Day Twenty-Seven

Sorry blogworld- I’ve been neglecting you! It has been such a busy week in Hong Kong that I haven’t had too much time to sit down and write. I don’t have a whole lot of new news, most of this week has been spent in class/boardrooms where I can only look at Hong Kong through a glass box but here goes anyway. You will notice that most of my pictures are of skylines given my general distance from the ground. Not many up close yet.

Sunday was our first night here in Hong Kong where we met up with our China friends who had been traveling throughout that country for the last three weeks. We all went out to dinner at a local Mexican place (something we had all been craving) where we shared stories and got caught up to speed on what each of the groups had been doing for the past few weeks. Some people stayed out for fun, I headed back to the hotel to unpack and get ready to go for this last full week of chaos.

Monday started off at the US Consulate where we listened to a few people talk about Hong Kong and Macau. In case you were wondering, there are roughly 7 million people here and they have an interesting relationship with mainland China and how they are governed. We then spent the next 5 hours with E&Y Hong Kong where we listened to various speakers talk about Asia-Pacific as a region, capital markets, investing in China, and finally a close-out session on how to start a career in Hong Kong. I’d tell you what I learned except sitting in classrooms from 9-6 doesn’t bode well for the memory and it is all starting to blur together as the entire trip becomes part of my memory.

Monday evening we had another UVA Alumni reception at the Garden Lounge. If I have learned anything from these receptions it’s that there are a ton of UVA alums all around the world which is pretty neat. It’s a very tight knit community which has a pretty impressive footprint in a lot of different industries and professions

Tuesday was another long class day from 9-4 where we heard about things like investment banking, private equity, and a brief marketing break-out session which was much appreciated. This week has been real heavy on the finance which means half of us have had no idea as to what is being said in class. Yay for the marketing and management track?!

I haven't been taking good pictures, down at Stanley

Tuesday evening we went out to a place called Stanley that has a lot of fun shops and bars to wander in and out of. Hong Kong is a lot like San Francisco with windy streets that run up and down the coastline. We were planning on walking along the beach but it’s probably worth mentioning that all week we have been in a tropical cyclone warning. Excuse me? So this was a rainy outing that was cut short when people were tired of getting wet/wanted to get back to the hotel and get some sleep.

Wednesday morning we listened to a few people from Walmart Asia speak for several hours about their supply chain and retail strategy when entering foreign markets. This was kind of a strange session- the speaker was highly defensive and pretty much turned and twisted any question we asked into something completely different. We had a fantastic speaker after lunch, Mr. T.L. Tsim who spoke broadly about China and its role in the world. Sometimes you can just tell when someone is going to be brilliant and this man most certainly was. 

Taking the tram to the races

Wednesday night was one of the best outings we have had in a while. Most of us went to the Races at Happy Valley where people could bet on various horses and just hang out and have a good time. The only other horse race I have ever been to is Fox Field which hardly counts when you compare it to something like this. It rained off and on, given the whole cyclone issue, but for the most part we stayed dry and watched several races where most of us just picked our winners based on their fantastic names like Majestic Heart or Sleep Well. Once we had exhausted all of our betting skills, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Thursday.

Katrina and I at the races

Way cool venue

Watching one of our horses get ready!

Thursday morning we were back with a professor where we learned a little bit about De Beers diamonds and how consumer marketing varies between eastern and western cultures. Thursday afternoon we had a few hours of free time that were supposed to be for fun but we were all so tired that many of us decided to go home and nap in order to get ready for our evening session of class. Whoever thought that was a good idea was sorely mistaken. We were all so ill-prepared for class, the professor had to drag us through the discussions a bit which included firestone tires expanding into Asia and a pipeline being built between Myanmar and Thailand. Interesting topics, just not on one of our last nights in Hong Kong you know?

Thursday evening was the first night I really went out; it’s been a struggle this week. We went to an area called wan chai where we floated around a few different bars. I didn’t last long and came home around 1:30 leaving most of my classmates to fend for themselves. Now that it’s the end of the trip I have conflicting feelings- I am so tired and run down that I want to sleep all the time yet we are almost done so maybe I don’t need sleep?

at the top of the peak

So, today, easily one of the most fantastic days of my life. Pegged as our one and only free day this week, I was thrilled to sleep in for once and rolled out of bed around 9:30 and unconcernedly got ready for the day. I had ambitious plans to fit in as much as I possibly could during this day but that immediately flew out the window when we decided to charter a boat to take us around to all the islands in the region. Best decision ever. Before boarding the boat, Matt and I decided to go to this place called the peak which gives you a 360 view of Hong Kong. We didn't time this terribly well and only made it halfway around the peak before we had to meet our friends at the pier. For a measly 40 dollars a person, we chartered this fantastic ‘junk boat’ for about 6 hours where we just hung out, drank some beer, and floated around possibly the most beautiful city on earth. I know I said everyone needs to go to Jogjakarta but you really need to go to Hong Kong. It is incredible. 

hanging out on the boat

top deck of the boat, got a little wild walking around, lots of falls

our boat from the shore

floating around the many islands

At one point we all were in the water swimming, in the South China Sea I think, and all these tiny fish started to leap out of the water. This was one of the funnier things I have ever seen- twenty college kids floating around on noodles and plastic inner tubes while trying to stay calm/not drop their beer in the water during complete and utter chaos. Next thing I know people are cannon-balling off the second floor of our boat and pretty much all hell breaks loose. Such an unbelievable afternoon.

swimming in the sea with the tiny fishies

Now we are all back at the hotel, sun-kissed and exhausted, trying to decide what’s in store for this evening. The more I sit here the more I think I may just put on pj’s and call it a night. Rooming alone in Hong Kong is good for space but bad for motivation to do anything. Our final night is tomorrow where we will do final presentations on our projects and have a farewell cruise/dinner out on Lamma Island. After tomorrow I will officially be a UVA McIntire graduate. Cheers! - Becca