On Black Thursday, the Hong Kong stock market fell by 10.4%, as the fluctuating interest rates made investors more interested in debt over equity. It’s interesting how Hong Kong’s experience with the East Asian Financial Crisis had more to do with fending off the attacks on its market by speculators than dealing with the aftershock of Thailand’s mistakes, like it was for many other neighboring markets. My crisis today came in the form of physical activity. Fueled by friendship and the waffles we had consumed an hour earlier, we hiked for hours, eventually converging on a night view of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen skylines. On this hike, my energy stores fell by 10.4%. And, while my fellow hikers were mostly concerned with getting to the top, I was worried about not holding everyone back, being older and less experienced. I sat at the peak and longed for a mango smoothie, so we went down the mountain and got mango smoothies. Overall, an exhausting but memorable day. Friendship is not good fuel for hiking.
