Getting Dressed for Success

Hong Kong is known for inexpensive tailors who make excellent fitted clothing.  I decided to give one of them a try and have some shirts made.  I went to the best-known shop among them called Sam's Tailor.  On the shop's website you can see photos of its famous customers (including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Andrea Bocelli and Rod Stewart) visiting the shop and shaking the hand of the owner, Manu.  This friendly and respectful Indian seemed all business at first.  After I negotiated the price (it's all about haggling), I was measured by a Chinese tailor and I pre-paid my shirts with a credit card.  After that, Manu asked me where I was from and what I did for a living and we had a nice chat.

The shop itself is a little hard to find for the first time.  Since most taxi drivers in Hong Kong do not speak English, ever-so-helpful hotel staff will tell the driver a destination in Chinese.  I was dropped off in the right area but I had to search around before I found the place hidden in a hallway.  Unlike its fame, the shop is surprisingly small.  The tiny shop was full of Westerners but the wait wasn't long.  The process of selecting fabrics and cuts was simple and efficient.  I was told to come back and pick up my finished shirts three days later.

Now that the shop has my measurements, I can reorder more shirts in the future and have them mailed to me in New York.

Bill Clinton

Natalie Cole

Naomi Campbell

Kevin Spacey

The Hotel and the Surroundings

I am staying at the Harbour Grand Kowloon hotel in the Whampoa district of Kowloon, Hong Kong.  It has a dazzling swimming pool on the roof and great views of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island from most rooms and the many lobby restaurants and bars.

There is no 4th or 14th floor in the hotel, just like some  high-rises in the United States have no 13th floor.  The pronunciation for "4" is "sa" which is the same as the Chinese character for "death".

The hotel won me over when they surprised me with fresh fruit left in my room on the second day.  They must know that most visitors from the US are usually completely jet lagged.  There is a 12-hour time difference between New York and Hong Kong.  I was lucky to sleep like a log every night since I first got here. 










The hotel is on the water's edge and surrounded by a residential area, in the midst of which is a ship-shaped shopping mall.

My office is on the 17th floor in a building which is conveniently located literally next door to the hotel.  Being outside for long is very unpleasant because it is extremely hot and humid here in August. 

The best meals so far were a sushi feast at the world-famous Nobu Japanese restaurant and a lunch at a Chinese restaurant where I couldn't read the menu.

It's Saturday morning and I'm off to explore.

Good morning, Victoria Harbour

My first morning here I woke up to this view of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island. Time to get ready for work. Luckily, the office is a brief walk from the hotel.

Hong Kong efficiency

Airplane seat to taxi seat through passport control, luggage pickup and customs - 20 minutes! I love it here already.

Flying time: 16 hours

Greetings from a Continental Airlines Presidents Club lounge at Newark Liberty Airport.

I am about to board a non-stop flight to Hong Kong for my first visit to the largest continent! After a week in Hong Kong on business, I will go to Japan on vacation. I am veeeeeery excited because I have always wanted to visit both Hong Kong and Tokyo.

A big thanks for a heap of tips and information to Liz Geller and her mom Doriann who lived in Japan for many years. The above Dalai Lama quote also came from Doriann.

A special thanks for great advice to Milica Teodorović based on a couple of years' living in Tsukuba near Tokyo.

"Alone In Kyoto" (a song by a French electronic group called "Air") and a collage of images from Japan