In our VIP Turbojet room headed for Macau 
The old senate building in Largo de Senado
Largo de Senado
Sao Domingos Church
Awkward family photo at Sao Domingos
Ruins of Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo Crypt
The Lisboa and The Lisboa Art Gallery
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Photos from Macau
In our VIP Turbojet room headed for Macau
Day 3, Macau - History and Glitz-ery
Yesterday a group of my classmates and I went to Macau – the “Vegas of Southeast Asia” – for a mix of work and play. David and I had to leave Hong Kong for the sole purpose of then re-entering HK under our recently obtained training visas. Dominic is working for Beats Magazine (arts and entertainment) and was put on assignment to go to the Venetian Hotel and Casino to interview Jean Claude van Damme at the Thai Boxing event. Kevin, Jessica, Irma, Melinda and Adriana came along for the experience!
Macau is an island about an hour away from Hong Kong that was once a Portuguese colony. We made the trip via Turbojet boat – a quick and inexpensive way to get between HK and Macau. When we boarded the Turbojet, either by pure luck or by the fact that everyone seems a little wary of a group of potentially-swine-flu-infected-Americans, we were seated (quarantined?) in a private VIP room on the boat! We had a TV, a great view, and snack plates of little cakes and sandwiches…talk about arriving in style.
Once we arrived we set out to the oldest part of the island, the Largo de Senado (Senate Square) – the historic centre of old Macau. Being there felt almost impossible, as we took in the amazing European architecture on Chinese soil – it was like being transported to another time and place. The Sao Domingos church on the square is one of the oldest of Macau’s churches, dating from 1588. The most magnificent site of old Macau was the ruins of Sao Paulo, which sit high up on a hill overlooking the historic centre and the island. The church has been cited as the finest monument to Christianity in Asia…but apparently it has some bad feng shui. The church was destroyed by fire twice – once in 1604 and again in 1835. Now all that remains is the church façade, but it is truly magnificent.
After old Macau we were hungry and in the mood for Portugeuse food…this led us on a wild goose chase throughout the island, going from one restaurant that was full to another that was closed to another that only had a reservation available at 9:30pm. So as these things go, we found ourselves at the Crystal Lounge and Deli in the Lisboa Casino, where we inhaled french-fries and club sandwiches while the lounge singer crooned Whitney Houston tunes. Another surreal Macau experience, of a much different sort, you can imagine.
The Lisboa Casino was incredibly opulent and wonderfully ostentatious. The grand lobby had priceless Asian art on display – each item more exquisite and intriguing than the next. Also, let it be said that we are easily wowed by sparkling lights. While I have no point for comparison - having never been to Vegas - my classmates said that the Lisboa was far and away much nicer than anything they’d seen in Vegas. I’d also take waterfront-on-an-island over smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-the-desert any day.
We then made our way to the Venetian for the Thai Boxing event. The Venetian, although grand in its own right, was a big let down compared to the Lisboa – almost not flashy or swanky enough…and that’s really saying something. While Dominic was working on his story, we hung out at one of the Venetian bars to pass the time. Exhausted at the end of a long and exciting day, we took a bus back to the ferry and caught the TurboJet back to Hong Kong.
We didn’t expect to enjoy Macau so much (it seems to live in the shadow of Hong Kong…but really has a lot to offer) and we realized there was lot on the island that we didn’t get to see. We’re talking about going back for another day or for maybe a weekend so that we can explore the colonial areas and temples in the south and northeast of the island, actually eat some Portuguese food, and lose some money at the Lisboa since we didn’t gamble yesterday.
Today we are giving ourselves a break from running all over town and tonight we are going to have a potluck dinner at Francesca and Irma’s apartment (they’re living in Causeway Bay rather than in the hotel with us at North Point) – a celebration before everyone (except me and Jess) starts their internships tomorrow. My internship begins on Wednesday, so I still have some free time to explore and take it all in.
Will post Macau photos ASAP!
Macau is an island about an hour away from Hong Kong that was once a Portuguese colony. We made the trip via Turbojet boat – a quick and inexpensive way to get between HK and Macau. When we boarded the Turbojet, either by pure luck or by the fact that everyone seems a little wary of a group of potentially-swine-flu-infected-Americans, we were seated (quarantined?) in a private VIP room on the boat! We had a TV, a great view, and snack plates of little cakes and sandwiches…talk about arriving in style.
