One Last Hurrah

Guys,
This will be my last post from Asia, and hopefully I can make it quick because I need to study for exams. I appreciate having a reason to procrastinate though. I have three finals left in the next couple of days, and then I fly home to New York. From the airport, I go straight to the hotel and then I will be working the next morning at 6am. It's going to be a rough start to a very demanding summer. But, I'm really excited to give this whole Investment Banking gig a shot.
After my last class finished here at UST, Chris and I joined our local buddy, Kitman, to go to Shenzhen, China. Kitman's brother lives in Shenzhen and we have been planning this trip for weeks now. I was really excited to explore the city with a local- not to mention the fact that he had his own car.
A typhoon was blowing through the area which made the journey to Shenzhen longer than anticipated. We were greeted by Kitman's brother, Benny, and his Buick. We hopped in the back seat and were taken to Benny's house, where we enjoyed a lovely feast that they prepared for us. The meal was composed of various shellfish and other traditional Chinese dishes. Needless to say, we ate until we couldn't move- literally. It took us a few hours and a few rounds of tea to recover from our enormous dinner. Eventually, we motivated ourselves out the door and back into the car.
Benny drove us around the city for a while to show us the sites before we settled in at a spa. We had talked about getting a famous Shenzhen massage, and this is the spot Benny recommended. Walking into this place, I knew I was in over my head. I am notused to being pampered, so this experience was new to me (but something I could definitely get used to). Here is the sequence of how our time at the spa went.

1. We were greeted by men who escorted us to our personal lockers, where we derobed. For the first time in my life, somebody helped me through this process. I'm not sure how I feel about that.

2. We threw on a new set of clothes and headed to the shower room. Here, we lathered up under 6 or 7 different streams of water. It was very difficult to convince me to leave. If I had known what was still in store, I would not have had been so hesitant.

3. We made our ways from the showers to the dry sauna, where we spent 5 minutes sweating out everything that our bodies disagreed with. Very cleansing...

4. Straight to the steam room, which was quite a nice contrast to the dry sauna.

5. We walked out into a large heated pool. Each section of the pool featured its own aqua-system that did masterful things. There were jet chairs to sit or lay in, full body streams of water that you could lie under, etc. The possibilities were endless.

6. Back to the dry sauna for five more minutes or internal cleansing.

7. We went into the cold bath, which mystified my senses. My body went numb for about 5 minutes before I regained feeling in my extremities.

8. When my legs became functional again, we rolled over the edge and back into the hot pool for a few more minutes.

9. After quickly wading through the cold pool, we exited and retired to the shower room, where I experienced the aqua thrill for one final time before stepping into my chinese plastic underwear (like a shower cap) and other loose garments.

10. We walked downstairs and were delighted to find huge individual electronic recliners that each featured their own televisions and waitresses. They brought us watermelon and tea and anything else that we requested. We stayed in these chairs until the European Champions League Finals (Barcelona vs. Arsenal) came onto the tube.

11. Back upstairs and into our massage room. There were four beds, one for each of us. When I lied down on that bed, I might as well have signed my death wish. The woman asked me if I minded a hard massage, and my competetive spirit invited all the strength that she had before I considered it. The next two hours of my life, I bit my lip and held in the tears as the woman danced on my back and legs while grasping the metal bar that hung from the ceiling. I was in serious pain, but I could not breathe, let alone object to her methods.

12. The massage ended as the second half was beginning, and we remained paralysed in our massage beds for the second half. Did I mention that there was a flatscreen tv for us to enjoy...

We finally left the spa at 5 am (we arrived at 11:30 pm the previous night). The bed was calling us all.

The next morning we rose to the smell of leftovers from the night before. A tasty breakfast was just the beginning of a beautiful day of shopping and exploring. I picked up a couple neat things for my sister and mother (and selfishly, for myself).

The highlights of the day were more cultural than anything else. Kitman's brother was eager to show us some of the local delights, like Szechuan noodle and Guilin rice noodle. Also, he took us to his friend's tea shop, where we spent a few hours enjoying various teas and listening to traditional Chinese music. His friend was the woman that performed for us. Unfortunately, we stayed way too long at the tea shop and had to rush to the railway station afterward. We were convinced that we would have to stay another night in Shenzhen since the border closed at midnight, but we made it just in the nick of time in what Kitman referred to as "Mission Impossible IV." It was a fitting title, since we had seen Mission Impossible III with Kitman the week before.

