 | Hello everyone, I'm one week back from my eleventh trip to Hong Kong. As you might guess from the fact that I've been there eleven times, I like Hong Kong. I like it a lot. Indeed, after my home town of San Francisco, Hong Kong is my favorite city in the world.
So, are there any Hong Kongers in the SYD membership? I know there is at least one who lives or had lived there because we exchanged quite a few Private Messages. Or are there any people who have visited there or are thinking about going there who like to chat? If so, make a post on this Forum topic or send me a Private Message. |
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I am not a worldly person and sadly, I've never been anywhere outside the continental United States. I bet you and your partner have amassed a bus load of "frequent flyer miles" points so it's understandable, why let them go to waste!
What is it about Hong Kong that makes that destination your favorite?
Being a DINK seems heavenly......
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What do I like about Hong Kong? The hustle and bustle, the tall buildings, the neon signs (though those mostly are being replaced with LEDs) and the cosmopolitan flavor. Hong Kongers like to say that it's Asia's world city. I'm fond of saying that it's like a Chinese New York.
Hong Kong suits all budgets. If you want five star luxury hotels and gourmet restaurants and have the bucks to pay for them, Hong Kong has them. But there are also very reasonably priced accommodations and every thing in between.
Hong Kong is very user friendly (everything works there) with good transport and you can get by just fine knowing only English. It's very clean and very safe. Litter, graffiti and street crime are virtually non-existent.
There are so many words that begin with the letter "c" that apply to Hong Kong. Crowded, cosmopolitan, cultured, Chinese, colonial, complex, contrasted, clean, capitalistic, clothing.
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Crowded, of course. The urban areas of Hong Kong are so densely populated that they make Manhattan look suburban by comparison. Twenty stories is a short building in Hong Kong. Most people live in high rise apartment houses forty or fifty stories tall.
Cosmopolitan. People from all over the world visit there. And a substantial number of non-Chinese live there.
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Cultured, and not just Asian culture. The Hong Kong Philharmonic is a fine symphony orchestra that programs mostly western music. I've been several times. Hong Kong Opera was performing Tosca while we were there, but alas I didn't make it.
Chinese, of course. Since the end of the colonial era it's now part of the Peoples Republic of China, but a very special part.
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Colonial. Hong Kongers are very proud of their British colonial heritage and there is evidence of it everywhere. Street and place names, names of schools, hospitals and other institutions. Barristers in court were wigs. The city is officially bilingual, Cantonese and English. A visitor who speaks only English can do just fine there.
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Complex, very complex, but everything works right. They probably have the best airport in the world. Immigration and customs were a breeze and the Airport Express train into the city is fast, efficient and very reasonably priced. Public transport, a huge network of subways, buses, ferries and even streetcars, is very inexpensive, especially for old farts like me who can ride for the senior fare, which is often no fare at all (FREE!!!). But then it is used. A lot. Only about ten percent of the population have cars, so ninety percent rely on the public transport. I cannot stress too strongly how well things work in Hong Kong.
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Contrasted. Yes the urban areas are ultra dense, but 46 percent of the land in Hong Kong is parkland. Get out of the urban areas and there are winding two lane country roads with wooded hillsides as far as the eye can see. With bus service every ten or twelve minutes.
Clean, clean, CLEAN. And very safe. Litter, graffiti and street crime are virtually non-existent.
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Capitalistic. I've already mentioned this several times. It's also the financial center of southeast Asia.
Clothing. You want a custom tailored suit? Well, there are tailors everywhere. You want something that you won't find ready made? Have I made for you in Hong Kong. I had a white silk suit made there several years ago.
"Cuz every girl's ( and guy, too ) 'bout a sharp dressed man!"
First, see the Antarctica photo I sent you privately.
Ah yes, First Class. My bucket list too. But like Antarctica frightfully expensive. One can easily spend more than the cost of a two week vacation just on the air fare. Hard to justify.
Finally, that Mark Twain quote is one of my favorites (or since you're British would you prefer favourites?). Totally unrelated to travel, but my Big Regret was that I never did porn. For years that was (and still is) a Major Fantasy. To put my body and my sex on public display for the world to see just seemed so satisfying. But I didn't for family and employment reasons. Oh well.
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There is also art and culture. The Hong Kong Philharmonic and Hong Kong Opera. Both mostly perform western music.
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Go, man, you'll be glad you did. I see on your page that you live in the USA, but you don't say where. We here in San Francisco have non-stop flights (14 hours going, 12 hours coming back). All other large west coast cities also do.
But if you live on the east coast, Vancouver, BC, Canada is the best jumping off point for Hong Kong or anywhere else in Asia as it is the large North American city that is closest to Asia. They even have a Fairmont Hotel right in the airport. If you want to break up your travel into two days, you can get off the airplane in Vancouver, spend the night in the hotel and then go to your gate for your trans-Pacific flight without even having to go outdoors.
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Then there are the copies. Do you want a Rolex watch for $30.00? It's impossible to walk down the street without hearing the street touts say "copy Rolex" as you pass. They are not openly displayed as they are in Thailand, but they are available.
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And since you live on the east coast, my mention of making your connection to a trans-Pacific flight in Vancouver would suit you to a T. You'd have what? a five or six hour flight just to get to the west coast and you might not be ready to board a twelve or more hour flight to Asia without some rest first.
First the similarities. Both are tropical (Hong Kong at the same latitude as Cuba, Singapore virtually on the equator), both are very Anglo friendly (English is the national language in Singapore and is widely spoken in Hong Kong) both are ultra clean and very safe, in both most housing is in high rise apartment houses, both are very capitalistic.
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But there the similarities end. Singapore calls itself the garden city and it truly is. In most parts of the city, even the business districts, there is a space between the sidewalk and the street that is landscaped with beautiful plantings. There are vast expanses of lawn and tree lined streets with the boughs meeting overhead. One can look down a street with gardens on each side and a canopy of tree limbs overhead. It's densely populated but it doesn't feel that way.
Hong Kong, on the other hand, is very urban. Streets are lined with buildings. There are advertising signs attached to the facades of the buildings that extend out over the street so they meet in the middle. One looks down a street and there are buildings on both sides and a canopy of neon signs overhead.
May I ask how many trips per year that you take?
For those old enough the remember the cold war days when the Soviet Union and China were the evil communist empire to the east, there was much concern in the west about creeping socialism. Well, the Soviet Union has fallen apart and China has numerous areas it calls "Special Economic Zones". In these areas private property and free enterprise are not only permitted but encouraged. China doesn't just have creeping capitalism, but rather it's marching right along.
Hong Kong is a "Special Economic Zone", one might even say an "Extra Special Economic Zone" in that it has its own money and its own laws. And United States citizens, and citizens of many other nations, need no visa to enter.
I'm rather interested in knowing how it feels, since I've never been there and doubt I will ever be. Knowing about something and experiencing it first hand are very different.
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