Since I’m almost going back to China again, I wanted to write something about Hong Kong. Tomorrow I will leave to Beijing after staying in Hong Kong for the last 2 weeks. Of course I had heard about Hong Kong before I came here, I had met people from Hong Kong, and so I had an image about the place in my head, but still I was very surprised when I entered Hong Kong.
This is such an international city. The first time since I’m away that I see so many Muslims, Indians, black and white faces all at the same time, not coincidentally this is also the first time I’m not stared at the whole time. Which is quite a relief coming from the mainland. Although I have to say that Chinese people usually at least try to be polite, and normally they turn their head in a different direction as soon as they realize that their staring.
Apart from the staring it have been the first two weeks away from home that I’ve eaten so many different kinds of international food. Chinese food can be more varied than the food you get served in Chinese restaurants in Holland, the choice is bigger than just Noodles or Rice. But here I can finally eat normal salads, sandwiches, Indian food, Kebab and other kinds of international food, like Italian pasta!
Besides the food and the amount of foreigners, the Chinese people here also seem to be a bit different than those on the mainland. The biggest difference for me is that they speak a completely different language, being Cantonese, and that happily enough most of them speak some English. No funny Chinglish signs here. But it’s not only the competency these people have with English, the British influence is just very visible here. In my opinion it goes beyond the same voice in the subway, of the women who tells me to “mind the gap”, and the same road signs, driving on the left side of the road, and the same shops like 7eleven as in England.
The first day I got here was kind of crazy. Because it was the first of July, it was a free day for most people, and there was a celebration march of people celebrating the independence from the UK and joining the People Republic of China. After seeing this march with a lot of dragons, dancing and music I went to the park, where this march started. I had heard that there would be a second march without celebrations, but with demonstrators. Since demonstrations are unthinkable in the mainland, I thought this would be very interesting to see. When I got to the park it was completely crowded with people, who all joined the “Big Walk” through Hong Kong island. Apparently the protesters consisted of several groups with several goals, most were against the Hong Kong government and against closer ties with mainland China, for more democracy, for more critical media, but there were also a few from Greenpeace, some other environmental protection groups and even some migrant workers (Most of them from the Philippines, Thailand and other South-East Asian countries) joined, protesting for more labor rights. I Made one small video of the demonstration march, cause it’s not something you see every day and I would be very surprised if I see protesters again the next couple of months.
In the last two weeks I’ve seen most touristic spots here. The skyline of Hong Kong was impressive to see, the shopping malls a bit too crowded, though they were a great place to escape the heat, cause Hong Kong’s weather has been far too hot, and Macau’s casino’s full of addicted Chinese gamblers was entertaining. However one of the nicest places I’ve seen here, was Lamma Island. There were no cars on this small island and there were only two small villages, with a lot of fisherman and seafood restaurants. Between the villages there were two beaches, of which one of them was as good as empty. This one was a great spot for swimming, and a nice way to cool down from the heat.
View of Lamma Island, perfect to escape the big city for a day.
Finally I also met up with friends who went on exchange in Amsterdam the last semester I was there, and they brought me to some nice Hong Kong restaurants, which I would have never found on my own. A restaurant at the 3th floor of a normal building. Not a shopping mall or anything, how is anyone ever going to find such a place? It was very good to see them again, and I was glad to know some locals in this city, cause I ended up in places where I would have never gone to with other travelers.
