long time no hear

because there's not much worth reporting going on right now...dragonboat exercise, junking, salsacise, gatherings with friends and enjoying the sun doesn't make the computer my first priority these days. The highlight of this week was an AWA (American Women's Association) afternoon tea in honour of their volunteers which took place in the splendid mansion of the most influential indian family in HK. The Harilela family (6 brothers & 1 sister) first came to China in 1922 settling down in Canton before moving to Hong Kong. They mastered the development from hawkers to owning a global billion-dollar empire (hotels, real estate, banks) which is still a family run business. To this day around 70 family members spanning 4 generations plus 40 servants are sharing a 100.000 sq ft compound which consists of the main residence (6 apartments with 40 bedrooms) and an annex with further 30 bedrooms for other relatives - very impressive! As the oldest brother states: "As we were together in poverty we should not seperate in wealth" - maybe we all should take this into consideration for our own families....or maybe better not ;-) Anyway we had a very nice afternoon and it was truly a great experience. By the way AWA had the privilege of this invitation because many of the Harilela's are lifelong members of their organisation. I also heard that 20 AWA members have the chance to get a tour through the house once a year - guess who will be eager to sign up?!