Anyway, there are a lot of other things that I'd love to discuss, but cannot because I don't have time. For instance, we witnessed the China police raid a fake Louis Vuitton store and arrest the proprietor, and we were taken to a "golf club factory" that was stocked with tons of fake or stolen merchandise. Things in China are crazy and I can't wait to share the stories with you.

One thing that I did learn a lot about in China was the art of hospitality. Regardless of how much money you have, it is expected that you take care of your guests. I think this concept is really neat, and one that I will consciously implement into my own life. Ok, really I have to run, but I will be back in the States soon. Take care.

The Tale of the Twenty-Ones

Hey Guys,

This is the home stretch. I will be leaving Hong Kong in nine days to go to work in New York. It is going to be a wild transition... but I'm excited.

Yesterday capped what was a series of some young American lads turning the big two-one. It's one of those milestone birthdays back in the States, when a boy becomes a... well- a legally drunk boy.

Chris Cote, my roommate, celebrated his special day on May 5th. Coincidentally, that is the same birthday as the Buddha. Chris' parents were in town, and we spent the day visiting Daniel, Chris' and my local tailor. We all made some fine purchases and left the tailor-friend of ours quite satisfied.

That night, I joined Chris and his family for an incredible sushi feast at the Shangri-La Hotel. The food was amazing, and we ended up spending a good couple of hours eating and hanging out in the restaurant- which was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed getting to know his family a little better.

After leaving, we headed into Lan Kwai Fong to meet up with three of our others buddies that I invited down. I had arranged to take everyone to an exclusive members bar named Volar, but we decided to grab a drink at The Keg before wandering in. As I was enjoying a delicious Palm beer with the guys, Mr. Cote came back to the table with Cohiba cigars for all. They were a fun way to celebrate.

We finally made it to Volar, and the venue lived up to expectations. We brought out a couple of bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label, and took Chris into his twenty-first year in grand style. Chris' parents left at around 1AM, but the rest of us didn't wander home until 4:30AM. A famous Frech DJ named Miss Kitty was headlining the event. I think Chris had a really good time, and that is all that matters...

Tom's birthday came next, and his friends came out in full force. On a Wednesday night, a group of thirty exchange students joined Tom at the Brazilian bar ba que spot in TST. They basically come around with huge pieces of meat that they shear onto your plate and they keep filling your glass with beer. It is all you can eat/drink, so we were in heaven.

Afterward, the vast majority of us went to the local Kareoke Bar and rented a room. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up staying until the early hours of the morning. We had some interesting interactions with the management of the place, who successfully obtained a credit card deposit from one of the girls. We later learned that they charged us $680 Hong Kong Dollars (nearly $100 US) for a couple of bags of peanuts that some guys assumed were complimentary. Since they had the credit card, there was nothing we could do. Tom was having a great time, and didn't realize the dispute was going on, so everything was ok...

That brings me to my birthday. When the clock struck midnight on the morning of the 14th, I brought in the special day with a couple of cold Carlsburgs. Chris and I 'dueled' once in the hallway, but the result was less then optimal- my pitching arm failed me. That would be the last duel of the night.

The next morning, Chris and I headed to Macau. Although it's only a couple hours from campus, we had yet to make the trip to the former Portuguese colony known for its casinos. We spent the whole day wandering the island in search of a cheap casino. None of them offered a low enough minimum bet, so we opted not to test our luck in blackjack. I would have loved to have played, but it did not make sense financially. We did find a roulette table to play for six spins. But once I was back down at what I started with, I decided to walk away with what I had. Breaking even there on a minimal bankroll was not a bad way to go out.

We came back to Hong Kong and tried to touch base with a couple of friends from HKUST. A lot of them had work to do and group meetings, so nobody really wanted to come out downtown with us. Chris treated me to one of the best meals I've had in Hong Kong at a nice Mexican place in Soho, called I Carumba. The food was brillient, and we both ate until we nearly had to give some back.

Finally twenty-one, I will return to the States a new... boy who can legally drink. I'm excited to get home, and hope you will join me for a cold one soon. All the best.

Kevin

**- Two days later, I celebrated my birthday the way it should be celebrated with some really "goodfellows" after some "oriental" bar.

I just hope I don't have any "Romanian" sushi from "Fukinawa" on my credit card.