Working in Hong Kong - First impressions

[magellan1]

Several years ago, I had the unique opportunity to work for a leading investment bank in Hong Kong and I will share some of my experience with you.
The transportation system was the first thing that caught my attention when I arrived in Hong Kong. The airport is connected to the city via the MTR (~London Tube), and the trains are quite fast/comfortable. I was a bit surprised when I saw the typical Hong Kong taxis and used them for the first time. They look like the taxis from some old "Jackie Chan" or Asian mafia-type movie (check HK taxis on Google if you haven't seen them). Just like in London, one needs an Octopus (~Oyster) card to use the tube. One interesting difference is that one can use his/her Octopus card like a credit card to pay in many restaurants, cafes and shops.
The second thing that impressed me was the feeling of being in a big city and the jungle at the same time given the humidity, plants and the many hills.
The compact size of the hotel room and the flat where I lived was also something new to me. As you might know, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. In fact, the Mong Kog neighborhood is the most densely populated place on Earth with 130 000 people per square kilometer. Given the limited amount of space on the island, even a small parking garage in Hong Kong costs around $300 000.
People in Hong Kong speak mostly Cantonese and English but also Mandarin. English is widespread but one can still encounter many people who do not speak English (mostly from the lower class - e.g. cleaning ladies, taxi drivers).
Hong Kong is a very fast-paced city and almost always there are hundreds of people rushing to work, business meetings, home or somewhere else. Late evenings and early Saturday/Sunday mornings are perhaps the only times when the city is relatively quiet. One can see many Europeans (British, French, etc) on the streets as Hong Kong is a global financial center and a former British colony. This might have changed slightly after the pandemic and the protests in 2020.

Have you visited Hong Kong and what are your impressions? If you are interested to know more, I could write an additional post with more insights about Hong Kong.

 

[Shane H Norman1]

Several years ago, I had the unique opportunity to work for a leading investment bank in Hong Kong and I will share some of my experience with you.
The transportation system was the first thing that caught my attention when I arrived in Hong Kong. The airport is connected to the city via the MTR (~London Tube), and the trains are quite fast/comfortable. I was a bit surprised when I saw the typical Hong Kong taxis and used them for the first time. They look like the taxis from some old "Jackie Chan" or Asian mafia-type movie (check HK taxis on Google if you haven't seen them). Just like in London, one needs an Octopus (~Oyster) card to use the tube. One interesting difference is that one can use his/her Octopus card like a credit card to pay in many restaurants, cafes and shops.
The second thing that impressed me was the feeling of being in a big city and the jungle at the same time given the humidity, plants and the many hills.
The compact size of the hotel room and the flat where I lived was also something new to me. As you might know, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. In fact, the Mong Kog neighborhood is the most densely populated place on Earth with 130 000 people per square kilometer. Given the limited amount of space on the island, even a small parking garage in Hong Kong costs around $300 000.
People in Hong Kong speak mostly Cantonese and English but also Mandarin. English is widespread but one can still encounter many people who do not speak English (mostly from the lower class - e.g. cleaning ladies, taxi drivers).
Hong Kong is a very fast-paced city and almost always there are hundreds of people rushing to work, business meetings, home or somewhere else. Late evenings and early Saturday/Sunday mornings are perhaps the only times when the city is relatively quiet. One can see many Europeans (British, French, etc) on the streets as Hong Kong is a global financial center and a former British colony. This might have changed slightly after the pandemic and the protests in 2020.

Have you visited Hong Kong and what are your impressions? If you are interested to know more, I could write an additional post with more insights about Hong Kong.

I spent a considerable chunk of my working life in Hong Kong, having first visited the Fragrant Harbour in 1976. I agree with you about the city/ jungle impression. The whole place bustled with activity and, while Central may have been deserted at night, the fleshpots of Lan Kwai Fong had become well-established by the mid-'80s, providing a night-life that, until then, had barely existed outside of the Wanchai bars.

Other characteristics that astounded were, first, the heady smell of Peking duck and other delicacies in preparation and, second, the noise. It was a favourite thing for visitors to stand, at night, on one of the paths that necklace Victoria Peak and look straight down into the heart of Central. It was a (benign) vision of Hell, the far-below streets teeming with traffic, the blazing neon (not allowed to blink or flash in those days because of the proximity of the old airport across the harbour), and the roar of thousands of air-conditioners.

Above all, what nearly 50 years of sojourns, visits, and correspondence have taught me is that the one constant of this thrilling city is that it is always changing.