Shannon's posterous

Highlights from Hong Kong

We got back from a 5 day visit to Hong Kong on Wednesday. What a great trip! Hong Kong was everything I expected -- hot, bustling, modern -- and more. Here are my top highlights:
  • The commuter escalators on Queen's Road. Commuters can take a mile long escalator from their apartments down to the Central district. I don't know why this hasn't been explored in the US as a transportation/energy solution.
  • Foot rub at Happy Feet. After a 50 minute reflexology foot massage, I was literally walking on air. 
  • Late lunch specials. 3 p.m. seems to be the earliest Pratap and I can make it to a meal anyway, so it was perfect that tons of HK restaurants offer lunch and coffee deals in the afternoon.
  • Awesome views. Tons of hills, water and tall skyscrapers made for some amazingly scenic views. We took a cab up to The Peak and then took the tram on the way down -- saving us hours of waiting in a long tourist line.
  • Sushi. OK this isn't really the local cuisine but the fish was incredibly fresh, and after a month without it in India just having sushi makes the list!
  • Hong Kong Museum of History. The history of Hong Kong is fascinating and sad. The Opium Wars - that is messed up!

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Life after Tech

I just finished this amazing book by John Wood, "Leaving Microsoft to Change the World." John writes about leaving Microsoft after ten years to devote his life to building libraries in countries like Nepal. He used some of the lessons he's learned in the for-profit world to aggressively scale his organization. He worked quickly to expand his non-profit Room to Read into countries like India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as build schools and fund education scholarships for girls. This is definitely one of the most inspiring books I have read in a long time. 

As Wood said, "Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote about Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, 'If all the musicians in the world played this piece simultaneously, the planet would go off its axis.' This is how I feel about education for the children of the developing world."

Leavingmicrosofttochangethewor