Buzzing around Hong Kong - Day 5

It was the new year, and the last day of this trip. After the late night sojourn yesterday, we decided to cancel the Macau trip for an easier shopping day. By accident, I had forgotten the jacket on what was the sunniest day of this trip, but it sent shivers down my spine, literally, after the first 10 yards. I decided to be brave and bore the brunt of it till bfast.



Once warm inside the jacket, we went after clothes. After a couple of hours trying and complaining, my wife said the grapes are sour, the girls here are too short and too thin. No size seemed to fit an average Indian around here. Next up was shoes. We didnt have luck for the last 2-3 days with finding shoes long enough, but today we spotted a shop. The resultant buy was more of a sigh of relief rather than anything great. I had a feeling that the money is better spent shopping in SG. Then we went hunting for cosmetics and other stuff.

When the hunger came, we were again lost. We had a list of vege and Indian food options, but it took a wise old Indian uncle to understand our situation and point us in the right direction. So, we landed up in Lock Road in search of Branto. We were told it was in 1st floor and there it was, but we didnt know how to reach it! The one place we found a lift was in the middle of a major repair activity and the building looked as if it was marked out for demolition. After some hesitation, we went up to find a small dungy room. On Day 1, I thought it was weird, but by Day 5, this is what we have come to expect of HK "hotels". The interior was markedly better and definitely overcrowded. This restaurant had a healthy mix of south and north indian cuisine, just like its owner who is fluent in Hindi and Tamil. Having had a Gujarathi thali for lunch and idli dosa for dinner, the quality looked pretty good. A thumbs up for this place.

In the evening, we roamed about Nathan Road in Mong Kok and bought by wife a girl's best friend as a New Year's gift. Learnt a lot about 4Cs along the way. Clarity definitely influences the price the most. Having burnt a hole in my pocket and retiring to the hotel, I reflected on this trip. I would definitely remember HK for its natural diversity and as a city of dazzling colorful lights. And as always at the end of a good trip, I leave half heartedly, since there is so much more to see and experience in this city and surrounding areas. I am not a Terminator, but I guess I might just be back here a few years later.



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Buzzing around Hong Kong - Day 4

A day spent dreaming. The local version of Disneyland had drawn flak from some friends but still was one of the things to see for a first-timer. The journey was worthwhile too, taking us across the gigantic central HK station. HK is a small city, but has an impressive 8 rail lines, with each station having atleast 6 exits (although not all of them have escalators), connecting to all nearby streets. It was slightly confusing at first, but turned out to be much faster. The MTR trains themselves look cool, but the indicators inside specifying current station, next station, direction of travel and even side of exit was awesome. Probably something for SG to catch up on. It was heartening to see the young rise and shine by offering seats to the needy, which has sadly reduced a bit over the last decade in SG.



The disneyland resort line was theme based and the train windows and carriages full of disney characters, history and profiles reflected that. I was a bit sceptical on what to expect, but got into the mood as the day wore on. Disneyland was split into 4 quadrants, starting off with the shops on Main Street to the thrill rides in Tomorrowland, the meet-and-greet disney characters in Fantasyland and short trips in Adventureland. We rounded it off with a rickety train trip around the place. Out of all that the theme park had to offer, Fantasyland was probably the best as it captured the essence and history. Ocean Park has better thrill rides and there are numerous hiking trips around HK, including one in Ngong Ping for the adventurous souls. Fantasyland offers more for the kids and I could see the kid in everyone really coming out there. This is something that everyone enjoys. Stories are brought to life in stunning fashion. Winnie the Pooh story ride is a classic example, and a must-see. The 3D Phillar Magic show was lovely. Two 80 yr olds beside us were so taken in that they wanted to grab all the cute things that "flew" to them. It was probably the best of it all.





Disneyland has a nice concept of FastPass, wherein you take a priority ticket upfront and come back after an hour to enjoy the show. This helps people avoid wasting time standing in queues at these attractions, while it allows organisers to space out the audience. We grabbed one such fast pass and managed to find a veggie lunch, surprisingly including a Naan, before coming back to enjoy the show. I was one satisfied customer at the end of it!



