再见 Hong Kong!

As I suspected Hong Kong was really an amazing city.  I knew before I arrived that I would want to live there some day.  I didn't know I would discover that it is where Asia meets all my favorite cities-
*The hills of Los Angeles

 

*The beautiful skylines of New York and Chicago

*The British influence of London - driving on the left side of the street, signs telling you which way to look when crossing the street, etc.
*I didn't get to spend much time on the beaches but I believe them to be like the beaches in Mexico - clean and blue.
*European streets and shops

*The bustle and diversity of Chicago, New York, and Boston
*The beautiful parks of Chicago surrounded by skyscrapers

*The night lights of China
*Foods from all over the world 
*The Asian markets

One of the things I was most impressed with was the many modes of public transportation.  Ferry's to get to and from the islands, the subway, tons of buses, taxi's, and even an electric tram.  I never had to take a taxi because everything else was so easy to use and convenient.  I love cities where all you need to get around is a public transit card and your feet.  Everything is clean, not as crowded as China, and there's wifi everywhere - even on buses.

Maybe I've been living in such a strange / inefficient country for too long but Hong Kong really has it going on where efficiency is concerned.  Lines separating the direction of foot traffic.  The public transit cards can be used in stores and restaurants.  There are maps and clearly marked signs everywhere.  It's easy to walk places.  Pedestrians have the right of way! 

There must be something I didn't enjoy right? No city is perfect (that's debatable about HK though). Kowloon was soooo crowded.  I was there for New Years so that probably amplified the foot traffic.  When I returned to Xi'an I realized that even if there were more people walking around in Hong Kong at least it was somewhat organized on the sidewalks.  In Xi'an not only are you walking with so many other people but there is no organization to which side of the sidewalk they're walking, there's nothing stopping the motorbikes from driving on the sidewalk, and sometimes people walk so slowly it seems they will just stop - sometimes they do.  No one walks with any sort of purpose - UNLESS they're racing / pushing to get on the bus or pushing to cut infront of a queue.  AHHH!!  It's enough to drive me a bit mad now that I've been reminded of the ways all the other big cities I've been to operate.

I can't wait to go back to Hong Kong.