Happy Valley Races

Last night, I was still feeling a bit weak from the morning's incident. Luckily, I was able to take a big nap in the afternoon, which boosted my energy. For dinner, Lili (a full-time MBA-er at HKUST) and I went to Jade Crystal, a Shanghai-ese restaurant. We got some noodles with seafood, a vegetable salad and sweet and sour fish. The food was pretty good (and farely healthy). Most of our conversation centered around Lili's job search. She presently has two offers on the table- one at Louis Vuitton and also a job at a training company, called Alpha. The job at LV would be back in China in a Tier II city and not as lucrative as it sounds. The job with Alpha would be in Hong Kong and sounds more attractive. Lili is from China (she grew about two hours south of Shanghai), but doesn't really want to go back. She likes Hong Kong much better. Everyone I talk to who is studying in HK is trying to stay here. Unless you're in finance, it is much more difficult to find a company that will sponsor you, especially if you don't speak Cantonese or Mandarin.

After dinner, we went to the Happy Valley Racetrack. Every Wednesday night, they hold the horse races. Gambling is not legal in Hong Kong (which is why everyone goes to Macau), except for gambling on horse-racing. It's pretty popular, especially with expats. I was actually surprised by how many young, Westerners were at the racetrack. It's also a beautiful track- it's right in the middle of the city, surrounded by high-rise buildings. I wasn't really in the mood to mingle so Lili and I sat in the grandstands and watched a few of the races.  Midway through, it began to rain. This is HK in April and it all the time (kind of like Florida) so you would think people would be used to it. Guess not, everyone bolted for the grandstand when the drops started to fall. Lili and I were already sitting in the grandstands so we didn't get wet. The horse-races ended around 11 pm. Lili and some of the full-time MBA students headed out to Wan Chai for drinks (ladies night). I was still a bit tired, so I decided to head home and get some sleep.

Below are a few pictures from Happy Valley.