I spent 4 times the ticket price on purchases, which could have been the obvious ploy when they made ticket prices "reasonable". But then dreams are special and it doesnt seem too much to spend on characters whom we had loved as children, and have grown to love more. My favorite character is Donald Duck and I had only a pencil box to show for it till today. Not anymore!

It was a special place to visit on New Year's Eve, and both of us were extremely reluctant to turn our backs on this magical place. They had made special arrangements for the countdown party, but we decided we would rather shiver closer to home than 1hr away from it in the midst of mountains and chilly winds. The whole day floated by and we just physically left it behind when we boarded the train where we heard "Thank You for visiting the magical world. We are now heading towards the futuristic city of HK". Truth is bitter, harsher and colder!



It was nice to see the entire Tsim Sha Tsui locked down for the New Year Eve. It was the masses everywhere with no vehicle in sight. Shops open and people enjoying everywhere. Small kids braved the chills to smile and it gave us hope that 2009 would indeed bring us joy and happiness; that we the people of the world can withstand everything thats thrown our way. The moment arrived, not with a bang but with a whimper of pong bongs in a street corner with a band and the better half right beside. Nothing else mattered when the clock struck 12.



Surprisingly, the crowd dispersed quietly as quick as it had gathered, with the band trying to entertain the few who didnt budge. Humble and passionate, the crowds of HK!
The chills brought us back to the hotel faster than we would have wanted. I am gonna get up late tomorrow, not bcos of hangover neither bcos of the free condom pack I got from a gal on the street who was impressed with what she saw, but bcos I wanna dream and go back to the fantasyland of my childhood. A day I will hold close to my heart forever.

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Buzzing around Hong Kong - Day 3

It was a busy day. The plan was to cover Ngong Ping and Disneyland in Lantau island. It was a scenic ride in the MTR. When we landed, we knew it would be a cold day. Seeing the cable cars disappear in the fog atop the mountains, we quickly wrapped ourselves up. The cable car ride was a special one, with chilly winds blowing and the scenery abundant for the cameras. We were so drawn into clicking our photos that we didnt pose or the ride photo, taken with the sole aim of squandering money from tourists.





Ngong Ping itself was a beautifully adorned simple modern village. Souvenir shops lined the way to the famous landmark. The giant Buddha statue was very graceful. It was probably about 7-8 degrees up there and the winds made it seem lower. I have been to Kedarnath, about 13000 ft above sea level, but didnt feel as numb as here today. Painstakingly, we made our way up to the feet of the Buddha seeking his blessings. The temple was full of paintings in wood and sculptures of wisdon in Chinese. The journey was exciting and the entire place was so serene that it almost made us forget the cold. The nearby monastery offered Buddhist veg lunch, which was delicious and had much more variety compared to the dinner last night. The tea was aromatic and distinctly lighter than the Chinese version. We had an entire teapot (about 16 cups) during lunch. One look at my wife and I could sense that this would be the last Chinese meal of our stay. The return journey through bus through steep inclines traversing around a few mountains with ocean on one side was one scenic ride. By the time we reached our base camp (Tung Chung), it was 3.30pm. Having an itinery takes the fun out of travel as it imposes time constraints on everything. Having enjoyed more than we had hoped for, we ditched Disneyland for the Peak.





The Peak is #1 on the list in any HK tourism related site. And the Peak Tram is a must for first timers. The tram line was built in 1888 when there wasnt anything around. Now that there are huge skyscrapers all over, this normal tram service worth 10 cents linking 4 stations in a hill has taken a spectacular form eeking millions. Roads and condos and bridges cut across at a 45 degree angle. Its breathtaking views are second to none. The Peak also has the Madam Tussad's wax museum and I spent a fair bit of time hugging Angelina Jolie, showing off with Meryln Monroe, dribbling with Ronaldinho, shooting Bush and standing shoulder to shoulder with world leaders. And there were numerous Asian actors who would have been offended by our ignorance. There was a brief 5 min scare, bringing to life some Japanese horror movie themes. It was good fun. Jackie Chan costed $80, so he was kindly refused the honour of having a photo with me. We went up to the sky terrace to experience the coldest part of the day. The gusting wind threaded hair into needles. We stood there amongst the shivering crowd to catch a glimpse of the light show at 8pm from the tallest point in HK. The show itself was less comprehensible and most of the action was facing the harbour. So much for almost killing myself for 1 whole hour!



