Winter Wonderland

Well I got my one wish! If nothing else happened during my six week stint in the United States, I wanted it to snow. Now my trip home is complete. I've had my fill of the stuff and can go another year or so in Hong Kong's warm climate without missing a New Jersey winter.

Even before the snow, it had been a wonderful five plus weeks for me. First I flew down to New Orleans with my college roommates for an absolutely incredible long weekend. We stayed in the French Quarter, and I was amazed by the city. And the weather was beautiful, even though I knew a colder fate awaited me up North a few days later.

With my junior year roommates in New Orleans

Then I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday and Thanksgiving in the same week, seeing family and friends for the first time in over a year. After that, though, the 'vacation' was over. It was time for work. .

On Sunday, November 27th, I headed to the office at 7pm and worked straight through til 5 the next morning (8am to 6pm Hong Kong-time). You see, the only reason I was able to spend so much time in the States was because I agreed to work nights and cover my Asian accounts while there. So even though I was home, I was effectively working a full-time job the whole time.

Luckily we have an office in Freehold, New Jersey, about twenty minutes' drive from my house. For those next four weeks, I worked grueling hours five days a week, mostly from Freehold but occasionally from our New York City office. Then, on the weekends, I had to adjust from "Asia hours" to what I called "normal hours." This adjustment sometimes made it feel like I was flying from Hong Kong to New York on Fridays and then back again on Sundays.

Although I was alone in Freehold the entire time, I was constantly in communication with Kevin, my coworker, and all of my customers in Asia. In fact, many of them weren’t even aware that I was over 8,000 miles away! It still amazes me that technology is so efficient that I can pretty much do my job from anywhere in the world, as long as I find the local time that corresponds with Hong Kong’s working day.

There were days when Kevin wasn’t in the office, and I was literally running our entire Asian operations from a small town in Central Jersey in the middle of the night! It was a lot of responsibility, but I always took it very seriously.

In all, it was a positive experience, and I am grateful to work for a company with an office so close to home, paving the way for future trips like this one that allow me to come back for long periods of time without taking many days off from work. It’s nice to know I can come home for weddings and other important events, stay for a week or so, and not miss work to do it.

But if my weekdays were spent hard at work, the weekends were full of fun all the way through! For one, I even made it up to Villanova for the Singers/Voices Christmas Concert. It didn't even feel a little bit weird wandering around campus. Villanova still felt like home.

Pretty much every other weekend was spent with family (helping decorate for Christmas) by day and friends (usually in the city) by night.

With my friends Paul and Katie at a Villanova Game Watch in New York City

My last day of work was Christmas Eve—finishing at 5am—so I got to fully take part in my family’s holiday traditions. Christmas Eve dinner was on Staten Island and Christmas Day was spent in Brooklyn. Since I was in Hong Kong last Christmas, it was doubly special to celebrate with my family this year. It was all the more precious because I am not sure when I will get to do it again. I knew I had to enjoy every minute of it. And I did.

The next morning I drove down to Chincoteague, Virginia, with my dad for a relaxing three-day mini-vacation at our family's favorite summer spot. The town has some of the best oysters I've ever tasted. It's a sleepy little fishing village with a national wildlife refuge and great seafood restaurants. But it is probably most famous for its wild ponies who live in the refuge and inspired the popular children's book Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry.

 
We got some good shots of the famous Chincoteague wild ponies in the snow.

The ponies

We had to drive down there a day earlier than planned so we would beat the impending blizzard. And when the snow came earlier than expected, we were only about halfway there! The second part of our drive was precarious—and even a little scary—but Chincoteague was beautiful in the snow, and I had a great time seeing it in winter for the first time.

Chincoteague, VA

Now I only have a few short days home before my return to Hong Kong. I have plans for New Year's Eve in New York, then will enjoy New Year's Day in the great state of New Jersey with my family, and on January 2nd, in the early afternoon, back I go!! It's been a great time, but I am so excited to go back to Asia.

Homeward Bound

Well, here I sit at Hong Kong International Airport, and I've got almost a full day of travel ahead of me. Right now, it is Friday, November 19th here. At 11:25am I take off, and my plane lands at Newark at 1:45pm on Friday afternoon. Due to the thirteen hour time difference between here and New Jersey, my sixteen hour flight technically will land only about two hours after I take off! My family is meeting me at the airport, and it will be the first time I see my dad and sister in over a year! Only six hours later, I am flying down to New Orleans to spend the weekend with my four roommates from Villanova: Ryan, Rusty, Shea and Joe. I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and I cannot believe it is finally here! I should arrive in New Orleans at 10:30pm on Friday evening! See ya in 2011, Hong Kong!

First Impressions

I arrived in Hong Kong on a Monday... November 9, 2009, to be exact. My first Friday, I sent this e-mail to a friend back home. It was so fascinating for me to re-read today that I thought I'd post it here. I was free, white and twenty-two, and I did my best to jump right into carving a new life for myself in Asia. It's now been over a year since the big move, but because I didn't create this blog until more than a month after arriving, it doesn't really have any descriptions of my journey and first few days. That is, until now!

