What’s in a Name? Hong Kong Expat Memories

Where else could you be served a burger by Murder Wong, do aerobics with Cinderella Pong and work with Popeye Wan? I kid you not. Unusual names were just one of the great memories of expat life in Hong Kong in the 1990’s.

After the handover from Great Britain in June 1997, Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China. While many things have changed and today the names may be less exotic, you’ll still marvel at this melting pot of east meets west. A dynamic city filled with amazing sights and sounds around every corner. Working here will be one of the best cultural experiences of your life.

The unusual names I encountered during my 5 years at various advertising agencies still make me smile and I look back on them with real fondness. People still don’t believe me when I tell them about the colourful characters you could meet not just in adland but in everyday life – and you didn’t have to look far. Just to the office phone list for a thesaurus of treasures and imaginative English spellings: Jam and Coffey, Milk Shake and Madonna, Adolf and Wood – witty and wonderful names.

A casual flick through the South China Morning Post would easily reveal even more gems that certainly stood out from your mundane Tom, Rick and Ari. There was Bulldozer Chan, Icey Tung, Apple Mak, and my all-time favourite, Licky Ho. There was even a little inter-agency rivalry between my expat pals and myself to see who could trump you with an even better name. I confess Spoon Poon and Felix Mao are still hard to top.

Up here, it was easy to become immersed in your work and the whole social scene. Long hours, big nights, too many margaritas in Lan Kwai Fong, not to mention the never-ending temptation of shopping. You went out for groceries and came home with a little Gucci something…not that hard to do, when the shops stay open late every night. My downfall was earrings. Big, small, sparkling or plain, I amassed quite a collection of baubles.

There were some things I did miss about Australia, like having a bit of space to myself and some solitude occasionally, but that didn’t last long. One thing I didn’t miss was the spiralling interest rates on home mortgages. They certainly got out of control back then and seem to be heading upwards again in 2007. The one thing that can save you is a fixed rate home loan. Well worth looking into if you are travelling for a few years, so you don’t hit with nasty surprises like rate increases.

While the opportunities are not as diverse as they used to be for expats, working in Hong Kong promises to be give you so much from a professional and personal perspective. The place fills your mind and heart. You gaze in awe at the Manhattan-style skyline filled with dazzling modern architecture and just a few streets away, bargain your heart out for silk and jade at a local market. There’s nowhere on earth as fast, entrepreneurial and fun as Hong Kong.

If you get the chance to work up here, go for it and soak up every second. And look out for Licky Ho!