Once down to double digit temperatures, we walked to Hollywood Road to dine in an up-market Indian restaurant. The food was good, but the price reflected the locality rather than the quality of food. The blast of chill air was too much after a candle-lit dinner, so we took a cab home, spilling a fortune along the way. Never take a cab, worse still across islands, when MTR and a bit of walk is all it takes. It burnt me $100 to get across two MTR stops.

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Buzzing around Hong Kong - Day 2

I made a promise to enjoy what HK has to offer and forget about SG for the next 4 days, which I rigourously broke first thing today morning. I was surprised when the light shone brightly at 7am and woke me up. My best laid plans for the day were torn to pieces when I wanted to enjoy the foggy morning by lazing around a bit more..

I didnt know where to go for breakfast, so I hopped into McDonalds (Max), before setting out to Ocean Park. A nice theme park with thrill rides, fun activities and even the scenic views when zipping around in roller coasters beats everything else. The queue at the bus stop was a good indication that long waiting times are going to be the order of the day. It was more like 45 mins waiting times broken by short bursts of adrenalin. Space Wheel was a good appetizer. After cooling down with Raging River, it was a cranky mine shaft. Flying Swing was fun, and the giant wheel was a breath of fresh cool air. Somehow, the dragon seems to scare most people, including my wife, and incidentally had the shortest queue. When the stomach grumbled, the only thing veggie was at Max. A slight drizzle and the mist kept things cool the whole day.





Love at first sight does happen sometimes. One look at the Pacific Ocean and I did feel it. I looked at it from different heights, different angles and even in different apparatus, but I just cudnt take my eyes off its serene beauty, punctuated by lush curvy mountains, veiled in a thick mist. Everything was just so perfect about it that even the ships seemed to understand by travelling in a straight line at regular intervals into the harbour. The display of seals and sea lions couldnt get the Pacific off my mind. People seem to be wary of typhoons at one end and hurricanes at the other end, but on a day like this, it seems sinful to even think of this sleeping beauty stirring!



The heavy heart became heavier as we had to give the cable car a miss due to an extra long queue halfway downhill! It looked good from below though. I dont know what the fuss is about the giant panda. Just the name seems to drive people wild here! Needless to say, the jingle bells were ringing the loudest in the panda souvenir shop.



I didnt wanna make Max our life support system here, so we decided to try Chinese veg. The Three virtues veg restraurant in a shopping complex at the junction of Nathan Road and Jordan Road was recommended by the hotel staff and it turned out to be a good pick. But we spent 30 mins trying to locate the place, roaming all around the place. There were other veg restaurants but one look at the menu and people eating inside seemed to scare my wife off. We were staring so intently at one place that a genial waiter became a bouncer. Not knowing where to go, we were stuck at the signal when my ever-so-observant wife spotted the virtues perched on the 4th floor. The ambience was excellent and the food was very good from an Indian-who-has-eaten-Chinese-veg-for-10yrs perspective. My wife desperately needed some chillies to down the white rice, and then desperately needed a lot of water, tissue and ice cream in that order. The mile nausea was a direct result of her deviating from the only chinese dish she has ever had - fried rice - and does not dilute the quality of food there. Must Try!

