Princeton Potluck and A Beautiful Hike

This weekend I went to a really fun and interesting event about careers in the foreign service and diplomacy generally, hosted by the Princeton Club in Hong Kong.  It was held at the house of a Princeton alum who works in the foreign service, and who generously opened up his house for a potluck and casual Q&A.  Nothing all that top secret or controversial was disclosed or discussed, however, it was a warm and convivial gathering and I quite appreciated the personal interaction that took place.


I got a kick out of the security at the compound. My taxi driver when I arrived was clearly flustered at the protocol.

Look at that! You usually cannot see those islands in the distance...

It didn't hurt that there was an entire table laden with delicious food, or that the weather was one of the best in Hong Kong for days, if not months.


The table was practically groaning from the weight of the food

My first plate.  I made the (very beautiful and delicious if I say so myself) quinoa and arugula salad. 

An amazing chess set.  I wish I were a good chess player.  But frankly the moves make my head hurt.

 After the potluck event, a few alum went up to the Peak on a leisurely hike.  I guess it is really more accurate to say that it was a walk rather than a hike, because the entire path was paved and not even very steep.  But, semantics.  The important thing is that we were awarded with absolutely stunning, breathtaking views. 

Due to the clear atmosphere, it was the most spectacular view of Victoria Harbor that I have seen since arriving in Hong Kong.
 

Ridiculous fact: each of these seven villas (with private roof top pool) in the foreground of the below picture sold for HK$740 million.  Yep.  That would be HK$740,000,000 with seven zeroes, or nearly US$95.5 million even on the day with the most favorable foreign exchange rate.

  

 This picture below may be my second-favorite from the hike.  What a sweet place to play tennis, huh?  Not sure we should try to calculate how much an hour rental should cost...  

It is hard to see in this picture, but the building on the very left of the below picture has bamboo scaffolding that goes all the way from the ground floor to the penthouse.  This is a building over forty stories tall!  I cannot believe that they use bamboo scaffolding all the way up.  I shudder to think about the safety protocols ...or lack thereof...in skyscraper construction here.  Another fun fact I learned from Wikipedia and as a result of this hike: check out these numbers.

This is probably my favorite picture from the hike.  A private lawn!  It was a little bit difficult to get a good picture because this whole garden was fenced off.   Until I came to Hong Kong, I had never appreciated, well, grass.  A manicured lawn now seems like the most precious and decadent of things.  Isn't it such a shame that no one was using this lawn to bask in the sun or play croquet or bocce ball?

This lawn is worth millions upon millions.

We finished our hike up at the Peak, and then everyone went off their separate ways to get back down to sea level.  I thought it was quite amusing that the cones were set up all across the plaza in anticipation of the crowds of people who would want to get on the Peak tram.