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Published: November 4th 2013
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View from our hotel, Hong Kong, China
Skinny skyscrapers. See if you can spot the people living on the tops. Today is another travel day. Unfortunately, I wake up struck pretty hard by the cold that has been circulating. I am disappointed, because I thought I had already faced it down and staved it off. Violet is still coughing quite badly as well. Looks like we will finish this trip as a couple of sickies.
Early start. By 8:15 am, we have had breakfast, checked out of the hotel and are on the bus. We are headed for the Shanghai international airport, not the domestic airport we arrived at. As I'm sure you know, while Hong Kong is now officially part of the country of China after being a British possession for 150 years, it is different and special in many ways. Flying to it is like flying to another country. You pass Chinese customs on the way out and Hong Kong immigration control on the way in.
At Shanghai airport, we say emotional goodbyes to Jack. He's been a patient and attentive tour leader and we regard him as a friend now. He is handed a thank-you card with a sizable tip collected from all of us.
An uneventful flight to Hong Kong, except that the taxi to the runway for takeoff is so long we start to wonder if we're driving to Hong Kong.
Just for fun, let's count the differences between mainland China and Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong uses a different currency from mainland China: the Hong Kong dollar, worth a little less than the yuan against international currencies.
• Hong Kong has a much more free and open society. For example, in the HK newspapers you can read about the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government's efforts to suppress his views, and I read an article questioning the Chinese government's version of the Tianamen Square attack. Facebook is not blocked in HK whereas it usually is in mainland China.
• Hong Kongers can own land.
• Hong Kong families are not subject to the one-child policy.
• Most Hong Kongers (but not all) know enough English to get by.
• About half of street names are English, generally relating to Great Britain.
• Traffic drives on the left, as in Britain.
• Cars stop at red lights and (gasp) at least slow down at stop signs.
• People "queue" in actual lines and wait their turn instead of trying to outflank you.
• People apologize when they step on your foot.
We arrive at Hong Kong international airport, which is on an artificial island. There we are met by our local guide Charles, who will look after us in this city. It's about an hour's drive from the airport to the hotel. Charles explains Hong Kong's interesting topographical layout, spread out over a rugged pennisula and a series of hilly, rocky islands, including a few artificial ones. It is challenging to build here, but Hong Kong is blessed by a natural harbour that has made it one of the world's major international commercial and business centres.
Our hotel is the Island Pacific Hotel on Hong Kong Island itself. The staff immediately strike us as friendly and helpful. As we were warned, the room size is smaller than one might expect, because Hong Kong is severely strapped for space. In fact, one of the salient characteristics of the buildings all around is that they are very tall but have such a small footprint. That's because land is so expensive that it is easier to build higher than to buy more land.
The other thing that we immediately notice about Hong Kong is that there is a clear and wide rich/poor division. From our hotel room, we can see families living in squalor on the tops of decaying buildings, right next door to magnificent gleaming office towers.
Some of the younger and more ambitious group members strike out to find dinner, but partly because I am not feeling that great, the four amigos elect to eat supper at the hotel. We are pleasantly surprised by the buffet, which not only has a wide variety of interesting and delicious food, but also includes unlimited wine and beer, all for a relatively modest cost of around C$25 a person. And Vi and I are pleased to retire early.
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