Ani Ashekian: A Young Woman Missing in Hong Kong

I read the news recently that Ani is missing in Hong Kong and I would like to give a hand to spread the words around to find her.  Here is the information I extracted from Facebook.  If you happens to have any information, please do contact her family.

Ani Ashekian: A Young Woman Missing in Hong Kong

I am writing to you seeking help to find our Daughter, our Sister, our Best Friend.

Ani is a bright, adventurous and vibrant young woman who has a passion for travel. She has traveled the world and is very experienced. 

Her most recent trip was to Asia - specifically to China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and finally India. Before her departure Ani only had enough time to secure a visa to China and decided she would get the other necessary travel visa's while abroad.

She left the Toronto International airport on Friday, October 24th. She arrived in Beijing on October 25th. 

She then flew to Hong Kong on November 9th. On November 10th, she made several withdrawals and sent a text message home. She has not used her Visa card or her bank card since that day.

Ani's plan was to fly home from New Delhi, India on the 15th of December. 

Ani was not on that flight. 

The fact that Ani did not board her flight home on that day was not a surprise to her friends and family for they already knew something was amiss. Initially, Ani had kept in regular contact with her family and friends during the trip. When the calls and emails abruptly stopped people began to worry.

Her passport indicates that she entered Hong Kong on November 9th but that she has not left Hong Kong.

Foreign Affairs, a private investigator, and the media have been contacted.

A trust fund has been set up to help the Ashekian Family pay for the cost of a private investigator in Hong Kong.
To donate simply visit any TD Canada Trust location and ask to make a deposit to the fund.

It is under SOSSY ASHEKIAN - IN TRUST.

Wenddell@hotmail.com
rashekia@sympatico.ca

Citygate Outlet in Hong Kong

I visited the Citygate Outlet recently and to my surprise, there are actually a lot of shops in this outlet. The Citygate Outlet is located in Tung Chung and very close to the airport. If you are on an evening flight home, I would suggest to visit this place in the afternoon as a last minute shopping.

There are a number of brand names outlet here and they are:

• Bally
• A/X
• Calvin Klein
• LANVIN
• Polo
• Roots
  
  

Hong Kong Computer Festival 2008 – I.T. Show

For those visiting HK and wishes to visit to buy latest electroic / computer items, there is a Hong Kong Computer Festival 2008 - I.T. Show this weekend in Sham Shui Po District (enclosed the map for reference).

The exact location is Shum Shui Po

 

• Fuk Wah Street
  
• Kweilin Street
  
• Fuk Wing Street
  

and the opening hours are:

5th Dec, 2008 (Fri) – From 11 am to 10 pm

6th Dec, 2008 (Sat) – From 10 am to 10 pm

7th Dec, 2008 (Sun) – From 10 am to 10 pm

8th Dec, 2008 (Mon) – From 10 am to 9 pm

For details, you can visit the following website:

http://www.hkccfexpo.com/hkccfexpo08/index_en.asp

Ngong Ping 360 Sky-Ride & Game Pass at $178

While I was waiting for the MTR, I saw an ad which has a very good Ngong Ping 360 offer.  For HKD178, you will enjoy:

1. Ngong Ping 360 - 1 round trip cable car ticket
2. 4D Extreme Screen Cinema - 1 4D movie ticket 
4. Aviation Discovery Centre -1 Free SkyDeck visit
5. iSports – Interactive Sports Game - 8 tokens
6. AsiaHollywood – Movie-Themed Interactive Exhibition - Free admission and 2 free games

The offer is until 31Jan2009 and you can get tickets get the following locations:

• Ticketing offices at Ngong Ping 360 Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal
  
• Asia Hollywood at Skyplaza, Terminal 2, Hong Kong International Airport
  

I will definitely visit them during my vacation in December and will give an update after that.

Free WiFi offered by HSBC Hong Kong?

When I was logging in to my HSBC internet banking, I found that HSBC is now offering complimentary WiFi access in their HSBC Premier Centre in Hong Kong.

So when you are traveling in Hong Kong and would like to have access to your emails, you now have another choice (other than the free WiFi Service in McDonalds).

