I haven't been able to post in the past few days, so maybe I'll try to put out a few this week. I would add that as an excuse - I've recently tried to change the way I type to be more efficient (because right now my right index finger is doing most of the work), so my typing speed has plummeted to excruciatingly low typing speeds.
Reflecting on the past three weeks, I find that, strangely enough, I often don't feel that out of place. The blend of western cultures that are present in cities like NYC and are present in Hong Kong are not so different. The Eastern connection, as well as the presence of nature, I find here is clearly much stronger, and unique to Hong Kong.
When it comes down to it, I find that the cultural differences of Hong Kong that stand out to me the most, in their own subtle ways are: 1- the whole region often seems to be very well thought-out, and efficiently designed; and 2- when interacting with people who are doing their job, they will follow every rule to the letter. This is vague, so I'll explain...
Starting with efficiency:
Upon entering Hong Kong, you are essentially required to buy what is known as an Octopus card, which for all intents and purposes is a public goods card. You can deposit cash onto it at any location that takes it, which includes: Convenience stores (like 7-11, which is really common here), 'Fast Food' locations (which doesn't simply mean unhealthy food, but more just means that you pay first, eat later), the MTR (subway system), as well as a large assortment of miscellaneous things like parking, horse racing, and vending machines.
This is such a clearly thought-out system, that just makes everything easier. I understand why many places don't have it, as it seems like the kind of thing you have to introduce at the inception of a major city, very consciously, but I am very glad that Hong Kong has Octopus cards.
I've said this before, but the subway system here is amazing. In the past two years I've grown to really appreciate public transportation, so perhaps this only interests me, but maybe I can convey what a feat they've accomplished here.
 |
| An MTR Map |
Here's a quick list of MTR characteristics that I've noticed:
- At most transfers, when you get off the train, they have designed the railways so that the train you will be getting on is literally across from you. Moreover, they time their trains so that when you are transferring off of a train, the train you are most likely getting on arrives 30 seconds to 1 minute after the train you're getting off of, to minimize time standing around. Now, I don't know exactly how they do this, as it really always seems to work; but I imagine they ran a lot of simulations based on where people will most likely be coming from, and going to.
- The subway never takes longer than 7 minutes to arrive (or at least it hasn't yet).
- The subway railway is behind glass, so you can't hurt yourself.
- This also means that the subway aligns itself with the doorways, accurate to a few inches (which is amazing).
- Everything is very clean - this is likely as a result of strict enforcement of no-eating-or-drinking rules (you can get charged $5000 HKD ~ $620 USD)
- Unlike NYC subway systems where you pay to enter and can travel anywhere, you tap your Octopus card to enter and to leave - so it charges you for the exact location that you are traveling to (like the DC metro).
 |
| I don't know if this interests you, but the prices are pretty cheap to go basically anywhere |
- Every train appears to be identical, and they all have maps on them every few 5 yards that have LEDs marking where you are, and which direction you are traveling.
- Everyone on the train observes train etiquette pretty strictly - being fairly quiet, keeping to themselves, offering their seat to anyone who needs it, and just being generally mindful.
 |
| People on the train |
- One thing to note, is that Hong Kong is much more spread out than places like NYC (though likely comparable to DC's metro system). So while some places are exceptionally crowded, it generally is not very densely packed.
- Like NYC, while the subway system is largely very efficient, the bus system in Hong Kong is not quite up to the same standard. Here they have mini-buses, which simply because of the size of rural Hong Kong are unable to keep up the level of effective travel as the subways.
 |
| Hong Kong 1970s vs Now (Image Source: AsianUrbanEpicentres) |
But really, you notice the little things. For example, when waiting in line for our matcha (from the previous post), we were given a receipt with a QR code (seen below), which you could go and see how many people were in front of you (so you could leave and come back).
On the flip side, the other cultural thing of note is the way that workers follow directions. Now, I'll preface this by saying that my experience has only been interacting with older work staff and that perhaps this is a generational thing. However, what I've found is that every worker who I have interacted with (typically either guards or food workers) are very rule-abiding, with little to no ability to bend the rules.
For example, when attempting to use the ferry, I needed to get exchange bills for coins; when I went to the stand where this could be done I asked if I could exchange two bills, so that I would have cash for the ferry back as well - they said no, their job was to exchange one bill for its equivalent coin value.
I won't belabor the point (for one reason, that this is a much more subtle note, with fewer explicit examples), but there are of course still a few examples of other situations like this : for example,
when I accidentally locked myself out, despite the fact that we were never issued an ID card, the guard required that I show them an ID card. I ended up getting around this by showing a picture of a local friend's ID card that I took on my phone - which if I may add, is a ridiculous solution.
There a few reasons why this kind of cultural rule-abiding may take place, but to me it seems that the local people feel the presence of a western culture in their businesses, a culture that they perhaps don't fully understand, the same way westerners struggle to understand eastern ideals. To combat with the foreign, perhaps capitalistic culture that has clearly permeated it's way into their jobs, they have decided to combat this lack of understanding of the rules by following the rules to the letter - that way, there could be no question that they did nothing wrong.
All in all, the country is exciting, and I aim to interact with more locals now. Perhaps I will be able to get more meaningful insights if I leave my bubble of largely-American internationals.
You made it so far! Enjoy some hiking pictures from last week:
 |
| The future is now. Bwaaaaaaaaaaamp |
On the flip side, the other cultural thing of note is the way that workers follow directions. Now, I'll preface this by saying that my experience has only been interacting with older work staff and that perhaps this is a generational thing. However, what I've found is that every worker who I have interacted with (typically either guards or food workers) are very rule-abiding, with little to no ability to bend the rules.
For example, when attempting to use the ferry, I needed to get exchange bills for coins; when I went to the stand where this could be done I asked if I could exchange two bills, so that I would have cash for the ferry back as well - they said no, their job was to exchange one bill for its equivalent coin value.
I won't belabor the point (for one reason, that this is a much more subtle note, with fewer explicit examples), but there are of course still a few examples of other situations like this : for example,
when I accidentally locked myself out, despite the fact that we were never issued an ID card, the guard required that I show them an ID card. I ended up getting around this by showing a picture of a local friend's ID card that I took on my phone - which if I may add, is a ridiculous solution.
There a few reasons why this kind of cultural rule-abiding may take place, but to me it seems that the local people feel the presence of a western culture in their businesses, a culture that they perhaps don't fully understand, the same way westerners struggle to understand eastern ideals. To combat with the foreign, perhaps capitalistic culture that has clearly permeated it's way into their jobs, they have decided to combat this lack of understanding of the rules by following the rules to the letter - that way, there could be no question that they did nothing wrong.
All in all, the country is exciting, and I aim to interact with more locals now. Perhaps I will be able to get more meaningful insights if I leave my bubble of largely-American internationals.
You made it so far! Enjoy some hiking pictures from last week:
 |
| "I am a Helicopter" |
 |
| "Those are some good butts" |
 |
| help, help, я не шучу |
 |
| This guy seriously has got to stop photobombing the scenery |
No comments:
Post a Comment