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Friday, November 13th, 2009

Well, after four full days, I now have “gotten settled” here, though I don’t quite know what “gotten settled” officially entails. It’s this change in feeling that I can’t quite put my finger on. I just feel different today than I have for the past few days. I guess it has to be a combination of having unpacked and decorated my apartment, opened a bank account, gotten to know the layout of the city, gone out for a night, enjoyed some of the touristy offerings and started going to work. I haven’t gotten a phone yet, but I will soon. I guess I don’t need a telephone to feel “settled” out here.

The past week has been a long and incredible journey. After madcap packing all night last Wednesday, a car pulled up at my house at 5:15 AM Thursday morning. I met up with my CEO Alan and his girlfriend Jackie at JFK and we flew to London. We cleared customs and settled into our hotel later that night. We were at the Waldorf Hilton, and I was in an Executive Room with access to the Executive Lounge! It was in a great location just off the Strand, and I loved staying there. Dimitri, the IT vice-president, was already in London. The four of us spent a lot of time together.

London was great! On Friday morning I walked over to Trafalgar Square and the area where I used to work. The highlight of my morning was going to this tiny print shop on Cecil Court, where the owner, Tracy, remembered me from four summers ago, and we had a good chat about things! I met up with my friend Liz from Villanova at noon in Trafalgar Square and we wandered and stopped in two or three pubs for a few pints. I love Liz because she is so energetic and fun to be around. We both put on British accents for a good portion of our romp around town, but I don’t think we convinced very many people. It was a great day none-the-less.

On Saturday morning, I woke up super early to catch the Eurostar to Paris. I was on the 6:22 AM train and I arrived at Gare du Nord at 9:47, Paris time. At the station I was met by two other 'Nova friends named Katelyn and Amanda. Literally, until my train to London at 9:13 PM, the three of us walked all over Paris, hitting Bastille, Notre Dame, Ile de la Cité, the Marais, Châtelet, Shakespeare and Company, the Louvre, the Galeries Lafayette, the Opéra, Place des Vosges and the Hôtel de Ville. It was one of the best days I have ever had.

Sunday was another “wander around London in the rain” day, and it was great. I especially enjoyed Westminster Abbey, because it was Remembrance Sunday, and there were thousands of crosses and poppies arranged to commemorate the British military. It was a moving display. At 5 PM, we checked out of our hotel and headed to Heathrow for the big flight to Hong Kong. Although I was bumped out of business class and put in coach, it worked out better than I expected because I actually had more leg room, since I was in the first row of seats. I also got monetary compensation for my troubles. I watched The Lavender Hill Mob on the plane, which I loved. Then I ate dinner, went to sleep and woke up with only 1 hour left until landing!!!! It was a phenomenal flight.

When we landed, it was 4 PM on Monday afternoon in Hong Kong and we went straight to our hotel, Langham Place. It may be the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in, even though I only got one night there before moving to my long-stay apartment. The President of the company, Tommy, was in Hong Kong already with his wife, Gilly, and 8 year old daughter, Victoria, so we all met in the hotel restaurant for dinner. It was a buffet with food from all over the world: sushi, spring rolls, dim sum, oysters, two or three different kinds of crustaceans, snails, mussels, two carving stations, salads, soups, fresh fruit, a cheese selection and white and milk chocolate fondue fountains. It was mesmerizing.

On Tuesday, my bosses had an important bank meeting, so I had breakfast with Dimitri and the ladies. Then Dimitri and I moved my luggage to the long stay apartment at 2 Macdonnell Road. It is a great place, with a stunning view of the city and a perfect location. Every night in Hong Kong there is this laser light show where all the skyscrapers flash different colors for about fifteen minutes. I can watch it from my bedroom window! I am very happy to be there for the next six weeks, during which time I have to find a more permanent flat.

After putting the bags in the room, we headed to the office, where I finally got to meet Kevin, for now my only coworker and friend in Hong Kong. I have been in contact with him since I started working in June, but it was good to finally meet him. Our office is in the heart of Hong Kong’s business district, and I cannot tell you how incredible it is! At first, we were in a tiny room that was hardly big enough for Kevin and me to share. Luckily, Alan immediately got us a bigger room around the corner that has a view to die for. Literally, as I sit here typing this I am looking out onto Victoria Harbor, watching the Star Ferry cross back and forth between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The Star Ferry is one of Hong Kong’s signatures. It’s kind of like the Staten Island Ferry except that it’s kind of run-down and filled with tourists. Come to think of it, it’s just like the Staten Island Ferry, except it’s painted green instead of orange and has a better safety record. In the harbor, there are also cruise ships, tankers, junks and cargo ships on the water. There are countless skyscrapers shooting up everywhere, and I have a perfect view of Hong Kong’s two tallest buildings. Behind it all are beautiful green mountains. It has to be seen to be believed! As it is right now, our office could comfortably handle five workers, so hopefully we will be here for at least a year before we have to move.

Right down the hall from our room is the "honor kitchen" for the office. There is a log and you are supposed to write down whatever you take: water, soda, beer, liquor, chips or candy bars. Yeah, that's right... Beer and liquor in the office for whenever you want. And the firm gets the bill each month. They definitely ought to start putting "honor kitchens" in offices all over the world.

