A YEAR IN REVIEW: 2004 THE HONG KONG ADVENTURE
P.S.
Okay, I realize this is not a post-script, it’s more like a prologue.
Due to unforeseen circumstances this epistle did not get out in time. I
hope you had a good festive season and that you have…a good 2005.
I’m still in time for the Chinese New Year which this year will be in
early February, so…Gung Hei Fat Choi…..Happy New Year…. P.S…..if you
have trouble accessing this diary entry try to read it on our web site:
http://ron.slaughter.com . I’ll post it there when I get some time.
HO, HO, HO…”I’m dreaming of a white Christmas”…not bloody likely he says. It was 24
degrees the other day, the sun was shining, there was a light breeze
coming across the harbour and all was as God wants it to be prior to
Christmas day. Our son John told us it was -24 degrees the other day in Toronto-we
are not going to come back to that kind of temperature! Kathleen says
she has seen her last Canadian winter….now come on, if you don’t ski or
ski-doo or participate in other winter activities, what good is that
slush and sleet and black ice and…and..and... This shot was t
aken
a few days before Christmas in the Hong Kong Park. Now, I tell
you….sleet or this? The other picture is a partial view of the harbour
which includes the Convention centre (out front) in which Ivey has its
campus. It was reasonably free of pollution 
that
day but we have had our problems; even to newbie’s like us it seems
worse this year than last. The locals blame the ‘commies’ to the North
but I’ve read that 63% of HK’s pollution originates right here with coal burning furnaces.
John,
our youngest, suggested that I include some pictures with this latest
diary entry; he had a good idea, but since I’ve taken over 4,000
digital pictures in a year and a half, it will be difficult to decide
which to include. You will need one honking big computer to process
this diary entry by the time it’s finished, and one good printer if you
intend to share some of these HK pics. Some of you are on hotmail and
these pics won’t even get in the door since their size will surely be
above the 1mg.
by the time this is finished. So, to the task at hand-we have received
many “yearly” summaries from friends and they are always fun to read.
I’ve not written in a long time and I’ve had requests to do so….yes, I
have….there is some out there who have leisure time and enjoy the
vicarious pleasure of an Asian Adventure. But how does one summarize
the year….that is tough….we are very busy, extremely active almost all
the time. But, to begin- one and a half years in, I love HK and the
lady still has the jury on hold on that question. She loves the city,
the people and the food etc. but, the job…. Well…but, why wouldn’t I
love it; I get to play every day and to do the fun stuff while she has
to work 24/7, make all the tough decisions and, furthermore, she rarely gets any down time.
With 12
staff, there are many challenges, changes, and decisions to be made. In
the last year some staff have left to pursue other interests. The Hong Kong office faces several issues. An MBA was launched in January with 16 students; they would have preferred 35 or 40
but the numbers were not there. Numbers are down all over the world but
this is not a valid excuse; they do know, however, that they
cannibalized their own program-11
of these students also qualified for the EMBA program. Eventually, they
decided to re-organize the program and to start this year’s section in
Sept. instead of Jan. They have some exciting ideas for a program that
combines with Canada
and gives the student a truly global experience. This also means the
architect can be put on hold and the millions of dollars worth of
expansion, including a classroom addition will not start until May-a
small respite! There are over 85
EMBA programs in HK so the competition is tough. The number of faculty
flying into HK has doubled with the launch of this new program-we
sometimes have 3-4
faculty members here teaching on the MBA or the EMBA program. We try to
have a dinner party for each of them and then we take them to various
HK restaurants-a constant, but mostly, pleasant task.
There are a plethora of restaurants in HK. I’ve said this before but the HK tourist guide says there are 27,000 restaurants in the city. We will definitely miss this kind of selection. I don’t think LondonON has 27
good restaurants! I can think of two streets-one in Lan Kwai Fong-a bar
area and one in SOHO and just in these two streets you can find the
following: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Mexican, Nepalese,
French, Russian (yes, Russian-you have your vodka in a cooler- you put
on a fur coat!), Greek, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysian, Californian,
North American Fusion, Cantonese, Peking, Sichuan, British (yeah,
kipper and chips) and probably some I’m
missing. The faculty loves it-we just wander from one to the other,
read the menus and decide what the evening’s selection will be. Bloody
marvelous!…
.But,
back to work……food will always cause me to digress…The lady introduces
each faculty to the section and then works with the faculty member
while they’re here. Often she tries to arrange some ‘executive’ work,
with some company, in their area of expertise that they can do during
the week while they are off; this gives the faculty member some extra
money and it brings added revenue to Ivey. If the faculty member is
free during the week, has few papers to grade or little research to do
then yours truly comes in and waltzes them around town. This is
basically my job and I love it; the faculty has been very appreciative
and I love showing HK. I’ve developed a number of itineraries depending
on the number of times the faculty member has visited HK. Some want to
shop, some want to tour the hills and hike while others want to see the
museums and art galleries; many want small souvenirs for the family.
