Hong Kong Dollars

Hong Kong. Here we are. And all I seem to be able to do the entire time I am here is hum “Magnificent Seven” by the Clash.

Gets you up and gets you out
But how long can you keep it up?
Gimme honda, gimme sony
So cheap and real phony
Hong kong dollars and indian cents
English pounds and eskimo pence

This place is moving. There is a lot going on and most of it involves making money. Be it selling luxury brands to foreigners or cheap veggies to locals. Commerce is everywhere. Hong Kong dollars are changing hands.

It’s a weird place. (And to be clear, I’m OK with weird.) It’s not China and it’s not the UK. It’s kind of lost somewhere in the middle. Only, it’s not in the middle like the median, it’s like the mean. Wait, is that what I actually mean? (pun totally intended). There are parts that are 100% China and then there are parts that are 100% UK (or at least 100% western). There aren’t so many parts that truly feel like both at once. So, on average, you may feel like you’re somewhere that’s kind of Asian and kind of Western, but only because you see both extremes in 1 day.

Things that I notice that are different in Hong Kong from Beijing and Shanghai:

• I regularly feel under-dressed
• HK is first city on this trip where it feels like the local Chinese are at a disadvantage to the expats
• Drivers abide the law (corollary: I no longer live in fear)
• Nature is everywhere
• People speak English (another corollary: I feel less like a dolt for speaking no words of the local language)

Some highlights of our time here:

• Cliché, but true, taking the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor is awesome (as are the views from the bar at the Peninsula hotel)



• Walking back down from the Peak through the rain forests… this city makes no sense, it’s built on an out-cropping of rock that is covered in jungle. But, hey, who am I to judge?



• Wandering through crazy markets, day and night



• The busy streets of Hong Kong (really make you feel like you’re in a movie)



• Watching the Wimbledon men’s final in a tiny sports bar at 1 AM

And one lowlight: Walking down the very busy, very touristy Nathan Street in Kwoloon (a district of HK) and being asked about every 5 seconds if I wanted to buy a “rolex” or get a custom suit made or buy some “luxury goods.” Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I ended up practically running down the street shouting “no!” at anyone that even looked at me. I am not cut out for this stuff. Maybe it’s time to go home….