Once we arrived we set out to the oldest part of the island, the Largo de Senado (Senate Square) – the historic centre of old Macau. Being there felt almost impossible, as we took in the amazing European architecture on Chinese soil – it was like being transported to another time and place. The Sao Domingos church on the square is one of the oldest of Macau’s churches, dating from 1588. The most magnificent site of old Macau was the ruins of Sao Paulo, which sit high up on a hill overlooking the historic centre and the island. The church has been cited as the finest monument to Christianity in Asia…but apparently it has some bad feng shui. The church was destroyed by fire twice – once in 1604 and again in 1835. Now all that remains is the church façade, but it is truly magnificent.
After old Macau we were hungry and in the mood for Portugeuse food…this led us on a wild goose chase throughout the island, going from one restaurant that was full to another that was closed to another that only had a reservation available at 9:30pm. So as these things go, we found ourselves at the Crystal Lounge and Deli in the Lisboa Casino, where we inhaled french-fries and club sandwiches while the lounge singer crooned Whitney Houston tunes. Another surreal Macau experience, of a much different sort, you can imagine.
The Lisboa Casino was incredibly opulent and wonderfully ostentatious. The grand lobby had priceless Asian art on display – each item more exquisite and intriguing than the next. Also, let it be said that we are easily wowed by sparkling lights. While I have no point for comparison - having never been to Vegas - my classmates said that the Lisboa was far and away much nicer than anything they’d seen in Vegas. I’d also take waterfront-on-an-island over smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-the-desert any day.
We then made our way to the Venetian for the Thai Boxing event. The Venetian, although grand in its own right, was a big let down compared to the Lisboa – almost not flashy or swanky enough…and that’s really saying something. While Dominic was working on his story, we hung out at one of the Venetian bars to pass the time. Exhausted at the end of a long and exciting day, we took a bus back to the ferry and caught the TurboJet back to Hong Kong.
We didn’t expect to enjoy Macau so much (it seems to live in the shadow of Hong Kong…but really has a lot to offer) and we realized there was lot on the island that we didn’t get to see. We’re talking about going back for another day or for maybe a weekend so that we can explore the colonial areas and temples in the south and northeast of the island, actually eat some Portuguese food, and lose some money at the Lisboa since we didn’t gamble yesterday.
Today we are giving ourselves a break from running all over town and tonight we are going to have a potluck dinner at Francesca and Irma’s apartment (they’re living in Causeway Bay rather than in the hotel with us at North Point) – a celebration before everyone (except me and Jess) starts their internships tomorrow. My internship begins on Wednesday, so I still have some free time to explore and take it all in.
Will post Macau photos ASAP!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Day 2, From Talking Markets to Walking Markets – APCO, Flora, Fauna, Shamwow and Mao
This morning my classmates and I met with Mark Michaelson, a senior counselor at APCO Worldwide. Mr. Michaelson talked about the public affairs and government relations work that APCO does in Hong Kong to help us better understand the important working relationships between businesses and the HK government. He provided us with great insight into HK as a commerce center – and how and why HK has become an international gateway for so many global businesses. We then promptly indulged in another lunch of epic proportions.
My classmates, Irma and Francesca, had the great idea to go to the markets in Kowloon for the rest of the day. We started at the flower market, walking through the maze of vendor stands, admiring some of the most amazing flower arrangements and displays, and taking in the sight of thousands of exotic plants and flowers. Next was the bird market (Karen would have freaked out) – hundreds of birds flying overhead, squawking in cages, and carried along on vendors arms. We managed to make it out of the bird market poop-free and without a single pigeon sighting. Then we ended up in the pet market – dozens of stores with everything from dogs and cats to goldfish and chinchillas. The ladies market was the biggest market, although more than half of it was filled with bras…heaping piles of them. The biggest hit at this market was the Chinese Shamwow Guy doing live product demonstrations. We rounded out the evening with a great dinner at “Eat Together” and a trip through the Night Market which amused us with its vast offerings of sex toys, decorated themed and novelty man thongs, Mao memorabilia and Hello Kitty everything.
