The Elephants

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm totally not into the whole "outdoorsy" lifestyle.  But in Thailand, everything changes.  I couldn't wait to get out of the classroom and to the elephant park. 

We headed out to the Mae Taeng Elephant Park, which was outside the city.  Along the way, we were able to view the Thailand countryside, the army horses, and saw more of that Thailand entrepreneurial spirit.  Upon our arrival to the elephant park, we were greeted by the elephants and the nasty smell that comes with them...

Our first stop was the bamboo river rafting.  Oh how fun it was to ride and sing until we were told there was a small crocodile in the water.  WHAT?!?!?  Oh those Thai men are so hilarious...  Not.  All the joking aside, it was quite hilarious seeing all passengers on the boat shift quickly to the middle. 

After our ride down the river, and after some major turbulence since the water was 4 inches deep, we went back to the elephant park for a show.  Nothing like a little bit of elephant dancing, some soccer playing, and some elephant drawing.  Never did we think we would be outdrawn by an elephant - oh, and Ryan bought the painting drawn by elephant NT (the initials signed by the elephant).

Then the fun began.  We paired up and hopped on a elephant - I'll spare you the video because it's a bit nauseating.  But basically, riding an elephant is like riding a roller coaster, just even bumpier.  Up and down, side to side... a heck of a lot of fun!

Ahhh, Thailand

Upon our arrival by plane, I knew Chiang Mai, Thailand was going to be different than any other city I had ever experienced.  To be honest, I was a bit terrified.  I distinctly remember looking back at Hayley and making a sarcastic comment about how cosmopolitan this city was, with its dirt roads and all.

So about judging a book by its cover...

Chiang Mai has certainly proved to be a place of a much-needed mix of culture, business, and fun.  After getting checked in to the hotel, our group headed out to the pool for some sun and then walked around the hotel area to find a delicious meal.  The good news, the food is scrumptious no matter what restaurant.

On Friday morning, we met with our hosts, Lamar and Noi, who taught us more about the culture and customs of Thailand.  We learned how to properly give and receive gifts, the importance of good hygiene and appropriate dress, and we were warned about the potential use of squatty potties.

We then took a vicarious tour of Thailand, learning about its location, the people who live in different parts of Thailand, and how some businesses are run.  There was a huge focus on the entrepreneurial spirit, and how it really motivates the Thai people to create new businesses to earn a higher income for their families. 

In the afternoon, we made a visit to the Doi Suthep Temple, which is just outside the city of Chiang Mai.  After taking a hike up several flights of rocky stairs, we made it to the temple, which was gold-colored and shown so brightly in the sunlight.  We were able to see the monks who lived at the temple - did you know that most Buddhist men, at some point in their lives, try out being a monk, even if only for a few days?  Only downside to the temple visit - having your knees covered when its 100 degrees and sunny.

After spending some time with the Buddha, we visited Lamar and Noi's friends at the Orchid Jade Factory.  We learned about the different types and colors of jade and how the family is looking into new business opportunities as jade is becoming extremely rare and very expensive.  The owner predicted that within 5 years, the world's supply of jade would be completely gone, so of course, we all found a need to purchase some of the precious stone!  What a great excuse to go shopping!

The Art of Repacking

And we are back in commission after a couple days of internet troubles!

While we have arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I wanted to quickly recap what happened on our last day in Hong Kong.

We started the morning with a visit to the Hong Kong Broadband Network... think Cincinnati Bell FiOptics Program, but 5 million times faster, cheaper, and just plain better.  We learned about the organizational structure of the organization, as it had 79 co-owners.  The top 90 executives are invited to be co-owners of the company by committing 1-2 years salary.  We also heard about their core business model, as they "flipped" the pyramid completely upside-down.  By catering to the lowest class of people, who happen to live in apartments of 1000+ units, the HKBN can provide cheap, but efficient internet to the poorer communities of Hong Kong.

The class was then taken to a new restaurant with HKBN executives for a dim sum lunch.  What is a dim sum lunch?  Well, we're still trying to figure that out ourselves.  Piles and piles of food just kept being served to us, and we had no clue what we were eating.  Well.... there were those chicken feet...  Needless to say, our newest trip slogan is "You dim some, you lose some."

In the afternoon, we went to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange where we learned about how the Hong Kong Stock Exchange works, the different companies listed on the exchange, and how they are working to attract more mainland Chinese investors.  The stock exchange prides itself on excellence in risk management, transparency, and efficiency.

After a busy day, we headed back to the hotel to get packed up for our journey the next day.  Our baggage restrictions were cut down quite significantly, so packing became a puzzle that we were all thrilled to be piecing together. 

Until April 14th, we said goodbye to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong, From a Westerner’s View

There is no doubt that Hong Kong was the best place for our class trip to begin.  As the city is the most westernized, we all felt as though we had just revisited New York City.  The bright lights, the hustle and bustle, and the extensive subway network reminded us of the Big Apple. 

Needless to say, there were also many differences between the United States and Hong Kong.

1.       The fact that there could be multiple locations of one store virtually across the street from each other, for example, 7/11 and Swatch.

2.       Speaking of Swatch, the people of Hong Kong were obsessed with watches and golfing, as stores lined the streets.

