Macau Grand Prix 2015

How exciting! I looove cars :D Although I may not have the most comprehensive knowledge on all the latest models, I greatly appreciate their design and engineering. In fact,  when I was still in high school, I picked up a car racing magazine in the careers office (yes, what a wonderful school) and on the cover there was a female F1 engineer, truly admiring. Then I wanted to be one until I failed my Physics quite miserably lol Oh wellz, I did well in Fine Arts, so at least I will keep on drawing and dreaming ;) Many thanks to Jeremy, we had a great time at the race in Macau!

And this Mercedes–Benz SLS AMG GT3 won the GT World Cup Macau! Congratulations Maro Engel and Mercedes AMG Driving Academy :)

This McLaren redefines what it means by a "shiny car". 

The VITA Lemon Tea Aston Martin is definitely the cutest. 

We were very fortunate to have the perfect weather. The sound of a car/ motorbike flying past is really really loud, kinda still ringing in my head that night. The venue gave out ear plugs and even so, it was just bearable. 

We watched from 10am till 4pm... had a few (super yummy) grilled chicken wings and lemon tea in between, but we were starving. We were very grateful to Jeremy's auntie for bringing us to the legendary Lord Stow's Bakery for the Portuguese egg tart (http://goo.gl/CRpGCq). Omnomnom. 

In my normal piggy fashion, right after my egg tart there's dinner. We went to the legendary O"Manuel Conzinha Portuguesa for food. Check out their TripAdvisor page for the full review http://goo.gl/za0cfL.

Everyday they have something fresh and special, do ask the boss for daily recommendations.

And how can you visit without watching the signature Water Dance performance? Yup, we were on the third row and the first two were given rain jackets... we got a splash or two. Although I was a little lost along the storyline, it was a stunning performance. I kept wondering how some of the effects were possible in a relatively small space... a lot was happening, all at once. 

So the show concluded an eventful day in Macau, make sure you check it out here http://goo.gl/J6stju. 

Some practical information on how to get to Macau from Hong Kong http://goo.gl/eWKEzv.

Uber Tesla - 3 Things you should know about #UberBlack

Uber is a heated topic in Hong Kong. Debates about it's business model to government relations to it's  marketing stunts create buzz, ooos and ahhhs in forums and press. Perhaps Uber is most well known for it's signature UberBlack services, and recently they had an Uber Tesla promotion.... and I missed it! However, on a rainy morning, I was feeling under the weather and woke up late for work. In the midst of my struggle trying to wave down a traditional red cab, I pulled out my phone to call for an Uber. I was thrilled to know a Tesla was on the way to pick me up for work! Here goes a couple of things I think you should know when taking Uber Black. 

1. It's less expensive than you think

I used to think I cannot afford an Uber Black trip, but having been on one, it cleared my misconceptions. It is around 20-30% more expensive than a red taxi, depending on the demand and supply dilemma that sets the Uber fares. And, it is totally worth it. My driver Chor was such a sweetheart to call can remind me to bring an umbrella and handed me water and phone charger to make me feel at home, in a Tesla. The car itself was a great experience, and I can share my ETA (expected time of arrival) and location to friends, family and boss if you are stuck in traffic. 

2. They drive celebrities around as a full time job

As I chatted with my driver, we discussed more about the partnership structure Uber has in Hong Kong. He mentioned that he is a full time driver at a licensed limo fleet company that partners with hotels and restruants to get VIPs around town. Hence Uber is utilising resources in the society to help ease the traffic pain in HK. 

3. There's quite a lot of them around

It's always been a struggle to flag down taxis in Hong Kong AND to convince them to get you where you want to go, even though there seems to be quite a lot of them strolling around. With Uber, there's always a few of them within 5-10 mins from me, and they pick up the order pretty quickly. From the couple of times I have used Uber, the Black cars seem to always be in stock :) 

Get your free ride today! 

When you use my promo code to get your first free ride (up to HKD$100), I get one too! Please share the love <3 

cync67ue

 Sign up here >> https://get.uber.com/invite/cync67ue

Club Med - Dong'ao Island Resort

That's my view for the afternoon.

A weekend getaway to the Club Med in Dong'ao. I never realise the island is so close to Hong Kong! However there's no direct public transport linking the two, one will have to take the ferry to Zhuhai then to Dongao. If you look on the map, the island is a little closer to Lantau island and Macau than Zhuhai. It feels so close, yet so far... that's because it's rather remote, and feels very different. 

Club Med's greatest asset is their staff. They are truly passionate and enthusiastic about their job. My friend Jennifer worked in the Maldives resort and greatly enjoyed her experience, we came along with her to this one and we now understand why. Their staff will go over and beyond to make every customer's stay a special one. They would dress up and put on shows in the evening, and they will sit with you at dinner to discuss how was your day. 

