Hong Kong: East Meets West, A Travel Blog By Sam Lever: First Impressions

About this blog

Hello, my name is Sam Lever and I am 19 and currently on a placement working as a model for Mission Model Management in Hong Kong. The placement is for 2/3 months and during this time I thought it would be a good idea to capture my experiences and stories in this blog, and to also comment on my perspective of the place. I have always been fascinated by the similarities and differences of different cultures and I think the region of Hong Kong is especially interesting because of the mix of traditional chinese heritage and European colonial history that has shaped such an intriguing region. I am also interested in the issue of how Hong Kong copes with a population density of over 18000 people per square mile and the strains that this puts on services such as transport. Finally I want to see how this region has adapted from under capitalist colonial rule to communist rule and whether the change has made any noticeable difference. I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it.

Wednesday, 10 April 2013

First Impressions

So, I've been here in Hong Kong for over 2 weeks and unfortunately I have been sick for half that time, but I still feel I am beginning to understand Hong Kong. So, what are my first impressions? Unbelievably busy. I knew Hong Kong was a densely populated place but I was very surprised to see SO many people everywhere. Rush hour here is unbearable, with thousands of people pouring onto public transport. The hongkongese (never refer to them as chinese, they hate it) are very meticulous people, everything runs like clockwork. So this means that everyone starts work and finishes work together which only makes rush hour worse. They also all have the same lunch break from 1 till 2 so it is nearly impossible to get anywhere near ANY restaurant or cafe during this time. I've made sure to eat just before or just after the lunch break, much quieter.

With all these people living in such a small area it is no surprise why house prices are so high here in Hong Kong. A simple 2 bedroom appartment in sheung wan (which is what I'm living in) would set you back HK$6 million, which is approximately £600,000. Crazy money. My bedroom isn't what I would class as a bedroom, I would class it more as a cupboard with a bed inside, with barely enough room to open the door.

The area of Sheung Wan, where I am staying, is a very traditionally Chinese area with little signs of any Western influence (except for the Mcdonalds just a short walk from my appartment).