We rounded off the evening roaming around Nathan Road's trendy malls. I learnt a thing or two about women's shopping trends. Their likes and shopping skills are deeply rooted in their brains which we, mere men, cannot fathom. Blind following and humming your favorite tunes inside, aided by no lip movement and slight nodding of the head helps, provided your credit card is secure in your wallet. Women definitely dont trust men with their shopping, so it helps pushing your wife to buy a costly cloth or show she likes. She wont! Women trust other women, so crumpled clothes lying around are the most deceptive targets. Looking around, I could sense another strange girly phenomenon. When it comes to fashion, looks doesnt matter to them as much as fit! Girls might admire a shoe, but if it doesnt fit EXACTLY, they wont bother a second more. I was perplexed why they never ask the assistant for a size that fits them! Fashion stores is tough business.



Before I chill out, two observations from today.
Me: There is a much more Asian culture visible in HK compared to SG, be it more talking, smiling and grouping or less smoking, kissing and sprinting.
Better Half: The girls here are much more trendy and fashionable. They are 10yrs ahead of SG. I have got to buy these stuff here!

Girls will be, will forever be, girls.

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Buzzing around Hong Kong - Day 1

Hong Kong - Try squeezing the words into a 30cm x 2 cm rectangle, then compress it by 1 cm widthwise. Thats HK! Geographically, HK is half the size of SG, yet packs twice the population. Buildings progressed in the only dimension it possibly could; upwards! Worse still, half of HK has beautiful hills. Instead of getting daunted by the sheer pressure of the population, the builders of HK were brave enough to shear it. Steep slopes? Terrible typhoons? Massive earthquakes? Seeping erosions? Landing aircraft? The souls who dared to answer these questions deserve a pat. The fact that HK exists today is high credit to them.



Hong Kong is definitely a city of contrasts, and it is immediately apparant. 12 visitor counters with snake like queues leading to only 3 of them, new megastructures among old how-come-it-doesnt-break structures, hilly terrain and beaches, 5 star hotels slightly bigger than matchboxes with fridges in bathrooms in alleys of buildings crying for a coat of paint for 20 yrs, nice streets with antique traffic lights and stinking drains, tourist agency brouchers in English while tourist guides speak mostly in Cantonese, and it goes on and on...



It is tough being a first time visitor to HK from SG. I came in with an expectation this time. The fables of HK made it look very similar to SG. It indeed is, albeit a half cooked predecessor. Thats credit to SG and not a discredit to HK which pioneered most of the stuff adorning SG. Taxis, MRT..er..MTR, train network charts, double decker buses, EZ-linking-octopus, information plaques are very similar. But there is an eerie feeling of getting lost in HK. You can NEVER get lost in SG. Well, thats what makes a travel out of the secure hail-a-taxi-catch-a-MRT SG that much more exciting.

But the expectation haunted me today. I dared not to venture more than 10ft before poring into the map to reliably take me to the desired location. And I quietly grinned having noticed so many people do the same. Having no toilets in MTR stations hurt. HK is colder than SG, definitely so in Dec, making things worse. Hooke's law was proven when SG flyer was static for over 6 hrs, and people "broke down". I dont wanna repeat in HK!

Having got off the hotel at 3.30pm with hands on belly, it was time to head south to a Nathan Road Chung King Mansion, an Indian bazaar modelled on the romantic alleys of Burma Bazaar. A red postcard with a half naked babe and a wink from the marketing manager got me scared for a second but we ended up in an extremely small place serving north indian cuisine for the past 6yrs, which was worth the price. Pity then that only the two of us and the chef were eating those!

Taking a stroll and getting a taste of the MTR crowds, we landed up in Mong Kok ladies' market. It was akin to stepping out of T Nagar railway station and stepping onto the world famous Ranganathan Street. After dragging down the price from $200 to $80 with my famed bargaining prowess, I bragged all the way to another stall where I got a similar smaller painting for $100. Hold on a second! But the $100 was on the wrong pair of hands at that second :( Pouring oil on fire, the girl offered me a second piece at $60 as I was walking out. I was gutted even as my ever-so-caring wife concealed her laughter to console me. Needless to say, that was the last barlosing of the day.



