Hong Kong Gold Coast

You'll never guess? Take the bus and pay 0.37 euros and you get to go to the Goldcoast beach located 15 minutes away from the Uni. It's so convenient, imagine how the weather is just so hot here: when you arrive in August, temperatures are around 30 Celsius degrees and humidity rate reches 87%.

The Hong Kong Gold Coast is one of the major tourist attractions in Hong Kong, and is the only 5-star beach resort and conference centre in Hong Kong. It features not only a world-class hotel but also a convention centre, a shopping mall, marina club, a 480m long Promenade and the Golden Beach. It might be that high class look alike but the rooms are not expensive if you are thinking of getting away for the week end but not too far from the Uni.

The Golden Beach is the largest beach in Tuen Mun and the first artificial beach in Hong Kong.

Shopping and women in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is said to be the most materialistic place in the world. Clothes, accessories, Hong Kong is the place for shopping, it is really a shoppers’ paradise. Whatever you will be looking for, you will find it. From the big markets such as Mongkok’s Ladies Market and Temple Street Market to the outlet stores and luxury malls where Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci attracts thousand of people, shoppers can find it all, whatever their style is.

If you are a shopaholic, too bad for you, this is not going to help.

Each single person that owns a ‘shop’ is a seller, and a very aggressive seller. So it’s either you surrender and buy directly or you leave because you are annoyed, OR you have a massive pleasure of negotiating. And let me tell you that negotiating here can lead you to great bargains when you are in markets. The stands’ owners are very loud and it is almost like they beg you to buy what they have. The competition is extremely high; they all sell practically the same items because they know exactly what is fashionable and what the latest trend is here.

What are the items that are mostly displayed and that people promote? Bags, watches, sunglasses… all fake and copies of luxurious brands such as Dolce and Gabanna, Fendi, Burberry…
Why? There is a certain image that is promoted to Hong Kong girls. I mean, if you just have a look around in the streets, you’ll think they all look the same. Not meaning to be rude or anything but they all are fashion victims and rare are the girls that do not wear or own a famous brand item. And the more occidental the brand is, the better. Europe is just that chic and countries such as France or Italy are the perfect image of high class… which I do not always agree with… but anyway…


Girls here are not slim… They are skinny, be a size 34 and you are amazingly well proportionate. Your hair is straight? Have it permed. Everybody else has it permed. Do not have a couple of curls here and there, either have it permed or perfectly straight. And most important, the whiter you are, the better. We could compare it with the Japanese culture. When in France or other countries in the West, people would die for a tan and go to UV sessions and invest in tanning lotions, here the girls walk in the street with an umbrella so they stay as white as possible. The best sold items in the make-up sector are very likely to be whitening foundations. No wonder why Michael Jackson had such success in Asia! Just kidding…



Girls here are very aware of their appearance, it is just funny how sometimes so many girls stand in front of little surface of mirror in the streets to arrange their hair and make up.

Marketers here are very aware of the consumer purchase decision process.
1- Purchase task – reason, gift, more fancy, more expensive
2- Social surroundings-who buys with you? who influences you while you buy?
3- Physical surroundings – décor, music, store atmosphere
4- Temporal effects – time
5- Antecedent states – mood, money on hand, except compulsive shoppers that will just need to buy no matter how much money they have


So if you want to know how to market, how to , how to purchase…Hong Kong is really one of the best places…

Visit Lantau Island

You have to go onto this island.

This is where the airport is: to get there, use the Westrail from Siu Hong - 5 minutes away from the Uni - to Lai King and there change to another railway to Tun Chung. There take a bus and pay about 3 euros for unlimited transport in the day so you can just explore the island!

The Big Buddha is one of the most distinctive landmarks on Hong Kong's largest island, Lantau. The Tian Tan Buddha (or "Giant Buddha") is an 85-foot-high bronze and 220 tonnes Buddha statue, and there are various monastery buildings. Of course, a vegetarian restaurant can be found. Walkers can ascend from Tung Chung to the monastery in two hours.

The best known of the monasteries is Po Lin, which is on a high plateau - Ngong Ping - ringed by hills. Grand and gaudy today, Po Lin stands where three monks set up a meditation retreat in 1905. They built stone huts, other recluses joined them, and the monastery was officially inaugurated in 1927. The building was simple, and was surely peaceful as there was no road, just the Pilgrim's Path from the fishing village of Tai O to the west. It is called Hong Kong's Venice.

fun @ Uni

If not, there is always some way to have fun on campus, I mean, most of the hostels do not welcome non residents of the hostels after 11 or midnight... even if they are not that strict with the Chinese students, because they know how to talk to the guards haha, we don't so we can't take risks...

There are common rooms in each hostels but a couple of people can also meet in one small room!

Meeting the other Exchange students

It's just fun to meet new people. Besides, we were the first ones to arrive so we got to meet each other before the Chinese students arrived. And before they came, we had another week off. So of course, that is really the bright side of the exchange year, you get to go out and visit...


