The random acts of Kati Kong

Nihau from Hong Kong!

Of course I suppose I should be saying Hello 'ello 'ello from HK! instead, since the people of Hong Kong are very adament that they are NOT and never will be Chinese. They are - well what are they called? Honkongese? and proud of it! (I'm not sure if I got the Honkongese bit righ - because logically that would make the population of Peking Pekingese - or is that just a dog breed? But I'm getting off track... must be the jet lag).

But in all fairness, Honkongese differ in many ways from their mainland bretheren. For one, they nearly all speak at least some English and for another, they seemed to have picked up polite manners from the gin consuming, imperialist Britts. Politeness isn't usually highly rated in mainland China as far as I've been able to make out on my travels there.

So all in all, Hong Kong is a really easy travel destination. Everyone speaks English, menus are always translated, people are smiling and helpful and public toilets are plentiful and free. Paradise!
Oh and did I mention the sun is always shining (possibly a little faintly through the smog, but still shining) and the temperature is always warm but never hot? Well, these things are true of the last two days I've spent here anyway.

So here I am in paradise, jet-lagged and walking my feet off, greedily trying to get the vibe of the place in the few days that I have to spend here. And not doing too badly so far. I've wandered up and down busy side streets, tried a variety of unidentifiable beverages (non alcoholic), stopped at local noodle restaurants to order pork noodles and receive shrimp soup instead (well, so their English isn't always perfect), gone on the ferries crossing over the narrow strait between Hong Kong island and Kowloon, the mainland side of HK, taken the tram to the top of the Peak, the legendary green mountain overlooking HK, and just generally made a nuisance of myself far and wide on the streets and shores of the city.

It's sort of impossible not to make some comparisons between HK and other cities I've been to. So in some respects Hong Kong reminds me of Shanghai (the view over the HK strait reminds me of the view of Shanghai skyline across the river- except there's that damned big mountain in the background here), Kuala Lumpur (the way the space for cars, pedestrians, tropical foliage and high rise buildings are distributed is somehow similar) and Istanbul (with the busy ferries chugging across the straits). But Hong Kong has a vibe all its own. And one of the most wonderful skylines in the history of high rise man!

And they've worked out a totally novel way of showing off that skyline at nigh. I have to give points for effort to whichever marketing genius came up with "The Symphony of Light" - a daily 15-minute light show, where the sky scrapers on the waterfront light up in unison to the sounds of dramatically kitchy Chinese music. Sitting on the waterfront in my T-shirt watching that amazing waterline - with cherry-on-the-top light show - I was only 36 hours out of Helsinki. Time well spent!