What we will NOT miss about Hong Kong
My last post was about all the things we will miss about Hong Kong when we leave, but there are some things that we definitely will NOT miss. The list is definitely much shorter, as we really do like living here.
First and foremost, the weather. It can be a tad too much for us when it is at it's extreme. The monsoon weather, the typhoons and horrendous humidity are all things I will not miss when we leave. When it rains, it pours. When it's hot, it's insanely hot and humid. And strangely, when it is cold, it is freezing !! I really do not cope well in the humidity and spend my days as a sweaty mess.
Along with the weather comes the dreaded pollution. Being so close to China, means we have many days/weeks of terrible air pollution which we will not miss - however Hyderabad will have it’s own pollution issues. Mainly water and noise pollution, with a little air pollution thrown in for good measure !!
Asian clothing and shoe sizes are just not our thing. When I find a nice pair of shoes in HK and I walk to the counter, I just get laughed at, and told to look at the men’s shoes !! Gee thanks. So being unable to buy clothes off the rack isn’t great, but then tailoring here is always fabulous!! So we found a positive in a negative.
Living in a non-English speaking country always has its challenges. Every restaurant, shop, taxi ride, is a mindfield of language barriers. Even when I think I’m saying something correctly, I am not understood. I have to admit I have just given up trying - my Cantonese accent is just never going to cut it. Thank God for the Apps you can you use to translate destinations !! It does make us sound very privileged and we are to blame for not learning the language but it is seriously difficult and I will admit that languages are just not my thing.
One thing we found quite strange and unexpected while living in HK was the racism we saw. I know that coming from a privileged Australian background, it may be difficult to understand my comment about racism. However, we found it quite an issue towards international visitors, expats and definitely towards the mainland Chinese. Then there is the very blatant racism of Philippine helpers who are never ever treated as equals even if they have lived in HK for 20 plus years. It is obviously not everyone, and we met and enjoyed the company of many local people, however it was very clearly something we noticed more than expected.
First and foremost, the weather. It can be a tad too much for us when it is at it's extreme. The monsoon weather, the typhoons and horrendous humidity are all things I will not miss when we leave. When it rains, it pours. When it's hot, it's insanely hot and humid. And strangely, when it is cold, it is freezing !! I really do not cope well in the humidity and spend my days as a sweaty mess.
Along with the weather comes the dreaded pollution. Being so close to China, means we have many days/weeks of terrible air pollution which we will not miss - however Hyderabad will have it’s own pollution issues. Mainly water and noise pollution, with a little air pollution thrown in for good measure !!
With an estimated population of 7.4 million people and an average of 6690 people per square kilometre and in some areas even more, such as Kwun Tong, where there is over 57,000 per square km, we will not miss the crowds. In particular, peak hour on the MTR when everyone is watching their phones and walking super slowly. No one ever seems to be in a hurry, and in contrast, I’m always in a hurry! Along the same lines are the bad escalator manners where phone watching and not standing to the right is super frustrating.
We will definitely not miss the high cost of rent and just the general cost of living in Hong Kong - it seriously is insane. When we first arrived, I remember Mike reminding me that it ‘wasn’t Monopoly money', as the numbers just seemed ridiculous, but they were most definitely real .....
Asian clothing and shoe sizes are just not our thing. When I find a nice pair of shoes in HK and I walk to the counter, I just get laughed at, and told to look at the men’s shoes !! Gee thanks. So being unable to buy clothes off the rack isn’t great, but then tailoring here is always fabulous!! So we found a positive in a negative.
Living in a non-English speaking country always has its challenges. Every restaurant, shop, taxi ride, is a mindfield of language barriers. Even when I think I’m saying something correctly, I am not understood. I have to admit I have just given up trying - my Cantonese accent is just never going to cut it. Thank God for the Apps you can you use to translate destinations !! It does make us sound very privileged and we are to blame for not learning the language but it is seriously difficult and I will admit that languages are just not my thing.
One thing we found quite strange and unexpected while living in HK was the racism we saw. I know that coming from a privileged Australian background, it may be difficult to understand my comment about racism. However, we found it quite an issue towards international visitors, expats and definitely towards the mainland Chinese. Then there is the very blatant racism of Philippine helpers who are never ever treated as equals even if they have lived in HK for 20 plus years. It is obviously not everyone, and we met and enjoyed the company of many local people, however it was very clearly something we noticed more than expected.
Our final thing we will NOT miss is the horrendous HK banking system - I cannot believe this place is a financial hub in Asia and they still rely so heavily on cheques !!!!! I have not heard anyone say a positive thing about personal banking in Hong Kong.
That aside, when we leave Hong Kong next week it will be with a heavy heart.
That aside, when we leave Hong Kong next week it will be with a heavy heart.
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