In 1997 Hong Kong became special administrative region of China under the “one country, two systems” agreement. Apprehension about this change in government has led many citizens of Hong Kong to immigrate to places like Vancouver and Seattle.
Hong Kong is compact enough that the downtown area is accessible to foot. During some of our free time, we talked to the dock area, bought a couple of sandwiches at a deli, and stopped in the large park to eat our sandwiches. Everywhere a Starbucks, everywhere a McDonald’s.
The next day we walked to the History Museum. As luck would have it, Wednesday was free day. The beautiful museum traced the history of Hong Kong from its early geology to the 1997 two systems arrangement. Now I understand what is meant by the Opium Wars.
We had our usual bus tour of the city, but we had a battle with the fog, and the fog won. Here is a picture of a picture of a clear day. The right side of the picture should look a bit like the left side of the picture.
It was interesting to observe the social and cultural differences between the Japanese and Chinese. In Japan, everyone lined up single file before boarding public transportation. In China, sharp elbows ruled. Our Chinese tour director described vehicle traffic. “In the states, you drive on the right. In England, they drive on the left. In China, we drive wherever we want.” The sound of horns is constant in Chinese traffic. When we got to Hong Kong, the horns were again silent, as they had been in Japan. In Hong Kong, single file lines stretched along the curbs, each line holding many more than would fit into a single bus, with those at the end of each line waiting patiently for a second or third bus. You would never witness this sort of civil behavior in China.
On the other hand, people everywhere expressed a sincere friendship for Americans. Children came up to us and asked to have their pictures taken with their arms around us. We were invited in neighborhood parks to join their line dancing or exercise activities. I was challenged to a friendly game of Hacky Sack by a middle-aged woman. Children only a year or two old hold up two fingers whenever they spot a camera.
All in all we saw and experienced a trip of a lifetime. Our next big trip has not yet been scheduled. I doubt that it will be any bigger than this one.