After a full day at the markets, I finally found a really special piece of junk that I just had to have: a truly awesome, absolute kitch Mao clock…he waves his red book with every tick of the second hand. Victorious.
All in all, a wonderfully exciting and exhausting day getting better acquainted with our new city. Tomorrow we are off to Macau!
Enjoy pictures of the markets and Kowloon below!
My classmates, Irma and Francesca, had the great idea to go to the markets in Kowloon for the rest of the day. We started at the flower market, walking through the maze of vendor stands, admiring some of the most amazing flower arrangements and displays, and taking in the sight of thousands of exotic plants and flowers. Next was the bird market (Karen would have freaked out) – hundreds of birds flying overhead, squawking in cages, and carried along on vendors arms. We managed to make it out of the bird market poop-free and without a single pigeon sighting. Then we ended up in the pet market – dozens of stores with everything from dogs and cats to goldfish and chinchillas. The ladies market was the biggest market, although more than half of it was filled with bras…heaping piles of them. The biggest hit at this market was the Chinese Shamwow Guy doing live product demonstrations. We rounded out the evening with a great dinner at “Eat Together” and a trip through the Night Market which amused us with its vast offerings of sex toys, decorated themed and novelty man thongs, Mao memorabilia and Hello Kitty everything.
After a full day at the markets, I finally found a really special piece of junk that I just had to have: a truly awesome, absolute kitch Mao clock…he waves his red book with every tick of the second hand. Victorious.
All in all, a wonderfully exciting and exhausting day getting better acquainted with our new city. Tomorrow we are off to Macau!
Enjoy pictures of the markets and Kowloon below!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Day 1, Not a Moment to Waste
It’s amazing where you can be – and how you can feel – after flying 15 hours. We departed from Los Angeles at 2:00am on Wednesday and arrived on the other side of the world at 7:00am on Thursday. The ride was long but easy, and as we moved from airplane to thermal body scan (no quarantines!) to passport approval to baggage claim, any residual jetlag gave way to palpable excitement in the group. From the moment we touched the ground – we were off and running.
Soon after arriving in Hong Kong, our prof. Mike Chinoy received a call from CNN/Anderson Cooper requesting him to appear on the AC360 show that morning (for its evening broadcast on the east coast) as an expert about the current crisis in N. Korea. So we quickly dropped off our bags at the hotel and rushed off to CNN headquarters where we watched Mike get put in makeup, set up on a sound stage, and go live on the air. My classmates and I then received a tour of CNN and had the opportunity to chat with several of Mike’s CNN colleagues about journalism in Hong Kong and current news in China. The impromptu visit to CNN was a truly amazing way to start our trip in Hong Kong. It was one of those moments when I realized just how privileged I am – to be a part of the Annenberg school, to be among distinguished students and professionals, and to be hanging out at the CNN headquarters mere hours after landing in Hong Kong.
What could top CNN on our first morning in HK? A dim sum feast that could feed an entire village…or just 12 hungry Americans. Mike ordered a myriad of dishes, each better than the next, and we drank tea and re-energized for the rest of the afternoon. We got around town on the MTR (subway system), bought local cell phones, and headed back to the hotel to settle in.
I met up with Maggie, an HR associate at the HKTB to obtain my training visa (I’ll leave for Macau on Saturday to then re-enter HK as a trainee before starting work). Maggie was incredibly kind to bring the visa to my hotel and she provided me with a ton of HTKB materials – brochures, publications, the annual report…and you all know how jazzed I get about these sorts of things. Can’t wait to settle into some HKTB reading this weekend! A classmate, Jessica, and I went on a stroll around our neighborhood last night and stopped into a noodle shop for dumpling soup. The best $3 dinner I’ve ever had.
I’ve made a nice little home out of my nice little hotel room…I’ve got a mini-closet with 5 hangers and a teeny set of 3 drawers, but I’ve yet to get my goonish American body accidentally wedged between the bed and the wall…apparently it happens. What it lacks in space it makes up for in its view: my window opens out to Victoria Harbour, facing Kowloon, with the rolling green mountains in the background. At night with the Kowloon skyscrapers and the harbor boats all lit up, it is a beautiful sight.
For a day that started with extraordinary pre-travel anxiety and ended with a walk through the bustling and fragrant streets of Hong Kong, I cannot imagine a better welcoming to this city.
