Enjoy some coffee-enhanced ramblings about Hong Kong from yours truly.
Top 10 things You Might Not Know About Hong Kong
#10 Where is Hong Kong?
Hong Kong, known as Asia’s world city, is located on the south coast of China (see map below) and is a 16-hour flight from Boston. For perspective, Beijing is located in Northeastern China and is about a 3.5 hour flight from HK. In US terms, a comparable distance between Beijing and Hong Kong would be to fly from Boston to Denver. 
Now for the fun part. Hong Kong is just a 2.5 hour flight from Bangkok, Thailand or the equivalent of flying from Chicago to Miami. Check yes to a long weekend in Thailand! HK to Bali? Just shy of 5 hours or the same amount of time it would take to fly from Columbus to San Francisco. In fact, we are heading to Bali/Gili Islands next week with the oh so sweet Caroline Degnan (my cousin) and the Speelman’s (college friends) who recently re-located to the land down under. It’s sure to be an inspirational trip.
#9 Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city in the world
There are more buildings greater than 500 feet in Hong Kong than in any other city in the world. Not only does HK boast the most skyscrapers, but these buildings amass themselves in an area 3 times smaller than the state of Rhode Island. I am not going to pretend to know what I’m talking about when it comes to the respected field of architecture, so I’ll just say the buildings in HK are mesmerizing and more modern than any city I have ever seen. And every evening, Hong Kong hosts the world’s largest permanent laser light show across the skyline. Fireworks are added during Chinese New Year.
Blog spoiler alert: Chinese New Year began February 19 and it was incredible. More to come after Bali 🙂
#8 Cantonese AND English are both official languages of Hong Kong
In nearly every commercial or residential building, signs and information are made available in both Cantonese and English. It can be a gamble with taxi drivers and with locals at stores, but you hone in on your pantomiming skills pretty quickly. Just a fun fact, Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese spoken only in Hong Kong and neighboring areas in Southern China. In mainland China, the official language is Mandarin Chinese and while Cantonese shares some the of the same vocabulary with Mandarin, the two languages are very different. So the time Dom spent studying Mandarin is not very helpful here. He’s still cute though.
#7 Hong Kong is Dense
The density of people in Hong Kong is almost indescribable, but I’ll do my best. Close your eyes. Don’t fall asleep, this isn’t that boring. Now, picture yourself in any shopping mall in America during the holiday season. Make it black Friday, I don’t care just fill the image with a ton of impatient people racing to get somewhere and you have found yourself on any street at any time of day in Hong Kong. According to my vast research on the interwebs, Hong Kong Island is approximately 426 sq miles or 3 times smaller than the state of Rhode Island. Take a third of Rhode Island, throw in those amazing skyscrapers I just referenced and sprinkle in 7 million people and you have Hong Kong.
These crowds aren’t for everyone and I’ll admit that some days they aren’t for me, but more often than not I am completely over stimulated – in the best of ways – walking around this city looking at the incredible cast of characters and wondering what brought them here and what has made them stay.
#6 In my humble opinion, it is the most efficient city in the world
From transportation to retail shopping, I have never lived in a city so obsessed with efficiency and my little OCD heart loves it. The Mass Transit Railway, known simply as the MTR, is the fastest connection to anywhere you really want to be in Hong Kong. This network of underground lines is just nothing short of impressive and the exits from these fast trains are laid out alphanumerically with more than a dozen to choose from at a single station. That sounds more complicated than it really is. The beauty of this organized chaos of it is you can exit the MTR’s air conditioned tunnels and arrive at almost exactly where you need to be, which makes a considerable difference when it’s raining or really hot and humid outside. In addition to the air-con, the MTRs are filled with fun little shops!
The MTR trains arrive every 3 minutes and I’m convinced boarding them during rush hour with a child/stroller could be an Olympic sport. During the busiest hours, the station employs staff to remind passengers to be polite and not to push. Want to experience what the subway is like in Hong Kong? Close your eyes again. This time, you’re at a movie theatre with 500 of your closest friends (or the Corrigan family) and once the show is over, everyone exits through the one and only door. Some if not all are on their cell phones. Mmmm cozy.
The MTR also connects you to the Airport Express, which is a high speed train linking you from the center of the city to the international airport in exactly 24 minutes. Before boarding the Airport Express, you can check into your flight and take advantage of the in-town luggage check in at the MTR station. This world class system tags your luggage to your flight allowing you to board the Airport Express bag free. So convenient! To access the MTR, you need an Octopus card, which is the same thing as a Charlie card (Boston) or Metro card (DC) and similarly you just swipe it upon entering and exiting. The bonus with this card is that you can use it to pay for items at the grocery store, pharmacy, or even Starbucks. Agh, so efficient again.
