I was meeting an entrepreneur, Alexandre (a friend of my hosts), who co-founded a French high-quality cider brand, La Chouette. They produce it in France and distribute it in Asia. Alexandre is a passionate advocate of entrepreneurship : he told me about his drive to become an entrepreneur, the steps to get to the idea and then launch the project. We shared about what it meant to be an entrepreneur : the joy and challenges. Then he left to play squash with his girlfriend.

They had invited a product designer and researcher to share about Computational Design – So I decided to go and I discovered what this buzz word meant ! This is a magic thing about great Coworking spaces : they are hubs for meeting very diverse people and discovering infinite new things. A fantastic way to open one’s mind, develop new ways of thinking and have new ideas ! On that issue there is a very interesting book by Steven Johnson : «  Where great ideas come from ».

Here is a 4-minutes video summary by the author. A quote :  « Often times, the thing that turns a hunch in a real breakthrough is another hunch in somebody else’s mind. And you have to figure out a way to create systems that allow those hunches to come together and turn into something bigger than the sum of their parts. » Coworking spaces are the new Saint-Germain des Prés !

The next day I went to the exhibition 108 Stories of Social Innovation organized by The HK Polytechnic University. Wonderful. I’ll write about it later.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is very present here. There is an incredible number of shops specialized in this kind of medicine. Pills and ointments and dry plants and animals… at every corner.

Traditional Chinese Medicine also means… massage ! YAY ! I had feet and body traditional massage – twice haha ! But let me be clear : it is not a relaxing massage. It is a really strong massage that resorts to energy canals and acupressure points.  I even had muscle aches afterwards ! But it feels so good.

Paul, Viviane and Arnaud made me try very varied kinds of food. There are so many influences and a real mix of cultures here. So you find Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese, Thaï, Vietnamese (maybe others ?)… and also Western food.

Walking in the streets is terribly tempting because there is always something new I was so curious to try. As there are so many people in the city (7.2 millions inhabitants !), there are restaurants, foodshops and cafés everywhere.

People also have the habit to grab a take-away coffee (hot/iced) or other kind of drink (bubble tea, latte…) and sip it in the street – which I have seen people do in New York, San Francisco or Seoul but much less in Europe.

I am very curious and I like to discover food I do not know… ! I tried special dumplings with a kind of broth (bouillon) inside, different kinds of noodles, japanese cuisine (definitely wonderful, very sophisticated and healthy). I tried soy ice cream (soja), durian ice cream (I definitely don’t like durian), I tried lotus seed cake. I had matcha bubble tea (with tapioca pearls). Fresh fruit and vegetable juices.

When you don’t cook at home, it is very hard to eat vegetarian food here because almost all dishes contain meat of fish.

I shared with people, learning about the city, the culture, the relationship with China, the economy, other countries around. Discovering what is the daily life of people here, the way they work, where they go on holidays, the things they speak about and worry about.

I had a drink at night on a rooftop with a breathtaking view.

I stayed 5 days in Hong Kong. In 5 days you don’t really have enough time to reach the phase in which you stop marvelling at everything.

It is tiring !

It is very polluted.

Apartments are really small and space is really scarce. I would hardly imagine bringing up a family there – and by the way, you see very few kids in the city.

The atmosphere is dominated by a sense of consumption : advertisings and shops. It is not very cultural.

Most people rush and don’t not seem so happy. They are busy and just rush. In France people complain, that’s right, however we have this characteristic « art de vivre » and we are able to stop and take the time – for lunch break or family dinner, typically. We value our personal time out of work.

A few days ago I was speaking with a French friend about love and the importance of building a personal life and family. We agreed that finding one’s dream job was very important, but that love and family was the most important thing in our perception of a happy life. She said to me : « Yes, when you’re sick and you can’t leave your bed, it’s not your company that will bring you a warm honey and lemon tea ».

So, to put it in a nutshell :

I loved the energy, intensity and of the city. It is both extremely exotic and confortable/easy. The surroundings and contrasts are magic. I can really imagine to live here, but not for too long. Not forever.

Perfect to work in a calm place

Good food and free wifi

Metro Central

2 Lower Albert Rd, Central, Hong Kong

I stayed a few hours in their lobby for a calm break

Metro Central

No.38 Ice House Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, Hong Kong

Great Japanese restaurant !

Delicious lunch set for around 10$

Calm and perfect when you are alone

Ashley Building, G/F., 1/F., 14 Ashley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong

Coworking Space

2 adresses in HK

The one where I went – http://thehivekennedytown.com.hk/about/

Passion by Gerard Dubois (bakery & café)-  I met a friend there for French breakfast

Good food. Expatriates place

I heard speaking French and Italian around

(A bit too cold because of AC for me)

On the way I walked by the Wan Chai small market, authentic, vibrating, very picturesque.