Daily Life Runs At Only One Speed...

... FAST!

[The following will be a series of 10 posts about HK. There is so much to share so I will have to post fast so please read at your leisure.  I welcome your comments and experiences about HK since what I am about to share is only from my limited point of view. Enjoy!  -MamaCez]

The HK skyline

Hong Kong is a very bustling city with over 7,000,000 people. And I think I saw/bumped into every one of them during the time we were there. Admittingly, December is 'peak' season and we stayed in Tsim Sha Tsui which is one of the most touristy places in HK.

Bustling street on Christmas Eve

And with a city so dense with people, it needs to function efficiently. You'd have to to be able to cater to soooo many people. So people there aren't 'rude' necessarily... they just are not 'polite'. No 'excuse-mes' or 'sorrys' are uttered but there aren't irate, argumentative people either. Never saw an argument or fight break out.. and that's huge considering the amount of people there are on the streets every day and night.

Crowds of shoppers during the day...

... and night.

Some of my observations on it's 'fastness'..
- The 'green' traffic light means 'go fast'...'yellow' means 'go faster'...'red' means stop for a sec, then idle and inch forward until it turns green.
- While walking on a crowded sidewalk you would expect a stop-and-go, passing-type walk.. nope.. it just flows like cars on a freeway (one speed)... if you stop or slow down you can get your foot stomped on or your child gets whacked in the head with a purse or backpack.
- When you come up to a fast food/drink counter (such as at McDonald's or Starbucks), you must know your order or the one who is serving you and those behind you will give you dirty looks. If you don't know what you want, don't stand in line; same goes at a restaurant. After given a menu, you're expected to order right then and there. It's like you shouldn't even need to look at the menu. You hesitate a second and the waitress/er is gone and you'll have to wave him/her down again.
- The Octopus card.. a very common debit card you can use to pay for the MTR (subway)/bus/ferry fees. Many common stores like 7-Eleven (which are at every corner practically... and no many do not sell slurpees) and McDonalds also take Octopus cards. Literally you can have your card in your wallet or bottom of your purse and there is no need to take it out, just swipe your wallet or purse onto the electronic pad and it deducts the amount off your card. Extremely efficient!

Riding the bus

- The MTR (HK's version of the subway or BART) has so many trains running everywhere that you barely have to wait for one to come. They all come like every few minutes. You don't have time to even read the ads or signs showing when the next train will come. And they never break down. At least I have never seen one break down. Literally you can walk down to the MTR, swipe your octopus card to enter the train station, take the escalator down to your designated train and walk into a train all without stopping until you get into the train to take a seat (if you can find an available one.).

Exiting the MTR (see both sides of trains) and herding to the escalators... and yes everyone is moving even though it doesn't look like it

A not-yet-crowded MTR train... we were at the first pick up stop heading to one of the happiest places on earth

- The ferries to the other side of HK... they too come like all the time; no one has to wait... because waiting is wasteful!

Surprisingly non crowded ferry ride.. it was at an off time

- Taxi's are extremely frequent..

The kids thought these taxi's were hilarious! You should see what's displayed on the other side

- Credit card payment at a restaurant... they bring the portable credit card machine to you when you are ready to swipe your card. Your card does not leave your sight and since tip is not necessary (a service charge is automatically added to your bill), they just swipe, you sign and then you leave.

- Cleanliness: there is always a cleaning person everywhere from the city streets sweeping litter (whether day or night; sunny or rainy) to a person in the bathroom cleaning the floors and stalls, to someone wiping down the escalator's rails and elevator buttons

Check out this lobby. It's across from the GAP store at Ocean Terminal (a huge mall that is at the end of the pier that always docks cruise ships.) Look at all the empty wasted space.. you would think at a shopping mall putting a sofa, chair, coffee table... something right... for a tired tourist to rest her weary and sore feet. Nope! You're not even allowed to sit on the stairs. A security guard will shoo you away. They don't want you to rest... you have to keep moving...

So much space... no where to sit!

Ooooo. those people on the stairs must be Mainlanders... they were shooed off after I took this picture. That's a no-no!

They even tell you where to look and walk...

Look right.. as you cross.. if you don't a car can run right over you!

Is everything so efficient? Nope.. nothing is perfect!

There were stores after stores that had itty bitty aisles that could fit only one person. Luckily the HK people walk fast through each store so there was not a hold up or you'd get stuck. These stores can be quite claustrophobic and give you a headache because there was so much to take in and look at.

Other than functioning 'FAST', HK is also known (to me) for two things: FOOD and SHOPPING.

Yes, there is the awesome architecture (that my husband loves) and history and culture etc... To me, it was eating and shopping because that was pretty much what we did while we were there. The longer we stayed, the more money we spent. A girl has to eat right? And a girl doesn't pass up a  good deal/bargain either!

FOOD is everywhere.. you can smell it and you can't stop eating it... thankfully you are doing so much walking you pray that those calories you consumed will be walked off right after it's consumption.

Popular corner markets selling cooked-everything under the sun; if it can stick through a skewer, they sell it.

These chain bakeries are also very popular...

...but I'd still prefer the mom-and-pop bakeries that are part restaurant/bakery. Check out the construction that's being done right next to the open pastry shelves! Let's just say their sanitary conditions aren't the same as ours.

SHOPPING is everywhere... there is a mall, next to another mall, next to another mall.. etc... blocks and blocks of shopping.

Multiple level shops with a Food Court Basement

Holiday decor at the entrance of Ocean Terminal Mall

HK's Flagship Apple store.. check out the line of people at the window.. that's just to buy the iPhone5

If you'd not tired of the malls then check out the street markets (aka flea markets) where you can get everything from hosiery/undergarments, cooking utensils, high tech gadgets, purses/backpacks, fruits to raw meats.

Kids' stationary, stickers, galore.. it's a huge Hello Kitty plus more store!

Stanley Market

Fruit Stand

Meat Stand

Seafood Stand.... check out the butcher with the cigarette while cleaning your fish.. hmmmm.. smoked fish anyone?

NEXT UP: HK's Uniqueness