5 things I immediately loved/hated when I got here:
- The Weather
Having grown up in Canada while coming here several times before, I knew what to expect in terms of humidity and heat. The hotness here is pretty nasty when factored with the dense air (a ripe mixture of water vapour, pollution, and cigarette smoke in some places) but it’s not much worse than a smoggy day in downtown Toronto. The only difference is that this is more perpetual with a larger area of effect (excluding areas like Wah Fu Chun/Village where the bay’s cool breeze blows away a lot of the heat and gross). - The People
I don’t know what it is, but the people here are either very “nice” or very “not nice”. Maybe it’s something in the water. The girls all look and dress more or less the same, and quite a few are very tall too. Most girls and some guys have dyed hair, and pretty much everyone with glasses opts for the thick rimmed, black plastic frames. Short skirts and shorts are, well, short, and sleeves are often missing. The people are either very clean and well-groomed or they are pretty gross and messy. Oh yeah, did I mention that there are a lot of them? People people, everywhere, and not a drop to… wait, what? Yes, there are people everywhere and the streets, stores, subways, buses, and escalators are always stuffed. This is good for business (and makes sense, HK being a trading city and all) but I imagine it would be difficult for dates (if you do not consider going out to shop and eat and shop again in loud and crowded environments while sucking in car-fumes a “date”). - The Transit
Hong Kong is sort of like a GTA Toronto in Asia, since it’s made up of a central part (Hong Kong Island) and it includes several peripheral sections (like Kowloon, Wan Chai, etc…). To get around, there are a lot of options, the main ones being by double decker bus and subway. Their subway system is simply amazing, putting the TTC to utter shame. Trains are never more than a few minutes (if not seconds) away. There are doors between the waiting area and the trains to prevent people getting shoved/knocked onto the tracks. The trains’ cars are all linked, thus making use of the spaces between the cars too. There are also maps that indicate where the train is and where its headed and even on which side of the train the doors will be opening up at the next stop. The stations are pretty huge and deep underground, so sometimes they can be hard to navigate (to or inside of) but that’s more because I’m a foreigner. Anyway, the public transportation more or less rocks: fast, safe, and efficient. - The Shopping
Okay, say what you will about consumerism and material goods, but the fact stands that while we’re here on Earth, we will have the need for things. Or at least, wants. For the past two days (that is, the extent of my stay thus far) I’ve been going out to pick up things like shirts, shorts, dress shirts, toys, gadget pouches, snacks, drinks, candy, and socks from some very hot spots for getting stuff (mostly department stores like Soho–not “So Ho” mind you–and not so much those shady street-side merchant’s booths). Mostly it’s stuff for myself, my mom, my sister, and my dad, but I’ve also picked up a/the first little something for Amy and have been looking for things for friends. After today–which involved quite a bit of spending by my mother–I am unsure how much monies we actually have left, which is either scary or depressing. I do have Super Mario gear, so I’m not complaining. - The Company
While over here I’m staying with my uncle, Keith, and his wife and ~1.5 year-old daughter. Keith took care of me a lot when I was a kid so we get along quite well. I really enjoyed seeing him again, all fatherly now with his child, and joking around (often at my mom’s expense). Playing with baby Jolie is also really fun, seeing as how she’s one of the smartest people who cannot yet speak that I know. There’s still much yet to do and see and eat with family and friends over here and quite a bit of time left for all that, so I shall be enjoying all those thoroughly in due time. I also really like going over to my grandparents’ place in Wah Fu Chun. Let’s face it, it’s a ghetto, mega-old part of HK with government housing but it’s also got a pristine view of the bay with that aforementioned sea-breeze rolling in every so often. I like chilling there since my grandparents (mom’s side, by the way) are really quite a challenge to understand. They speak a different dialect of Chinese. Being the oldest grandchild for my mom’s side is neat since the grandparents are always nice to me (though that might be because I can’t come very often or maybe they are always nice to all their children). I’ll probably be going over to visit them again (I went the first night that I was here) as well as having dinner with them eventually.
Sorry it took so long to write up a post, but I haven’t had much time to sit down and write. That, and I’ve been sort of really tired. As I get used to it, I’ll be posting a bit more. Until then, toodles!