Kevin is great and we are quickly becoming very good friends. He is 23 and English, and an incredibly good broker. I hope to learn a lot from him. I was actually extremely nervous about meeting him, I don’t really know why. I just had this feeling he wouldn’t like me. Also, I guess I knew that if we didn't get along, it would be a rough start for me out here. Luckily we clicked.

That afternoon, we all went up to the top of Victoria Peak, the highest point in Hong Kong. It has a great view over the city, similar to the Pao de Acucar in Rio or Table Mountain in Cape Town. At the top of the mountain, I got a "fish massage" on my feet. Basically, you stick your feet and lower legs into a sort of tub, and thousands of little fish swim up and start eating the dead skin off of you. It feels really good, and it is really wierd watching it happen. Tommy, Jackie, Tommy's daughter Victoria and I all got the massages. I will never forget the experience, and it is something I plan on making anybody who ever visits me out here try.

On Wednesday, two nights ago, Kevin, Dimitri and I went out in Wanchai. I am looking forward to many more, especially when I start to meet more young people. We had a great time, but Kevin and I were both exhausted all day yesterday.

I am still getting used to the Hong Kong dollar exchange rate, which basically means every price here has to be divided by 7.75 to find the U.S. dollar equivalent. At first it was really hard because the symbol for the Hong Kong dollar is the same as the U.S. dollar. In the mornings it costs $27 to get from my flat to the office, so that's about $3.50. Taxi drivers here make New York cabbies seem like careful grandmothers. They drive like maniacs, and they do not speak English. In fact, half the time they won't even accept you and tell you to try another cab. If they don't feel like driving where you want to go, then they don't take you. They even drove Alan to a train station a few nights ago because they didn't want to drive him to his hotel but wanted to get some money out of him. Last night, my cab driver couldn't understand me, so he called up a friend and handed me his cell phone. I had to tell the friend where I wanted to go and he translated for my driver.

Last night, the whole group (Alan, Jackie, Dimitri, Tommy, Gilly, Victoria, Kevin and me) went out for one last dinner at a nice Australian steakhouse called Wooloomooloo on the 31st floor of a skyscraper in Wanchai. It was the best meal I've had here so far, and I am already looking forward to a repeat visit. It was a good finish to my introductory stage of living in Hong Kong. I strolled around quite a long while in town afterwards, until it started to rain. It's really a great place. Someone once wrote of Hong Kong, "A dream of Manhattan, rising out of a South China sea." That's pretty much a perfect description. Now the bosses are getting ready to leave, and it's time for me to really make this place my home. I am looking forward to it like I've never looked forward to anything before in my life.

Well, today is Friday, and I couldn't have asked for a better first week. I'm going to head over to the 'honor kitchen' this afternoon and help myself to some of the goods. Hopefully the weekend will be as good as the rest of this week.

Cheers,
Paul

Passing the One Year Mark

Well… it’s official. I have now been in Hong Kong for exactly one year. And in nine short days, I will be making my first visit back home, three hundred and seventy-nine days after I last set foot in the United States.

In all honesty, though, I don’t think I will go this long again without at least a short visit back home. It has long been a goal of mine to stay away for a full year, just to prove to myself that I could do it. Psychologically, it was a hurdle I really felt the need to get over. And now that I have succeeded, I’ll make my best effort to come home at least a couple of times each year from now on.

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I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but it certainly doesn’t feel like I’ve been away for as long as I have. Yes, I feel very at home in Hong Kong—I have great friends and I love the lifestyle—but it still feels like the beginning of an even longer journey. There’s still so much time ahead of me out here, so even though this milestone might seem impressive today, I’m sure one day I’ll look back on it as one of the earlier stages of my international experience.

Last night, to commemorate the big anniversary, some friends and I got together for a rooftop barbecue in Mong Kok, the part of town where I spent my very first night out here. I had read about this “hidden” restaurant months ago, and last night finally proved the proper ‘excuse’ to give it a try.

Basically, some local people decided to turn their private rooftop into a barbecue restaurant, and it has slowly become more and more popular via word of mouth. Perched atop an apartment building near the Ladies Market, the restaurant is only marked with a curiously discreet, misspelled sign indicating ‘BQQ’ in red letters. For a mere HK$118 (and after scaling seven flights of stairs in the walkup apartment building), an unending array of meat, shrimp, corn, bread and other foods is spread across some tables. The barbecue pits are filled with charcoal and lit upon arrival, and then the diners are free to go to town! The soft drinks, tea and beer are included in the price and also unlimited! And on a nice night, as it was yesterday, the rooftop ambiance cannot be beat. It was a great way to celebrate the occasion.

Work is going better than ever. Gone are the days when I struggled to earn my keep, to get customers to pay some attention to my existence, to feel like I was actually on a path to success. Now I even have a few customers who come to me, without any nudge on my part, to help them with their daily business. It’s a very good feeling, and I look forward to developing my business even further.

