My impressions of Hong Kong are colored with comparisons to Japan. Let’s concede to this inability for objectivity and look some of aspects of the city that I found contrasted the most.

For the Polyglot: I learned one little piece of China-speak while waiting with the all-male and all-Japnese counterparts of our tour group in Hong Kong airport. m goi = thank you, and while it’s a good one to know, it’s also relatively useless because most residents speak near fluent and only slightly accented English. Additionally, Kanji in Japan is visually (though not audially) the same as Kanji in China, so I was able to read things like “exit,” “north,” and “road” with glee. Again, though, everything was also doubled in English, a fact that detracted from our Kanji-literacy-related satisfaction only minorly.

For the Worldly: There was refreshing wash of racial diversity (though not enough that our shoulder-bagged selves didn’t stand out) in residents and tourists alike.

For the Socialite / Fashionista: To compliment this diversity was a similar wash of welcoming fashion -- a disregard for fashion, if you will. I saw comfortable shoes. And sandals! Where were the turquoise high heels and Louis Vuitton bags? Home in Tokyo. Additionally, both children and cats were unabashed. This gregarious nature was accompanied by a few things: 1) Lack of cell phone centricity. 2) Lots of noise. Lots. Amongst it, chatting on public transportation and jackhammers around every corner.

For the Penny-Pincher: Unlike in Tokyo, money goes far far far in Hong Kong. A few examples: 1) 30 yen for the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong, 2) 450 yen for a Bruce Lee t-shirt, 3) Cheap (albeit aromatic) taxis across town: $H.K. 15 = 200 yen = $1.90.

For the Gastophile: Food in HK smelled different than any other food I’ve smelled . . . ever. Walking about we passed store upon store and shanty upon shanty of dry sea-related products, almost none of which I could name (photos taken the olde-fashioned 35mm way are still in the camera). In restaurants and at vendors we encountered creative uses for every part of every animal, i.e. shredded carrots wrapped in goose skin . . . tolerable the first time around, gag-reflex inducing the second.

For the Neat Freak: Beware . . . there’s Grime, and lots of it. Then again, there are also garbage cans on the street for grime removal (just try to find one in Tokyo).

For the Champion of the Urban Aesthetic: Skyscrapers and un-homogenized architecture abound. Hong Kong’s skyline is gorgeous and can be viewed from many an angle. Buildings under construction are ensheathed in bamboo scaffolding lashed together at the intersections. *Allegedly* it's sturdier than steel. Allegedly.

The trip was splendid and way too short. We only had time for a cursory (yet refreshing and tantalizing) exploration of one of Hong Kong’s smaller islands; most of our time was spent jetting from Kowloon to Hong Kong, doing the requisite shopping (and bargaining) seeing the requisite sights, taking the requisite photos and meeting the requisite like-minded tourists. Michelle and I met up for some of such activities with a fellow teacher who has been staying with a buddy of his in a houseboat on the south side of the Island for a week . . . tough break, man. Tough break. Anyway, it's hard to judge a city over the course of 4 days, but good times were had. Wahoo.

Ciao,
Eliz

p.s. on a related-only-because-I-read-it-on-the-plane-to-and-from-Hong-Kong note, Lost Japan by Alex Kerr is a simple, well-written, smart and many-faceted attempt to concisely embody why Japan is the way it is. For those with an interest in this place, I recommend. Dozo.