Language Barrier

One of the most surprising things about Hong Kong is the difficulty with language. The main language is Cantonese which is a separate language to Mandarin and is only spoken in the southern provinces. However since Hong Kong is a former British colony I went with expectations that almost every person would speak English, however this is most definitely not the case. While a lot of people do speak English it is very basic and very hard to understand because of pronunciations. I have found myself talking to Taxi drivers in a form of basic English with a Chinese accent because its the only way they understand you. I think one of the main reasons so many people don't speak English isn't necessarily because they don't want to but because they find it too difficult to pronounce.

I think quite often when asking for directions, some people can easily speak English but they choose not to out of pure stubbornness and I guess it's somewhat understandable because everyone is in a rush in Hong Kong all the time and they don't have time to help westerners.

However English is very popular with young people in Hong Kong with the influence of  western music and celebrities. As Hong Kong tries to distance itself from China and become more like the west I can see English becoming much more widely used.

Integrating Through Sport

The national sport of Hong Kong is basketball, the people of Hong Kong absolutely love it. On almost every estate you will be find at least two courts, on most streets you will find a shop that sells basketballs and on most streets you will find someone bouncing a basketball.

Personally I have never really been in to basketball, but I have found myself playing most days not only as a way of keeping fit and having fun but also mixing with the community. The Hong Kong-ese are always welcome to westerners joining a game and at that point when I am playing I don't feel like an outsider, it's incredible how sport can unite people who don't even speak the same language.

The park where we play with Kowloon in the background

Mong Kok: Nowhere more dense

I read that Mong Kok in Kowloon (North Hong Kong) is the most dense place on the planet (per square mile). It has a population density of 340,000 people per square mile. I wanted to go and see if this was noticeable or whether it would be like the rest of Hong Kong. And it was pretty obvious from the moment I stepped out of Mong Kok MTR station that this was the most dense place in the world. The street was swarming with people and the noise of shouting and construction and traffic all combined was deafening.

A wall of people in the distance.

Mong kok is also famous for its markets, the two main markets are known as 'Men's Market' and 'Lady's Market' although they both sell similar items. I enjoyed wandering around and not buying any of the fake rolex's or Dr Dre Beats but seeing how much I could knock off the original price through bartering, it was very easy and I could have bought some items for 80% less than the starting price. It was interesting that when I said that I wasn't a tourist and that I was living in Hong Kong they immediately slashed the price.

Disease Prevention

As I have already mentioned, Hong Kong is one of the most dense places on Earth. And this for obvious reasons means that germs spread easily. Whether you are standing on the MTR in rush hour or eating lunch in McDonalds you are always surrounded by people and consequently germs. I make sure to carry hand sanitizer around with me but this has not prevented me from picking up a few colds. However in order to reduce the spread of germs in Hong Kong the government encourages people to wear face masks. Now these face masks (as shown in the picture below) are worn by people who have germs and don't want to spread them to others. Before I visited Hong Kong I thought that people wore them so that they wouldn't catch germs from others, in fact its a very selfless act that ensures the spread of diseases and germs is kept to a minimum.

Traditionally in China it is very common for people to spit, many chinese people still spit today. Spitting is not confined to toilets or bins but also in restaurants and on the street. However in Hong Kong they are very keen to reduce the spread of diseases and spitting is a way of spreading diseases. There is a fine imposed on anyone caught spitting. This is also an example of how Hong Kong tries to distance itself from china, to a certain extent, and act more Western.

Booing the Bankers

Capitalism is so appealing to many countries because it gives many people the opportunity to become very rich. You do need to be smart, fortunate in who you know and hard-working. It's not idyllic for everyone though because there are always going to be winners and losers in any system, capitalism is no different. 

Hong Kong is the capital of capitalism in Asia. It is known as "Asia's World City". It has a maximum income tax of 16% which means it is very appealing to professionals in the US, UK, etc. There is no doubt that there are some insanely rich individuals in Hong Kong, I have lost count of the number of times I have seen a bugatti or a customised ferrari cruise past me. However there is also some really poverty here because there is very little support from the government for the poor, the other night I was walking home and I saw an old lady of about 80 or older pushing a trolley full of plastic and rubbish because obviously it was the only way she could get enough money to survive. It really makes one think about how unfair capitalism is.