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I am so indebted to my firm for giving me the great opportunity to work in this amazing city. The trust they put in me and the responsibilities they have given me have been the backbone of this entire journey, and I would never have had any of the great experiences without that. And of course, I owe so much to Kevin, my coworker, as well. Patient and savvy, he has taught me practically everything I know about this business, and I could not have asked for a better colleague to show me the ropes.

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All I can think about these days is savoring the joys of Hong Kong over the next week-and-a-half. Of course I am ridiculously excited about my upcoming six week trip back home, but I know it will bring with it some longing for the things (and people) I love most about this place. It has been a phenomenal year, and I am very grateful for the wonderful experiences I have been fortunate enough to enjoy, both internationally and right here in my city.

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Thank you Asia for giving me the best year of my life!

Happy Halloween from Hong Kong!

Halloween 2009—my last weekend in New York before moving halfway around the world. Five days down the road, I'd be flying to London and then onto Hong Kong. And there I was, so busy that I hardly gave any thought to my costume or plans. Around 4pm on Halloween, I went with my roommate from Villanova, Ryan, to a costume shop in Midtown and had to settle on a creepy plastic mask. As fun as that night was, I was determined to make my first Halloween in Hong Kong as well-planned as possible.

It’s been about a month now that we’ve been getting in the Halloween spirit out here. At the beginning of October, spider webs and ghosts started making guest appearances in all the restaurants, bars and stores around town. The costume shops began opening as well, and people started to think about their disguises for the big night. Still, as much as Halloween is popular out here, there were several Halloween traditions I struggled to observe.

A staple of Halloween for many Americans is carving a jack o’lantern. But I just couldn’t seem to find a suitable pumpkin in Hong Kong. I searched the expat websites, but I was unsuccessful in locating a ‘pumpkin patch’ or a store that sold reasonably priced, attractive pumpkins. The only ones I could find were either stupidly expensive or looked more like orangey-brown tumors than pumpkins.

Luckily, I found a last minute solution in the form of the Thai restaurant downstairs from my apartment. Their 'red curry with seafood' entrée is served in an already-hollowed pumpkin, so I ordered the dish one night last week and asked the waitress if I could please take the pumpkin home. She proceeded to wrap it in a doggy-bag for me, and although I had to give it a thorough wash in the sink before carving, I was very pleased with my ingenuity!

My jack o'lantern, formerly a bowl of Thai curry.

Before Solène moved out of the apartment, we hosted a Halloween party as a sort-of “going away” celebration. Solène, being from France, had never properly experienced Halloween and was very much looking forward to it when she got her surprise job offer in Bangladesh. Now that she had to leave Hong Kong prior to Halloween, we decided a fitting solution would be to have an early Halloween party. We bought a spider web, some creepy candles and black balloons to create an appropriate atmosphere, and we also visited a local Halloween market to search for costumes.

Friends at Solène's Going Away/Halloween Party

Farewell, Solene!

A few months back I also bought tickets for a Halloween-themed concert on Saturday, October 30th, the de facto celebration night since Halloween itself fell on a Sunday this year. The traditional Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra played The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and three other Halloween-themed pieces that were commissioned for the concert and were receiving their world premieres. I went my roommate Valentine and two Dutch friends named Hayley and Jeroen, and we wore our costumes to the show before heading out for a night on the town.

After the Halloween concert in TST

Although I dressed as a pirate for our early Halloween party, I decided to be a bit more subtle with my official Halloween costume. I read an article in the New York Times in which the author mentioned that a friend once dressed as a ‘Venetian blind’ and wore dark glasses and an “I love Venice” t-shirt and carried a walking stick. I decided that would be my costume. I went to Mong Kok, an area chock full of markets, and found sun glasses and a cane easily enough. But the Venice t-shirt proved more elusive. Eventually I found a stall that had dozens of t-shirt logos to choose from and the option of adding additional letters for $5HK each. After a bit of haggling, I got the price down to an acceptable level and was all set for the night.

With Valentine on the 'Star' Ferry...

(Note that she recycled my pirate costume from the previous party)

After the concert, we spent a bit of time at my friend Jason's apartment, in the company of a police officer, an Indian, G.I. Joe and several other characters, before heading out to join the crowds. Lan Kwai Fong was unbelievably packed this Halloween, a veritable parade of showy costumes ranging from zombies to teletubbies to superheroes. As usual, the crowds spilled onto the streets creating a carnival-like atmosphere—an unforgettable sight.

And as if Halloween wasn’t exciting enough by itself, I got to add a new roommate to the mix! Alex moved to Shanghai on Saturday afternoon, and Pietro, an Italian from Milan, moved in, becoming my seventh roommate in the past year. (Sometimes I feel like I live in the European Union, as I’ve lived with a German, a Dutchman, two French, two Swiss and now an Italian!) It was great getting to know him in such a fun setting, and I hope both Valentine and Pietro stay on in the apartment for a good amount of time, because the three of us get along great.

