Earlier this month I was in Hong Kong for a few days.  Hong Kong is one of those classically fabulous international cities. Here are a few of my favorite things from past trips:

Taxi ride from the airport: The second I arrive at HKG I look forward to descending the ramp to the taxi stands. The red cabs signaling Hong Kong Island, the green for Kawloon and the new territories and the blue for Lantau are the first signs that you are in Hong Kong.

Custom tailors: I had my first custom suit made in Hong Kong on my first trip to the city.  Everyone should have a Hong Kong tailor and you really can’t come to Hong Kong without leaving with custom clothing.

Two weeks ago I wrote a post on my top 15 tech products for 2010.  Here are a few of my favorite web services (in no particular order):

1. Pandora: My single music source when I’m by a computer and now that I’ve integrated Boxee into the WMC connected to my primary TV, I find myself tuning in more frequently from the living-room/kitchen as well.  Looking forward to seeing how airplay-enabled speakers will impact my audio listening habits in 2011.

2. AwardWallet: Think of AwardWallet as Mint.comfor frequent flyer accounts. I would argue it is even better.  Mint.com never stuck with me, but I use AwardWallet religiously.  You can track existing trips and receive email updates of program accruals. I’ve never found either of these especially valuable.  For the former I rely exclusively on TripIt to organize all facets of upcoming travel.  The email updates are marginally helpful. But as far as organizing frequent flyer programs go, I haven’t found anything comparable to AwardWallet. In the past I’ve used MileTracker but in the end it completely failed me. I have yet to find a program not covered by AwardWallet – and I currently track 33 different accounts. A great feature is the ability to track accounts for different individuals in a single place and share access with them. So if your wife also has frequent flyer accounts you can track them in a single AwardWallet account, but you can each have your own log-in.  Another key feature is the ability to see when miles are set to expire due to inactivity. 

3. Google Reader: I was a Bloglines loyalist and when they announced they were closing their doors I transitioned to Google Reader.  I miss Bloglines, but moving back wasn’t as seamless as it should have been so I haven’t fully moved back yet.

4. Genieo: Genieo uses your search and browser history to built intelligence into your home page by populating it with articles relevant to your history. I’ve been using Genieo for a few months now.  The personal homepage has gotten smarter, and while I typically detest pop-ups, I’ve found many of the pop-ups more worthwhile than a distraction.The favorite sites tab hasn’t been useful yet, nor has the day in pictures (though I like the concept). One huge complaint – I frequently use google for directions by simply typing in the origin-destination in the google search bar and then clicking the map tab when I click through.  I also do this with products by clicking through the shopping tab on the google homepage.  Neither of these tabs exist Genieo-Google page which is incredibly frustrating and nearly makes it worth abandoning Genieo.   

5. Tumblr: I experimented with Tumblr early on but didn’t find a fit for microblogging outside of Twitter. But in the last few months I’ve found Tumblr useful for organizing photos and other posts enroute to Twitter.  I imagine my use of Tumblr will expand in 2011.

6. Twitter (over Facebook)

other web services to do more with in 2011:

1. Spotify: can it live up to the hype if it ever sees official support in the US?

2. OneTrueFan: another tool to build/find relevency.

3. IceRocket: the best blog and twitter search engine?

4. Presentation tools Tableau and Prezi: I intended to use Tableau all year and it just never happened, but I do plan to use Prezi for atleast one of my CES presenations.