Better yet, if you are a HSBC Premier customer (no matter which country, you should be recognised), you can even take a seat and have a cup of coffee while relaxing in their centre and enjoying their free service.

A Hot Mid-Autumn Festival

Well, it is the Mid-Autumn festival again but it does not feel like Autumn here in Hong Kong.

Due to the Typhoon in Taiwan, it is estimated the temperature will be around 33c and it will be the  hottest since the recording setting in 1969.  It is forecasted that there will be periodic rain too but it won't hurt the chances to enjoy the moon and Fire Dragon dance at TaiHang.

BTW, to allow people to enjoy the moon all night, public transportation such as MTR and buses will be running all night.  So do enjoy the moon tonight.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Equestrian Events in Hong Kong

We are only 6 days away from the Beijing 2008 Olympics and we can always see the excitment overall Hong Kong.

Not only it is the first time that the Olympics is held in China, it is also because Olympics Equestrain events are also held in Hong Kong.

The Olympic Equestrian Events comprise 3 disciplines - Dressage, Jumping and Eventing - with individual and team competition in each.

For the official websit to the Equestrian events, you can visit the following:

http://www.equestrian2008.org/eng/front.aspx

Adidas also Predicted that Lakers would win instead of the Celtics?

This may be a bit out of topic. However, remember my post earlier that I bought the Celtics Championship T-Shirt last week in Hong Kong. When I open the package and wear it to work yesterday, I found the tags/labels that come with the T-Shirt.

In that label, it says that the colour of my t-shirt is WHITE/PURPLE. However, my t-shirt is GREY/GREEN. I do believe that WHITE/PURPLE represents the Lakers.

This makes me think that Adidas has made the Lakers Championship t-shirt and the labels before the finals are over. They are so cheap that they reuse those labels even though Celtics finally won the championship. What do you think?

Red Cliff @ The Grand Cinema in The Elements

Watched this awesome movie at the Grand Cinema last week. To tell you the truth, I don't have much clue about the Three Kingdoms Dynasty but this movie has extracted me to find out more about that era of the Chinese History.

From what I read from a lot of sites, the Battle of Red Cliff is the one of the most impressive battle where a much smaller troops won against the fierce army of Cao Cao. In Asia, this movie comes in 2 parts and I can't wait for the 2nd part of the movie at the end of this year.

Boston Celtics Fans in Hong Kong

Although I am from Canada, I have been a big Celtics fans since the Larry Bird era. I was so happy that the Celtics finally wins banner 17 this year with the new big 3.

When I find that there are so many championship mechanise this year, I can't waiting for those to arrive Hong Kong. Today when I was in Harbour City, I found the Celtics 2008 Championship DVD in Hong Kong Records with a price tag of HKD217 and I wasted little time to purchase it. Later, I also found 2 championship T-Shirts in the NBA Adidas Shop too. So you know where to find those must have championship gears for all your die-hard Celtics fans.

iPhone 3G arrived Hong Kong

iPhone 3G arrived Hong Kong yesterday and 1,500 lucky winners got their new phone yesterday.

From 3 Hong Kong, there are more than 60,000 customers reserved the iPhone 3G and Apple will be shipping more than 60,000 units to Hong Kong within a month.

There are rumors that those received their units yesterday can resell them with a price tag at HKD18,000 and that is a big return consider that the unit together with the plan is only costing around HKD8,000.

How luck those winners are.

Apple iPhone 3G in Hong Kong

Apple has announced the worldwide release of iPhone 3G on 11Jul and 3 Hong Kong has also announced their service plan recently in Hong Kong. See below:



In all plans, they will provide you with 500MB of data and I am not sure whether that will be sufficient for a 3G iPhone. Nonetheless, when you compare the 4 plans, I do believe the best available plan is $328. What's your view on this?

Hottest Day in Hong Kong this Year - 33.4C

After heavy rains in the past 2 weeks, we finally have sunshine during this weekend. It is also the first time this year that the Hong Kong Observatory has issued the Very Hot Weather Warning iand it is now in force.

The highest temperature measured yesterday is 33.4C which is the highest this year and seems like it is going to last for a few days.

