A day in Hong Kong

In order to honour my visa requirements, I had to leave China and then re-enter again. Hong Kong was under British rule for over 100 years when the country promised to give it back to China when the “contract” was up. The ending of the contract was on July 1, 1997. It was at that time that Hong Kong was declared a Special Administrative Region of China. (I think that it is similar in nature to Quebec wanting to be part of Canada but recognized as a distinct nation of people.) Hong Kong has its own form of government, its own currency and its own customs as I had to enter customs before I entered the country. However, its rules seem to be much more relaxed as my passport was stamped that as a visitor I could stay up to 90 days in the country.
Many remnants of British rule still remain in Hong Kong. People drive on the left hand side of the street. Words like “lift” “trash bin” and “flat” remain on signage, etc. However, it is also much more westernized, more developed than China. More people speak English; products like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Starbucks are easily located and accessible; and name brands (including high-end brands) abound.
I was staying at what was called the “Golden Mile” which is the busiest business district in Hong Kong. Shopping, shopping and more shopping—I didn’t have enough time!! I could have had a custom made suit made for me in 8 hours for only $179. There was mall by the harbour that hosted 700 stores (West Ed mall has 800 stores!) There was a night street market where the locals would bring out their trinkets to sell. I imagine that what is not sold there would soon be sent to Canada to land in the dollar stores. Hong Kong never sleeps: store hours are till late at night. To me, there were just as many people on the street doing their business at 10 in the morning as there was at 11:00 at night.
The landscape of people was also different: there were white people! Many visitors came from all over the world, especially Australia and New Zealand. I enjoyed my 36 hour visit of reprieve. It was nice to eat with a fork again.
Back to chopsticks and teaching. I can honestly say that I will be home next weekend 