A not-so-great Symphony of Light ensued amongst the most amazing skyline I have ever seen. The skyline never ended and seemed all 360 degree around. Taking my sister's advice, I sought dinner at a famed Tsim Sha Shui (TST) restaurant which recently moved base. I was astounded to see a long queue outside until I was ever more astonished to see 2 menus with the same items with different prices. A third color printout sat on the table with yet another (higher) price. How convenient! As I sat there gaping after 30 mins of waiting, a complement from the owner that I was lucky to get a seat having come just (1.5hrs) before closing time. I soon found out why, as the order was taken by a sole waiter after 15 mins and the delicious south indian idli vada and dosa plate arrived 1 hr later. In my humble 10K days of survival devouring atleast 25K idlis and 25K dosas, these definitely ranked amongst the top few - from the bottom. This was a north indian restaurant masquarading with a south indian name where 6 chappathis costed less than 1 idli. Based on my expertise, I could spot that those came straight from the oven, and I didnt wanna hazard a guess when it came out of the cooker. By this time, my neighbour who was within a foot of grabbing this thing was visibly drooling over it. Having brought to your attention the congestion in HK and the lightening fast service at this restaurant, I couldnt let my neighbour gobble up my precious Rs 270 idli! To hell with it!



As I walked through the streets back to my hotel, I felt pity for my poor sis with her two small kids who would have blown a fortune dining in this restaurant for one whole week! One final thought as I freeze for the day, too many cities have come to be known as cities that doesnt sleep. HK is one colorful city that doesnt get dark! Although I cant fathom what colors those are...

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My 2 cents on all things Finance - Part 3

I always believe its easier to understand through examples. Too many financial terms out there, but here are the basics:

Risk Averse - When you get all excited about bonds and shares and commodities, and you want to jump in and invest, but you dont.
Counterparty - Almost everyone whom you need to deal with.
Credit Risk - Risk that your friend will never return the Rs 100 that he owes you.
Market Risk - Risk that tomato will go upto Rs 30 a kilo suddenly due to some bad news on TV.
Counterparty Default - When your husband cheats on you.
Asset - Your house/ bike/ car
Depreciation - When your house looks "dull" compared to the new flat down the road.
Liability - The rent/ installments that you pay for your house/ bike/ car
Mortgage - When you proudly say its MY house, when the legal title is with the bank.
Capital - Your salary
Reserve - Fixed Deposit with your bank
Reserve Liquidity - Savings Deposit with your bank
IOU - Recurring Deposit with your bank
Accrued Interest - Interest from FD/ RD/ SB
Position - Current value of your house.
Unrealised profit - When your land cost shoots up and you are happy to have bought a house earlier.
Unrealised loss - When the laptop price slumps and you curse yourself for having bought a laptop last week.
Mark-to-Market - When you walk past a TV shop and see how much your TV costs currently.
Notional - Amount of bank loan that you always worry about, but never get to pay.
Know Your Client (KYC) - When you research all possible relatives and friends to see if the potential bridegroom is a "good boy" for your girl.
Guarantee - When you certify that the next door boy is "very good" when a potential father-in-law comes to check on him.
Collateral - The gold that a bride wears, that could go into a pawn shop when times go sour

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My 2 cents on all things Finance - Part 2

The tough get tougher when the trough gets deeper.

Passing out of school brought about a whole new change for me, new country, new friends, new passions, new distractions, new way of life. It was all too overwhelming, and it took me a good two years to realise its just as challenging as my beloved Chennai. Money started disappearing faster than it has, all my life. Expenses became the norm of life. I spent everyday, my "own" money. Its enormous risk spending money that you did not earn. And one fine day, it all disappeared. I had to borrow, for the first time in my life. It pains, worse than the worst sin you had ever committed. Debt came into my dictionary. Debt was bad, debt pains, debt is horrible. Stay away from debt. And so I fought for the next 4 years to repay my debts.

It was almost a natural progression that my gentle curious interest in money and piggy bank savings should lead me to work in a Financial Services firm. I did learn a lot on how to work; and learnt a bit on how they make money work for them. Margin became more than a pencil line on a white sheet of paper. I was surprised how much people risked, and for a few shares which they dont even get to see! Financial statements of companies made a lot more sense, although still meant little.

