need help! I can't find sparkling water anywhere in Hong Kong. I have looked through convienence stores like 7-11, grocery stores, and random stands on the streets. No sparkling water, club soda, or l'eau gaseuse! In New York, it was so common place and easy to find that I have developed a strong preference towards sparkling water. Even my alcoholic beverage of choice is vodka soda. What am I going to do here?

First Impressions

I landed at Hong Kong airport at 7PM. Two things popped into my mind: it was hot and it was brand new. As I waited in line to clear immigrations in Hong Kong, I noticed one thing. Only the visitors were waiting in line. It seems that Hong Kong residents can just scan some type of a card through a DC-metro looking smart card terminal and enter. How efficient! Even the line for the visitors moved exceedingly fast. The immigration officers had very few questions and simply stamped away. They didn't even ask why I was in the country (granted, there was a work visa stickered on my passport). It took less than 20 minutes for me to go from the gate through immigration, pick up luggage and meet my driver. I was shocked at the efficiencies of the airport compared to the U.S. or Europe. I recently travelled through Europe with a few close friends and JFK, Newark, Heathrow, and Amsterdam Airport were all sadly slow and difficult to navigate through by comparison.

The airport was surprisingly fair away from Hong Kong island. It took 50 minutes to get to the service apartment in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong island without traffic. JFK is only about 30 minutes from Midtown without traffic. For a HKD 22,800 (~USD 2,900) per month, the studio was very small, fitting only one queen size bed with min. walking space. The kitchen was in a closet, where you open up the cabinet doors to access. Seems shocking, but Hong Kong real estate is actually more expensive than New York City. It seems that the Asians require much less space than Americans. The apartment seemed small even by New York standards.

The apartment does have amazing service. A staff member picked me up in the pouring rain to help me with my luggage. The staff's attitudes are friendly. They even stayed in my room for over 15 minutes to help me set up my computer and internet. However, they always leave so quickly, before I can tip them. When tipping was not the practice in Europe, the service was horrendous. The bartenders ignore you for over 20 minutes in an open bar. Waiters never come by with water. However, it seems here in Hong Kong, while tipping is not customary, the service is actually better than the states.