evfn - YourView

[HongKongMan]

I went to Happy Valley Racecourse on Wednesday night for a joint birthday night out, I lost on four races and won on three so I was very happy with myself by the end of the night (not down by to much and had the excitement of winning)! It is an amazing venue in the middle of central Hong Kong island, a mix between local racing fanatics and drunk ex pats (mostly Australian's and Kiwi's!!). The betting system is quite complicated for the uninitiated, but by starting with win's and places you soon start to work it out. Although I must have been completely incompetent at filling out the betting slip as the nice girl behind the counter completed a new slip for me when the receipt machine (like a lottery machine) rejected my itching on the slip. Back in the UK they would have giving you the slip back and told you to head to the back of the queue and fill it out again yourself! It's amazing how they can be so nice, obliging and still make you feel like a complete idiot for not being able to complete a simple task.

I went out to the uber trendy Armani bar on Friday night for my birthday drinks with the guys and girls from the project, then off to another bar at midnight for cocktails - a very strange black forest martini (or three!). Finally ending up in a club by being added to the guest list and spending forty five minutes practicing to write my name in Chinese characters.. I gave up at four thirty and left the younger ones to carry on and I got a taxi back home. After arriving at five am on Saturday morning, waking up at nine to go back to work wasn't one of the nicest experiences I've had in Hong Kong so far. Although it was a very good Birthday celebration, no idea where the club was or how I got to walk to the front of the queue to be on the guest list!

Hong Kong, 04.03.2007