Morningside College Junior Fellow

The College seeks applicants for openings of Morningside Junior Fellow for the academic year 2013-2014. The appointees will join a committed group of College Fellows and administrators in building the ethos, traditions, and programmes of the College. 

Applicants should have (i) a Bachelor degree in a humanities field; (ii) native fluency in English; and (iii) an aptitude for and interest in teaching undergraduate students; (iv) demonstrated interest in and engagement with current affairs; and (v) a passion for supporting and stimulating students’ intellectual development and understanding of global concerns. Teaching experience and knowledge of the Chinese language may be helpful but are not essential. 

Duties include (a) leading tutorials in the General Education Programme at the College; (b) assisting the Dean of General Education of the College in developing service learning courses and exchange programmes for students of the College; (c) organizing arts and other co-curricular activities; (d) serving as a student advisor; (e) assisting the Associate Master of the College in producing publicity materials; and (f) other assignments. 

Appointments will be made on contract basis for up to two years commencing August 2013.

For more information:

http://www.per.cuhk.edu.hk/JobVacancies/TeachingAdministrativeandProfessionalPosts/tabid/202/Default.aspx

Hong Kong is blessed with popular tourist attractions and sightseeing opportunities throughout the territory. You'll find endless things to see and do on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon and the New Territories. Or take a ferry and explore the Outlying Islands. Choose any location listed and you won't be disappointed.
Here we are explored some of the tourist attractions of Hong Kong.                               Victoria Peak 

Victoria Peak is a mountain in Hong Kong which is located in the western half of Hong Kong Island. With an altitude of 552 m, it is the highest mountain on the island proper, but not in the entirety of Hong Kong, an honour which belongs to Tai Mo Shan.

The actual summit of Victoria Peak is occupied by a radio telecommunications facility and is closed to the public. However, the surrounding area of public parks and high-value residential land is the area that is normally meant by the name The Peak. It is a major tourist attraction which offers views over central Hong Kong, Victoria Harbour, and the surrounding islands.
Entrance Fee: HKD 45 (one-way ticket for the Peak Tram); HKD 56 (round ticket for the Peak Tram)
Opening Hours: 07:00-24:00
How to reach there: take Buses No. 1 or 15 to reach there.
Repulse Bay

Repulse Bay is an another tourist attarction in the southern part of Hong Kong Island, located in the Southern District, Hong Kong. Among all the Hong Kong beaches, Repulse Bay is most famous.

The Repulse Bay” is a residential apartment nowadays, and it was built on a former hotel site. “The Repulse Bay Centre” in front of it is a very elegant, beautiful European building built during the colonial era. Expected to be completed this year, 129 Repulse Bay looks like an opening white lily. According to some news articles, 129 Repulse Bay was originally built as residential apartment.

Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: the whole day
How to get there: There are shuttle buses with air-conditionings between the city center and Repulse Bay.

Mongkok Shopping Area

Mong Kok is a tourist attraction area in the Yau Tsim Mong District of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong, China. Mong Kok in Chinese means a flourishing and busy corner.

Mong Kok is divided by Nathan Road into two areas-the residential area and shopping area. Shopping malls are in east of Nathan Road; and dwellers, shops, stores, restaurants are mainly found west of Nathan Road. Ladies Street also named Tung Choi Street is an open air bazaar. Mongkok Street is famous for birds selling. There is a large market for selling bird of all sorts.

Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: the whole day
How to get there: Mongkok is very accessible, and the easiest would be by MTR. Take MTR East Rail Line and get off at Mong Kok East Station.


Tourist Place in Hong Kong


Ocean Park

Hong Kong Ocean Park is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, which is situated in Wong Chuk Hang and Nam Long Shan in the Southern District of Hong Kong.

Founded in 1977 by the then Governor of Hong Kong Sir Murray MacLehose, Ocean Park has now grown to about 35 attractions and rides. The park has won several awards, including The World’s Seventh Most Popular Amusement Park and 33rd Most Visited Tourist Attractions in the World by Forbes.

Entrance Fee: HKD 185
Opening Hours: 10:00-18:00 (Tuesday to Sunday, closed until 23:00 in Summer)
How to get there: Take a public bus to Ocean Park. And get off the bus after going through the Aberdeen Tunnel. A short walk takes you to Ocean Park. Public buses include No. 72, 72A, 92, 96, 592, 6A, 6X, 29R, 70, 75, 90, 97, 260, 41A, 77, 99, 171, 671, 107, 973 and 170.

Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront

Tsim Sha Tsui is the southern tip of the Kowloon peninsula, and a major shopping and tourist place. Avenue of Stars is modeled after Hollywood”s Walk of Fame, and boasts a Bruce Lee Statue and imprints of other Chinese movie stars. It points towards Victoria Harbour.

The Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront is as well the best touristplace to watch the night view of the harbor. Every night, the tall buildings along Hong Kong harbor will set up light bulbs on their walls and form into a wonderful sight-seeing.
Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: 09:00-23:30
How to get there: take Bus No. K568 to Luohu, then take East Subway to Tsim Sha Tsui.


Hong Kong Disneyland

Hong Kong Disneyland is the first theme park inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks.

Hong Kong Disneyland is composed of the Hong Kong Disneyland Park, Disneyland Hotel (5-star) and Disneys Hollywood Hotel (4-star), and retail, dining and entertainment facilities. Hong Kong Disneyland speaks English and Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin). You will meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy. Themed areas there are Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Hong Kong Disneyland has convenient transportation of being linked to Hong Kong public transit system.
Entrance Fee: HKD 295 (normal days); HKD 350 (on holidays or festivals)
Opening Hours: 10:00-19:00
How to get there: Yon can take Disney Resort Line, car, taxi, public bus or coach to get there.

Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour, one of the most popular travel tourist attractions in Hong Kong, is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula.

Victoria Harbour covers an area of about 41.88 square kilometers. Victoria Harbour is world-famous for its magnificent panoramic sight. Tower on the Victoria Peak is the best place to soak in the beautiful view. Vistas from the Culture Centre and Tsim Sha Tsui are also very nice. Number of people go for rides on the Star Ferry to see the harbour.

Entrance Fee: free

Opening Hours: the whole day

How to get there: There are three cross-harbour tunnels: Cross Harbour Tunnel, Eastern Harbour Crossing, and Western Harbour Crossing. They connect Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula across Victoria Harbour.

Tian Tan Buddha

Tiantan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of a Buddha, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction.

The Buddha is 34 metres tall, weighs 250 metric tons, and was the world’s tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day. Visitors have to climb 268 steps in order to reach the Buddha, though the site also features a small winding road to the Buddha for vehicles to accommodate the handicapped.
Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: 10:00-18:00
How to get there: Visitors can reach the site by bus or taxi, travelling first to Mui Wo (also known as “Silvermine Bay”) via ferry from the Outlying Islands piers in Central (pier No. 6) or to Tung Chung station via the MTR.


Stanley Market

Stanley is a town and a tourist attraction in Hong Kong which is located on a peninsula on the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island. It is east of Repulse Bay and west of Shek O, adjacent to Chung Hom Kok.

Stanley has been a fishing village since before the British came to Hong Kong. Stanley Market is one of the must-go places for tourists when they visit Hong Kong. You will find an interesting array of little shops selling silk garments, sportswear, art, Chinese costume jewelry and souvenirs.
Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: the whole day
How to get there: take Buses No. 6, 6A or 260 at General Bus Station to the Stanley.

Avenue of Stars

The Avenue of Stars, modelled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. It honors celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.

The Avenue of Stars is Hong Kong’s monument to its stars of the golden screen. Bruce Lee, Michelle Yeoh and Jackie Chan all have a star on the avenue, as well as numerous other lumineries. Apart from a shrine to the stars, this harborside walk also affords the best tourist attractions around of Hong Kong Island’s famous skyscrapers. Check out this picture gallery of the street and the views it offers.
Entrance Fee: free
Opening Hours: the whole day
How to get there: take Tianxing Boat from Wanchai Pier to Tsim Sha Tsui, then Avenue of Stars is on the right.

 

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I was especially glad I've been taking my Rhodiola Force 300, which purports to help you feel more energetic and improve your mood, mental alertness, memory, and physical endurance but was recommended to me by an L.A. herbologist as something to help with altitude sickness. It's derived from Rhodiola rosea or Rose Root, an exalted herbal stress “adaptogen.” It thrives in high altitudes and in nature’s most challenging climates and is supposed to enhance concentration and endurance and support optimal immune, adrenal and cardiovascular function under conditions of severe stress. It's advertised as being "widely used by Russian athletes and cosmonauts to increase energy, Rhodiola delivers the promise of an inner oasis of peace and energy in our hurly-burly world... Those phytonutrients include numerous and unique anti-stress compounds like rosavins, salidrosides and other biologically active compounds." I spent yesterday trekking in the Himalayan foothills at around 8,000 feet. And I felt great, even in the rain. We were wandering around, looking down at the clouds, in knee-high rubber boots, sure we were protecting from the leeches. That was why we came to Nepal. That and... well this very accurate description by Frommer's that updates my own first memories of the place from a far more tranquil (and less "developed") 1971:

