Hong Kong

Hong Kong tickled my senses with its disparate nature and breadth of things to do/ see. I went island hopping, gondola riding, museum touring, and mountain biking. All this was caped by a thought-provoking lecture on the H1N1 virus.

I was impressed by the tall buildings and the streams of well-dressed capitalists but deeply bothered by the Filipino plight and the grittiness of Kowloon. I discussed all this with Laura over several wonderful rounds of dim sum and Tai cuisine. Having lived in Hong Kong for almost a year, Laura was more insightful then I.

We arrived at the conclusion that most Filipinos are women who are used by their families as export labourers. They go to Hong Kong and elsewhere on two year work visas hoping to save money but the money they send back are often used up by their families instead. Hence, there is a cycle of working and trying to save. One Filipino women told me that she has little prospects of rising in the Hong Kong society because she will always be a second-class citizen; Having worked at a hostel for 3 years, she has watched it grow and blossom. Yet, when the owner looked for a new manager, she was not considered. Instead they hired a 9-5 Chinese guy and she works 5-9 for half the pay. I suppose such disparities are everywhere...

On another note, whilst Hong Kong main islanders prosper, people on the Kowloon side seem to look on with envy. I noticed a great discrepancy between the two sides on my museum tour. People in Kowloon gawked and stared while those in Hong Kong hurried to their respectable businesses. It was shocking how chaotic Kowloon felt and how metropolitan Hong Kong was.

Overall though, I left with a favorable impression of Hong Kong. Never have I see and place with better public access and health awareness. It seems that the arms of Chinese censorship hardly touches this area and prosperity is the name of the game.