Saturday, January 22, 2011
Yuto!
Hong Kong is not known for its music scene, but I have caught a few good concerts here (Stanley Jordan, David Sanborn, Elvis Costello coming in March). One of the most interesting was at the hip/alternative/artsy Fringe Club featuring Japanese guitar wunderkind Yuto Miyazawa. He is 10 years old and officially the youngest professional guitar player in history. He plays hard rock/heavy metal covers (e.g. "Crazy Train", "Freebird") and he is truly phenomenal. He is so small he has to stand on a platform to give himself the prominence he deserves.
Lan Kwai Fong
If you are a Westerner (aka gweilo)in Hong Kong the locals will tell you that you must go to Lan Kwai Fong, the bar/pub/lounge district on Hong Kong island. It is not bad advice. When my daughters -- Katy and Anna -- were visiting over the Christmas holiday they developed a great fondness for this neighborhood. This posting is in their honor and I hope it will rekindle fond memories.
Katy and Anna's favorite watering hole.
Katy and Anna's favorite watering hole.
Interesting Places to Have a Drink
Hong Kong has many interesting pubs, bars, and lounges though Hong Kongers are not big drinkers. One of the most interesting in terms of decor is The Dada Bar and Lounge on Kowloon side. I finally had a chance to visit when my family was in Hong Kong for the holidays.
The Port
When I am not working on GE issues and giving workshops on teaching and learning, I try to sustain my research project on ports, supply chains, and inter-modal logistics/labor. Hong Kong, as the second largest port in the world (though probably not for long), is a natural place to study such things. I was able to get a private tour of Modern Terminals Ltd in Hong Kong. The port district in Hong Kong is about the size of Dames Point/Tra-Pac/Mitsui in Jaxport, times 100.
Hong Kong has benefited, historically, from serving as the "middleman" between China and the rest of the world. Southern China/The Pearl River Delta/Guangdong Province, where most everything we consume in the U.S. is produced, sits alongside of Hong Kong. But as China becomes blatantly capitalist, and starts developing its own ports and logistics sector, Hong Kong will have to develop some new niche strategies. The Chinese government, and Guangdong Province, has also mandated significant and regular increases in the minimum wage (it would be nice if we would do the same in the U.S.) which will raise labor costs and impact the future of labor intensive manufacturing in Southern China.
These developments will impact not just Hong Kong but the entire global economy.
Control room monitor tracking the movement of every shipping container
Hong Kong has benefited, historically, from serving as the "middleman" between China and the rest of the world. Southern China/The Pearl River Delta/Guangdong Province, where most everything we consume in the U.S. is produced, sits alongside of Hong Kong. But as China becomes blatantly capitalist, and starts developing its own ports and logistics sector, Hong Kong will have to develop some new niche strategies. The Chinese government, and Guangdong Province, has also mandated significant and regular increases in the minimum wage (it would be nice if we would do the same in the U.S.) which will raise labor costs and impact the future of labor intensive manufacturing in Southern China.
These developments will impact not just Hong Kong but the entire global economy.
Control room monitor tracking the movement of every shipping container
Thursday, January 13, 2011
India
Visited three colleges/universities in southern India in my role as a Fulbright and conducted faculty development workshops. The institutions were located in three cities -- Madurai, Chennai, and Bangalore.
Streets of Chennai
Faculty at Lady Doak College, Madurai
With students at Lady Doak College
The temple in Madurai
Streets of Chennai
Faculty at Lady Doak College, Madurai
With students at Lady Doak College
The temple in Madurai
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