With new roommate Pietro, from Italy, and some teletubbies near Lan Kwai Fong

The Roommate Game

Over the past ten months that I have been keeping this blog, I have written a lot about my various roommates. First there was Jurre, from the Netherlands, who was my first real friend out here. A few days after meeting him, we both met Julian, from Germany, and the three of us got along great. Our three bedroom, one bathroom apartment in Wan Chai is small by American standards, but it's a veritable palace in this part of Hong Kong, especially for the price we each pay. We rent from a local company called Top Action, and they have a bunch of apartments of varying quality scattered all over Wan Chai and Causeway Bay.

Way back when... the first day at the races with Julian and Jurre

After Jurre finished his internship and moved back to Europe, Guillaume moved into his old room. He stayed on for over five months, but he had to return to college in Switzerland. When he left, Alex moved in. A week or so later, Julian returned home as well, opening a spot for Solène, from France. Now, Solène's time in Hong Kong has come to an end, too.

With Alex and Solène during the Mid-Autumn Festival

But empty rooms don’t last long in this town…

Last Friday night I had no plans to speak of. I was a bit tired and just looking forward to a quiet night in the apartment. But, as often happens in Hong Kong, my plans were thwarted and suddenly there was something I had to do: play the roommate game!

See, Solène, my French roommate who had become very good friends with both Alex and me, suddenly had to leave Hong Kong. She only moved in about two months ago, at the end of August. We got along great, but one night while she and I were having dinner at a Japanese sushi restaurant near the apartment, her cell phone rang. Her eyes lit up, and she anxiously answered, knowing full well what the reason of the call would be, even though she had kept it a secret from her friends. She recently interviewed for her dream job, and during that phone call, she discovered that the company had decided to hire her.

On November 1st, she flies to Bangladesh for a two year ‘expat assignment’ working for a major textile company—a career she is very interested in pursuing! She flew back to France last week for training before the big move.

Ordinarily, the landlords will handle vacancies like this by themselves. You see, I pay for my own individual room, meaning that when someone moves out of the apartment, Top Action is responsible for finding a replacement—not me and whoever else stays on. If we wanted to, we could have somebody all ready to move in and put them in touch with the landlords. But I consider myself pretty easygoing and wasn’t too concerned about who would move in, especially since it’s always worked out fine in the past. Besides Guillaume, whom Julian and I found ourselves, all my other roommates have found the place through Top Action. But Alex was a bit more apprehensive about letting a random person move in. He really wanted to meet him or her beforehand.

After discussing with the landlords, they said they would bring by four or five people, let us meet them and chat with them, and then let us choose who we most wanted to live with. Since I wasn’t home when three of the four potential candidates came around to view the apartment, I made plans to meet two of them in Lan Kwai Fong that evening, and it felt like I was conducting interviews for Blue Key all over again! I really got along with the first candidate. And after meeting the second, I realized how hard the decision was going to be. At one point I jokingly texted Alex that both of them were keepers, and one should take the bedroom and the other should stay on the couch.

The next morning, we found out that one potential roomie had viewed another apartment in Tin Hau that was both cheaper and larger than ours, and she had opted to go for it. Our decision was made for us, and honestly, I was very relieved by this development. Iris, the one who found another apartment, said she wants to keep in touch and meet all of our friends, so it’s not the last we’ll be seeing of her.

Sitting at an outside table on the balcony of Tony Roma's, an American rib restaurant right by the apartment, I made the official phone call to invite our new roomie to move in.

Meet Valentine: our Swiss roommate from Geneva. She is twenty-five years old and looking to work for a hedge fund out here, so for the first time since Jurre left I’m again living with someone else who works in the world of finance. She also has several cousins (five, to be exact) who already live here in Hong Kong, and her brother works in Kuala Lumpur.

As the one year mark creeps closer and closer, playing the roommate game gave me a chance to look back on the five previous roommates I’ve lived with over the past eleven months and remember all the good times. First moving in with Jurre and Julian last December and discovering Hong Kong together; then meeting Guillaume in March and getting friendly with a vast circle of his French amis; and of course getting to know the newbies, Alex and Solène over the past two months.

Me and Guillaume

I look forward to keeping in touch with them all, and now building a friendship with Valentine. With less than a month remaining until I go home for six weeks, I'm sure these last days will be fun-filled and memorable. Halloween is just around the corner, and I'll probably have some sort of celebration marking one full year of living overseas in early November. And as I've said all along, I just can't believe how fast the time has flown!

Technical Difficulties

I have often lamented that my official blog for VSB, meant to vividly describe my exploits as a cunning young businessman fresh on the international financial scene, often delineates into non-corporate adventures, usually involving travel to neighboring countries or cultural events occurring here in Hong Kong. Now, for a change, comes a bona fide ‘business’ installment that is actually about life in the office.

My company is based out of New York. There are about fifty employees who work in the three offices spread between Lower Manhattan and Central and Northern Jersey. After the success of the original desk in the Financial District, our founders ventured into the international market by setting up a desk in London, which over the years has grown into about fifteen brokers and supporting staff. Of course, the obvious next step was to get involved in the blossoming emerging markets of Asia. But regardless of the location of the branch offices, the company’s soul is in New York. We all report to the New York heads, and, ultimately, it is New York that keeps us running.

