Impressions of Life in the Pacific Rim

"It is easy - and perhaps unfair - to mock the prose of non-native speakers of English, but when it comes to Chinese brand names, it becomes irresistable.

 

How about a pair of Pansy men's underwear boys? Wake up with a Golden Cock (that's an alarm clock!) and take your pleasure with an Imperial Concubine cup of tea (not forgetting to light up with a Long Life cigarette afterwards, having refreshed yourself with a Horse Head facial tissue). For your Golden Cock, you should avoid White Elephant batteries, but the Moon Rabbit variety should have it going, well, like a bunny. Rambo toilet paper must be the toughest stuff around, definitely preferable to the Thumbs Up brand for obvious reasons. No one is quite sure what the ginseng product with the name of Gensenocide is supposed to do exactly - revive or annihilate?"

One of the somewhat surprising aspects of Hong Kong is the abundance of hiking trails in the territory, considering how densely populated it appears at first glance. Although the elevations are not great (typically varying between 1500 & 3000 feet), the hills are steep since they pretty much rise straight up from the ocean, and getting away from the hustle and bustle is quite possible since about 70% of the land mass is still uninhabited with the bulk of the population concentrated in a relatively small area.

 

I have done several solo hikes, and a few with a group of expatriate friends as well. In terms of location, Hong Kong island has a couple of nice trails, but they are usually very busy. My preferred area is the new territories, specifically the Man On Shan & Sai Kung country parks. The views in Sai Kung are especially stunning (see album on right and pics below).  The paths are generally well marked, although getting to the trail-head can be quite a challenge as there are very few signs on the road pointing you in the right direction. Once you have deciphered the access codes though, the results can be quite rewarding and well worth the aggravation.    

 

 

我们讲英语，有时 (We speak English here, sometimes)

 

Although Hong Kong is officially bilingual, speaking with locals in English is the same kind of deal as trying to communicate with Quebecois 'Canadiens' - wander a little bit off the main tourist areas and you'll be resorting to sign language pretty soon. I have had two interesting episodes recently where I managed to convey my meanings with somewhat different results in each instance. First the success; I went in search of a watering can ('lota' for our Urdu speaking friends  ) and was able to draw it on paper well enough to come back with something resembling one. In the other case, my son and I went to a local barber shop since we were both a bit shaggy at the time. I instructed the barber to take a fingertip length's worth off my head, since I didn't want a severe cut. He said O.K, went about his business and within the blink of an eye he had taken off most of the hair on one side of my head, and left a fingertip's worth instead! I had to ask him to even things out which resulted in my son seeing the actual shape of my head for the first time in years (he remarked how small it actually was  ) Now this may not be a problem for most of you but in my case it was a bit of a disaster since I was left with a shiny crown and nothing to cover it with. In hindsight it wasn't so bad because it is very humid here so less hair helps stay cool. However as you can imagine I am going to be more judicious in my choice of a barber next time around.

 

The other area where you can end up parting with a wad of cash is giving (or not being able to give) directions to taxi drivers since the majority only knows the English equivalents of the chief places of interest. There are a couple of ways to avoid this however; you can either ask the hotel concierge/your host to write the location's name and nearest thoroughfare in Chinese, or you can have them translate in Chinese over a cell phone. For us the results have been about fifty fity with either method. The good news is that the fares are reasonable and the distances small, so even if you get off-track you won't waste more than 15-20 US Dollars.

 

I am trying more and more to recognize the symbols for major locations and items, but it is an uphill taks. Walia and Shayan are planning to hire a Chinese tutor, but they will learn Mandarin (the official language on mainland China) and not Cantonese (the dominant language in Hong Kong). It's going to be an ineresting year to say the least....

Just a caveat here; since we have just moved from the United States, that is going to be our reference point in any comparison for a while, so pardon the 'Yankee' take on things.

 

The first thing that strikes you is how competitive it is here, and that it is mostly private. Our kids had to go through a protracted qualification process, including tests, interviews etc. in order to get in. It is not uncommon for kids to be registered at birth for the schools they are aspiring to attend.

 

The second striking aspect of education here is the commercial nature of it. Although there is a lot of stress on academics, the bottom line is always right there and you cannot ignore it. The school tuition fees for our kids are comparable to what you would pay for college education in the United States. The sought-after international schools follow a system of 'debentures', that are pretty much like pre-paid slots in a given school year. Bigger international firms buy them in bulk since they have a lot of movement in staff, and they can swap these positions among them. Not surprisingly, schools give higher priority to applicants that utilize such a method, which kind of dilutes the academic standards.