Kathmandu. The very name conjures up images of snow-covered peaks, snake charmers and mountaineers, holy men and sacred cows. Perhaps no other city on earth has seemed so mysterious. This city, capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, lies in a wide valley hidden behind a wall of nearly impenetrable mountains. Today, winging into Kathmandu on an international flight, the Mahabhaharat Range slides by below as the Himalayas shimmer in the distance. The jumbled landscape doesn't give the appearance that it could ever provide a level surface large enough to land a Boeing or Airbus. Then, as the peaks below grow uncomfortably close to the belly of the plane, mountainsides give way to gentler slopes and terraced hillsides, which are dun-colored in the post-monsoon months favored by trekkers. Brick houses dot the fields of a seemingly idyllic rural setting. Suddenly the city comes into view-- uniformly brown and low-rise, it sprawls across the valley floor. There's a quick glimpse of a huge white hemisphere in the distance, and suddenly the plane is on the runway. The passengers breathe a communal sigh of relief for having safely landed amid the Himalayan peaks. The excitement is palpable as passengers wait to deplane. Through the door lies Kathmandu, city of mystery, the most exotic city in Asia.

However, as feet hit tarmac, the reality of modern-day Kathmandu immediately comes to bear. The arrivals hall is a zoo and no one seems to know what to do. Guards want to inspect your bags as you leave the arrivals hall. Outside, hordes of taxi drivers, porters, and hotel touts block the exit door. Beyond the airport gates, the streets are chaotic at best. Clouds of blue-black smoke billow from diesel trucks, buses packed like sardine cans stop in the middle of the road, cows wander aimlessly, and horns blare incessantly. The smoke of funeral pyres mingles with the stench of garbage. Women in colorful saris dash out of the way of your careening taxi as it bounces upon potholes large enough to swallow a car.

However, once you have settled into your hotel, you can venture out onto the streets of old Kathmandu, where a different picture slowly begins to emerge. Kathmandu is a city of alleyways leading into the unknown, a city where roadside shrines are sprinkled with marigold petals and aging temples double as produce markets. Strange odors--a melange of incense, cow dung, and rotting garbage-- drift through the streets. Eerie discordant music-- the tinny jangling of cymbals, the drone of a harmonium, the pulse of drums-- might fill a nearly deserted square at nightfall as musicians sit hunched over their ancient instruments on the floor of a tiny temple. In the market, vendors swaddled in woolen shawls sit behind baskets full of mandarins and radishes. Kathmandu has been called a medieval city, and it is hard not to think of it as such as you wander its back streets. The lanes are narrow, and in the oldest parts of town, there is little traffic (though the few cars and motorcycles that venture into these ancient alleys make frequent use of their horns). People do the heavy work here, not vehicles. They carry heavy-laden baskets on their backs or slung from poles across their shoulders. Perhaps time has not completely stood still in Kathmandu, but it certainly has not passed as swiftly as it has in other parts of the world.

For more than a hundred years Kathmandu was cut off from the outside world by a government that wished to keep the country isolated. When the royal family was restored to power in the mid-1950s, Nepal opened its borders and the painful process of entering the 20th century began. Today, Kathmandu has much of the Western world's technology, but alas, many of its environmental and social woes as well. There are cars and computers, fax machines and factories, cellular phones and satellite TV. There are also traffic congestion and smog, deforestation and unemployment. However, with the help of the West, Nepal is working to overcome these problems. Kathmandu is certainly no Shangri-la, but it is one of the world's most fascinating cities, nonetheless.

Last year we saw how Nepal had moved so far as to legalize same-sex marriage after the people dumped the monarchy, like anywhere a bastion of conservatism, and embarked on a new progressive path. Well, we're not here to get married and it probably wouldn't have even crossed my mind except when I was in our hotel's business center I tried to access a post Ken wrote at DWT about the politics of same-sex marriage in the New York State Senate, a place not nearly as advanced as Nepal. There's nothing "sexy," let alone prurient about the post. But it was auto-blocked on the public internet. (I can access it in my room over the same wireless system.)

There's a Communist primer minister, a Maoist revolutionary opposition and one of the world's most vibrant revolutionary atmospheres in Nepal now. But there are also second-thoughts about the legalization of same-sex marriage, now three years old.

