Hong Kong- the final city

I think we had become used to being in the minority, and now in Hong Kong we are seeing many more non-Asians; Europeans, Americans, British, and Australians are in abundance. This is a very cosmopolitan city, sophisticated and urbane, with designer shopping and upscale restaurants galore. We have been very spoiled here by the service! Our hotel, The Conrad, sits on top of a four-story mall that contains, in addition to all the stores you might see on the Champs D’Elysee, an AMC cinema, where last night we saw “He’s Just Not That Into You” in English with Chinese subtitles. In Hong Kong you reserve a seat for the movies, and on entering the theater we were given fleece blankets to cover our legs as we sat in the huge comfy seats. The theater was filled with young women who giggled and gasped all during the movie, making much more noise than would have been tolerated in a US theater, but all in great appreciation of the film. A chick flick- just what we were in the mood for.

We have not seen the sun at all since we arrived in Hong Kong, with the exception of a few fleeting minutes on the day before yesterday. A grey heavy fog lies on the harbor and between the hills, and at times it lifts enough to see the water. I took the Peak Tram up to the top of Victoria Peak, the famous site where the British retreated during the Japanese invasion of the city and found this sign advising motorists of what is probably the prevailing road condition. It would have been a marvelous view if it had been a clear day. However there is plenty to do on the ground level, and we have been to the excellent city history museum, the lovely Hong Kong Park where we saw three brides having their photos taken, and had an authentic Chinese dinner at the Hong Kong Country Club with one of Victoria’s Harvard colleagues. The subway is very easy to navigate; very modern and clean like all the subways we have been on in China. I also went to visit the Giant Pandas.

What is missing here is evidence of the ancient history that was present in mainland China. Hong Kong is much more about the future, and I suspect the standard of living is much higher. It feels like just a big, busy city, and except for the fact that the vast majority of people are speaking Chinese (Cantonese) it could be any port in the world. The influence of the British is strong- all the staff at the hotel wear formal morning suits- and all the signs in the city are in both English and Chinese. You can easily get around without needing any Chinese interpretation.

Unfortunately I developed a bad head cold over the past three days which has put a damper on my excursions. In that way the timing of our heading home is good. Tomorrow we will start our long journey into the time warp of losing twelve hours of our lives somewhere over the Pacific. We leave Tokyo just about the same time we arrive at home. I still can’t quite figure out how that works… From Hong Kong- over and out.