We had four sea-view rooms and our balcony had stunning views overlooking the beach and pool.  This Med Club resort is relatively new, and we arrived in time for it's official opening! Hence things are new and sparkly, however they may need a little work on their out door pool. The pool is turning slightly green because of the algae, so I opt for the beach. They also have a superior indoor pool, which is temperature controlled, mosquito and algae free!

The indoor pool sparkles! But we didn't find it until the last day...

The rooms were spacious and the service was smooth. The bathtubs and beds were separated by a glass wall, which amplifies to the bright and sizeable design. Of course, there is an electric blind that will roll down by a tap of a button, when you need it.

The idea of a resort is that all meals are included... I was never hungry since I set foot on the island. They had buffet set up most hours of the day and the food variety is very broad. 

This resort is very family friendly, and pretty much any activities you can think of, you can do there. Most of the things are included except for spa treatments and some water sports. 

View special offers and book your getaway!

http://goo.gl/b4PJ9M

Silicon Valley Sunshine - Google EYE

I feel exceptionally privileged to be selected amongst 5 other wonderful teams from the Empowering Young Entrepreneurship (EYE) program to go on this Silicon Valley trip sponsored by Google and CUHK. It's been a steep learning curve and the people I encountered were extraordinary. The itinerary was packed with wonders of startups, accelerators, not-so-startup-anymore-companies e.g. Google, Evernote, investors and meetups - credits and thanks to Betty (@bettwty) and her team who spent months organising this! :) 

The crew :D

We stayed at the Domain Hotel at Sunnyvale with good amenities and convenient stores/restaurants around. We had multiple (if not all) late nights working on our pitches and sharing, the hotel lobby was our hang out spot with an excessive amount of welcoming sofas. I also particularly enjoyed the american style buffet breakfast, a crunchy hash-brown was the golden start of every morning. 

Silicon Valley has the perfect weather for cycling all year round, and at Google you can pick up any of these bikes to breeze through their stunning campus. We had an eventful first day at the Google offices and learnt about their entrepreneurial culture, initiatives and Moonshot projects. 

My friends once suggested "skydiving" using Google Earth on a laptop (or with a large enough monitor). Now look at this at the Google HQ, I guess if you zoom in fast enough with a massive fan in front of you, it will be pretty close to actually jumping off a plane? 

Google's food is good? Google's food is very good. And it's free for staff and their guests, so make sure you have a Googler's best friend, or better still, work there! It is always inspiring to see how leadership and culture are aligned to spark creatively that can get and keep talents. 

The legendary slide at Google. Currently only staff is allowed to go up to the second floor (where the slide starts), hence it's a little off bound for visitors unless you want to risk climbing up... 

I enjoyed Google Store a little too much? I am now an Android :P 

Nest GSV is a spacious co-working space with accelerator programs to jumpstart high-potential startups. We had an insightful afternoon learning how to "De-code Silicon Valley" and see the latest trends and best practices. 

Of course, Nest GSV also had a slide, which company doesn't in SV? The team and I discussed the symbolism of having a slide in the office, we concluded that it creates a playful and idea welcoming atmosphere which all companies desperately need at all times. Apart from it being a little cliché and turning an office into a semi-playground, I believe it does preserve (or reignite) the youth in our hearts to see beyond the impossible. 

Standford was stunning, from the soft beige historical buildings to the fresh green lawn that seemed to go on forever. We were greatly blessed to be able to meet Tina Seelig personally, she even gave us a short but life-changing sharing on innovation and entrepreneurship, such a wonderfully inspiring woman! If you are interested, you should read one of her book "What I wish I knew when I was 20", even if you are over 20!

Upon our visit at Evernote, we learned about their vision and story. It was very encouraging to learn about different versions of startup stories, as it reminded us that every startup is unique, there is no one formula for success. 

Yay, Google Glass for the first time at Wearable World! :D 

We had an invaluable opportunity to pitch at Plug and Play accelerator. 

Smule is an awesome example that people want to learn because they just want to learn, and people want to build a great startup because they want to connect people through music. 

Institute for the Future - Always thinking ahead. 

Everyday, everywhere, anytime, you need to be ready to pitch. Sometimes I forget practice makes perfect, sometimes I thought great presenters are born with it, but the fact is, everyone of us need to master it by doing it enough in front of all types of people with full confidence. I am learning, failing,  learning again and doing better everytime. 

At UC Berkeley, we spent an afternoon in their SkyDeck accelerator office, the innovation, technology and positive energy level were fascinating. The above figurer was 3D scanned and printed, the accuracy and speed of this field is getting significantly better by the day.  

I love making homemade postcards! This was taken on our last day at the trip, not only does it greatly symbolises an end to a wonderful lesson, it also signifies a new beginning of what's to come.