Jet-lagged and exhausted from zero sleep on the 12-hour flight from London, I stepped out into the maze of Hong Kong streets, tunnels & walkways in the Central neighborhood feeling dazed and confused. This was my first time ever in this part of the world, but I’d have 18 full days in this city (most of the days alone while Jim worked from his company’s Hong Kong office) to explore and get to know it. It was definitely going to be an adventure.

5 Observations About Hong Kong Life

As of today, I am now thirteen days into that adventure. Here’s a few random things I’ve noticed:

1. Escalators Are Important Transportation Vehicles

My Nana (grandmother) has a fear of escalators. When she visited me in London last year, she learned to use them, but I will never forget the look of fear on her face every time she would reach the step on and off points. She would not survive in Hong Kong.

Escalators and Hong Kong go together like fish and chips.In both London and New York City, escalators are generally used for access in and out of the subways, but here there are escalators for many other purposes.

Many expatriates live in a neighborhood logically named the “Mid-Levels,” an area of high-rise residential buildings halfway up the mountain between Central Hong Kong and the Peak (highest mountain on Hong Kong island at an elevation of 1800 feet above sea level).  To get to and from the Mid-Levels neighborhood, your primary means of transportation is an escalator, the “longest covered outdoor escalator in the world” that covers a distance of 800 meters long (2,625 feet) and climbs up 135 meters (440 feet). (Reference: Discover Hong Kong)

2. Compulsive Shoppers Should Stay Away

I’ve always enjoyed shopping but have never been the type of girl who owns 100 pairs of shoes or who’d notice the difference between an authentic and a knock-off purse.

Many years ago (approx. 10), I remember moving to New York City and being mesmerized by all the clothing stores and brand names that were not available to me in small town Pennsylvania. It was a new world of shopping everywhere I looked! When I arrived in Hong Kong two weeks ago, it was a very similar feeling. After 24 hours in the city I woke up dreaming about a whole new wardrobe…(Jim – don’t worry. I’ve been good so far. I’ve only bought a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.)

In Hong Kong, you can’t go anywhere without coming across a massive shopping mall, attractive looking stores and lots of people carrying shopping bags. These shopping malls mostly all interconnect with the interiors of the large high-rise office buildings so in monsoon season or in the regular Hong Kong humidity, you can stay inside…and shop on your way. On the way to the MTR train this morning it was impossible to get to the subway without first passing two Burberry stores, a Louis Vuitton shop and Chanel!

3. American-style Bars, Restaurants & Grocery Stores Exist Here

I’ve lived in London now for almost two years, and though London and New York are similar in a number of ways, I don’t always find it convenient to purchase products I used to regularly buy in US grocery stores, or sit down at the bar (the pubs in London are amazing but there are generally no bar stools) to get that feeling that I’m back in the USA.

In Hong Kong, very surprisingly, there are, and I love it! I am 8,000 miles away from home, but I’ve already visited a number of bars and restaurants around the city where I can feel the comforts of home, including getting American micro-brewed beer, great bar food (i.e buffalo wings, bacon cheese fries & nachos) and various American grocery store products.

More to come on this later (when I write about some of the beers spots we’ve visited), but for those Americans who are living in Hong Kong, or have been traveling around Asia for quite some time and crave a good burger, you have nothing to worry about here.

Above: Smugglers Inn, in Stanley on left (described as British style but reminded me of a dive bar I’d see in the US), and Stone Nullah Tavern on right, a great bar serving New American comfort food where I drank some Rogue beers last week!

Above – Two grocery stores. A&M Store on left, a store devoted to selling US groceries and  City Supermarket on right, a large grocery store that sells a variety of great meat products, cheeses, & other grocery products that reminds me of Whole Foods.

4. An Awesome and Affordable Transportation Network

In the New York City metro, the cost of a current one-way journey is $2.75. In London, the cost of a current one-way journey is somewhere between $3.50 and $5 for travel in Central London area (but that varies dramatically based on length of journey, number of zones and time of day you travel). In Hong Kong, I’ve paid on average of $.90 based on my travel (mostly within the central zone of the city), but it appears that it ranges between about $.50 and $2.

What’s even better, the tram is an easy way to get around the central part of Hong Kong at a cost of $.25, significantly cheaper than I’ve paid in London.

The cost of the taxis is also significantly cheaper than anything I’ve encountered in New York or London. I paid the same price ($15) for a 45 minute taxi ride two days ago that I paid for a 10 minute, one mile journey along Tooley Street in London three weeks ago (see Taxi prices)

5. Chinese Food Markets Are A Sight To See (for those who aren’t easily turned off by unusual foods & strong smells!)

This time of year, we’ve read that the weather is milder and have even been told by residents who live here that it’s a lot less humid than normal, but after stepping off the plan from London it still fells fairly humid and warm to me, at an average temperature of 80 degrees fahrenheit or so (26 degrees celsius) in October…

Picture that weather, and now add to it this picture below! The meat is sold out in the open, exposed to all the Hong Kong humidity and heat, hanging from pipes or poles all day long – a high shock factor for me. 

Meat cleavers and large knives were another interesting spectacle, and I don’t recall seeing meat cleavers this large since the last horror movie I watched! On our walk back to the hotel Jim and I couldn’t avoid being hit with pieces of ice as the vendors at this stand used their “hatchets” to chop up ice. These same sized “hatchets” are also the same ones they use to cut for the fish and meat.

My Westernized stomach is definitely not ready to buy food at these Chinese markets, but regardless it’s still a must see attraction and a great way to observe everyday life here in Hong Kong.

Happy I Made It To Hong Kong!

It’s a lively, great city. I’m really enjoying my time here and look forward to updating you on a few more Hong Kong related things as my trip continues…Look out for more posts in the upcoming weeks!

View from Kowloon looking back onto Hong Kong island