Since it's still only Kevin and me here in Hong Kong, we rely on New York and London to help us out with all our trade support, as we are not yet big enough to hire our own staff. This includes booking tickets, facilitating settlement and—most important of all—managing technology.

London and Hong Kong’s business days overlap (our afternoon is their morning), so the back office staff in London handles the booking of Hong Kong’s trading activity. However, even London is not a big enough office to have its own tech division. The company’s entire tech department is based in Manhattan, and they never cease to amaze me.

I can pick up my company phone here in Hong Kong, dial the three-digit extension of any colleague in one of our worldwide offices, and immediately speak to them (so long as they are at their desk, of course). I can contact Dimitri (or just 'D' for short), the head of the tech department, with a problem at midnight US-time, and he is manipulating the mouse on my computer, solving the problem from literally halfway around the world, in the comfort of his own home.

It seems there is no issue that can’t be fixed in a matter of minutes. The crew, especially D, has to be among the most underpaid staff in the world—literally on call constantly for a company that has an office doing business somewhere in the world every hour of the day.

This morning, the Hong Kong office was again saved by a man in his pajamas in Brooklyn, and I was again impressed by how flat the world has become in the modern age.

For the past couple of days, our Bloomberg terminals have been sporadically disconnecting several times a day, usually about every hour or two. In addition to the annoyance, it can really screw things up during the heat of the moment, with trades coming together and vital information flashing upon our screens. It's kind of like a cab driver's taxi breaking down while he's searching for a fare. This morning, the “every hour or two” turned into “every five minutes” and eventually Kevin and I realized that we had to call D.

He talked me through some technical issues I had to correct here in the office, and then he told me to just sit back for a minute while he did his thing. A few moments later, the cursor on my screen was moving by itself, a computer turned on in another part of the room, our Bloomberg shut down and then restarted, and our phones rebooted. Here I am several hours later and everything has been operating perfectly since!

It makes you wonder how much easier things will continue to get as technology improves over the years. But for me, this is good enough!

As Summer Ends...

The joke out here goes something like this: You know you live in Hong Kong when you can say, “Oh, what a cool day,” when it's 82° outside.

Technically, summer may be coming to a close, but weather-wise, you’d never know it. The heat and humidity are still in full swing as far as I’m concerned, and it’s hot enough to hit the beaches and enjoy weekend boat trips to soak up the beautiful days and the sun’s rays.

My mom has been back in the States for a good two weeks now, and Jamie (my friend from Villanova who was working in Singapore for a few months) has also returned to New York, so I have no more excuses to jet set around Asia spending all my savings. Although the months of July and August were a complete delight, I must say it is better on my bank account and my (physical and mental) health to have those two back home!

With my mom on the Duk Ling, an old Chinese junk that still plies the waters of Victoria Harbor

Looking back on the past two months, I realize that I never slept, spent far too much money and gallivanted around so much that I could not have kept it up much longer. Anyway, the memories of my first summer in Asia couldn’t be better. Now I hope more people from back home decide to come out to visit!

At the daily firing of the Noonday Gun in Causeway Bay

On my mom’s last weekend here, I took her down to Macau, a former Portugese colony (much like Hong Kong used to be a British colony) about thirty miles from Hong Kong. Macau has a distinct European flair combined with a Chinese heritage. It was actually established by the Portugese long before Hong Kong was set up by the Brits, and it remained under Portugese control until 1999, two years after the British handed Hong Kong back to the Chinese. As such, it was both the first and last European colony in Asia, and it is a great place.

Old Macau's most famous sight: the ruins of St. Paul's

In recent years, Macau has had a rebirth as Asia’s Las Vegas. There are dozens of casinos, including the Venetian, the MGM Grand, the Wynn, the Sands and scores more. But what’s especially nice is that the town has managed to maintain its cultural and historic roots while building its reputation as the gaming capital of the East. So a visit to Macau always includes generous portions of culture and gambling-related fun.

An old Portugese church, San Domingo (Saint Dominic's in English), in the center of Macau

Sitting by the pool at our hotel in Macau, we struck up a conversation with a young American couple, Devin and Julie, who had just relocated to Hong Kong. My mom and I had a great afternoon chatting with them, and in the end, we all decided to go for dinner at Fernando’s, a popular Portugese restaurant on Hac Sa Beach. We exchanged e-mail addresses, and now we’ve gotten to hang out back in Hong Kong, so it was definitely great to meet them.

In fact, tonight after work, I am supposed to meet up with them again at the races in Happy Valley. The races stopped for the summer after the July 14th meeting, but last week they started up again. I am very happy to have my favorite Wednesday night activity back on my calendar!

Another recent addition to my Hong Kong life came in the form of a new roommate. When I first found out that a French girl was moving into Julian’s old room, I was a little apprehensive. You see, I’ve only ever had guy roommates before, so I am not used to living with girls. My thoughts on the matter completely changed after Solène offered to cook dinner! She is delightful, and it is great to improve my French-speaking skills by conversing with her. And late last week, when we came home to (yet another) flood in the living room, the whole mess was mopped up and fixed before I even had a chance to think about helping. Best. Roommate. Ever.