 

Meher had already qualified remotely (chiefly via correspondence) mainly because high school is not as competitive especially in the more expensive schools such as HKIS . However Shayan had to sit for tests at two schools, both of which he passed with high marks - seventh grade is considered the most important grade here in terms of getting to a good school, and he was on the waiting list pending final tests and interview when we left America. An interesting note here is that he could not start school until his tuition was actually deposited in the school's bank account, a reminder of the material nature of things in Hong Kong.  

I have been to Hong Kong before, but that was 13 years ago and one tends to sanitize the experience over the years. I do remember the smells, the crowds and the noise but it is another thing altogether to feel them in a visceral fashion again rather than as an abstract memory. I am going to categorize these:

 

 

No matter what time of the day it is, there are people out and about. We got here on a Thursday, and we thought there would be fewer people around on the weekend- Wrong! Saturday was busier than Friday, and Sunday was no slacker either. People in the United States think they buy too much, but folks here are no slouches in the shopping department. Be it a designer boutique or a road side stall, there are always customers around, and most of them are locals, not tourists. I used to get claustrophobic in Indianapolis if there were a couple of other shoppers in the same aisle with me, but here everyone is elbow-to-elbow. No room for misanthropes here! 

 

 

I have no idea how people manage to stay thin in this place, considering they eat all the time - and it is not healthy snacks alone that they are consuming. I see a lot of deep fried stuff, and bakeries do a roaring business as well. So what's the secret? We don't know yet, but I think it is genetic characteristics such as a more efficient metabolism, while Walia thinks it is the lack of processed food - this debate will continue for a while. Regardless, there is all kinds of cuisine available, with the emphasis being on Asian of course. The only kind of food we have not found yet is Mexican, somehting the kids are craving. We hope to go to Soho this weekend to a place called 'El Taco Loco' that is supposed to be good.

 

 

It's certainly not the pedestrians! I thought I was street savvy in terms of dodging oncoming traffic, but my reflexes aren't what they used to be. Surprisingly the kids have adapted well, and know which way to look before crossing the street. I still don't know which side of the street to walk on though; in less crowded locations, people generally walk on the left side (as the British do), but come rush hour and anything goes. I have tried walking along the walls, but get bumped so often that now I also resort to strong-arm tactics, and just improvise. Holding the door for someone is rare, although much appreciated if you ever do it. Oh, and then there is body odour! Hong Kong is humid during the summer, with highs around 93 F and lows around 85 F, so one sweats a lot, and deodorant rarely lasts the whole day. So rush hour on the MTR (local underground rail) is a time when you want to avoid adjacent arm pits if you can! Meher compares the MTR to being in the Carmel high school hallway between classes, where you are cheek-to-jowl with other kids, and that is how she became obsessed with perfumes and deodorants- I finally understad her pain!

 

 

We have been in Hong Kong for nearly three weeks now. Things are slowly falling into place; both the kids are admitted to schools of their (and our) liking now, and we have identified an apartment and made an offer.  The roughly 1450 sq. ft., three bedroom apartment is on the 48th floor, not uncommon for Hong Kong but a far cry from a detached two floor house in Indiana. The complex is called Harbourside, located on Kowloon side, and facing the famed Star Ferry terminal on Hong Kong island. It is very conveniently located, adjacent to the Kowloon MTR (underground train) station. The reason we chose this location is because it is roughly mid-way between Walia's office (in Shatin, New Territories), and the kids' schools (on the South side of Hong Kong Island). See here for a map of Hong Kong's districts (http://www.vectormap.com/eng/english.htm).

 

Until at least September 9, we are in temporary quarters in Causeway Bay, the heart of the Hong Kong shopping district. We have two adjacent studio apartments in a Hotel (http://www.lansonplace.com/lphk) that are somewhat cramped but very nice in terms of amenities. Initially we were eating out every day, but for the last week or so we are buyng more and more groceries to make our own dinners.

 

Meher's school is called Hong Kong International School (http://www.hkis.edu.hk), while Shayan just started at the Canadian Int'l (http://www.cdnis.edu.hk). I will write separately on the educational system in Hong Kong, and its quirks.

 

As far as public transportation is concerned, it is a cinch here. However, we have decided to get the company car that was included in Walia's move package because of the need to transport the kids to and from school for various extra curricular activities at odd times of the day. It is also nice to have a vehicle so that you don't need to lug groceries on a train (many people do without a car here it but remember we are spoiled Americans with a love affair for the automobile!). Leasing a car is another topic that deseves a separate entry; suffice it to say that car dealers are the same all over the world, and 'bait and switch' is the name of the game.

 

Watch this space for more.........