We flew to Seoul yesterday; here are some observations from a two-week stay in Hong Kong.
- Restaurants don’t believe in cold water or napkins. They do, however, have abundant supplies of toothpicks.
- Milk tea – a blend of black teas and evaporated milk – is ubiquitous and delicious, and supposedly extremely caffeinated.
- It’s common for people to share tables with strangers at some fast food restaurants.
- Desserts are less sweet (paleo win!)
- No avocado sushi >_<
- Hong Kong boasts tons of Starbucks, 7/11, and McDonald’s and handfuls of Haagen Dazs, Pizza Hut, and Burger King.
- Light buses don’t have predetermined stops – you just wave your hand frantically from the sidewalk and tell the driver when you want to get off.
- Aggressive older women will push ahead of you on public transport if you hesitate.
- Transportation is cheap – less than a dollar for the metro, bus, tram, or ferry and $2.5 for the first 2 km in a taxi.
- People drive on the left, walk on the left, take the escalators on the left, but stand on the right on escalators.
- Random water drops on one’s head as one walks through the streets (usually from air conditioners).
- Most people speak English with a British/Australian accent.
- The swing scene is small but very friendly.
- Hong Kong is enormous, crowded, polluted, and (in September) humid.
Kira M. Newman 