When people asked me what I thought of Hong Kong, I usually say that it reminds me of London's Chinatown if it was 7 million people strong. This reminds me of Uber-Travel Geek Rick Steves which has a great quote about London:
"London is more than its museums and landmarks. It's a living, breathing, thriving organism... a coral reef of humanity."
Likewise, Hong Kong is more than its food and shopping. The second sentence about the coral reef thingy is bang though - no doubt due to it benefiting from being a former British Colony. Unfortunately there are many perceptions of Asia that do not ring true. I've heard words such as "backward", "archaic", "dirty", and "rude" (to name a few) that are unfortunate. To offer a different viewpoint, here are some new words I would use to describe Hong Kong.
Refined
I'll admit coming here I did have a perception of people being rude based on our experience 6 years ago in China. I expected a lot of spitting, swearing, shoving, uncourteous, and aggressive behaviour. What I'm pleased to say that this was not the case at all - yes even the spitting. When the British gave Hong Kong back to China, there was a huge campaign put on by the Chinese government to curtail this behaviour. Apparently this worked!
Efficient
Dare I say it, but Hong Kong has got to be one of the most efficient cities in the world on many fronts. While there, we were able to travel using personal vehicles, taxis, MTR, cable car, trams, double decker buses, and ferries. The sheer availability, affordability, and efficiency that these modes of transport run at translates into most people not needing a vehicle. Some cost examples:
Taxis start at $3.50 CDN and you can get to most places for <$5 CDN
MTR on one line costs $0.50 CDN
Trams are a ridiculous $0.25 CDN
Bus are $0.40 CDN
Not only is the transport efficient, but so is the service. Want to add money to your Octopus card? It'll take you <10 seconds at a 7-11. Want to pay for your bill at a restaurant? It'll take you more time to get your wallet out than to complete the transaction. No wonder why when going to Canada, many of my Honger friends are impatient.
Cosmopolitan
What the heck does this word mean? I take it as a city that truly embraces its multiculturalism - where many people of many ethnic backgrounds, religions, and cultures live in harmony. You may think of London and New York - but I'd like to add Hong Kong to this list. It may not be as apparent as a London or New York since Asian culture is more in your face - but there are indeed pockets all over.
The question is not whether we'll be back to Hong Kong - it is just a matter of when.