#5 Cost of living in Hong Kong
Depending on the surveys you read, Hong Kong’s rank in expense tends to vary, but last year’s Mercer assessment measured the comparative cost of 200 items across the globe, such as housing, food, clothing, etc., and ranked HK the third most expensive city in the world. Fortunately – and thanks to our friends who already live here – we knew this before our move. The biggest hit to your wallet is the cost of housing. For example, a two-bedroom, 800 sq. ft. apartment in Hong Kong is approximately HKD$54,000 or USD$6,900. It’s ok, I threw up a little, too.
What’s that? You want a car in Hong Kong? It could cost you twice its value courtesy of a registration tax. That doesn’t seem to impede some.
Another expensive purchase in Hong Kong is your child’s education. International kindergarten tuition can cost anywhere from HK$70,000 (USD$9,000) to more than HK$170,000 (USD$22,000) a year. When it comes to grocery shopping, I naively thought we would save money, but it turns out produce and most food is just as expensive as dining out. In the meantime, granola bars make an excellent dinner for two.
#4 Hong Kong has mountains
You may or may not have seen my recent triumph, so let me pat myself on the back just one more time. Our dear friends (whose very lives I threatened the whole hike – ahem, Landon) took me for a lovely Saturday morning hike and despite my attitude, I loved it. It was easily the scariest and most physically-demanding hike I have ever completed. Scary because while the views were unbelievable, the trail lacked guardrails and I was convinced a strong wind or a violent sneeze was going to send me right off the mountain. Naturally, this bureaucrat took to educating my friends on how unacceptable these trails would be in the good ole US of A. Now that I think about it, I can’t believe they didn’t leave me up there.
Hong Kong’s mountains are great for hiking, running and biking and the views are breathtaking. I naively thought this city was all buildings and that the nick name “concrete jungle” was more than appropriate, but I’m so glad I was wrong. Looking up from the skyline and the Louis Vuitton on every other corner, Hong Kong is home to very old and rugged mountain peaks, protected parks, rainforests and beaches, which make for an excellent get-a-way right in our back yard.
#3 Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, which means …
Well, a lot of things, but let’s keep this brief. It means people drive on the opposite side of road from the US and escalators are positioned opposite from our layout. I have yet to figure out foot traffic. This is very challenging for people like me who have an incessant need to obey social norms because I can’t figure out the norms! As hard as I try to remember which way to look when crossing the street, 9 times out of 10 I am wrong and there is a scared little blonde darting across the road for her life.
Cars are also fashioned with right-hand drive gear, which continues to throw me for a loop when I see passengers on what I expect to be the driver’s side of the car.
#2 World’s longest, outdoor escalator
We have established that Hong Kong is hilly. And not Beacon Hilly, I’m talking ‘kiss the ground you’re walking on’ hilly because the incline is that steep. Mountains remember? So to keep people moving, Hong Kong developed the world’s longest, interconnected system of 20 covered escalators to transport people with ease through the central part of the city. The escalators go through the heart of the mid-levels and you can just step right off to some of the best restaurants and bars this cosmopolitan city has to offer.
#1 Hong Kong is hot and humid
This is an understatement. Hong Kong, in my opinion, is sweltering jungle in the summer months. It’s winter now and quite temperate. Think San Francisco weather, though you wouldn’t know it was pleasant by the attire of many of the locals. Mothers wearing puffy jackets and kids with coats, hats and scarves like it was 30F… it’s 55F folks. Now, I can have my laugh at this, but nothing makes out to be a tourist more than my short-sleeved dress, leggings and flats when everyone else is bundled up.
It’s all fun and games right now, but summer is coming (read in the Game of Thrones voice). When we have visited HK in the summer, we took AT LEAST 2 showers a day and changed our outfits a minimum of 3 times a day. If you want to experience what a Hong Kong summer feels like (at least to me), turn on a steaming hot shower and stand in the bathroom for 5 minutes with the door shut. Now, turn on the hair dryer directly to your face. Oh yeah….. you feel alive.
So, while I may be having a little giggle at locals bundled up in what I would consider a pleasant spring day, they will surely have the last laugh at me when it is 90F and 90% humidity and I am a sweat mop. I’m going to leave you with that lovely image.
I look forward to updating you on how we are settling into life in HK. Thanks for taking an interest in our adventure!
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