AmberPlacke

This last weekend I FINALLY got a chance to go to Macau. Macau is the 2nd special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. It was once a Portuguese colony and is now a 3 island territory connected by long stretches of bridges. It is located about 37 miles SW of Hong Kong and takes about an hour to get to by turbojet. The gambling and casino life in Macau is said to be much greater than Las Vegas. We left Saturday morning and arrived at the Ferry station around 10:30am. We left earlier than the group because we wanted to get as much time to explore as possible. After much confusion as to where to go and how to get tickets, we eventually got on the 12 o'clock ferry. ... read more

This weekend was absolutely amazing! I don't even know where to start... First of all.. On Saturday, we were invited by Jim Thomson (founder and CEO of Crown Worldwide Group) to attend a luncheon at his private wine club/wine cellar. It was such an amazing experience. We got all dressed up and arrived at the wine cellar around noon. Upon arrival we were served delicious champagne. Throughout the afternoon, we were served red and white wine along with a variety of appetizers and entrees. The tables we sat at were set up so nicely with fine china. A guy in our group even played a few songs for us on the baby grand piano that was in the corner of the room. We then got to walk around the wine cellar and see where the wine ... read more

This last weekend was our first "free weekend," meaning there was no sponsored events through my program. We had the weekend to explore Hong Kong on our own. On Saturday, four of my friends and I dressed up in beautiful sundresses and had an amazing lunch at NOBU. NOBU is an international 5-star Japanese restaurant located only in the most exclusive areas around the world. The one in Hong Kong is located in a high class hotel called the InterContinental Hotel and overlooks the harbor and Hong Kong Island. For lunch, we each got the NOBU Signature Bento Box which included Sashimi Salad with Matsuhisa Dressing, Sushi and Sushi Roll Assortment, Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce, Black Cod Saikyo Yaki, and NOBU Style Seafood “Pan- fried Rice.” The meal was absolutely amazing, best I've ... read more

Friday I attended the Hong Kong Design Institute's (HKDI) graduation reception and fashion show with the founder of my company and two other head leaders in the office. The event was at the the design school's new location which is an incredibly unique building. Look at the pictures because it is so hard to explain. It is such amazing architecture!! At the reception, there were drinks, food, awards, and socializing. I was able to meet several prominent people including the marketing director of the HKDI. She was then able to get us admission in to the fashion show. The fashion show was so awesome. It was set up in their new performance center with such a great backdrop. The clothing came from 20 different cloth lines students at the school had created. It was all very ... read more

Saturday (June 19th), our group went to a tea house and learned about the tradition of tea in China and had the opportunity to try the 6 different kinds of tea. After the tea, we had a dim sum lunch together which consisted of many different kinds of Chinese appetizers like dumplings, pastries, buns, and spring rolls. We then went to Avenue of the Stars which is a walkway that looks out over the harbor and Hong Kong Island. The view was soooo awesome. (There are some really great pictures from this too) There were also famous Chinese people's names in stars on the walkway. After this group event, a few of us branched off and went to the Mong Kok area and discovered an outdoor market on Temple street. We found a lot of great ... read more