... and party of course in Lam Kwai Fong! This place is in Central, on Hong Kong Island and like Soho, is the place where everyone meets after work with restaurants, pubs, clubs, it is just awesome. And there are many people from around the world! Go out on thursdays girls, it's ladies night and you get to meet heaps of other students!!

Hostels, rooms and beds...

There are 6 hostels divided into Northern and Southern Hostels. I am in the Northern hostels… the higuer, the better!! I am in hostel F and when I got here, on August 18th, I was the very first exchange student to arrive at the Uni!!

The rooms have to be shared with a local student, but even though it’s not quite big, the only thing to pay apart from a very cheap campus price, is the air con.

Gosh, the mattresses though are pretty tough, really, invest in a mattress and a pillow because if not, you will break your back. I’m telling you, I was kinda surprised: maybe it does help my back and my posture now. I might be getting used to it since I didn’t get a mattress but have put my winter blanket on top of it. It helps and I can deal with this… for now…!

Lingnan University

Lingnan University, formerly Lingnan College, is the youngest university in the territory, yet with the longest-established tradition among the local institutions of higher education. The University was incorporated on 30 July 1999 following the enactment of the Lingnan University Ordinance. Its history, however, dates back to 1888, when its forerunner, the prestigious Lingnan University in Guangzhou (Canton) was founded.

In 1995, Lingnan moved to its present location in Tuen Mun, which incorporates hostel accommodation for 1,500 students out of its 2,000 total enrolment. This high proportion of residential students enables them to receive more personalised attention from faculty and staff, and prepares them better for subsequent career.

Besides the international orientation in the study programmes, the University seeks to promote interaction and exchange with other institutions of higher learning throughout the world. The University has entered into agreements for student exchange programme with higher educational institutions in many parts of the world, such as the Chinese Mainland, South Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, the United States - there are so many....!! - and Canada, and this year France represented by us at Toulouse Business School.

All exchange students are required to stay on the campus for at least one semester. It’s not so bad… We are 5 students this year, I am the only third year, and we live in 5 different hostels. I will have to write about these hostels in another article!

But yeah, that’s a brief presentation of the school…

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (Traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國香港特別行政區, Simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国香港特别行政区; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Xiānggǎng Tèbié Xíngzhèngqū; ) is one of the two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau which is very much influenced by the Portuguese style. It is commonly known as Hong Kong (Traditional Chinese: 香港; Simplified Chinese: 香港; Pinyin: Xiānggǎng; Cantonese Yale: heūng góng), which is often written Hongkong in older English-language texts.

Hong Kong was a British colony from 1842, until its sovereignty was transferred to the PRC in 1997. It is governed as a special administrative region under the Basic Law of Hong Kong. Under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the PRC has promised that Hong Kong will have a relatively high degree of autonomy until at least 2047, fifty years after the transfer of sovereignty. Under the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, it retains its own legal system, currency, customs policy, cultural delegation, international sport teams, and immigration laws.

Hong Kong is therefore a place where an English speaker can live… not everywhere though, not where the University is: in the New Territories.

Hong Kong is divided into several regions : the New Territories, Kowloon, Lantau Island, Hong Kond Island and Lamma Island. They are all divided into 18 administrative districts. I live in one of them called Tuen Mun in the New Territories.

A little about me

So yeah, here I am, ready to go, but let me tell you who I am and what do I expect fom this trip...

Aurelie Michel, born on Nov, 9, 1986 in France. I’ve lived in various places and my origins are just from all around the place: Vanuatu, Norway, Germany, Indonesia…
I love my parents and my small brother so much. He’s such an angel and brings so much happiness…

Once again, Hong Kong attracts me because of its moving environment and because it is obvious learning from a business city what makes her so powerful has to help me someway. I know there are a lot of foreigners here and Hong Kong can grant from its British heritage but also from its Chinese natural sense of seling and trade. I think Asia is becoming the new "American Dream" in the way that there is always something to do here, and a chance for everyone, at least to do anything... Hong Kong is Asia's US...

So, hopefully I will do my "stage de fin d'etudes" here. I have started to know people, just to know what they do and if I am interested in doing what they do, to precise my future objectives... Can't wait to work here, if only I could though...

Ready to take off

Here, I’m ready to leave for Hong Kong on August 18th. As I was in Vanuatu and Australia for 4 months, the flight is 15 hours long.

I'm all ready to go even though I am going to miss my family, my lover and the fine French food!!!

Where am I from?

Hello world and fellows,

My name is Aurelie Michel and I am a 3rd year student at the Toulouse Business School in the Bachelor Programme.



This year is my last and also my exchange year. I have chosen Hong Kong, the door to Asia’s business world.



The university in Hong Kong is called Lingnan University and is the only Liberal Arts university outside the US. Proud of its message and its values, it has increased the number of coming exchange students this year in order to expand and promote its policy. I believe a self-confident and a self-reliable university can bring a lot to its students no matter what their cultural and educational background are.

Anyway, this blog will describe my year here, discovering the life in Hong Kong, all about culture, traditions, business, uni…

Let the journey begin!!!!