The End!

Well I’ve arrived back in Edinburgh safely (with luggage!) – and am finding it very cold! When I arrived in Hong Kong in January it was experiencing its longest cold spell for 40 years – but over the past few days the temperature was a very pleasant 30°C.

I was actually quite sad to leave HK. I was there long enough to get into a regular routine – and to feel very much at home. I was made to feel so welcome by the guys in the audit team and I was sorry to have to say good bye (the photo is the final farewell lunch at Johnson’s favourite dim sum restaurant) – although they’ve all promised to come and visit Edinburgh the next time they’re in the UK!



If you’ve been reading the blog, you’ll not need me to tell you that I’ve had a fantastic time travelling around the Far East. I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to spend an extended period in the region.

I am however pleased to be home. Because it was always going to be a short term assignment, I really only put my life in the UK on hold… so it’s good to be able to get on with things. It’s easy to forget when you’re away that life carries on back home – and it will require some catching up and a bit of adjusting to various things that have happened whilst I’ve been away – some good, some bad, some happy and some sad. I’ve also got the challenge of a new short term role within the bank and the continued uncertainty of what I’ll be doing in the longer term.



Some stats… I’ve flown 13,000 miles to and from Hong Kong and another 12,000 miles travelling around the region (and yes, I know that is not good news for my carbon footprint… I didn’t, however, drive a car for the entire 3 months!). I have 7 new pages of visas and stamps in my passport. I’ve taken 1,400 photos. I’ve posted 40 blog entries (including this one). And I’ve visited 5 new countries (well, new to me!) and 2 special administrative regions.

And to conclude here’s some of my favourite photos. I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing in my travels...

THE END

Last day in Hong Kong

After three months, today is my last day in the Far East. I’ll save the tearful reflection type blog for when I get home!

Typhoon Neoguri hit on Saturday – so we decided it was best not to go by ferry to Lamma Island! We headed instead to a seafood restaurant in Sai Kung, to the east of the New Territories. We were far enough away from the centre of the typhoon to avoid the worst of the winds – but we did have the bands of torrential rain… which means you get pretty wet when choosing your dinner!



And some photos rather than trivia for the final blog from Hong Kong. I love the old photo from the Peak – which I think is taken form pretty much exactly the same place as one I took myself shortly after arriving. The large light coloured building left of centre is the old HSBC building – and the AIG Tower (RBS office) would be located between the grass square (Chater Garden) next to the HSBC building and the shoreline.

Typhoon Neoguri and other random ramblings

Before I forget, and just to clarify… I arrive back in the UK on Thursday 24th April. I’m not sure why my last blog was dated Monday when it was published on Wednesday… sorry for the confusion!

Well my final weekend has arrived… the plan for tomorrow evening is to head over to a seafood restaurant on Lamma Island with some of the guys from the team. But that is dependent on the weather… we are currently on level 3 typhoon warning – so there’s a chance that the ferries won’t be sailing!


A level 3 warning means: “Strong wind is expected or blowing generally in Hong Kong near sea level, with a sustained speed of 41-62 km/h (kilometres per hour), and gusts which may exceed 110 km/h, and the wind condition is expected to persist. Winds are normally expected to become generally stronger in Hong Kong within 12 hours after the issue of this signal. Winds over offshore waters and on high ground may reach gale force.”

Some trivia about typhoons… the word is possibly derived from the Cantonese for “big wind” - daaih fung (大風). A typhoon is exactly the same as a hurricane – both are simply local names for a tropical cyclone. In the northern hemisphere they go anti-clockwise and vice versa in the southern hemisphere. The tyhoon season is usually from May to November…

Getting sorted out...

I leave Hong Kong a week today – so am beginning to get sorted out for returning home.

When I get back to the UK I’m going to be involved in a project across some of the bank’s divisions. I can bore you with the details when I see you! I’ll be based in Edinburgh (which will be nice after 3 months of gallivanting!) but will probably have to visit various centres throughout the country. So that should keep me occupied throughout the summer…

I’ve been meaning since I arrived to see about buying a tailored suit and some shirts. I finally got round to asking for a recommendation and went for my measure up last week. I had my first fitting yesterday – lots of pins and tailor’s chalk! And picked up my first shirt – it fits perfectly – which I’m actually (sadly!) quite excited by. I have a thick neck and short arms –which means that I’ve never been able to get a shirt that fits properly… I either can’t breath or have sleeves dangling to the floor!



To stay with the sartorial theme... it turns out that “the man in pants” (see blog from 28 March) is the actor Djimon Hounsou who appeared in the excellent movie Blood Diamond alongside Leonard DiCaprio (who pulled off a pretty impressive Rhodesian accent!). He also appeared in Gladiator and Amistad. So there you go – a celebrity “man in pants”!

And finally, for the trivia buffs - following on from my trip to Macao on Sunday... Portugal was given the right of “perpetual occupation and government of Macao” by China in 1887. It was only after the 1974 Carnation Revolution (military coup in Portugal) that the Portuguese government decided that it wanted to relinquish all its overseas territories. Initially the Chinese didn’t want it back! And it wasn’t until 20 December 1999 that sovereignty was formally handed over to China.



Similarly, Hong Kong Island (by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842) and Kowloon (by the Convention of Peking in 1860) were permanently ceded to Britain. It was only Lantau Island and the New Territories that were obtained by Britain by the 99 year lease in 1898 – which had the unintentional effect of setting the date for the transfer of the entire colony back to China. In the decades before the lease end, it became clear that it would not be feasible to hand back only the leased areas as the “British” areas were so dependent on them for their existence. The British government therefore had to negotiate the best deal that it could before the handover of the entire colony to the People’s Republic of China on 1 July 1997.

and ps... Happy Brithday Sly (who's currently in the gambling capital of the world... although Macau is doing its best to catch up! Hope you're winning!)

Macau

I was tempted to postpone my trip to Macau because of the rotten weather today! But the ferry tickets were booked and paid for and with the days vanishing quickly before heading home to the UK, I decided to brave the elements…

Macau is totally different to HK – many of the historic colonial buildings remain and are drawn together by the picturesque Portuguese style paving.





Sao Paulo is probably the most famous sight in Macau. Building was begun by the Jesuits in 1602 – but it burnt down three times and all that now remains is the impressive façade. Slightly further up the hill is the fortress – the Fortaleza do Monte.

Gambling in HK (apart from on the local races) and mainland China are illegal – but it’s a major industry in Macau accounting for 50% of GDP and 70% of government revenue… More and more casinos – each increasingly more grand - open all the time.

If you win big at the casino, you can always opt to fly back to HK by helicopter - 15 minutes instead of the 60 minutes by ferry...