Hong Kong Changes

Some of my preconceived ideas about Hong Kong (based on several visits) were shattered on this visit.

Some, but not all. The sky and atmosphere remained cloudy reducing visability while making it mostly impossible to completely enjoy the city skyline. (Tops of the skyscrapers were hidden in the clouds.) There was, however, one day clear of fog and, surprisingly, the city was not enveloped in the traditional pollution. There were other surprises:

I thought back to my departure:

“Don’t forget your overcoat,” Nazy proclaimed.

“I’m going to Hong Kong and Singapore,” I replied. “An overcoat will be a burden.”

“It’s snowing in Zürich, Dan. And that’s where you are now.”

“I’ll just dash into the taxi. Don’t worry, I don’t need an overcoat.”

In fact, I had also secretly removed the sweaters from my luggage.

Predictably, it was cold in Hong Kong: temperatures actually hit the freezing mark at The Peak on Tuesday. I mentioned this to Nazy and her result was equally predictable.

“I told you so.”

In the 20 years that I’ve been visiting Hong Kong, the city has become, well, “more Chinese”. There are far more signs in Chinese and I found a few taxi drivers who didn’t speak English. One of my colleagues from Hong Kong agreed with my observation.

“That’s true. Years ago, everyone wanted to go to America. Now we are proud to be Chinese.”
Luckily, some American icons remain – see photo from Mainland China.