Hong Kong

We have just come back from four days in Hong Kong.

Crossing the border from Mainland China to Hong Kong always feels as if the desperation in the crowds just eases away.  Strangers in the streets, on the whole, seem far less tense in Hong Kong than they do on the Mainland.

In Hong Kong, people seem much more relaxed about queuing and waiting.  They leave bigger gaps and they (far more often) wait their turn for others to go first.  Instead of rushing desperately into a train the moment it arrives, they pull back that split second and enter calmly.  Rarely do people try to jump the queue.  On one occasion, there was a seat free next to me on the train.  There was no desperate rushing by people to grab it.  Instead, a rougher-looking older man smiled at me, and with a gesture asked me if the seat was taken.  I smiled back and gestured that he could take it.  This sort of stranger-to-stranger interaction almost never happens on the Mainland (at least in my experience).

Similarly, people on the street are much more likely to acknowledge strangers.  Our building security guards smiled and said hello, with a cheery wave, to everyone passing.  It is hard to imagine a Mainland security guard doing this.  And you don’t see those blank, stony faces on strangers in the street nearly so much in Hong Kong.

When we were on our way back to the Mainland, at the final train station at the border, Mulan pointed out that people were no longer standing on the right hand side of the moving footpaths.  They were standing all over the place, selfishly blocking people from walking.  In contrast, in the middle of Hong Kong the escalators and moving footpaths are very well ordered in that people only ever stand on the right hand side.  The left hand side is always left free for people who are in a hurry to walk.  I replied to Mulan with a sigh, and said, yes, it is clear that we are almost back on the Mainland.

All in all, then, I enjoy the feel of outside life in Hong Kong much more than I do in Mainland China.  There is a humanity to Hong Kong people that Mainlanders, just a short journey away, seem to have lost.  (I think one of the few things that Mainland strangers do better than Hong Kong strangers is that Mainlanders are much more likely to offer their seats to young children on the public transport.)

From my perspective, we were in Hong Kong for two main reasons:

Firstly, we were there to escort Mama off the Mainland.  Mama is in Taiwan at the moment.  She decided to have a women-only holiday with one of her friends (and without me or the children).  She said bye-bye to us in Hong Kong on the 10th, and she will arrive back home here in Guangzhou on the 18th.  So, the children and I are on our own for eight days.  If I get around to it, I may write here about my solo dad-ing experiences.

Secondly, while in Hong Kong we had a look at the cattery that we are going to put Maggie and Kitty in.  For those who don’t know, we have decided to take our two cats with us when we move to New Zealand later this year.  It is a bit of a complicated procedure, and they need to spend six months in Hong Kong before moving to New Zealand.  Hence the need for the cattery stay there.  If I get around to it, I may write here about the details of how we are sending the cats.

Another thing we did was meet up with one of Mama’s old friends, who works in Kowloon on the 75th floor of a very fancy building.  The girls loved getting visitor cards each, which we needed to swipe to access the lifts.  Needless to say, the view from Mama’s friend’s office was spectacular.

Also, while we were there, Mama took the girls to do a bit of sightseeing.  (I didn’t go with them because I was feeling a bit adrenal fatigued.)  From their reports, it sounds like they had a very nice time.

On our last day in Hong Kong, after Mama left, the girls and I played a Hong Kong version of Monopoly.  Mulan loved it, and Miya willingly played for a couple of hours before gradually getting bored.