Gay rights activists are alarmed by a new bill that could become law soon if approved by parliament as part of the government's bid to modernise the legal code-- Muluki Ain, or law of the land-- formulated in 1854 first.

The law and justice ministry, in consultation with judges, has completed the drafts of a new criminal code and a civil code of law, which were submitted in parliament recently after being approved by the council of ministers. ... The marriage clauses in the new codes define the union as only that between a man and a woman, treating homosexual unions as "unnatural sex offenses."

"The proposed civil and criminal laws contain provisions to re-criminalise so-called 'unnatural sexual offenses'," [said Manisha Dhakal, a transgender and senior member of the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal's pioneering gay rights organisation]. "These attempts by the law ministry are a clear sign not to follow international human rights standards, a clear intention not to implement the Supreme Court's decision and also go against the spirit of the interim and new draft constitution of Nepal."

In November 2008, Nepal's Supreme Court recognised homosexuals as a "natural people" and asked the government to ensure that they received the same rights and considerations as any other citizen. In the landmark judgment, the court also ordered the government to enact laws to allow same-sex marriages.

...Since 2008, Nepal has established itself as a gay rights haven with people flocking to the Himalayan nation for same sex unions.

In the past, couples from India and Britain have tied the knot in Nepal and during the monsoon, the Blue Diamond Society has planned a public wedding between a lesbian couple from the US.

The weddings are part of the community's effort to draw gay tourists to Nepal and have been welcomed by Nepal's tourism ministry, which is celebrating 2011 as Nepal Tourism Year with the target of bringing in one million air-borne visitors.

On my way to Nepal, I stopped over for a couple days in Hong Kong, one of the world's most modern cities. In many ways it's more modern, at least superficially, than any city in the U.S. But not in a gay way. There was a big to-do over the city-state, a semi-autonomous part of China, hiring a "gay conversion expert" to "cure" government employees.

Hong Kong has hired a prominent local psychiatrist who claims he can "re-wire" homosexuals as a trainer for its social welfare staff, sparking outrage among gay rights activists on Friday.

Critics said the move could be the world's first government-sponsored training session on gay conversion therapy, which includes prayer, cold showers and practising abstinence as a way to avoid same-sex relationships.

"The government seems to think that homosexuals are possessed by evil spirits and needed to be 'cleansed' or 'cured' through conversion therapy," Joseph Cho, a spokesman for gay rights group Rainbow Action, told reporters during a protest outside the city's Social Welfare Department Friday.

"They are criminalising people with same sex orientation-- this is an international joke," he added. ... Despite its reputation as an international financial hub, critics said Hong Kong remains a conservative city when it comes to gay rights, only decriminalising homosexuality in 1991.

A government survey in the 1990s concluded that most Hong Kong residents were "not ready" for laws banning discrimination against homosexuals, and the city had made little headway since to protect gays, said Dora Choi, director of the Gender Studies Committee at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"(But) this is very bizarre that the government would sponsor classes like these," she told AFP.

"It is the first time the government has publicly taken a stance on this issue. (It) should be neutral but it is obviously taking sides," she added.

Maybe both these countries are ready to write off gay tourists and eager to invite evangelicals instead. Good luck with that!




UPDATE: This url is blocked here!

I guess "same sex marriage" triggers an auto-blocking mechanism. But this one isn't just blocked in public areas but in my own room! I feel like I'm back in Myanmar!

Although Hutong has the best views in town, it's even better known for it's incredible kitchen

A political polling firm, Anzalone Liszt Research, usually spends its time helping elect Blue Dogs and other conservative Democrats. Perhaps because their client base was so badly decimated in the last election, they recently turned to examining how Americans plan on spending their time off, and their concerns about summer travel. Actually what they did was interpret the Trip Advisor survey that predicts that "despite a still-weakened economy and rising gas prices, a majority of Americans plan on getting away this summer, many of them by car"-- 86% of us. (up from 83% last year).

USAToday found that 61% of Americans believe that it is important to get away from home this summer, including 36% who said that it is "very" important. Despite this, CNN cites a Reuters poll that found that only 57% of US workers take off all the days they are entitled to.

A plurality of Americans will travel within the US, finds an AOL users poll (49%), and they are traveling with family (40%) compared with 36% who are not. In May, AAA's Memorial Day study found that 88% of Americans said they would travel via car for their trips that weekend, and TripAdvisor finds that 63% will travel by car for their summer travel plans. TripAdvisor also finds that 50% of Americans traveling this summer are heading towards a city destination, and New York City, Boston, and Washington DC top the list of cities. Closely behind cities are ocean destinations (40%), and then national parks (18%) and lakes (16%).

