Hong Kong and coming home to culture shock

It’s our first day back in Chongqing after a six-day trip to Hong Kong and before I get into the usuals of how great Hong Kong was and our tips for visiting there, I will say that it’s taking a little more readjusting to Chongqing life this time round than when we landed back here from our trip to Singapore. We have managed to do a lot of travelling in the not-even 10 weeks that we have lived in Chongqing, but it seems to be increasingly hitting home just how actually difficult life really is here.  

Now, when I say difficult, I don’t mean that day-to-day life is physically taxing, nor that we are actively struggling or unhappy with our lives and the opportunities we have here. But we are noticing how much energy it takes to live here, more so now than previously - especially after visiting true blends of East-meets-West like Singapore and Hong Kong - and the stark lack of the following…

- English speakers

- Diverse and varied nationalities, races and languages

- Ease with which you can get absolutely any kind of cuisine

- Freedom on the internet

- A real nightlife culture

- Clear, blue skies

…to name a few. I think the most stark for me this time is the lack of diversity in nationalities, languages and cultures. I went to get a manicure and a haircut on Hong Kong Island one of the days Ash was working, and my manicurist was a young Thai lady who spoke great English, and absolutely no Cantonese. Her husband was from Yorkshire and she loves apple crumble.

I could probably live in Chongqing for the rest of my life and never, ever hear the words ‘apple crumble’ again, let alone meet someone who only speaks English and not the local language, from another Asian country, with a husband from Yorkshire. It was amazing to feel like I was one of many thousands of people experiencing life in a place that isn’t their own home. And whilst Chongqing is a hugely popular tourist destination for Chinese tourists, most Westerners have never heard of it. So you do get the feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb when you walk around, and there’s a skill to master in pretending you don’t notice all the people noticing you.

Is this culture shock?

Probably. But whilst this readjustment to the life we’ve chosen is taking its time, life goes on and what’s equally apparent is that we are really starting to settle down here. In a couple of weeks we will be moving out of the serviced apartment we’ve been in since we arrived and into a privately rented flat with a view to die for. Ash is busy at work, travelling a lot and studying Chinese when he’s not at big reception galas (I’m just jealous I don’t get the invites). And I am studying Chinese 6 - 8 hours a week, and last week became the Chair of the Chongqing International Women’s Group, which currently has 30 amazing international and local volunteer men and women working together to put on events for our 200+ members, to raise money to support local children in need. Plus, tomorrow we’re going to a vegan restaurant with some friends and then out to go bowling and play laser quest. What am I whinging about?

Anyway - in a roundabout way, what I’m trying to say is Hong Kong is bloody awesome. A former British colony, it is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary. According to the stats I stole from Wikipedia, 7.4 million people of various nationalities reside in a 1104 square meter territory, making it the fourth most densely populated region in the world. And oh boy, did it feel it. A frantic whirlwind of people, traffic, high rise buildings, hills (so many hills), restaurants, shopping malls and markets. It’s noisy and a bit rough-around-the-edges, and there were some similarities with Chongqing, which is sometimes referred to as ‘Little Hong Kong’, thanks to the similarities in their topographies, so it felt like our two homes had combined.

It’s expensive, but not Singapore-expensive. For the first half of the trip we stayed in a hostel in Yau Ma Tei, and it was exactly how I imagined accommodation in Hong Kong to be. Located in a high rise building and spread across 20+ storeys, our double room at Yesinn hostel was only very slightly bigger than the bed itself, which was pushed up in the corner against two walls. Ash and I had to do a lot of climbing over each other to get to the bathroom, but the big window next to the bed helped to make it feel cosy, rather than claustrophobic. Especially when it rained, which it did on our trip. A lot.

We experienced Hong Kong in the rain for most of our long weekend there, which means a lot of things we wanted to do, we couldn’t - so I will have to update this blog with next time we visit. But our main takeaways and must dos:

- HK is another place with tourist SIM cards! These are awesome, and can be bought for less than £15 at the airport or any 7Eleven for all the data and text/minutes you could possibly need whilst you’re on holiday.

- Get an Octopus card from any MRT station, which costs HK$150 ($50 refundable deposit, $100 credit) and will get you on any undergrounds, buses and trams, including the tram up to The Peak, and you can also use it to pay for items in 7Eleven and other outlets.

- You can use Uber but don’t use it to get across from Kowloon to HK island if you can avoid it. The traffic is terrible and it will take you ages.

- Visit The Peak - the highest hill on Hong Kong Island. You can either walk the steep, steep route up to the top for some amazing city views, or get the tram up. The queue for the tram is probably not worth it on the way down. We went up to the top twice for daytime and nighttime views, once via tram, once via Uber, and walked down both times.

- The food in HK is just awesome, and you can get whatever you want, wherever you are. For dim sum, visit Dimdim Sum in Jordan, which is some of the most authentic and affordable in the city, which will always have queues out the door, no matter what time you go. Bear in mind it only takes cash - this was a surprising recurring theme in HK, which we weren’t expecting. For novelty dim sum, we went to Yum Cha (various locations) for some piggy steamed buns, vomiting custard buns, and dessert served along with a show of dry ice. For great sushi served to you on mini motorised Shinkansen visit Genkisushi (various locations), for great affordable Indian food visit Curry Leaf in Yau Ma Tei, for brunch I recommend Bread & Beast, and make sure to try some of the local street food markets too. We had great Poké, Vietnamese food and Cantonese food too, and we barely scratched the surface of all the places we were recommended to go. Most of the above cost around what you would expect to pay in London.

- Visit Marks and Spencers for a weird throwback to UK life. We went for the novelty (and the Percy Pigs).

- Take a trip up the Mid-Levels escalator in Central, the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the entire world. Casually ascend up what would be a quad-killer hill climb past bars, restaurants, spas, shops and market stalls, and get off when something takes your fancy.

- Get the ferry between Tsim Sha Tsui and Central/Wan Chai. It’s dirt cheap and takes 10 minutes, and you get great views.

- In nice weather, you can just wander around and people-watch, and mooch about in Temple Street night market, Ladies’ market, Avenue of the Stars, the botanical gardens, public aviaries and along the promenade by the ferry ports. Perch yourself in a bar which spills out onto the street with an overpriced beer, and just soak in the atmosphere

- One of the things I love about knowing someone in the city is that you to live like a ‘local’ for an evening, rather than a tourist. We met up with one of my best friends (hi Jomo) and her partner, and we went to a rooftop bar for sunset and a great Vietnamese restaurant for dinner, we drank beers on the street - can we talk about how 7Eleven has bottle openers chained to the outside of them FOR THIS VERY REASON?! - and we drank G&T in a bar on Lan Kwai Fong - what I would describe as a ‘strip’ - with English menus and happy hour until late.

Some of the things we didn’t get to do which are on the list for future trips include hiking the Dragons Back and exploring some of the jungle and beaches that HK has to offer. I’m not too upset I have to go back, it was one of the coolest places I’ve ever been, especially in the sunshine.

Enjoy!