You know it's time to leave Asia when . . .

[HowardCoombs]

Multiply by 8 is easier than divide by 8

Yes, exactly.

And I have a good head for multiplications and stuff in my head...and I was all happy till one day I ended up in Kuwait.

That was really hard on my brain because its not normal to find currencies that are worth more than USD/GBP - threw me for a complete loop and had the hardest time there.

1 USD is worth about .30 Kuwaiti Dinar -- thats just too hard to deal with
1 GBP is worth about .40 Kuwaiti Dinar - who can live with that, ewwww!

I'm much happier in Asia where USD/GBP is worth singles, tens and sometimes millions of other things....

[WeeRandomer]

Holding doors for the person behind me is now a completely foreign concept

[shri]

Holding doors for the person behind me is now a completely foreign concept

You know you've been in Asia for too long when you see comments like this... and go "oh boy was I young and foolish when I acted like that".

Not doing that whole virtue signalling thing. Just saying... why would you lower your standards?

[TheBrit]

Not doing that whole virtue signalling thing. Just saying... why would you lower your standards?

Holding doors open scares/confuses/embarrasses many people I've found.

[sinespe]

Hold the door open to show your consideration for the people behind you. How the person reacts shouldn't matter : you are not doing it for the recognition.

[SpeakCantonese]

Hold the door open to show your consideration for the people behind you. How the person reacts shouldn't matter : you are not doing it for the recognition.

I don't think anyone does it for 'recognition' but I wouldn't want to overplay any supposed altruism. I think that there is a kind of social contract in cultures that value manners where folks are well mannered in the hope that other folks are well mannered in return...

The lack of reciprocity can begin to wear you down after a few years...and, I have experiences similar to TheBrit; I slow down at zebra crossings, nobody moves...I flash my headlights to let someone out of an intersection, out they go without the slightest acknowledgement of thanks...sorry, that does grate a bit.

[Flapster]

I don't think anyone does it for 'recognition' but I wouldn't want to overplay any supposed altruism. I think that there is a kind of social contract in cultures that value manners where folks are well mannered in the hope that other folks are well mannered in return...

The lack of reciprocity can begin to wear you down after a few years...and, I have experiences similar to TheBrit; I slow down at zebra crossings, nobody moves...I flash my headlights to let someone out of an intersection, out they go without the slightest acknowledgement of thanks...sorry, that does grate a bit.

I've only been here 6 months, and it's inevitable comparing to the culture, and societal norms that you're used to and appreciate.

Walking whilst looking down at their phone, banging into you, not holding doors open, barging into the lift before you can get out (ditto with MTR), and not letting anyone in EVER whilst driving are foremost in my mind of annoyances

(BTW, I see this as a light hearted look at cultural norms in Hong Kong - you're entitled to compare to your culture, without attaching moral supremacy. After all, we've chosen to move here and overall must prefer it here to back home)

[shri]

.I flash to let someone out of an intersection

Technically, that is an illegal move - to signal someone to cross the road.

We often get unusual displays of gratitude - smile and wave style, at zebra at a housing estate. The HKU zebra is full of phone zombies...

[civil_servant]

Being served a coffee before the meal and feeling delighted.

Being unable to identify the meat in the dish and chowing it down because the broth is delicious.

[tf19]

When you're genuinely surprised and delighted when a restaurant bothers to course out your meal rather than bring out all the dishes at once to overcrowd your table while you hurry to eat everything before the food gets cold.