Cost is a concern among American travelers this year, and they expect to pay more this year for their travel. USA Today finds that 71% expect to spend more on transportation costs for their trips this year, and a AAA survey finds that 39% have scaled back their own vacation plans because of the rising gas prices. AAA finds that gas prices are already nearly a dollar more expensive than last year-- last Memorial Day weekend the average gas price was $2.85/gallon; this year it was $3.91. Americans expect prices to continue to climb this summer, and 76% believe they will hit at least $4.50. Twenty-six percent expect them to reach $5, and 13% see them exceeding $5.
 
Rising airfare costs are an additional cause of irritation to American travelers, tying the cost of gas for their biggest pet peeve when traveling (37%) according to AOL. Twenty-one percent of Americans say they would be willing to drive up to 10 hours to save money on airfare, and 43% have had to book connecting flights to reach their destination to stay within their travel budgets. Airline fees also frustrate travelers, and nearly half (46%) believe that the checked baggage fee is the most annoying, followed by 24% who believe seat selection fees are, and 18% who are most annoyed by the carry-on bag fees. Regardless of their irritation, 72% of Americans expect fees in general to rise during the remainder of the year.

Me... I'm making the last minute touches to my summer travel plans. I e-mailed the hotel in Kathmandu and persuaded them to give us a free upgrade to a two room suite. It's low season and there's an incipient revolution in Nepal and I knew the rooms wouldn't be in great demand. It just took two e-mails to convince them. I also made dinner reservations for my first night in Hong Kong-- I'm stopping on my way to Nepal to get my Asia sea legs-- at my all-time favorite Kowloon restaurant, Hutong. I e-mailed them for a table; they e-mailed me back with a reservation for 90 minutes at one of the most sought after tables in town. Then lunch the next day at Yan Toh Heen. And... on a more mundane level, if you print out your on-demand Nepal visa application, fill it out, stick on a passport-sized photo and have your $30 cash in hand, you don't have to wait on line at the airport. So I did that too.

Tourism has been an important part of the Hong Kong economy for decades and the last figures I was able to find showed around 26 million visitors annually-- around half of whom come from Mainland China. I asked Sandra McAubre, who normally writes on the topic of sports management degree programs to do a guest post on the feelings of Hong Kong Chinese about the change of status of the former British crown colony. She welcomes your comments at her email id: SandraA@sportsmanagementdegrees.net/ Her post follows:

How does it feel to be born Chinese, raised the British way of life, and then go back to being Chinese all over again? For the middle-aged citizen of Hong Kong, this is a very real conundrum-- the tiny island nation which belongs to China was leased to the British in 1898 for a period of 99 years. And so in 1997, it was officially handed over to the Chinese with much pomp and splendor. How do you cope with going from capitalist to socialist society in the blink of an eye? Fortunately for the people of Hong Kong, the island is not governed by the rules of Mainland China; rather, it is called a Special Administrative District and is being run the way it was when it was under the British. And so they’re able to retain their British way of life even as they revert back to their Chinese identity.

If you were to visit both Hong Kong and China, you would not be able to visibly tell the difference in the way of life in both places, but if you lived in either or both of them for some time, I guess the difference would become obvious. The larger cities of China may seem to be going the cosmopolitan route and adopting the Western way of life, but underneath the suits and inside the swanky multi-storied skyscrapers runs the thread of communism, the administration that allows only one child a couple, punishes people who speak against the State, and runs the country with an iron hand. China has only polished its external appearance to keep pace with the rest of the world and open its doors to developers and multinationals who provide opportunities for the nation to grow and flourish. Beneath the tip of the iceberg is a nation that is still proudly socialistic and which closely guards its secrets.

The people of Hong Kong are free to lead open lives, say what they want, and do what they wish to within the confines of the law that existed over the past century. But because they are no longer British, there is some form of censorship, even if it is self-imposed, as if they were a little apprehensive about some invisible punishment. And perhaps they are justified in trying to adhere to the way of life that China follows because this special status expires in 50 years. With 13 of them are already gone, only time will tell whether Hong Kong will still remain the capitalist economic success that it is or if it will slowly be assimilated into socialistic China and be forced to accept a new way
of life.

I recently visited Hong Kong and was impressed with the efficiency of the nation (I’m still unable to accept it is a part of China), and I sincerely hope it retains its unique flavor that is part British and part Asian (I cannot say Chinese in all honesty), no matter how many years go by.