HSBC Commits To Match Public Donations For Earthquake Victims

Please help those earthquake victims to rebuild their lives..... HSBC will match dollar to dollar donation from the public upto RMB4 million. So if you plan to donate to those victims, they will benefit more through HSBC.

Please find part of their announcement below or you can visit their official website:

The Hongkong Bank Foundation, HSBC's charitable arm is committing an additional RMB4 million to match donations from the public wishing to support recovery work in mainland China following the recent earthquake. The RMB4 million commitment from HSBC is in addition to the RMB10 million in funds donated by the Bank already.

The Bank has established a dedicated account to take donations from its employees, customers and the general public. Donations can be made at any HSBC or Hang Seng Bank ATM, at www.hsbc.com.hk or through any of the Bank's branches using the HSBC China Earthquake Relief account number 808-459085-001. The account will be open for donation collections until 31 May 2008.

HSBC Admitted the Lost of a Server in Hong Kong

You always wonder how a bank keep track of customer data and how secure those information are. Now you see that one of the biggest bank in the world just lost a server from a branch and almost 160,000 customer personal details may be exposed.

The following is from Hong Kong Standard Post:

On Wednesday, HSBC admitted it lost track of the server during renovations at its Kwun Tong branch on April 26.

Police said they are investigating the loss as a case of theft.

Data on the server includes account numbers, customer names, transaction amounts and transaction types, but no passwords or personal identification numbers.

"The server is protected by multiple layers of security. The risk of data leakage and fraudulent transactions resulting from the loss of the server is deemed very low," Cheng said. "HSBC will cover losses for customers but no compensation claims have been requested so far."

Olympic torch is coming to Hong Kong on 2May

When I was watching the late night news, I watch that the government is preparing for the Beijing Olympic flame in the coming week.

The Beijing Olympic flame is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong on April 30 and the torch relay will be conducted on May 2.

The torch will be relayed in different forms and modes, including running and via vehicle, dragon boat and ferry. There will be 120 torchbearers selected from the sport, community and other sectors, plus students and volunteers.

The Hong Kong Torch Relay will last 8 hours. The Olympic flame will be carried by 120 torchbearers to places throughout the territory on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and the New Territories to spread the Olympic spirit by running or by using various modes of transportation such as cars, dragon boat and launch. The route will pass through major landmarks and scenic spots of Hong Kong to showcase Hong Kong’s unique charisma and beautiful scenery to the world.

Since it will be a public holiday in Hong Kong on May 1st, I believe many people will also be taking May 2 off to take part in this event.

Earliest Tropical Storm Since World War II

Tropical Storm Neoguri just visited Hong Kong. Neoguri is the earliest tropical storm visited Hong Kong since World War II. Neoguri also caused the first Black Rain Warning in 2008.

At 10 p.m. Hong Kong time, Tropical Storm Neoguri was estimated to be
about 150 kilometres west-northwest of Hong Kong (near 23.1
degrees north 113.0 degrees east) and is forecast to move
northeast at about 18 kilometres per hour moving into
inland Guangdong.

GovWiFi - Free WiFi from Hong Kong Government

Back in end 2007, Hong Kong Government has been offering free Wifi service to people through the GovWiFi programme. On 27Mar2008, the service was started officially and Hong Kong Government plans to provide free WiFi service to over 100 locations by mid 2008 and up to 350 locations by mid 2009.

Most of the locations are located in Government buildings, Libraries, Community Centres, Parks, etc. People can connect to this service 1 hour each time and after that limit, you will need to reconnect.

For more information on the programme and the service locations, you may want to visit:
http://www.gov.hk/en/theme/wifi/program/index.htm

Hong Kong Sevens 2008

Hong Kong Sevens 2008 is coming this weekend again and information is as follow:

Date: March 28 - 30, 2008 (Friday to Sunday)
Venue: Hong Kong Stadium

Time:
March 28 (Friday)
04:30 pm - 9:15 pm

March 29 (Saturday)
10:30 am - 7:15 pm

March 30 (Sunday)
09:45 am - 6:40 pm

You may want to visit the official website: http://www.hksevens.com/index.html

For those who are not familiar with Hong Kong Sevens, I have include ibackground nformation below:

