Hong Kong

Me and the wife visited Hong Kong last weekend and had a pleasant time. This was the first time that we both visited Hong Kong together.

There is a distinctly different atmosphere between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Even though both have spanking new high rise buildings, fast pace and Chinese people, there was a different feel to Hong Kong. The pace was actually faster than Shanghai, but there is far more civility in Hong Kong. The streets in Hong Kong was perhaps even more congested with humanity than Shanghai in areas like Causeway Bay and Mongkok. The thing that was noticeably missing in Hong Kong are the ubiquitous bicycles and motor scooters present in Shanghai.

We did some shopping for things which are lacking in quality in Shanghai. For me it was a pair of shoes. Chinese branded shoes in China are decidedly inferior. I purchased a pair of Chinese brand sneakers about a year ago and after a month, I had to toss them because the soles of my feet were starting to hurt me. The imported brands are more expensive in Shanghai than Hong Kong due to the high import tax in China. So I made out with a pair of good comfortable shoes during our visit.

The food in Hong Kong is also much better than Shanghai. The best of all is that many restaurants are open late into the night which is really not the case in Shanghai. The kind of night life that I experienced in Hong Kong exceeds even New York and I really missed that during my time in Shanghai.

Needless to say, I think I will be visiting Hong Kong sometime in the future again.