A switch to an insurance firm gave me an all too simple view of insurance. People paid for something which could never happen. People paid for a perceived risk, and some smart companies calling themselves insurance gave assurance that in case something bad happened, they would cover their families. And millions believed in this concept. And the fun part of it was that I did learn that insurance companies themselves insured!

Moving on to an investment bank, it felt weird. Is the world really this simple and foolish? People think banks are the safest places to put their money in, but banks invariably take the most risks! They give loans to people, they invest in companies, they trade like crazy. They borrow money from government/banks/people at a lower rate, lend to banks/corporates/people at a higher rate and pay people with the margin.

After a good five years in the financial services sector, I realised the entire financial system relies on one main thing. TRUST. If you lend money or borrow money, there should be trust between the parties. Worse still if you deposit the money in your favorite bank, which uses this money to buy shares, and sells shares that it does not own, and enters into repurchase agreements to fill the missing shares, securitises these shares with another bank to get more cash, and uses this cash to buy some government bonds, and gives this bonds to another bank to borrow more money and uses this money to give loans to a start up company hoping for a return on capital and to you as a house loan hoping you will pay the monthly interest, mitigates the risk of not getting back the money by getting another bank to act as a guarantee, gets whatever shares the company currently owns, sells those shares in the secondary market at a higher rate. And this example is just the tip of the iceberg. So, where is YOUR money? Its extremely complex in today's world, and nobody really knows where is your money. And my gut feel is that your simple deposit with your bank will lead that money to tie virtually every bank out there in some kind of transaction! So, if you want your money back, you are giving virtually every bank a run for their money :)

But, you say, the government is there to regulate. The bank does continuously calculate its balance sheet and tries to maintain a balance between its future cashflows, and keeps a percentage of the money it owes people as reserves, to please the regulators. But again, nothing is 100%. For you, the money you keep in the bank is safe. For the bank, the money it keeps is a loss! So, they went to a resort in Switzerland and came up with Basel 1 and Basel 2 to convince the government to let them trade as much money as possible, leaving their coffers as dry as possible.

Now, what if the key word goes missing. If TRUST is not there, between the bank and customer, or bank and bank, the whole financial system goes topsy turvy. Nobody wants to cheat, and no cheat can exist in the system for long. But then, what if you cant pay your house loan of Rs 10000 per month? Nothing happens. What if a million such people cannot repay. One housing loan company might go bust. What is one housing loan company goes bust? Nothing much maybe. What if 10 such companies go bust? The bank that fund these companies is screwed. As in the example above, that means almost every bank!

The survival of the fittest kicks in. Since risk is like a time bomb being passed across from one institution to another, the one that has the highest risk when the alarm bells ring bursts. The rest are tested for their survival. If someone does not have cash at that point of time, its time to say goodbye. ML and Lehmann found this out recently. The cash rich companies and banks see this as an opportunity to buy whatever they can. Consolidation results. The big and bounty survive. The small and fragile break. Its just the nature of the financial system.

Rumours test the keyword TRUST. A 4-pager "The boy who broke the bank" by Ruskin Bond is a highly recommended read for starters. Anything and everything in the fragile environment is a bank-breaker. A current example is of ICICI, second largest lender in India, whose shares dropped 14% in a day based on rumours that it does not have enough cash.

So, what can you do about it?
1. Have trust with people and institutions that you deal with financially.
2. Dont put all eggs in the same basket. Diversify your portfolios.
3. Bank is just another person. There is nothing which is 100% safe.
4. Dont go with the flow. Dont buy a house because every other colleague buys one.
5. Watch out for market signs. You should be very careful if you see every housewife buying and selling shares without knowing what it is!
6. Dont think you are too smart. A billion others out there are not idiots.
7. Start small, grow in chunks. You can dream big, but dont risk big.
8. Knowledge is power. Dont do anything without knowing what you are doing.
9. Patience is a virtue. For an individual, investment is good; trading is not.
10. It all boils down to fundamentals. Dont go by perceived value when the times are bad.

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