Alex, my Swiss roommate who took over Guillaume's old room, is currently back home. His internship ended, but he's trying to figure out a way to stay in Hong Kong. Hopefully he'll get lucky and come back soon.

Workwise, we are entering the end-of-the-year stretch, as our customers at the banks are all trying to clear their positions to have an empty book for year’s end. This is good news for a broker, because people are buying and selling and relying upon our services to get things done. I have several new accounts I am starting to build up, including one that I got two trades done with this morning! Hopefully the streak continues throughout the coming months.

And, finally, I now know about my first trip back home! On Friday, November 19th, I will fly back to the States for my birthday (November 24th) and Thanksgiving (November 25th). Instead of returning to Hong Kong, I will simply stay home through the New Year, working as much as possible via our New York or Jersey office. That means I get a total of 45 days back in the States, more than half of which will be pure vacation. I couldn’t be more excited, especially since I will have been away over a full year by the time I touch down back in the USA!

Ready for a trip home: Me in front of the US Consulate

I Left My Heart in Singapore

I’ve just had two of my best—albeit most expensive and sleepless—weekends back to back. Two weekends ago, August 6th–9th, Jamie, my friend from ‘Nova, came up to Hong Kong to stay with me and see the town. He had off on Monday because of Singapore’s National Day, so I had a bit more time than a usual to show him the amazingness that is Hong Kong. We crammed in a ton of activities over the three days he was here, including a trip to Macau.

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Just before he left on Monday afternoon, I happened to price tickets to Singapore for the following weekend, and happened to find stupidly cheap spots on one of the local budget airlines, Tiger Air. Since Jamie is at the tail end of his job rotation, I knew this would be my last chance to visit Singapore while he was still there, and I decided to go ahead and book the tickets. I am so glad that I did, because the weekend was phenomenal, even if it did take me until today to recover from the lack of sleep. (And to finally get around to writing this entry!)

Singapore had been described to me countless times, but no explanation can accurately portray the town. I was told it would be impossibly clean, lovely and family-oriented, and it was all of those things. But it also had a unique character and feel all its own that was completely unexpected. Hongkongers typically paint a picture of Singapore as ‘the place expats move when they get married, have a family and are ready to leave the frenetic pace of city life behind.’ But after having visited myself, I have to disagree. Singapore doesn’t lack any of Hong Kong’s energy or nightlife. It is just able to couple this joie de vivre with a serious dose of calm, collected peacefulness. Jamie kept saying that Singapore “does not even feel like a real city.” And I completely agree. Eventually we decided that Singapore is more of a real-life Disney World than bustling metropolis. Except you get caned if you break the rules!

The view of Clarke Quay from Jamie's window

I arrived in Singapore so late on Friday night that it was already significantly into Saturday by the time I got to Jamie’s apartment. We had coordinated via e-mail exactly how we were to meet up. As a joke, in one e-mail, I wrote that if all else failed, I would simply start shouting “Jamie—Jamie—Jamie” until we finally found each other. Little did I realize that my phone would run out of credit, and that is exactly what I would have to do!! Thankfully, somebody up there was on my side: Jamie heard me shouting and a serious crisis was averted. (Sidenote: If I gave an award to the friend I've met up with in most foreign countries, Jamie would win, as Singapore marks the fifth one!)

After dropping off my bag in his flat, Jamie took me to a part of town called Clarke Quay (pronounced “key”), which was right across the street. Clarke Quay is unlike any nightlife scene I have ever seen anywhere. It's an old collection of restored warehouses and factories that has been completely taken over by themed bars and restaurants: a Cuban themed bar, a microbrewery, a traditional British pub, and—most bizarrely—a hospital-themed restaurant called The Clinic that seats its diners in wheelchairs and serves beverages via drips!

Clarke Quay at night

Early on Saturday morning we hit Singapore. After a quick bite to eat at an outdoor complex of restaurants and shops (situated on the grounds of an old convent) called CHIJMES, we visited the National Museum. It traced the history of the island of Singapore from its legendary founding through the colonial era to its current status as an independent city-state of worldwide economic importance.

The National Museum of Singapore

The museum was awesome, and afterwards we headed to the famous Raffles Hotel for the obligatory Singapore Sling at the storied Long Bar with some of Jamie's friends. For S$25 (or over US$18!!!) we sipped an extremely sweet Sling under the quirky ceiling fans, snacked on peanuts and enjoyed the ambiance. Gone are the days when Somerset Maugham, Noël Coward and Ava Gardner lingered over drinks here—only tourists set foot inside now. And, I'm sorry to report, the drink wasn't really anything that special.

A window advertisement for the famous Singapore Sling

Although I will probably never pay for a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar again, I am very glad to have checked the item off of my Asian bucket list. But I keep kicking myself that I forgot to get a photo of the occasion. Oh well. Before I left, I did snap one shot of the famous bar itself.