Hong Kong is breathtaking. It is magnificent. Its emerald green mountains rise up out of the land where you’d least expect to see anything other than urban development. Its skyscrapers meet the sea, which meets the mountains, which meet the skyscrapers again. It is dense and hot and noisy. It is seedy and shiny. It is modern and ancient. It even has a 7-11 on every corner. I’ve yet to begin to figure it out…maybe I will tomorrow.
Soon after arriving in Hong Kong, our prof. Mike Chinoy received a call from CNN/Anderson Cooper requesting him to appear on the AC360 show that morning (for its evening broadcast on the east coast) as an expert about the current crisis in N. Korea. So we quickly dropped off our bags at the hotel and rushed off to CNN headquarters where we watched Mike get put in makeup, set up on a sound stage, and go live on the air. My classmates and I then received a tour of CNN and had the opportunity to chat with several of Mike’s CNN colleagues about journalism in Hong Kong and current news in China. The impromptu visit to CNN was a truly amazing way to start our trip in Hong Kong. It was one of those moments when I realized just how privileged I am – to be a part of the Annenberg school, to be among distinguished students and professionals, and to be hanging out at the CNN headquarters mere hours after landing in Hong Kong.
What could top CNN on our first morning in HK? A dim sum feast that could feed an entire village…or just 12 hungry Americans. Mike ordered a myriad of dishes, each better than the next, and we drank tea and re-energized for the rest of the afternoon. We got around town on the MTR (subway system), bought local cell phones, and headed back to the hotel to settle in.
I met up with Maggie, an HR associate at the HKTB to obtain my training visa (I’ll leave for Macau on Saturday to then re-enter HK as a trainee before starting work). Maggie was incredibly kind to bring the visa to my hotel and she provided me with a ton of HTKB materials – brochures, publications, the annual report…and you all know how jazzed I get about these sorts of things. Can’t wait to settle into some HKTB reading this weekend! A classmate, Jessica, and I went on a stroll around our neighborhood last night and stopped into a noodle shop for dumpling soup. The best $3 dinner I’ve ever had.
I’ve made a nice little home out of my nice little hotel room…I’ve got a mini-closet with 5 hangers and a teeny set of 3 drawers, but I’ve yet to get my goonish American body accidentally wedged between the bed and the wall…apparently it happens. What it lacks in space it makes up for in its view: my window opens out to Victoria Harbour, facing Kowloon, with the rolling green mountains in the background. At night with the Kowloon skyscrapers and the harbor boats all lit up, it is a beautiful sight.
For a day that started with extraordinary pre-travel anxiety and ended with a walk through the bustling and fragrant streets of Hong Kong, I cannot imagine a better welcoming to this city.
Hong Kong is breathtaking. It is magnificent. Its emerald green mountains rise up out of the land where you’d least expect to see anything other than urban development. Its skyscrapers meet the sea, which meets the mountains, which meet the skyscrapers again. It is dense and hot and noisy. It is seedy and shiny. It is modern and ancient. It even has a 7-11 on every corner. I’ve yet to begin to figure it out…maybe I will tomorrow.
At LAX waiting to catch our flight to HK!Francesca, Adriana, Kevin, Dominic, Len, Melinda, CJ
Hanging out at CNN
Mike on Anderson Cooper 360
Dim Sum lunchMike, Len, CJ, David, Francesca, Adriana, Kevin, Dominic, Melinda, Jessica
View of Victoria Harbour and Kowloon from my window
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Final Countdown
Greetings family, friends and internet stalkers!
Welcome to my blog documenting my summer in Hong Kong, which I’ll be departing for in exactly one week! Since this is my first real stab at blogging – and since I’m still here in America – here’s some background on me and my super fantastic trip :)
Born and raised in Maryland, I left the east-coast in 2004 for the mid-west and the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!) from which I graduated in 2008. Feeling restless and ambitious - an often dangerous and brilliant combination - I moved to Los Angeles to live a little and learn a lot, pursuing my master’s degree at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC. From starting at the Atlantic to eventually hitting the Pacific, there was only so much further to go before bouncing right out of the good ol’ US of A.
