Saturday, March 22, 2008

My last week in Hong Kong...

Well, this was my last week in Hong Kong. But, it was definitely a busy one.

On Monday I left for another brief trip for work. This time I went to Jakarta, Indonesia to meet with a company that will be setting up a pension plan for our employees there. (I know - enough with the boring work stuff)

I had no idea Jakarta was such a tight security location, though! My first "interesting" experience was arriving at the hotel and having to go through a metal detector before being let into the building. I felt like I was back at the airport. Then, once I got into my room I noticed there were two locks on my door, plus a chain. What was up with all of the added security?!? It was not until the next day that I found out that two years prior there was a bombing of a Marriott hotel in Jakarta, which led to this increase in security. (Would have been nice to know before I hopped I the plane!? Every office building I went to had just about the same level of security, as well. Good thing I was only there for less than 24 hours! I was ready to get out of there!!

Then, it was back to Hong Kong to wrap up my last days in the office here and sneak in a couple more days of shopping. Tomorrow I leave for a week in London. I've just finished packing, and have no idea how I managed to fit everything in my suitcases ... but I did. I honestly did not realize that I had bought so much stuff since I've been here. But, I guess you can accumulate a lot of things in 2 months!!

My time in this great city has come to an end. I've had a great time in Hong Kong, but I'm definitely ready to go. In a way, this time was gone by fast - but, in an even stronger way, I feel like I've been away from home for too long. One week in London, and then I'm finally headed home.

Miss you all. See you soon!!
M

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Beijing

So, this week I went to Beijing for 3 days to visit our CNN bureau there. An unexpected trip, but I am so glad that I went!


I'll skip all of the boring work stuff, because none of you really care about that ...
As soon as I got off the plane in Beijing I could smell the pollution. (And I thought HK was bad!) The traffic was horrendous, and yet there were still tons of bicycles on the road. The city has a lot of work left to do before the Olympics start in August. It seems like everything is currently under construction. Here's a shot of the Olympic stadium (a.k.a. The Bird's Nest) that I took from the taxi - pretty cool.










After work one day, I hurried over to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I got there shortly before they were closing, but had just enough time to grab an English audio guide and begin my tour. Hard to believe that Chinese emporers lived and walked the grounds here dating back to the 1400's.





And now for the best part of all - THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! Yes, that's right -- I got to walk (and climb) a part of the great wall. The bureau chief arranged for a driver to take me on this 2 hour drive to Badaling - the closest part of the wall to Beijing. What a magnificent site! Just walking on it I could feel the history of this 2,000 year old 'wonder of the world'. I took about 50 pictures here, but here's just a sample, along with a brief cheesy video of my journey. I only had about 45 minutes to spend here because I was out of time before needed to catch my plane back, but it was worth it.








Now - I'm back in Hong Kong at the good ol' Harbour Plaza hotel, my temporary home. Only 1 more full week in Hong Kong before I head to London for the International Newsgathering meeting. And - for anyone who may be counting (other than me) ... I fly back to Atlanta two weeks from today!!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Good times!

My long weekend with Rick here in HK has now come and gone, but lots of fun times to remember. I’m sure he’s cursing my name as he’s on his second 23 hour flight in 5 days – however, I think it was worth it!

We had a jam packed itinerary for the past 3 days – but let’s see if I can capture a glimpse of what we got ourselves into for the rest of you.

Day 1 – Started out with some yummy dim sum at one of the most popular restaurants in the city. Carts of delicious dumplings and such rolling through the aisles, tempting us to try more. After stuffing our faces, we then headed over to Hollywood Road. This is an area lined with antique shops and curio emporiums. Perfect for picking up unique gifts for people at home and great window shopping! Once we got to the end of this area, we walked towards the star ferry pier, and boarded the boat for the other side of the harbor. We visited the InterContinental, went to a market, watched the light show, and ate a nice shanghainese dinner. And what did we stumble upon after leaving the restaurant - a spot for foot massages! We debated whether or not we had time because we needed to be able to catch the train back, but - of course we did! A perfect way to end the night.

Day 2 – It was up to Victoria Peak today – and the best way to get there? The Peak Tram! Cool ride along a rail tram up the mountain to get to the highest peak in Hong Kong. Probably not the best thing to do on a Sunday with the crowds, but spectacular views of the city from up there. We then caught a double decker bus to Repulse Bay to check out the more relaxing part of the island and to see a temple with cool statues of gods and deities (same, same – but different!) Enjoy the quick clip from our bus ride. We wound out the night with a pekinese dinner at Spring Deer. And a pekinese style meal wouldn’t be any count without trying the peking duck! Not our favorite, but it’s nice to say that we’ve had peking duck in Hong Kong :)



Day 3 – Off to the Big Buddha! We took the Ngong Ping cable car for a slightly scary ride up the mountain to get to the big buddha and monastery. But once we came around a corner and could finally see the enormous statue in the distance – it was worth it! The pictures probably don’t do it justice, but it was awesome. Some 200 odd steps to get up to the top, but at least we then got a free ice cream :)



Back down the cable car we went to head back to the city. We made a quick trip to the 4 Seasons to visit one of Rick’s former colleagues, Monica, and experienced some breathtaking views of the harbor from their club lounge. One more reason for me to question how I got stuck in my hotel, but let me not digress. Tonight’s dinner selection was sichuan cuisine at Red Pepper. Not as spicy as we had both hoped, but still a nice meal. And – a trip to HK wouldn’t be completed without a stop at the Night Market. After collecting some good bargains – it was back to our side of town again to prepare for his very early morning flight.