The financial sector in Hong Kong is huge, it's where most of the money is made. The biggest bank in Hong Kong is HSNC. Today, i happened to be walking outside the HSBC head office, a huge luxurious skyscraper. Inbetween the two lions at the main entrance was this:

You can't really get an impression for how many people were here, but there were hundreds. There were others groups sprawled around the outside of the back of the building aswell. They were mostly women, they looked like they didn't have much money and possibly unemployed. What was extremely strange about this situation was that every time a banker walked out of the HSBC building everyone there would look up and boo and hassle the banker shouting insults at them. It was totally bizarre but highlighted that these people aren't happy about the unfairness in Hong Kong. One woman pretty much summed up the situation with a sign she was holding- "Richest in Asia, meanest in the world". 

Macau: More than just an Asian Vegas

I visited Macau recently and found it extremely interesting. I didn't really know much about Macau before I came to Hong Kong. I certainly didn't know it was only 11 square miles but has a population of 575,000 making it the most dense country in the world. I had heard that it was the 'Las Vegas of Asia' and that there was nothing really there except casinos. This is a misconception and Macau has much more to offer than gambling. Despite its size it is rich in culture and history, there are plenty of historical sites to visit and I didn't feel a day was long enough to explore the whole place.

This is an example of a steet sign in Macau,

despite the cantonese symbols it still looks very

portugese.

Macau was part of the Portuguese 'empire' for over 100 years and has inherited a strong Portuguese culture and feel from this period. At times as I was walking around the city it felt as though I was in Europe. The best way to get a feel for the city is to get one of the free buses from the ferry terminal to the casino district and then walk into the 'historic centre' of Macau. It's quite amazing because it feels as though you are walking through 3 different countries starting off in USA with the casinos before moving into China with tall apartment blocks and dim-sum restaurants below, and finally walking into Portugal with beautiful colourful houses and churches. 

This is the view from Fortaleza do Monte, with the Grand Lisboa casino in the distance. The fort was built in the 1600's by the Jesuits. It was used by the Portuguese to defend  Macau from a Dutch invasion.

This is the ruins of St Pauls Cathedral and probably Macau's most popular tourist hotspot. It was burnt down in a fire in 1835 and only this section remains, a poignant reminder of Portuguese rule.

The photo above is of the tiny Na Tcha temple and I think the story of this temple shows how two completely different cultures can work together to mutual benefit. In the 19th century a deadly disease had plagued the Portuguese and Chinese communities, everything they tried failed. Then one night the Chinese deity of Na Tcha appeared to a Portuguese man in his sleep and told him to build a temple and worship Na Tcha. News spread of this and the Chinese and Portuguese people worked together to build this temple, a few weeks later the plague disappeared.

Macau had so many beautiful tranquil parks, some with a very european feel and others with a distinct Asian feel. This was one of the best things about Macau for me and something that I feel Hong Kong is missing, that you can escape the hustle and bustle of the city so easily by just stepping into one of the many parks.

There is no fancy metro network in
Macau, just buses and these trishaws

And of course a trip to Macau would not be complete without visiting some of the incredible hotels and casinos that have made Macau the gambling capital of the East. I visited the MGM and the Wynn, both were full of designer shops and were aesthetically beautiful buildings. 

The dancing fountain show at the Wynn, I wonder where they got this idea from?

The dancing fountain show at the Wynn,
I wonder where they got this idea from?

The infamous bronze lion of the MGM Grand

I would say that a day trip to Macau is an absolute must for anyone visiting Hong Kong for more than a few days. To really experience Macau it is worth exploring the hidden gardens and temples on foot, it makes it more rewarding when you just stumble across a beautiful tranquil garden. Macau is definitely worth visiting, not for the casinos and the hotels, because Vegas does that much better than Macau, but for the history and the stories that are unfairly overshadowed by Macau's obsession with opulence and gambling.

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). 

 

A typical street in Sheung Wan

One of the many small shops selling hundreds of different spices