As I maintain that Acapulco spring break does not count as a foreign experience, I am now preparing for my first significant and substantial time abroad: I will be relocating with 10 classmates to Hong Kong from May-August. I am equal parts excited and terrified – my idea of adventure and risk has always gone something like this: camping in the backyard, drinking a large soda before going on a long car ride, eating questionable BTB leftovers. Hong Kong thereby qualifies as “big deal.”
I’ve been granted the tremendous opportunity to work with the Hong Kong Tourism Board in the public relations and communications department. (Check out the HKTB: http://discoverhongkong.com/usa/index.jsp) My classmates will be working at international PR agencies and news organizations, including Fleishman-Hillard, Hill&Knowlton, CNN and Reuters. When we’re done working in August, we’ll wrap-up our trip with a ten-day excursion through mainland China. (I’m told we get to hold baby pandas!) I hope to do a lot of traveling and exploring on the weekends and I’m planning trips to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Our experience will be guided by Annenberg adjunct prof. Mike Chinoy, a pretty amazing guy: he’s the former CNN Senior Asia Correspondent, in 1989 he helped broadcast Tiananmen Square to the world, and perhaps almost as important, he’s been a real trooper in dealing with my various anxieties and helping me to land a fantastic internship!
Hong Kong is a 12-hour time difference from the east-coast and a 15-hour time difference from the west-coast; my hope is that this blog can keep us a little more connected. I’ll be updating regularly with stories and pictures and other bits along the way and you can post comments or reply to my posts here too! My ultimate goal is to over-enthusiastically brag about my adventures and regale you lowly readers with my experience in what might be the most vibrant, exciting city on earth. Kidding, kidding. But, I imagine it wouldn’t be too difficult to achieve.
Huge thanks to my family, friends and Annenberg for all their support!
I will miss you all very much!
From the east-coast to the west-coast and now to the very far-east,
Love,
Rachel
Welcome to my blog documenting my summer in Hong Kong, which I’ll be departing for in exactly one week! Since this is my first real stab at blogging – and since I’m still here in America – here’s some background on me and my super fantastic trip :)
Born and raised in Maryland, I left the east-coast in 2004 for the mid-west and the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!) from which I graduated in 2008. Feeling restless and ambitious - an often dangerous and brilliant combination - I moved to Los Angeles to live a little and learn a lot, pursuing my master’s degree at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC. From starting at the Atlantic to eventually hitting the Pacific, there was only so much further to go before bouncing right out of the good ol’ US of A.
As I maintain that Acapulco spring break does not count as a foreign experience, I am now preparing for my first significant and substantial time abroad: I will be relocating with 10 classmates to Hong Kong from May-August. I am equal parts excited and terrified – my idea of adventure and risk has always gone something like this: camping in the backyard, drinking a large soda before going on a long car ride, eating questionable BTB leftovers. Hong Kong thereby qualifies as “big deal.”
I’ve been granted the tremendous opportunity to work with the Hong Kong Tourism Board in the public relations and communications department. (Check out the HKTB: http://discoverhongkong.com/usa/index.jsp) My classmates will be working at international PR agencies and news organizations, including Fleishman-Hillard, Hill&Knowlton, CNN and Reuters. When we’re done working in August, we’ll wrap-up our trip with a ten-day excursion through mainland China. (I’m told we get to hold baby pandas!) I hope to do a lot of traveling and exploring on the weekends and I’m planning trips to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Our experience will be guided by Annenberg adjunct prof. Mike Chinoy, a pretty amazing guy: he’s the former CNN Senior Asia Correspondent, in 1989 he helped broadcast Tiananmen Square to the world, and perhaps almost as important, he’s been a real trooper in dealing with my various anxieties and helping me to land a fantastic internship!
Hong Kong is a 12-hour time difference from the east-coast and a 15-hour time difference from the west-coast; my hope is that this blog can keep us a little more connected. I’ll be updating regularly with stories and pictures and other bits along the way and you can post comments or reply to my posts here too! My ultimate goal is to over-enthusiastically brag about my adventures and regale you lowly readers with my experience in what might be the most vibrant, exciting city on earth. Kidding, kidding. But, I imagine it wouldn’t be too difficult to achieve.
Huge thanks to my family, friends and Annenberg for all their support!
I will miss you all very much!
From the east-coast to the west-coast and now to the very far-east,
Love,
Rachel
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