HK: What I've learned
Ok, so I’ve spent a little over a week in and around Hong Kong now. What have I learned?
- Clean drinking water is wonderful
- drink more water than you think
- showering daily is nice, but not mandatory
- Stay to the left doesn’t always work; sometimes you need to stay to the right in traffic
- Bring 2 pair of jeans on every trip if the weather isn’t too hot
- Bring 3 t-shirts
- Sunscreen
- You can get a few days of wear out of most clothes between washings
- Engrish is confusing – still their English is better than my Cantonese
- subway doesn’t mean there’s an underground train down there. It could just be a street crossing.
- Toilet is a wonderful word, but still has many different meanings.
- Final Sale means all sales final.
- Escalators are good, especially in hilly cities
- Give some money to the Buddhists
- Macau isn’t just for gambling
- Water Ferries are smoother than you think
- Double decker buses are fun
- If it is an animal and moves, chances are the Chinese probably eat it
- Coke Lite, not Diet Coke.
- Speaking German in a German restaurant in Hong Kong isn’t very useful
- Many travelers are completely obnoxious, not just N. Americans
- Not all brands of jeans can fit (rough rider?)
- Recharge your Li Ion camera batteries overnight, every night.
- Layering is key – t-shirt, heavy shirt, shell, light jacket cover most needs
- Bring hiking boots if you’ll be walking a bunch
- You can buy socks and underwear, but they fit differently.
- You are better off ignoring the Indian Hawkers than noticing them. For the last time, no, I do not need a watch or custom tailored suit.
- Chinese food can be challenging to eat. Good Indian, Italian, German, Japanese, etc. can be had in HK. Watch out for American at Ruby Tuesdays – hi cost and JH got sick from it.
- Mass transit done well is fantastic
- Be prepared to walk, climb, and for your feet and legs to hurt at the end of the day
- Listen carefully to whatever the other person repeats back to you. Chances are, you or they didn’t really understand your intent.
- Ear plugs are great if traveling with anyone else – for both of you
- Internet in a room is a luxury; all sorts of protection schemes exist that only work with Windows/IE.
- Keep receipts – conversion from HK$ into your native currency is interesting later, not in real-time, but you do get better at it
- Ignore your diet when walking as much as we did
- You don’t need a plan before you leave, but you do need to plan every day before heading out
- Carry your passport with you – ALWAYS.
- A HK$20 rolex can be had almost anywhere.
- Phones, computers, etc. aren’t any cheaper in HK and usually don’t have a warranty
- after a long day, a good shower can make everything ok.
- Knowing 10-20 phrases gets you a long way with the locals – I knew zero.
- 10,000 Buddha’s is a bunch.
- When a line looks long at first, it probably is 2x whatever you think it is. There’s probably another line that you can’t see, but will need to get in too.
- Take more pictures than you can stand while traveling, but don’t forget to enjoy the experience at the time too.
- Almost anything you can buy in HK can be had cheaper or same price back home … if you can get it there. The value is in knowing it came from Hong Kong.
- Brushing your teeth when you can’t drink any of the tap water only took me 4 days to figure out.