A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a Chinese commercial for a board game that supplied the players with orange pants. It turns out these pants are so-called Leeuwenhosen from Bavaria beer, for Dutch soccer fans. During a walk through the city I spotted the game (and the pants) at several places already. Thanks for this unexpected support for the Dutch team 🙂
McDonald’s made a very smart deal yesterday: they signed an agreement with Sinopec (China’s leading oil and gas station company) to set up drive-thru restaurants at their gas stations. Drive through restaurants are a novelty in China, I heard there must be one McDonalds drive-thru in Shanghai, but I did not find it yet. Also the other fast food stores in China like KFC or Pizza Hut do not use this concept so far, but with the increase in car ownership they will likely also enter this part of the market soon. Sinopec operates 30,000 gas stations all over China, so this opens a world of opportunities for them. I look forward to getting a Big Mac while an attendant fills up my car!
It is suddenly getting pretty warm in Shanghai, even though it should be the raining season now. When I drove back from a lunch meeting today the temperature was 37 degrees, so luckily our office has a good airconditioning system. The Shanghai government even issued a Orange Weather Alert today because of the high temperature. No idea why they call it Orange, maybe because Holland plays its last group match at the World Cup tonight?
The past days I spent in Shanghai and Beijing with Peter and Reinout from Spill Group, so limited time to write entries for my blog. Of course we also had time for other things than just business, and on Friday night in Beijing we watched the Holland – Ivory Coast game in Brown’s. I did not know the place before, but had received a mail from the Dutch Club in Beijing that this would be the best place to watch the game. Although we had some trouble locating it (an obviously drunk Australian with a young girl on his back helped us out – and decided to go there as well), it was well worth the search.
Upon arrival the whole bar was already filled with orange-wearing and Heineken drinking co-Dutchmen and women. The national anthem was sang loudly by all, and although I normally don’t feel too Dutch anymore, it was fun to be part of this crowd. After Holland’s first goal some people even started throwing with beer, I had never experienced that before in China! Luckily Holland won the game, so the after-party was even better. Dancing on the bar and singing along with Dutch songs, while continuing drinking until the early morning hours. If you are in Beijing and want to watch a game go here!
More pictures here.
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Sunday we took the train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, a two hour ride through Shenzhen, Dongguan and the Guangdong countryside (factories, factories, factories – this area is literally the factory of the world). We had a meeting there in the afternoon with Yanik Cantieni and his girlfriend Lian. Yanik is a long-time friend of mine who is working for DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart (he used to work in HK before that). Lian also used to work in DC headquarters, but last year she decided to become an entrepreneur and developed the idea for 1bib.com. She is now CEO of the company, and runs a team of about 12 people. I am an investor in this company. Yanik was visiting her and it was nice to catch up with him as well.
1bib.com’s aim is to become China’s no. 1 car comparison site. The site (that will go live on Wednesday – right now you won’t see anything yet…) currently focuses on used cars in the Guangdong area, but soon other parts of China will also be covered. I was very impressed with the way they built the site, and think this could become really big. I cannot say too much about their business strategy and ideas (competitors might also read this blog), but I believe in what they are doing. I plan to keep readers informed about the next steps 1bib.com will make.
After the meeting was over we jumped in a taxi to a bar in downtown Guangzhou, where we arrived just in time to watch the 9PM Holland – Serbia-Montenegro game. The game was shown on a big screen outside, and we enjoyed fish and chips with cold pints of Tiger beer to cheer for the Dutch team. I wasn’t even the only Dutch person in the bar, there was a group of about 10 fellow Dutchman (sporting Oranje-jerseys) also cheering for the winning team. After the game we headed back to the apartment, because there is a very busy week ahead of us, and I needed the sleep.
Saturday afternoon we went for a hike on Lantau Island. After an outdoor brunch on the square in Discovery Bay we changed clothes and set off for Mui Wo. It’s not too far (about 1-2 hours), but although most of the hike is along the coastline you have to hike over one pretty steep hill. I loved the walk, the nature on Lantau Island is beautiful and the views over the sea fantastic. The weather was not great, overcast with a bit of occasional rain (and 30 degrees Celcius), but not too bad for a hike. I was amazed that we only met a few people, if I would live in Discovery Bay this would likely be a standard run for a Saturday afternoon. Hiking here I realize how much I miss nature in Shanghai, that’s the only real downside of living in that exciting city. But I have decided to compensate that by going more on weekend trips. Next weekend I’ll be in Beijing (for business), the weekend after that Macau (a wedding) and then I might go to either SheShan or Hangzhou.
Mui Wo is a pleasant village, with a nice beach in Silvermine Bay. There are also several nice seafood restaurants (we did not try them, but our friends told us this), an Italian restaurant and even a McDonalds (right at the harbour next to the ferry terminal, it’s a pity to see the golden arches there). We decided to go on to Cheung Sha, and have dinner there on the beach. Because it’s a 3-4 hour hike through the mountains, we opted for a bus ride. For HKD 5 you are there in about 15 minutes (the bus trip is like a roller coaster though, the bus speeds through the hairpin curves over the mountain).
On the almost empty Cheung Sha beach there is a good South African restaurant (The Stoep) where we enjoyed some beers and a bottle of Chardonnay, together with among others ostrich steak, big prawns, and bbq-ed sole. Give it a try if you are looking for a different place to eat in Hong Kong! After dinner we took a taxi to Mui Wo and from there the slow ferry back to Discovery Bay.
We arrived in time to watch England win its first game in the overloaded Residents Club. After the game we took the boat back to Central, and from there a taxi to our hotel. Just in time to watch Sweden kick off!
This is my first post ever from a boat! We are on the fast ferry from Central (Hong Kong) to Discovery Bay, and there is free wifi on board. Not too fast, but compared to internet speeds in Shanghai still pretty decent.
It’s a nice boat ride, the sea is calm and the views are great. Right now we pass by Disneyland, which is right on the waterfront. Not many private boats out today, probably because of the bad weather yesterday (the rain storm continued until last night, and I got soaked on the way to dinner and drinks in Lan Kwai Fong).
We will have a late breakfast (or actually brunch) with two friends who are both bankers in Hong Kong, and who live in Discovery Bay. Still a bit tired from watching the world cup last night, so I am glad we did not set our appointment earlier.
