First Impressions

The airport was contemporary in style and gave little evidence at first glance that we were in Hong Kong. By contrast, the airport in Anchorage, Alaska has large stuffed animals throughout and pictures of glaciers, salmon and traditional Alaskan people and their artistry. A visitor knows immediately that they have arrived in Alaska.

My first encounter with Asian culture occurred when I went into the women’s bathroom in the Hong Kong airport. One of the stalls had two toilets – one normal size and another smaller one closer to the floor. My immediate thought was, how nice, great for children. My second thought was, oh, this is a squat toilet. I AM in Hong Kong.

This is my first time visiting Asia. Reading about the 1 billion people of whom approximately 7 million are in Hong Kong, I expected New York City throngs and honking gridlock traffic. On the ride from the Hong Kong airport to the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel in Kowloon there was little traffic until we reached the city center and no car horns at any time. The highway was new looking and well maintained. Our driver was friendly and informative. The noise and gridlock characteristic of NYC was not evident to me, even on Friday, a workday.

However, it gradually it dawns on you that there are extraordinary numbers of people living in this city. On the way to Kowloon and in the city there are many, many old and new multi story apartment buildings, clustered together. Clothing hangs from the apartment terraces. Many people need many places to live – and work.

There is more hotel staff at the front desk and throughout the hotel than a western hotel. At 1:30am there is 7 staff at the hotel front desk and more in the lobby. In the hotel lounge and the Café, there’s always someone several paces behind waiting to top off your drink, or bring your check or whatever. As someone here said, there’s no shortage of people.

Hong Kong is famous for selling reasonably priced handmade clothing. Darin had arranged to have several shirts made while we were in Hong Kong. We found the tailor in a building with no signage, on a floor with a hidden door to the stairway. There’s no first floor or any floor directory. You have to know where you are going. We were looking for Winston Tailor, shop 106. The hallway was dimly lit and circular with corridors seemingly laid out in a random fashion. Each floor contained over 30 businesses in individual spaces no larger than my bedroom crammed with the goods of their trade.

Once found, the proprietor, his wife and daughter were wonderful. In the short time we were in his shop, several other customers, Asian and western, arrived. No western advertising or marketing for Winston Tailor! Business depends on word of mouth and he’s been around for a long time. I look forward to returning to investigate that handbag shop I passed on the way to the tailor!

More impressions….

-It’s a little strange to see traffic on the “wrong” side of the road. Crossing the street is hazardous.
-The crosswalk signals are audible, beeping slowly for don’t walk and beeping faster for walk, to assist the differently abled.
-All doors open inward. I find myself pulling the door to open while some attentive stranger gently reminds me to “push.”
-The up and down escalators are switched.
-Sometimes the toilet and the washbasin are in the same stall. Very convenient.
-I cannot identify many of the vegetables, fruits and meats in the Western Market. Check out the picture of the pig snout!
-The people are very friendly and helpful.
-The streets are clean. Maybe they don’t litter?
-The British influence side by side with Chinese culture. Hong Kong may be owned by the Chinese now but the British colonization is very much present.
-The paper money is colorful. It’s hard to get your mind around a HK$98.00 hotdog or high tea for two HK$438.00. I leave the HK/US dollar conversion to Darin but he assures me it’s cheaper than it seems.

Our adventures continue Saturday with an unescorted walking tour of Hong Kong Island via the Star Ferry; high tea at the famous Peninsula Hotel, a boat tour of the Hong Kong harbor starring a light and sound show and finally a late night walk through Hong Kong’s own Times Square – Nathan Avenue.