Often, Shenzhen, the knock-off capitol of China,
is on the list so we make a special trip up there. I’ve written about
this place before but it’s worth another mention. This business of
admitting China to the WTO must be purely political because they are
copying every single brand in Shenzhen that you can think of-from
shirts, to sweaters, shoes, belts, golf clubs, DVD’s…etc….and the
police are cracking down on these violations of “intellectual” property-like hell! I read that 92% of all Microsoft products used in China are copies! I have no love for Windows but no company deserves that.
I’ve
found a source for copy clubs-yes, I know, I’m participating in the
conspiracy-I can hear some of you now….we picked up a two ball putter
for a friend….the latest and greatest innovation. He took it to his pro
shop, in Canada, to have it shortened and the guy chewed 
him out for not buying it from him. The club was shortened and
as he picked it up, the pro again chastised him for not buying it at
the shop….Our friend, finally admitted that it was a fake and the pro
denied any possibility of that. He said “this is a real club”…I’ve been
here for 20
years, I know my golf clubs etc….blah, blah, blah…..Some claim that
some of the products in Shenzhen are real, that they ‘fell off the
truck’ or ‘out the back door’ of the factory. We would all like to
believe that we got a good deal but I just don’t know how real they
really are…. These Prada shoes 
sell for $400Can.; I got them for $40Can. These clubs, “Big Bertha “ …….T were only $300 Canadian for a whole set with bag, travel bag, Sunday bag, head covers etc. Ah, the joys of Shitzhen!
So,
the conspiracy continues. …and the eating goes on…the pounds go on,
yes, we’ve both gained weight…how nice of you to ask! …and the regular
faculty visits when we’re not in Shenzhen are punctuated by visits from
friends. Not that Ivey faculty members can’t be friends; they can;
sometimes, but sometimes, it’s duty, pure and simple. We had two sets
of Londoners visit us this year and we had a good time with both
groups. One had a daughter teaching English in Macau
so we had a chance to meet her. The other set was a friend and a
teaching faculty member who brought her husband…so the boys played
while the women worked…there must be a modern allegory in there some
place! We also had Kathleen’s older sister and my two sisters visit as
well-one in February and one in November-both excellent times, in terms
of weather, to see HK. My two sisters are from small towns in
Ontario-Collingwood and Millbrook- so HK was an eye-popping experience.
Everyday they had some food they had never heard of, with a name they
couldn’t pronounce, with a taste and apprehension that caused much
concern. Finally, they came to realize that the ‘bro’ was not out to
poison them or to make their eyes water with pain and they settled into
the HK culinary exploration. In terms of temperature, remember, it is
over 30
degrees each day from May until September. All reptiles are welcome at
that time; the rest of you, take heed and choose carefully. We have a
guest room and two very nice single beds-just ask if you want to visit.
On
a cursory re-read I noticed that this entry smacked of ‘work, work, and
work’. Well, 'tis true, but the lady gets out of her cage from time to
time. We still like to hike. We’ve joined the Aussie group-loosely-they
start out at 9:00
on a Sunday, once a month which is a barbaric hour and far too stoical
for us most of the time. Normally, we’ve been entertaining the night
before and this is just too early; however, we ha
ve
made a few of the junkets. This is a shot of the Tai Tam reservoir
which was a fantastic hike. We’ve also been on a few others including
“Dragon’s Back”, named for all the hills. This is not Tththe
most flattering pic but you get the idea. There is some beautiful
scenery outside of HK and most people have no idea of what’s out there;
our standard view is of the harbour and the skyscrapers but they
represent only a small fraction of the island.
Tai Tam Reservoir
The reservoirs were built in the 50’s and 60’s to provide HK with water; hundreds of miles of piping bring water into the city.
Big Wave Bay off Dragon's Back
This
is way too hard-a yearly summary-too many fun activities! This is
almost stressful trying to remember the year; these diaries should not
be stressful; ergo, I’m going to have to write more frequently. You
asked for it! Kathleen taught on a number of executive courses this
year, in Canada, Kuala Lumpur, Thailand and Hong Kong.
