Living in Hong Kong China

Swine Flu H1N1 Confirmed in Hong Kong

2009-05-01T21:47:00.004+08:00

The first confirmed Swine Flu H1N1in Asia is reported in Hong Kong. This was carried from a Mexian visiting Hong Kong on 30Apr and he stayed at Metropark Hotel in Wanchai.

Bad news for us and hope it will not start spreading the flu across Hong Kong and has a wider outbreak.

The Grand Cinema @ The ELEMENTS

2007-12-01T13:41:00.004+08:00

One of the newest Cinema "The Grand Cinema" is opened at "The ELEMENTS" at the Kowloon MTR Station in Hong Kong.

I was there to watch "The Heartbreak Kid" and the price is very reasonable for new cinema. Also, The Grand Cinema also features two new suites “Standard Chartered Starsuite” and "MANHATTAN Galaxy”. The “Standard Chartered Starsuite” is a VIP suite with a total of 23 seats and the "MANHATTAN Galaxy" has a total of 316 seats that features 3D and digital movies.

Furthermore, The Grand boasts the largest number of screens in Hong Kong (12 in total). Also they feature a ground breaking Infrasonic system that creates a complete new experience for movies with "vibrating" chairs.

Visit Grand Cinema using the following link: Grand Cinema

HSBC Plans to Cut Another 1,000 Jobs

2009-02-08T21:01:00.002+08:00

HSBC is planning to cut another 1000 jobs in Hong Kong this week according to a local newspaper. This is an additional to the 450 jobs cut late last year and just after the Chinese New Year holiday.

HSBC spoke person declines to comment on the report and according to the past redundancy, there may be some truth to this again.

Furthermore, the annual bonus is paid in Apr and there are rumours that no bonus will be paid this year because of the result.

Fire Fox is coming to Hong Kong Ocean Park

2009-01-31T14:28:00.003+08:00

Fire Fox is coming to Ocean Park this April with the opening of a new attraction. Fire Fox (or Red Penda) is yet another national treasure from China. From the news, at least 2 to 4 Fire Fox will be coming soon.

Kung Hai Fa Choy - Year of the Ox

2009-01-26T21:06:00.003+08:00

Hi Friends, today we celebrate the Chinese New Year and Year of the Ox. It is a public holiday for 3 straight days and friends and relatives will be visiting each other to bring luck to each other. Elder will be giving red pocket (Lai See) to children and this will help to spread the luck.

As for the title of my blog (Kung Hai Fa Choy), that is a very common greeting used in Hong Kong to wish each other Fa Choy (rich) in the coming year.

New York Fries in Hong Kong

2009-01-17T12:39:00.002+08:00

For those who misses the famous New York Fries from our food courts, New York Fries has finally arrived Hong Kong.

They have opened the first store in end Dec and people have been swamping the store. There is actually a long queue outside the store almost everyday just get some fries. If you are interested, the store is opened at Harbour City.

Ani Ashekian: A Young Woman Missing in Hong Kong

2008-12-31T18:49:00.005+08:00

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

2008-12-28T22:38:00.004+08:00

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

2008-12-04T07:53:00.005+08:00

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

2008-11-16T20:41:00.002+08:00

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:

Ngong Ping 360 - 1 round trip cable car ticket
4D Extreme Screen Cinema - 1 4D movie ticket
Aviation Discovery Centre -1 Free SkyDeck visit
iSports – Interactive Sports Game - 8 tokens
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.

Chinese Ghost Festival

2007-09-08T14:43:00.004+08:00

Just as the West has Halloween for ghost and souls, the Chinese have a holiday to fete the departed spirits of the underworld. The Hungry Ghost Festival falls on the 14th night of the seventh lunar month. It is a popular occasion celebrated throughout China on that very night and the day that follows.

Hotel reservations in Hong Kong

The Origin of Hungry Ghost Festival
The Hungry Ghost Festival has its roots in the Buddhist festival Ullambana, and also in Daoist culture. In the Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist festival Ullambana and its traditional festivities were mixed and celebrated on one day. Thus, the Ghost Festival has a special meaning for all Buddhists.

The Chinese believe that the dead become ghosts who roam between Heaven and Earth on the day of their death. Spirits without descendants to make offerings to them are fed during the ghost festival, so that they may not cause trouble to the living. This custom, an extension of the traditional Chinese notion of 'universal love', was started after the legend "Mulien Saving his Mother from Hades", giving Ghost festival a dimension of filial piety.

Customs of the Hungry Ghost Festival
Traditionally, ancestor worship was an important part of the festivals. with activities including preparing ritualistic offerings of food, and burning ghost money and bags containing cloth to please the visiting ghosts and spirits of one's ancestors, as well as other deities. Other activities include, burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns in rivers, which signifies "giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities." A very solemn festival of ancestor worship, it nevertheless represents a connection between ancestors and their descendants, the living and the dead, earth and heaven, as well as body and soul.

Taboos in the Ghost Month
In Chinese tradition, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar is called the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of deceased ancestors, come out from the underground world to visit earth. The Hungry Ghost Festival is the climax of a series of the Ghost Month celebrations. It is said that the ghosts would wander on the streets at night, so people are advised not to go out at night. There are also many other taboos: moving a house, opening a business, and holding a wedding ceremony should all be avoided, swimming and other water sports are also shunned. If a child is born on this day, their birth date would usually be changed when registered or celebrated to remove any doubt that they might be in contact with a ghost. If someone dies on this day it would upset the family, as it is believed that the deceased would leave with the ghosts.

Although the romantic festival of Chinese Valentine's Day falls in the same month, the ghosts still make a strong impression on people's minds. It is said that you will meet the ghosts when you go out during the night, and if you don't believe it, someone will tell you that they have seen ghosts with their own eyes. To some, the lunar seventh month is more scary than romantic.

(Source: 51766.com / Translated by Women of China)

Free WiFi offered by HSBC Hong Kong?

2008-09-16T22:44:00.005+08:00

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

2008-09-14T14:23:00.003+08:00

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

2008-08-02T23:01:00.002+08:00

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?

2008-07-27T10:50:00.003+08:00

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

2008-07-19T22:33:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-19T21:49:00.003+08:00

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

2008-07-12T14:08:00.002+08:00

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

2008-07-06T19:29:00.004+08:00

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

2008-06-22T10:58:00.005+08:00

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

2008-05-18T11:32:00.004+08:00

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

2008-05-10T10:31:00.004+08:00

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

2008-04-25T23:47:00.003+08:00

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

2008-04-19T21:56:00.003+08:00

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

2008-04-06T11:12:00.005+08:00

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