3.       In Central, everyone is carrying around a shopping bag, whether it’s Louis Vuitton, Coach, or Giorgio Armani.

4.       Everything is backwards – the driver is on the opposite side, they drive on the opposite side, they walk on the opposite side.

5.       There is order to everything.  If you’re going to walk up the escalator, you go to the left.  If you will be enjoying the ride, you move towards the left.  You exit the subway through the middle while others enter on either side. 

6.       A mini Hong Kong lies underground in the subway. 

Unplanned Serenity

Everything moves so fast in Hong Kong:  the people, the subways, and even the escalators.  Sometimes I feel as though I'm just a fish swimming quickly through a stream, trying to keep pace or else knowing I will be eaten alive by swarms of people.

Yesterday, my classmates drove to Shenzhen, a city in mainland China.  They visited the 5th largest harbor in the world with Vincent Wu from West Chester Holdings. 

Unfortunately, due to a slight (or not so slight) issue with my passport, I was not able to enter the mainland.  While this was a bit disappointing, I was given the opportunity to explore Hong Kong with Ashley and Roger, the Hong Kong native helping us with the passport problem. 

We went up to Hong Kong University, which has an interesting mix of old and modern buildings.  In terms of student population, HKU is about the size of UC's undergraduate enrollment.  The campus is pretty compact, but it is literally situated on a mountain.  Killer leg workout...

So at HKU, we visited an art collection, and it was pretty cool to actually see the real objects from the Qing, Xia, and Shang dynasties, instead of just viewing pictures in a history book.  The weird thing about the campus was that for a Tuesday morning, it was pretty much empty.  The bookstore was even closed! 

We then ventured into SoHo, where we rode up the world's longest escalator and had lunch at a small cafe.  The shrimp and spinach cream soup was amazing, and the Pad Thai was great, too!  After refilling our stomachs, Ashley and I wanted to check out the small street vendors.  It was great having Rober along for the ride because he was able to tell us what the Chinese symbols meant and he was pretty upfront if he thought the goods were of cheap quality.  Ashley got a couple fun trinkets, and I picked up some post cards.  On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in the Swatch store and found the most adorable watches.  while we didn't walk out with a watch, we were given a catalog so we would remember to stop back.

All in all, it was great to have a bit more relaxed free time in Hong Kong to just explore the not-so-touristy areas, and I'm so glad Ashley and I had tour guide Roger along with us. 

And yes, of course selfies were a huge part of the day... Roger was laughing at us.

 

 

Hong Kong, Thus Far

Howdy readers!

Well, we're here!  We arrived in Hong Kong on Friday evening, and took a bus to the hotel.  Remember how you were always confused about the song "YMCA" because it talked about staying at one?  Well, you guessed it... we are currently residing at the Salisbury YMCA in Hong Kong! 

It was great to have a free weekend before diving into company visits.  Here are a couple of sights we visited:
- Ladies Market - rows and rows of purses, jewelry, t-shirts.  Had some very interesting smells, and the amount of Nike stores was ridiculous! 
- Star Ferry - the cheapest way to get around Hong Kong, but beware of sea legs!  We had a couple scary moments jumping off the boat, and the waves were crashing up against the dock.
- Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery - the world's largest Buddha, man was he HUGE!  We also stopped at the monastery and the "fun walk" and "wisdom walk", but of which had their quirks.
- The Peak - the whole gang was up at The Peak on Sunday evening where we grabbed some food and enjoyed the awesome views! 
- Avenue of Stars - the YMCA is literally in the best location!  We walked down to the Avenue of Stars, and while we didn't know any of them, we certainly enjoyed the view of the entire city skyline. 

You really cannot miss the Buddha!

This morning, we visited with Li & Fung, an operations/logistics firm, specializing in apparel and consumer-packaged goods.  I'm pretty sure they had millions of dollars in products displayed in the office, so it was great to see a variety of what they could offer clients.

In the afternoon we visited with the David Joseph Company and learned about the scrap metal business here in China.  The main takeaway - China needs to start recycling cars and the US needs to start recycling cans. 

We also met with Jones, Lang, LaSalle and a Bearcat, Brian Brenner.  He spoke to us about new developments in Hong Kong, the outrageous retail/residential rental prices, and life as an ex-pat. 

More to come soon, I promise to keep you better informed!

A Month Away...

It's hard to believe that we depart for Asia in exactly one month today - thank you February for being so short!  Amid all this snow, I surely do hope you have been staying warm.  Not to brag, but here are the temperatures at our destinations...
 

 
My class has certainly been keeping busy this semester, going to classes, giving presentations, assisting at incoming freshmen interviews, and planning our trip! 
 
So here's the breakdown:

• Depart Cincinnati on 3/6
• Hong Kong 3/7 - 3/12, flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Chiang Mai 3/12 - 3/20, flight to Singapore
• Singapore 3/20 - 3/25, flight to Beijing
• Beijing 3/25 - 3/29, flight to Shanghai
• Shanghai 3/29 - 4/5, flight to vacation destination or Cincinnati

Here's where groups are vacationing:

• Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia
• Sydney, Australia
• Koh Samui, Thailand

Have any suggestions on places to visit in any of these cities?  Comment below!