I’m sure I’ve left out a couple of things, but all in all ---- great sights, lots of walking, yummy food, great company, and good times!

Thanks for coming to see me, Rick. I couldn’t head back to Atlanta with you today, but I’ll be back home in less than 3 weeks!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Off to the races

Horse racing is HUGE in Hong Kong! Some of the CNN Managers invited me out for a night at the races on Wednesday, and it was a lot of fun. The track was enormous and was full of eager Chinese people ready to gamble some of their hard earned money away. We had a table on the terrace level and had a great view of not only the race track, but of the night lights of the city.

So, did I bet? Well, of course I had to try my hand at this interesting past time engrained in the Hong Kong culture! I didn't bet very much, however :) About 20 Hong Kong dollars per race, which equates to about $2.50 in US terms. (Big spender - I know!) But of the 6 races I stayed for - I won 2! How about that beginner's luck?! Almost tripled my money at one point, but alas - I was on a losing streak for the last 3 races. Easy come, easy go I guess. It was all in fun though, and I had a great time.

One more item to check off my Hong Kong to do list!

(Here's a pic of me and Katherine Green - one of my colleagues from Atlanta.)

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Hiking up the Dragon's Back

With the temperature at about 68 degrees and sunny, it was the perfect day to go for a hike. Holly and I started out with a quick bus ride through Shau Kei Wan to the start of the Dragon's Back hike. And in case you're wondering why they call this hike "Dragon's Back" - it's because the majority of the hike was straight uphill across the mountain to get up to the top of the peak. After about 15 minutes I was beginning to question why I thought this was going to be fun, but as we got further up the mountain I could understand. The views along the hike were spectacular. What a different view of Hong Kong from the hustle and bustle of the big city. (if you can see the trail that travels ALL the way up to the highest peak in this picture - yes, that's where we were headed!)


I have lots more pictures to share when I get back, but here is a picture of Holly and I once we reached the top of the peak.



After a brief rest, we then began our journey back down, on the other side of the mountain. And what was on the other side you ask? Shek O Beach! And after our 2 hour hike, this was a welcome site. We had a nice seafood lunch at the beach, and then sat in the sand for about an hour enjoying the view and watching all of the people.
It was then back to the bus to head back home. Another interesting adventure in HK! After a day full of fresh air and sun, I think I'm going to sleep pretty well tonight to get ready to start week #4 at work tomorrow. (can you believe I've been here for 4 weeks already?)

Saturday, February 23, 2008

A little rain won't stop me!

The rain seems to be lingering, but is definitely not putting a damper on my parade. My Atlanta friends Holly and Rick invited me to go with them on an afternoon adventure with another Turner visitor today and we had a great day.

We started with a ride on the Star Ferry across the harbor and had a delicious dim sum lunch at Peking Garden. Yummy food and a view overlooking the harbor - perfect way to have lunch in HK. We then took a walk through Tsim Sha Tsui to a Tea House. Stella (the "tea lady") let us sample a few different teas and schooled us on the proper ways to make the many different varieties of Chinese tea. The aromas in the tea house and the relaxing vibe in the small store was fabulous. Here's a picture of us all enjoying our tea, and a quick video of Stella explaining the "tea process" (not the best clip - but you get the idea).



After buying a couple varieties of teas to bring back home with me, we then moved on to continue our walk.

Our next stop was heaven! A little spa in Mong Kok where we all got foot massages. Another soothing and relaxing venue (seemed to be the theme for the day) with Zen music in the background and lavendar and Chinese herbs floating through the air - I could have stayed here all day! After a 1 hour foot massage, my legs felt like jello walking out - in a good way! This is definitely a place I will be visiting again before I leave the city!

The rain was starting to pick up by this time, so we stopped off for a nice sushi dinner to end the night (the seafood is so fresh here). Then, it was back on the train to make my way back home. Another great Saturday in HK!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Lion Dance in the Office!

We had a welcome surprise at work yesterday when a Lion Dance group made it's way through the building to bring prosperity and good wishes to everyone for the new year. (Chinese New Year just doesn't end here!)

The lion is considered a guardian creature in Chinese culture and he is supposed to ward off bad luck to every office that it visits while going through the building. (Let's hope my luck will travel with me back to Atlanta!! )

There were 2 people dressed as the "lion" roaming through the building with a drum group providing the "beats" for the journey.

This was a cool sight to see in the office, and you could hear the drums long after they left the floor you were on. So many fun superstitions and traditions here, especially around Chinese New Year. It's really been fun to try to soak this all in.

(Here's some of the people I've been working with in Hong Kong - posing with the good luck lion. We seem to all be looking at different cameras. And for those who have asked, you can click on any of the pictures throughout the blog to enlarge them for a better view)