| I recall my first trip overseas in the early 70's departing Sydney Airport on a PAN AM 707, bound for Hong Kong Via Manila. During the brief stop over in Manila, I recall the warm, tropical, pungent humid air that hit you as you alighted the aircraft at Manila International Airport now known as Ninoy Aquino International. I was greeted by a lovely girl who laid a necklace of Sambugita over me at a little duty free Sari Sari store on the tarmac. The Landing at Hong Kong Kai Tak, airport was something else, flying through the roof tops of Kowloon one never forgets these first experiences. I was met by the Lee Gardens Hotel Limousine a new Mercedes Benz and whisked through the bustling streets en route to the Lee Gardens Hotel in Causeway Bay, on arrival I was greeted by an impressively dressed Indian doorman in full livery. Today the Hotel does not exist anymore as it was pulled down several years ago to make way for office development. The Hotel was famous for its Yum Sing Bar. My first week in Hong Kong was most enjoyable exploring the trappings of the East for the first time, the Tiger Balm Gardens, the alleyways of Causeway Bay, and afternoon tea in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel, and of course the vibrant nightlife. Hong Kong left an indelible memory and I was soon on my way to London via India, and many more stops en route. So the Journey began! Since then in the course of work, the passion for the far east has grown and my first visit to China in the early 90's on a trade mission to Schenzhen and Guangzhou has centered my work and lifestyle around the Asian region and more recently Shanghai - China. The China Club Melbourne was created in 2003 with the view to sharing the joys and experiences of Colonial Hong Kong, Asia and China.If you share this passion and perhaps you are doing business in Asia and China, then The China Club may offer you the opportunity to network and meet others of similar attributes. Rob Hope-Murray
Member of the Australian China Business Council
Wine Columnist -Sommelier
Gourmet Traveler | 
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