Tuesday, March 27, 2007
HK first impressions
The 20-odd hour journey to Hong Kong began in the wee hours of Thursday morning. We flew to San Francisco (note: if you have a stop-over in SF before heading to overseas locales, hang out in the main terminal and not the international one) then took a 14.5hr flight from there to Hong Kong. Stepping off the plane, the first things that struck me were Starbucks, the "Free Duty" shop, and the humid haze outside.
Starbucks: Hong Kong is a very modern city (if you ignore the few remaining dot-matrix printers) replete with 7.5million cell phones for it's 6.9million person population. Cell phones are a huge part of life here - it would be a sin to leave home without it. Even second hand phones are more leading edge than the ones we can get back in Vancouver! Being modern and stylish is huge and you can find every designer fashion house here. I don't think I've ever seen this many places that sell Prada, Gucci and Burberry is such close proximity. Starbucks is trying to nudge it's way into the market here, and they make a really big point of advertising when a location is nearby. I don't know that people will gravitate towards it though, I don't think western-style coffee suits pallettes here. Small food shops are absolutely everywhere! And it's all SO good.
"Free Duty": The last time I was in Hong Kong, it was 17 yrs ago and I remember English grammar here being a complete abomination. Things seem to have gotten a lot better since then with nearly all signs written in multiple languages. There's also still plenty of British influence - when walking onto the subway train, you might not "mind the gap", but you do "mind the space" and "alight" at the desired destination.
Humid haze: Yick... it's only about 25C outside, but it feels warmer and because of the humidity and means you can feel pretty sticky after walking around outside. The haze is in part due to the pollution but I don't know that it can be attributed to cars like the way in can be in most other places. The public transportation system is amazing. If you can name it, they have it. Subway, skytrain, double decked LRT, double decked buses, mini-buses, ferry... and it's all heavily used! There's still a fair bit of pollution, though, and it would be hard to imagine there not being any with this many people in such a small space. There was a building I saw yesterday that must have been 80 stories high - it was literally in the clouds! Buildings are typically no shorter than 20 stories and when you're talking about condo/apartment/housing developments, there aren't just 2 or 3 buildings, but 10.
Crazy. Maybe this is what development looks like.
When my parents visited me in Guatemala, they commented that Guatemala City was a lot like Hong Kong 50 years ago. Lots of crowded markets and street-corner shops, dirty and polluted, disparity between the rich and poor etc... These elements still exist here, but with an ever rising middle class modern technology and western influence and standards have infused into the culture and way of life. The romantic charm seems to have gotten lost in the process - I see that in the nostalgia my Dad and Aunt show when they talk about what they enjoyed while growing up.
But for now... I'm the tourist. And for the first time I can pass under the radar without obviously being the one out of place. Haha - oddly enough, I find it really strange to see other "foreigners" ( i.e. white people) here... :P
Starbucks: Hong Kong is a very modern city (if you ignore the few remaining dot-matrix printers) replete with 7.5million cell phones for it's 6.9million person population. Cell phones are a huge part of life here - it would be a sin to leave home without it. Even second hand phones are more leading edge than the ones we can get back in Vancouver! Being modern and stylish is huge and you can find every designer fashion house here. I don't think I've ever seen this many places that sell Prada, Gucci and Burberry is such close proximity. Starbucks is trying to nudge it's way into the market here, and they make a really big point of advertising when a location is nearby. I don't know that people will gravitate towards it though, I don't think western-style coffee suits pallettes here. Small food shops are absolutely everywhere! And it's all SO good.
"Free Duty": The last time I was in Hong Kong, it was 17 yrs ago and I remember English grammar here being a complete abomination. Things seem to have gotten a lot better since then with nearly all signs written in multiple languages. There's also still plenty of British influence - when walking onto the subway train, you might not "mind the gap", but you do "mind the space" and "alight" at the desired destination.
Humid haze: Yick... it's only about 25C outside, but it feels warmer and because of the humidity and means you can feel pretty sticky after walking around outside. The haze is in part due to the pollution but I don't know that it can be attributed to cars like the way in can be in most other places. The public transportation system is amazing. If you can name it, they have it. Subway, skytrain, double decked LRT, double decked buses, mini-buses, ferry... and it's all heavily used! There's still a fair bit of pollution, though, and it would be hard to imagine there not being any with this many people in such a small space. There was a building I saw yesterday that must have been 80 stories high - it was literally in the clouds! Buildings are typically no shorter than 20 stories and when you're talking about condo/apartment/housing developments, there aren't just 2 or 3 buildings, but 10.
Crazy. Maybe this is what development looks like.
When my parents visited me in Guatemala, they commented that Guatemala City was a lot like Hong Kong 50 years ago. Lots of crowded markets and street-corner shops, dirty and polluted, disparity between the rich and poor etc... These elements still exist here, but with an ever rising middle class modern technology and western influence and standards have infused into the culture and way of life. The romantic charm seems to have gotten lost in the process - I see that in the nostalgia my Dad and Aunt show when they talk about what they enjoyed while growing up.
But for now... I'm the tourist. And for the first time I can pass under the radar without obviously being the one out of place. Haha - oddly enough, I find it really strange to see other "foreigners" ( i.e. white people) here... :P
# posted by doris : 5:35 PM
