Dear all:

 

HONG KONG 1996

 

Well, I suppose the fact that I am writing on the penultimate day of my stay is a good sign.  And, Hong Kong is pretty amazing.  It is alive, the only metropolis worthy of the name that I have seen so far.  Neon everywhere.  People dress cool.  The weather, at least at this time of year, is actually comfortable enough that you could go out with a coat and tie and not feel idiotic.  Actually, it has been unseasonably cool.  Most of the time the city is blanketed with a light mist. 

 

Food is indeed OK.  I have been subjected to two 8-course Chinese dinners. Still like Thai food better.

 

Very sad to think the whole thing will go to the Chinese in 1997.  Some think the situation is hopeless, and plan to go; others say it will only screw up after 2 more years; and others say buy property now, because HK will live forever.  Fact is, nobody knows.  But it is a beautiful city, in its slightly frenetic way, and has a lot of nice parks, and even if everyone is a greedhead, it is a nice monument to acquire.  Also makes Singapore look like Candyland.

 

TODAY

 

Two days ago, I met a British/Indian actor on the hoverjet ride to Macau -- he was acting in a local comedy for 2 weeks.  He invited me to go on a little boat trip on Sunday, a friend of a friend’s boat.

 

We met at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, and after a short sampan trip, climbed into a million-dollar yacht with about 12 other people.  It was piloted by a head of equities at Morgan Stanley.  Just so you know, it wasn’t that big...the guy spent most the money on communications and audio gear.  It had a fax and cellular too.  We sailed out an hour from Hong Kong, docke by some rocks, had a nice lunch of roast lamb and other stuff, headed back.  Very calm.  We talked a lot about business, amusing conversations comparing the countries of the area. 

 

Nobody wore anything from Nautica or Polo.  Two guys had RHK Yacht Club belts, with little flags.  A few of the other guys had their own boats.  Most everyone walked around in shorts on which they spilled beer or wine or matches lit to ignite the Havana cigars being passed around and being smoked by every male other than me and the Sikh.  

 

MACAU

 

Macau was interesting, a testimony to Portugal’s broad incompetence in colonization.  Perhaps 3% of the population is Portuguese; perhaps 5% of the population speaks Portuguese.  Everything else is purely Chinese.  Government is conducted in English by default.  The only relief the people get is the occasional trip to Hong Kong. 

 

In 1999, it all goes to China.  The Portuguese die a little each time something bad happens in Hong Kong, knowing that in 1997,  they won’t have anywhere to go but China.  It appears there are few optimists among the Portuguese: most want to go in 1997 or 1998.

 

It was hard for me to understand the spoken Portuguese, because it wasnt Brazilian. 

 

After my meeting, they paired me with a guy who took me around. In just wandering around, he met 6 people he knew -- all Portuguese.  It appears the 3% all know each other, and after 6 years, it gets suffocating.  He was planning to leave soon.  Plus, he didn’t like Chinese food, nor Chinese language, nor Chinese women.  Strangely, he was just there for the work, which was carried on with Portuguese efficiency.

 

Macau’s only industry is casinos, smoky ones where all of overseas and mainland China goes to gamble. Saw a guy sitting with maybe $25,000 in chips.  Casinos are small and ugly, but turnover is high.

 

Ate lunch with the Indian guy at a place called Fernando’s, with very good Portuguese roast chicken and fresh bread.

 

YESTERDAY

 

saw Hong Kong Museum; wandered around old streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon.  Took the tram to the Peak; an impressive ride.  A very large amount of Hong Kong is green parks...you can see them from the Peak.  You can also see China, of course. Also saw China from Macau.  It looked dreary and monochromatic.

 

WORK

 

Oh, yeah, that.  They sent me to HK and Macau to promote voluntary programs...efficiency projects with no monetary incentives, no laws.  Of course, motivating Hong Kongers without money is like pulling teeth from chickens, but we might pull something off....

 

Tomorrow’s Monday. Time to finish up the project, leave on the plane out. Back Tuesday....sad, but I need to do real work.

 

gotta go....................

 

Daniel

 

PS        FINAL GOOF-UPS

 

On the last day of my trip, I slipped on my steps, my laptop cracked, and now the screen stays black and Windows 95 doesn’t work properly.  Moreover, we can’t find repair people here!!! Boo hoo, now I cant email you from home. :-(  Worse, there is not one decent computer in the office – every one of them has something serious wrong with it…  What to do?  Nothing but whine I guess.