She has done so, just to keep ‘her edge’ so she doesn’t loose touch
with the reality of business-a good idea but very demanding and nerve
wracking I’m sure. She wants to be able to be in contact with today’s
business person and in the fray, so-to-speak. Again, admirable but
tough. I’m coming up to five years of retirement and I wouldn’t want to
face even those whining puking little snots that I worked with….you
lose your timing as the lady says….In addition to our hikes and her
teaching, we have attended Dragon boat races, 4-6
formal balls and dances, and an endless number of official cocktail
parties- many with the folks at the Canadian International school or
the Canadian Embassy; Kathleen serves on the board of both; we’ve
witnessed a Dragon dance to Christen (probably not the word-to bring
good fortune) our new foyer. I still continue to take cooking classes
and to go on many an exciting tour-mainly with the Aussie groups. We
had a tour of a chocolate factory-this guy services many of the top
hotels in HK. There
were many free samples….yummy…yeah, I know…more poundage. Jason and his
girlfriend, Sylvia visited in June…much excitement and a flurry of
activity. 
This
is a grab-all paragraph in case you didn’t notice…and I can hear my
English teacher colleagues listed on the masthead, saying “what is a
grab-all parag. Did we teach that?”
I
hate to get started on the young’uns because that could be endless.
Jason and Sylvia bought an expensive condo in downtown TO with a view
of the CN tower; they are now buying a car (Mercedes, Smart car) and a
parking spot.
He’s changed jobs as has she-he works for ATI, a computer software/hardware co. and she works as a financial analyst. They
are delightfully happy with their two cats and their condo. Jason jokes
that his younger brother, John, peddles dog food. Well, partially, he’s
in marketing for Maple Leaf Foods-the pet food division. He seems to be
enjoying the work and has received many compliments on his performance
so far to date. He shares an apt. with a long time friend, Kevin.
John’s girlfriend, who is not a girlfriend, if you follow that logic,
is at college in Florida-some
long distance bills and some talking-we’ll see where this one goes.
John still enjoys his rugby; he plays for the Irish in Toronto. This
rough sport gives the parents much fear and trepidation!
John and Courtney 
THE
ESCAPE: every few weeks I try to break the lady out of her cage. This
is not an easy feat; there are many commitments so the Great Escape
must be planned well in advance. The first of the year was Hanoi;
it was freezing cold and pouring rain but we had a good time. There are
more art galleries there then you can count-odd phenomenon to say the
least. There are also many shops that you go by and see 3-6
people painting, copying the masters, from the Mona Lisa, literally, to
Monet, to…you name it. We went to buy some art but it is disconcerting
to think that a copy waits around each corner.
Central lake in old Hanoi
We
bought three large oil paintings-American dollars only please-now there
is an irony if I’ve ever heard one! We stayed at the Sofitel which many
consider one of the ‘Grand Dames’ of Asia; Raffles in Singapore would
be one of the ‘club’ as would the Peninsula Hotel of HK (1928); we had the best French meal that we’ve ever had.
The next trip took us to Kota Kinabalu in April. Where is it you ask? Good question. We had to check as well. It’s on the island of Borneo but it belongs to Indonesia. Wonderful hotel, sparkling clear water for snorkeling, good food…..a
Some of the islands off Kota Kinabalu 
good respite…
Some new friends-6 foot long lizard 
In August the lady took on one of those teaching assignments mentioned above. She was not fond of KL (Kuala Lumpur)
but then, again, she had never had a chance to see the city. After a
day of wandering by myself, I hooked-up with an ex-taxi cab driver and
he gave me a personal tour for three days-fabulous. The twin towers are
impressive…for a while the largest in the world.
The Petronas Towers 
The TherThe
There were many other sights to see: gorgeous mosques-the Blue mosque is the largest in Asia (it seats 24,000);
the butterfly park and the enclosed aviary are terrific and as well,
there are many examples of architecture left over from the British.
Her course went well.
The next time the cage was opened we escaped to Bangkok
for a massage week-end. We ‘won’ this package at a charity auction-you
know the routine-you pay far more than you should and you still have
the airline tickets to buy and …and …and…but “it’s for charity”. I fell
sleep during the massage-this is a good sign of quality and the lady
loved it-most unusual but, that’s another story…We enjoyed looking and
buying in the Jim Thompson stores; he really does have the best silks
and patterns and designs. (Jim was an American who revolutionized the
Thai silk industry in many ways in the 60’s-started the whole shebang…and then disappeared one morning, never to be found)…
There were a few trips to Canada in there as well-one in May; Kathleen was working, and one in July for her father’s 85 birthday. Then in October it was off to Seoul, Korea. Kathleen was working again for the week so I toured by myself. I got to visit the DMZ, a very scary trip. 
After all these years the two countries of North and South Korea are still divided; we saw barbed wire for miles-100’s of miles.
At the check points we were frisked and checked and re-checked by
Americans and Koreans. They take this very seriously-they had big
guns….machine guns. Then I found out why… It seems that only a few
years ago North Korea dug a 6km
tunnel into S. Korea.; for some reason they abandoned it and we
explored it but that tunnel would have put them very close to the
South. 
