HONG KONG. TWO FLOORS CITY.

Hello there. I do owe you an apology for not writing in English earlier. I try to enjoy the trip all day long and go to bed really tired. I wrote somewhat about Dubai in the plane from the UAE to Hong Kong and now, on the flight from HK to Kathmandu I am drawing these letters that I hope I can upload soon whenever I have Internet access.

May I explain you in few words the previous Spanish text about the United Arab Emirates. At first, most things really catch your attention. First on the list, it is terribly hot despite the summer is ending. The temperature reached 32-34º C but you felt like 42º due to the humidity. Secondly, everything is designed, built and promoted at its extreme. There are roads of 6 lines in each directions, the skyline is outstanding, the unique 7 stars hotel at Burj Al Arab, the tallest building in the world Burj Khalifa, the massive mosque at Dubai, the large Ferrari Center… You can see some pictures at the right hand side of this blog.

Nevertheless, everything looks quite superficial. You can easily notice the rich Emiratis citizens and the poor Indian and middle-east “invited workers” dealing with cleaning, receptionists, waiters and so. Less salaries and fewer rights too. It is fair to say they are legally registered, they go there as they wish and earn more money than in their own countries but they will hardly be promoted at their jobs and will never obtain the Emiratis citizenship. Neither will their children in spite they will be born there. Bizarre puzzle all together.

Anyway, this side tends to talk about Hong Kong. I do not know why (I had not read much about HK, I admit), I figured HK in my mind as a chaotic crowed city. Even kind of dirty and dangerous. Man, how wrong I was (in fact, this is the aim of this trip; getting to know this unknown side of the globe)!! I have enjoyed my three days there a lot. A friend of mine put me in contact with another friend and he kindly offered a sofa at his apartment for these days. I could not refuse it. He works for a German firm as a Marketing Manager for Asia Region. He did not only got me a place to lay my bald head off but also chatted about HK. A foreigner who has been working in several countries usually brings an interesting point of view. He foresees an ongoing economy leadership for China rather soon. Chinese people appear to be clever in business. Brilliantly or madly, they focused in copying all the Innovation from Western countries. Patterns are not longer safe and the “know how” it reaches a precious value. To that, you can add that Chinese people are really effective, motivated and profit-aimed. They can open an enterprise in 5 minutes. HK also promotes this business mentality with taxes exemptions and a very active assistance. Literally, “down here there is more money that you can even think about”.

And that thinking seems to be right when you walk across the city. The development is enormous. You see hundreds of high buildings all over the islands (Greater Hong Kong is settled in several islands), long bridges, modern means of transport, real optical internet network, businessmen all over, shops, locals, shopping centers, banks, enterprises offices… Besides, all the panels are both in Chinese and English, the city is pretty safe and clean, prices are not out of this planet (not cheap, though), people speak English correctly and I did not get the impression of much pollution. There is some as many lights on, a generous numbers of ships at the sea and 6 million inhabitants, but they also use metro, bikes and ferries, so it goes fine so far. All in all, the city is cosy to visit and offers many points of interests for business. They are in the core of Asia (as an example, an independent city as HK is the headquarter for two of the largest air companies in the world, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair).

On the other hand, the title of this page comes from the funny fact that the city is designed to become easy for millions of people. I mean, first of all there are several hundreds of meters of pedestrian passages above the main avenues and crossroads. That means traffic goes its own way, while you can easily non-stop walk through (over, I rather say) crossroads, streets and it also squeezes throughout some buildings. Moreover, from the piers (breathtaking skyline sight at night, I spent more than an hour there) to Victor’s flat in Hollywood Road (eldest street in the city), you can walk for 8-10 minutes along these passages or upper tunnels and like another 8 minutes you just stand on the moving mechanic stairs and belt like those at the airport or shopping centers. Outside in the middle of the city!! But it is also the two floors city because all the urban busses and trams are double floor (like the famous London red buses). Furthermore, you can access some islands both by ferry and by metro under the water channel and on the bridges. In a parallel metaphoric meaning, the city is attractive for the rich business elite (I have seen reporters staring at the financial indexes boards at the banks and taking pictures of alarming stock market rates) and comfortable for the modest bagpackers like me…  I do not pretend to draw this as the city of the future, but the feeling is that progress is at the service of the people.

I also jumped into a ferry and a bus to visit Tai O, an old fishingmen village in Lantau Island. Nowadays, there is not much trade there but it turned into a very picturesque little town. A local 50aged man approached me and offered to join me and chat for a while. Lucky me. For two hours we have a very nice conversation while he showed me the traditional canton side of the site with old wooden and newer aluminum houses over the water. They are provided of light, tv, internet and toilets. The kitchen and living room are very close to the entrance and you can see some fruits in some closer tables. It is a way to say welcome to people and, mainly, to the good spirits. They also have some icons and goods stamps and legends at the entrance of their houses. He says local people are very superstitious and he adds –guess what- “it works...” Then we entered a couple of small Buddhist chapels. Needless to say, he afterwards showed me what he sells (icons, dolls, stamps, fans….) and (needless to say too) I bought some as a thankyou for all this time with me. He really deserved it. Imagine staying in a quiet village after sunset, peacefully walking over the wooden bridges and paths, funnily learning some words in Cantonese and nicely talking about everything with an instructed local inhabitant. Rather than taking photo-postcards of every building and churches, this is what I enjoy most when I travel. And we just got started…

I stop, I promise. Feel free to leave comments and questions. It will be a nice way to get in touch.

Tips:

I saw? = Hong Kong Downtown, the HK Peak and the 360º terrace, the Piers, Tai O

I slept? = Bed and sofa at Victor’s place. Hollywood Road, 108. (Thanks)

I ate? = Thai rice, vegetable and chicken plate, honey desert, San Miguel beer, some kind of fish balls with unknown vegetable cooked at Chinese style.

I talked to? = This Tai O inhabitant who wrote me his name but in Chinese

Troubles? = Non.

Like most? = Cosy city to walk around. Clean, safe, generously signedposted. The Skyline. The chat.

Disliked most? = Nothing in particular.

Transport means? = Ferry (20 km aprox), train (40 km aprox), bus (35 km aprox), metro (13 km aprox).

Side they drive? = Left