Hong Kong: A Fast-Paced, Exotic Urban Gem

There are no direct flights between Bali and Chengdu, China where I was attending a workshop in mid-August 2012 put on by the Chinese Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment. I was pleased to discover that I could fly through Hong Kong and decided to spend a couple days there to get a feel for this former British Crown Colony which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 when the UK’s 150 year lease expired. I was motivated by the exotic pictures I’d seen of this mountainous group of cities by the sea as well as my extensive collection of pre-1955 Hong Kong postage stamps.

Although a“Special Administrative Region” of China, Hong Kong has its own flag

The bulk of Hong Kong’s teeming population (over 7 million) is concentrated
in Kowloon and on the north side of Hong Kong Island.

2012 marks 15 years since Hong Kong reverted from a British crown colony
to a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.

I arrived around in the afternoon at Hong Kong International Airport on 8 August. The airport is way out on an island away from the main part of the city but a very modern, smooth, fast train whisked me over bridges and through long tunnels to city center on Hong Kong Island in 24 minutes. From there, it was a long walk through a maze of shiny underground corridors and down escalators to the MRT train which delivered me to the Causeway Bay station in about 6 minutes. When I emerged into daylight I was met with the challenge of finding my way to my hotel. I had a detailed Google map of the area but figuring out which was direction was north, what exit I’d emerged from, and the names of the streets were not easily accomplished (I had a compass in my backpack but forgot to use it). Luckily for me, there were a few small street signs in English so I decided I would see if I could very carefully make it on my own without asking for directions. I soon got oriented and, in less than 10 minutes, found the Causeway Bay Guest House, my residence for the next two nights.


80 airlines serve Hong Kong’s International Airport including many

I’ll bet you’ve never heard of like Vladivostok Air and Mega Maldives.

No windows for 58 bucks a night.

My tiny room at the Causeway Bay Guest House

was located down the alley on the left.

My room with bath was laughably small – probably less than 75 square feet much of which was occupied by a double bed. The only window was in the bathroom and faced a small opening between four building walls. At least the air conditioning, hot water, and wifi worked! All this “luxury” for about US$58 but, hey, Hong Kong City is one of the most crowded pieces of real estate on the planet, so the tiny room seemed appropriate for my experience.



Hong Kong is loaded with eye-candy
for the modern architecture buff.

I found an authentic Chinese dinner down the street where I was shown to a table with 4 chairs, 2 of which were already occupied by a young couple. You wouldn’t be so rude as to ask for your own table in a crowded Hong Kong restaurant. Mine was the only white (or should we say “pink”)face in a sea of beige faces (damnit, the Chinese are beige, not yellow). The menu was all in Chinese but a young waitress who spoke a little English steered me to a vegetarian noodle bowl to which I added a side of mushrooms. Now I’m a rather accomplished chop-sticker but the long noodles and slippery mushrooms proved to be yet another challenge for the day (Didn’t they have knives, forks, and spoons? Surely you jest!)

After dinner, I joined the hordes on the street who were window shopping, talking on cell phones, buying street food (mostly meat and fish), and heading somewhere. Yes, Hong Kong is very crowded but the Hong Kong Chinese seem to have evolved to handle much smaller personal spaces than those of us from more sparsely populated areas. Pedestrians glide past each other with ease. It was tough for me to figure out their rhythm but I managed to avoid running into anyone or getting stepped on. And the city is safe and clean –very little trash on the streets, no dog poo, no graffiti, and no homeless people.

Hong Kong’s streets are very crowded with pedestrians, motorbikes, cars, and buses.

The human herds seem to move with a well-coordinated fluidity.

I had hoped to meet with an erosion control specialist in Hong Kong but the email introduction never happened so I had two simple objectives for the following day. The first was riding the famous old Star Ferries across the harbour and back to soak in some of the notoriously stunning views of Hong Kong Island. I wasn’t to be disappointed except for one problem: the air in Hong Kong sucks. It doesn’t smell so bad for a big city but the visibility is about what you’d expect in LA. Heavy traffic and big-time summer reliance on air conditioning in a hot, humid city like Hong Kong are to be expected. However, when auto and bus exhausts and air emissions from coal fired power plants ruin the air in an otherwise stunning, world-class city, you know it’s time for humans to wise up and demand a switch to electric cars and power generation from non-polluting energy sources.

A Star Ferry making its way between Hong Kong Island (in the background) and Kowloon.  Hong Kong’s impressive architectural and dramatic setting are marred by its poor air quality.

 

Upcoming performances at the Hong Kong Cultural Center in the Tsim Sha Tsui section

of Kowloon give a hint of the strong Western influences in Hong Kong.

Because of the bad haze over the island, I decided to wait until late afternoon to pursue my second objective: a cable car ride to the top of the highest point on Hong Kong Island, 552 meter (about 1800ft) Victoria Peak. I figured that getting up to the top around sunset would provide me some good photo ops as the haze maybe dissipated in the evening air and electric lights started to illuminate the thousands of buildings below. Problem was that hundreds of other people (both locals and tourists) had the same idea. When I arrived at the cable car ticket window, the queue stretched way around the block and beyond the sign which indicated a 1½ hour wait from that spot. Look, I was in the Army many years ago and know about long lines. I wouldn’t stand in a queue now for an hour and a half even had they been handing out US$100 bills at the ticket window.

When I saw there was an hour and a half wait for the cable car ride

to top of Victoria Peak, I decided to give it a miss.

 



China experiments with local democracy:2012 elections in Hong Kong.

Thus, I opted out of the cable car ride, walked back through downtown for more photos, then off to the a nice restaurant at the Star Ferry pier where I had deviated from my usual veggie fare and had a bowl of seafood bouillabaisse. As darkness descended on the harbour, I boarded another Star Ferry. The haze had cleared and I was rewarded with some great photo ops.

I wouldn’t want to live in such a crowded city, especially during the sultry days of summer. However, I liked the place and attribute its appeal in no small part to the character of the Hong Kong Chinese.


What a skyline! The harbour viewed from the Star Ferry at night
shimmers with a carnival of lights.