The Long Bar

After the Slings, Jamie took me to the observation level (called the Skypark) atop the brand-new Marina Bay Sands, a hotel-casino-convention center just completed downtown. After our disastrous (but incredibly fun) visit to the casinos of Macau when Jamie visited Hong Kong, we steered clear of the roulette and blackjack tables, but the Skypark was simply stunning.

Close-up view of the Skypark

The Marina Bay Sands consists of three separate tall towers with the flat “park” balanced on top of them. Recently completed, it's definitely the most iconic and distinctive skycraper in the town, and it certainly is a unique-looking complex, as you can see in the photo below!

The Marina Bay Sands!

The views of the city and the sea from this vista show off Singapore in all its glory. A handy audio guide also helped identify various landmarks and parts of town. In addition to the observation level, the Skypark is also home to the world’s largest infinity pool, which was undoubtedly one of the most impressive swimming pools I have ever laid my eyes on.

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Currently my desktop background—the infinity pool atop the Skypark

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As day turned to night, we watched the lights of Singapore turn on from our high perch. Then, around 8 o’clock fireworks started booming! It was the opening ceremony of the first ever Youth Olympic Games. Standing on the Skypark, we were actually above the fireworks, which made for a unique view of the pyrotechnics. I will never forget it as long as I live.

Bird's eye view of the Youth Olympics Opening Ceremony

Fireworks over Singapore

Afterwards, we grabbed a quick dinner and headed out for another night on the town. I got to meet a bunch of Jamie’s friends, several of whom are actually currently in Hong Kong, so I’ve gotten to see them since my return. We started in Emerald Hill, but of course we finished our night in—where else?—Clarke Quay.

Sunday was another packed, wonderful day. It started early with tickets to watch the rowing event of the Youth Olympics. Although the U.S.A. did not compete in any heat we saw, it was still a good time. And if the Youth Olympics ever becomes big, I have the privilege of boasting that I was in attendance at the very first games. (Somehow I doubt the Youth Olympics will ever catch on though.)

Youth Olympians rowing past the Singapore Flyer

In the afternoon, we met up with my friend Melanie from Hong Kong, whose parents have just relocated to Singapore. Together, the three of us strolled along the Singapore River, from Clarke Quay down to the Merlion, the “mascot” of Singapore. Along the way we passed Boat Quay, the Fullerton Hotel (the old post office), the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles and other sights.

Me and Melanie in front of Fullerton's Hotel, on the Singapore River

For me, the highlight of the afternoon was a ride on Singapore Flyer, the tallest observation (Ferris) wheel in the world! The ride, which took almost 40 minutes, was awesome. Somehow, even though it is right next to the Marina Bay Sands, the Flyer was completely different and just as worthwhile as the Skypark. The capsules were huge, the 'flight' was smooth, and the views, obviously, were incredible. There was even an audio guide that explained the Feng shui of the city, including how the wheel's direction had to be reversed after several months in order to be more in harmony with its surroundings! Apparently by spinning counter-clockwise, wealth was flowing out of the Central Business District, but thankfully some Feng shui masters pointed this out, and now it has been corrected. Because of the clockwise spinning of the wheel, wealth now flows into the city. Much better for a financial capital, I'm sure you'll agree. 

We are self-timer masters!

On the Singapore Flyer

Since I booked Monday morning off from work, I opted to take an early morning flight home the next day—giving me a third night in Singapore. After a delicious al fresco mussel dinner on Robertson Quay, we headed to the unique Night Safari, a sort of nocturnal zoo about an hour’s bus ride from the center of town.

With some creepy Cat Woman-esque lady at the Night Safari

The Night Safari is possibly the coolest thing I’ve done in Asia, and I would put it at the top of any list of Singapore attractions. There were elephants, tigers, lions, bats, flying foxes, leopards, deer, fishing cats, porcupines and plenty of other animals, all going about their nocturnal business. The "safari" consisted of a guided tram ride around the park and optional stops to further explore the different areas up close. Perhaps the most memorable trail was the Bat Walk-Through, with free flying fruit bats. You could actually feel the breeze from their flapping wings as they got precariously close to the tourists! The fascinating animals enhanced by the magic of moonlight makes the Night Safari unmissable. Since flash photography is prohibited, though, hardly any photographs come out, but the vivid memories of the experience are surely better than any pictures ever could be.

When nobody was looking, I snapped one flash photo.

As I was getting ready to leave to go back to Hong Kong, Jamie’s friend from Villanova (confusingly also named Paul) arrived. He was spending a week in Singapore as Jamie finished his last days of work, and then the two were going to travel around Malaysia for another week or so before heading back to the States. We briefly walked around Clarke Quay yet again, and before I knew it, I had to get in a taxi to head back to the airport.

Though I managed to get that extra night squeezed in, I wish I had a lot more time to spend in Singapore. Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur were certainly more exotic, and I had great weekends in Chiang Mai and Manila as well, but the only place I’ve been in Asia (besides Hong Kong) where I can actually picture myself living for an extended period of time is Singapore. I fell in love hard with the town, and I absolutely cannot wait to go back. Who knows? Perhaps one day I will even live there. Before this weekend, I never imagined myself saying that.

Me and Jamie in front of the Singapore Flyer