First Week in Hong Kong

I've just meandered through my first full week in Hong Kong, soaking in the sights and sounds and smells occurring above, below and all around my jet lagged self.  Even though I had spoken to a lot of people about the city, and even though I'd read up on the city (a little) before my arrival, some aspects of it still really took me by surprise.

The sheer vertical of this city is truly something to behold.  In some areas of the city, narrow steps cling to roads that launch at nearly impossible angles, and like an urban terracing system, each street is crammed with storefronts that spill over onto the equally crammed neighboring streets one terrace layer above or directly below.  Steps are uneven, slippery, and sometimes drop away without any notice.  Over busy main thoroughfares, there are a lot of sky-walks, which make getting around, especially on a rainy day, quite convenient.

The juxtaposition of old versus modern, East versus West, or however you want to characterize the differences, is also startling. One main street is fancy chocolate and fine baubles and gemstones, but a left turn down a narrow alley plants you directly in front of flower booths, vegetable stalls, keysmiths and laundromats as if from days of yore.  In the span of a block, old ladies hunch over their homemade tofu or neatly-folded cardboard boxes while lumbering expats share a few pints at a pub.  Laundry flaps from the gated windows of a cinder block apartment, shadowing a sleek internet cafe sheathed in glass and white marble.

Finally, there is the cost of certain items in this city.   I know, I know.  What did I expect?  It's a population of 7.1 million people crammed into a land mass of only 426 square miles. Of course it's going to be expensive.  The real estate prices are worse than New York City, for goodness sake.  However, I think the expensive things come as a surprise because there are so many things that are so cheap.  For example, a filling breakfast consisting of congee and fried rice cruller runs about US$3.  A subway ride can cost as little as US$0.25.  A short taxi ride will run a little over US$3.  However, anything imported is on par with the bodegas and supermarkets in New York City. And fancy chocolates? Forget it. Five little pieces cost US$15.45!