It is estimated that they could have moved 10,000
troops and hour, in full kit, through that tunnel. I’m told there is
one death a month but this is kept quiet-normally a N. Korean trying to
escape.
But,
I also got to visit many museums and some of the palaces and temples
left over from the Josean Dynasty; I couldn’t help but notice the
similarities to Chinese architecture and design. 
My
two Korean guides were college students on their days off; they were
not as well traveled and I was able to tell them about similar designs
in Hong Kong and Beijing and Shanghai. They were pleased to add to their knowledge base; hthis
it’s
only the tourists who have access to so many treasures; the locals
can’t afford it. There was another escape in early November to Bali. We
stayed at the Hyatt which is sited on 50
acres of the most beautiful ‘paradise’ pools and landscaping that we’ve
ever seen. Yours truly forgot to bring the camera so you will have to
take my word for the Eden-like setting. The next big trauma was our
move to another apartment in the same complex.
BEAUTY
AND THE BEAST: Parkside, our apt. complex is being renovated; it’s
about time, some would say. The apartments have good quality
furnishings, appliances, etc. at least they did 15
years ago and we had every confidence that the next ‘vision’ would be
equally wonderful. We got rid of everything that was theirs and
replaced it with our own. So, everyone has to move to the other side of
the building…four choices of colour schemes –two, jet black and two
lighter-yes, it’s true that older folk need a lighter apt. We chose the
second lightest. The apt. looks very elegant. Check out
http://ron.slaughter.com and you’ll see the new vision. Beauty and the
beast: a litany: the present apt. is smaller, by much, no Amah’s (maid)
quarters, ie. no storage…much discarding…the cleaning staff were
happy!...the lady is not…Kathleen takes out an outfit each day and has
to iron half of them because she would look like she slept in her
clothes. The closet have lights in the bars-wonderful-hang up your damn
clothes and you can’t see a blooming thing. The sink won’t hold
water-fabulous sink-no partitions but big…it just won’t hold water. Now
which manufacturer do you know makes a sink that won’t hold water?
There are small cupboards in the master-good idea, but they are deep
enough to hold an envelope and nothing else! It goes on….and on…..we
shall persevere but life is tough. We had
to have some of our belongings removed and stored. An EMBA student has
a warehouse and we hope that our ‘stuff’ will be safe with him…the
price is right (free)….but not if we have to claim for all that is
stored-46
boxes….ten hours worth of packing….. This is just a small sample of the
‘junk’ we had to move out of this place because of the smaller size and
the fact that many cupboards, shelves are now built-ins….and did I tell
you about the art work that I put up on the walls and the flurry of
memos from Guest Services that suggested that we were violating some
kind of contract? Again, check out: ron.slaughter.com to see the apt.
Okay, I’m coming to an end. Yes,
here, I sit, typing away, sad and lonely. The story: The short version,
I promise: I had to have laser surgery to repair retinal tears in the
right eye. He tried his best but said he had to wait a week for the
blood to dissipate; okay, but in the course of the week I found that I
was having trouble with the other eye…loss of vision. He checked both
eyes, confirmed tears in both and tried to correct them with laser
surgery but couldn’t; he said he needed more sophisticated equipment
and that I had to check into the hospital; okay, done; I
was on the operating table, same day- four hours later; he’s poking
around in there and says he can’t solve this problem with a local
anesthetic so, I must have a general; call in the anesthetist, wait 45 minutes, go to sleep; 3 hour operation on the left eye…. But he knows we are planning a trip to Thailand
as a surprise for the boys….he tells me on the operating table that I
CAN’T fly…..Choices: Lose the eye or lose the vacation in Thailand!
But,
I’m still pissed off and a small amount of whining would be
appropriate. I’ve had an endless number of operations on these damn
eyes. But, let’s turn it around. We had scheduled Christmas Dinner at
the Hyatt-our first Christmas dinner not ‘at home.’ Normally, the mom
does her thing and works very had all day but we figured this was not
the year. (long before Cyclops decided to do his thing) We had a great
dinner. Ivey is one of the best clients for the Hyatt; they know
Kathleen really well; the waters do part when she enters the building.
We had a special table next to the window so we could see the fireworks
and the head waiter asked us if we would like a bottle of Champagne. Yes! A good evening was had by all.
I’ll leave you with this photo taken that night-quite a good one of the whole family-and not even too bad for the old Cyclops.
The Slaughter Family salutes you!
HAVE A HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS 2005
Since
we have moved I guess it might be appropriate to give you our new
address just in case some wish to put pen to paper or to phone
us…remember that we are 13 hours ahead of you….(our accountant didn’t remember and we really enjoyed talking to him at 3:00 a.m. in the morning)
K & R Slaughter, 3505 Parkside, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong. Phone: ( 852) 3515 3505