The world's premier Rugby Sevens Tournament was born over pre-luncheon drinks at the venerable old Hong Kong Club on a misty spring day in 1975. The Chairman of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, an amiable South African entrepreneur, A.D.C. "Tokkie" Smith, was talking with tobacco company executive Ian Gow. It was Gow's idea, as Promotions Manager for his firm, to sponsor a Rugby Tournament with top teams from throughout the world competing.
On March 28, 1976, less than a year after Tokkie Smith and Ian Gow shared a glass, clubs from Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Japan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Fiji participated in the first Hong Kong Sevens Tournament. It was an astonishing accomplishment; in less than 12 months, a team of talented, dedicated volunteers had created a sporting event that was to tackle the imagination of the rugby world.

As the Tournament grew throughout the 70's and 80's in both supporter popularity and the number of participating teams, which had now progressed from club sides to representative teams, the Tournament moved from its original home in the Hong Kong Football Club to the Hong Kong Government Stadium. By the beginning of the 90's, with demand for tickets having outstretched the capacity of the Stadium for over five years, it was time for a larger facility. The Stadium that had been the Tournament's home for 12 years was re-built in 1994 and a 40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium is now its current venue.

In 1993 the first Rugby World Cup Sevens Tournament was held in Scotland, where the game of Sevens had originated. Hong Kong was awarded the prestige of hosting the 2nd Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1997, which was a huge success in a memorable year for Hong Kong as it was handed back to China and became a Special Administrative Region.

During the years after the Rugby World Cup Sevens it was apparent how important the game of Sevens rugby had become in the development of good rugby players. Players such as Jonah Lomu, Christian Cullen, George Gregan to name a few first demonstrated their speed and agility in the Hong Kong Sevens. The iRB, recognising the value of the game of Sevens, launched its inaugural World Sevens Series in 2000 - the 25th year of Sevens Rugby in Hong Kong - to enable more players to benefit from Sevens competitions. A core of 10 to 12 of the world's top teams now participate in tournaments in Dubai, South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Asia.

The Hong Kong Sevens Tournament itself has a wonderful history. It is now considered the iRB's "Jewel in the Crown" in the Series and still continues to grow in popularity with players and spectators. Rugby World Cup Sevens 2005 was the second time Hong Kong has hosted RWC Sevens and this year marks 32 years of sevens rugby in Hong Kong - a remarkable achievement.

School Suspected because of Flu

Everyone has to be careful now due to the wide spread of influenza.

Health chief York Chow Yat-ngok announced late last night after meeting health and education officials that all primary schools, special schools, nurseries and kindergartens will be closed for two weeks until after the Easter Holidays.

There were 20 suspected outbreaks of flue as of yesterday. The three confirmed outbreaks involved primary schools. On a list of suspected outbreaks are two secondary schools, 11 primary schools and seven kindergarten/child-care centers.

Beckham is coming to Hong Kong

L.A galaxy football team has been invited to come to hongkong for an amazing football exhibition match, head coach of the team Rudd guilt, main player David Beckham and the other famous players are all very exited about the HK tour.

Just recently Galaxy team’s new Zealand and Australia Sydney tours were more than the means of successes, everywhere they went they light up the whole city’s football passion. It’s not hard to imaging how much of football frenzy this tour will stir up in china and even the whole Asia.

Tickets will be sold to public from 6 March at Hong Kong Stadium.

Date: 9 March, 2008
Kick Off: 15:00
Venue: Hong Kong Stadium
Match: HK SCAA Invitation Team vs LA Galaxy
Ticket Sales: 6 March 2008
Ticket Outlets: Hong Kong Stadium

Address: 55 Eastern Hospital Road, So Kon Po, Hong Kong

Time: 10:00 - 18:00

Ticket Price:
HK$980, HK$380, HK$200, HK$120 (for Students & Senior Citizens)
Special Ticket Promotion:
1 complimentary ticket of 2008 AFC Cup –
SCAA vs Home United (Singapore) (6 March 2008) for every purchase of a Ticket.
(Only for first 2,500 Ticket, while stock last)

http://www.hkfa.com/includes_files/board_details.php?news_id=5670

Party at Hong Kong Lan Kwai Fong and Soho

Lan Kwai Fong / SoHo is the place to indulge your palate and satisfy your cravings. An abundance of tempting restaurants and bars make the choices plentiful. Options range from sexy bars and open-front restraunts all the way to sophisticated fine dining. Every whim is catered to on this street of International delights.

Set lunch, afternoon coffee, after-work drink, romantic dinner, dancing till dawn - you can find it al at Lan Kwai Fong. Join the craziness of the crowd or find a window table in one of the many bars & restraurants with a view and watch the party take-off.

For information, you can visit http://www.lkfe.com/

Free Wi-Fi in Hong Kong

When visiting Hong Kong, there will be time when you would like to check your email or post on your blog. There are a number of places you can access free Wi-Fi but there is no better place than McDonald's.

McDonald's has been offering 20 minutes free WiFi for all customers in there 24 hours locations since Mar2007. This program is offered in conjunction with Y5Zone and you can access the service through the Y5Zone SSID. Once connected, you can just click on the image "20 minutes FREE WiFi everyday" to start surfing. To continue to surf after the first 20 minutes, you can also pay for the extra service and the cost is HKD15 for unlimited use for 1 day, HKD39 for unlimited use for 5 days or HKD128 for unlimited use for 30 days.

Other than 24 hours McDonald's, PCCW is also offering free WiFi to passengers in Hong Kong International Airport. This service is provided through the SSID Free WiFi.

The Oscars at The Grand Hong Kong

I was at The Grand (at the Elements) yesterday to watch Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and found that they have a special on 9 of the Oscar Nominated Pictures. I have extracted the information below:

From February 4 to March 2, The Grand will screen 9 of the Oscar Nominated Pictures. Just produce a regular priced ticket stub from any screening in this promotion, and you can watch a second movie from the list of 9 at only HK$40. Watch all 9 and see if you can pick which film deserves to be the best of the year. The movies are:

• Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Opens 31Jan)


• There will be Blood (Opens 14Feb)


• Michael Clayton (Opens 14Feb)


• No Country For Old Men (Opens 21Feb)


• Elizerbeth (Now Showing)


• Juno (Opens 21Feb)


• The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (Opens 7Feb)


• Atonement (Now Showing)


• La Vie en Rose (Opens 14Feb)

Chinese New Year in Hong Kong

This year, Chinese New Year falls on the 7Feb. This is the year of the Rats and the public will have 4 days of holidays. This weekend, although it is extremely cool, there are lots of people in the malls to get prepare for the new year. This photo is the Lion Dance taken in the Elements and there are other Chinese decoration in other malls as well.



During the first few days of the new year, Chinese love to visit other family members and they will be bringing small presents to them. In return, they will be giving red pockets to the children. Family members will also gather for a family reunion before the new year.

Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha Statue

Well, I have been talking about the resume of the Ngong Ping 360 earlier and people have been asking me what are the nearby attractions. I have been telling them to visit Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha Statue after their cable car ride.

Some background on the this attraction:

Po Lin Monastery is a Buddhist sacred site with rich collection of Buddhish manuscripts in Hong Kong. A revered giant Buddha status, adjacent to the Monastery is the world's tallest seated outdoor bronze Buddha statue. Unveiled in 1993, the statue has become a major tourist attraction. You can ride the Ngong Ping 360 spanning from Tung Chung to the Tian Tan Buddha statue and Po Lin Monastery are located.

Longest Suspension Bridge - Tsing Ma Bridge

For those of you who have visited Hong Kong, you may know that the beautiful picture on the top of my blog is the Tsing Ma Bridge. Let me give you some introduction of the bridge.

The Tsing Ma Bridge is the world's longest span suspension bridge carrying both road and railway traffic. A major landmark in Hong Kong. It is the vital link between the city and the Hong Kong International Airport. The western section of the bridge spans between the hills of the Ma Wan Island and a manmade island opposite to Ma Wan and connects to Ma Wan Viaduct and Kap Shui Mun Bridge. The area just below the Tsing Ma Bridge is Ma Wan which has been developed into a private residential complex (Park Island) and a private bridge completed with water leisure facilities and tranquil environment.