Like Tree168Likes

Is there anything you like/appreciate about Hong Kong?

Closed Thread
Page 4 of 7 FirstFirst 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 LastLast
  1. #31

    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Hong Kong / London
    Posts
    7,760

    The stunning cityscape. Sunsets this week at Victoria Harbour have been stunning.


  2. #32

    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    7,463
    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    In Australia, we order our beer by the case (24) and the price works out similar in the end. Asahi today is the equivalent of HK$9.53 per 330ml bottle. I order on my local BWS website, they have something called 'click and collect', they send me an SMS 20 minutes after I order online that it's ready to be picked up and my stores is a few minutes drive away.

    The first time I ordered online was with my HSBC HK credit card since I hadn't sorted out my local credit card yet, I got flagged as some dodgy person using stolen credit card for the purchase of alcohol (apparently that's what a lot of people do with stolen credit card details down here in Aus before the real card holder blocks their card). So had to go through a bunch of ID checks before the bastards would hand over my booze.

    But still more expensive though.
    chuckster007 likes this.

  3. #33

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Posts
    2,485

    Excellent hiking trails.

    Biodiversity and diversity of landscapes, yesterday a snake joined me in my swimming hole, never expected so much flora and fauna in HK, on the way down we encountered big swarms of golden spotted moths for the first time despite having hiked the trail dozens of times. Always discovering new fruiting plants/trees and flowers.


    A great rural-urban mix with easy access to nature that's hard to come by in most big cities.

    alexdown and chingleutsch like this.

  4. #34

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Posts
    64
    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    Yep we did in the Sai Kung Country Park.

    To be quite honest the difference isnt of any real consequence, I get home in about the same time I did before and live about the same distance. Even the taxi costs about the same, which tends to negate how cheap Hong Kong taxi's being cheap, maybe compared to London and possibly San Francisco, then yes taxi's in HKg are cheaper.

    I am still trying to find what's really all that much more convenient about HKG or has the rest of the world caught up ? I find getting through airports in most places is generally pretty fast, but then agian I usually only take hand carry, CDG ( Paris ) and BNE ( Brisbane) take me no longer than 10 minutes generally to get to the Europecar counter or Uber rank outside.

    Hospital stuff i find A LOT more efficient and distinctly less crowded, it's like a different world, all done via phone messaging etc. I had cardiac stress test this morning as it happens, was told to arrive at 10.30am, I parked my car in their car park at 10.20am, was seated in the waitiing room at the RBWH right on the button and was seen to within 10 minutes, did my test and was out of there by 11:15am. HK just doesn't operate like that. And I should know I had many visits using the public and private hospital system in HKG.

    Same with other government departments which are linked to the MyGov website over here, I am finding it a hell of a lot more convenient these days than HK's often lengthy waiting room stretches, be it Hospital, immigration and transport department etc etc etc. Im definitely noticeably a LOT more chilled these days, not much really bothers me.

    It might have been once high tech and efficient 20 years ago, but the rest of the world has caught up and in some ways functions better, in my opinion.
    First of all, not many people actually live in Sai Kung. Its like you are comparing the suburbs of Hong Kong with the urban areas in other countries, you can always draw the conclusion you want

    If you insist on using App companies like UBER or DIDI to compare the traffic in Hong Kong, I can also say that if I had a private driver, even India would be convenient for me

    The convenience of Hong Kong is that there are many different choices, expensive, affordable and even cheap. Besides UBER and DIDI or private driver, I can easily take a bus from the airport to the city or even to many parts of the New Territories for less than hkd40, its frequent and comfortable. I can take a bus from my house downstairs to the airport. It's easy and fast. If you want the fastest way to get to the city, you can also take the airport express . I don't think there's any other place in the world that offers so many efficient options.

  5. #35

    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    7,463
    Quote Originally Posted by Cornmeal:
    Excellent hiking trails.

    Biodiversity and diversity of landscapes, yesterday a snake joined me in my swimming hole, never expected so much flora and fauna in HK, on the way down we encountered big swarms of golden spotted moths for the first time despite having hiked the trail dozens of times. Always discovering new fruiting plants/trees and flowers.


    A great rural-urban mix with easy access to nature that's hard to come by in most big cities.
    +1

    I watch this channel on youtube which is specifically dedicated to capturing videos of the wildlife in HK:

    Cornmeal likes this.

  6. #36

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ex Sai Kunger Sunny Qld for now
    Posts
    8,318
    Original Post Deleted
    totally agree with you.

    Here we have the MyGov electronic system, all my medical records are on it, tax, human services the whole lot is in one easy to use system, plus the phone app and mesaging system like hospital appointments, which have been on time or within 1o minutes wait of the appointment time.

    My aunt has worked at both Paris airports, and has ever since CDG was opened so 30 plus years, and since the COVID-19 situation she has been on 80% of her usual salary to stay at home. when I look at my youngest sister who has been off work here in aus, she has been paid $1500aud via the government per fortnight for a few weeks now, I am still trying to see what's convenient about HK even from a local perspective.

    Having lived in HK for 46% of my life and having EU, AUS and NZ multi-nationality, it's easy for one to compare. The world has moved along somewhat. Coolboy's comment about Hiking and access to beaches made me smile, which considering where I am situated ( surrounded by unmolested national parks and litter free beaches with completely unobstructed abundant free parking, all 30 - 40 minutes from the cbd.

    For the record I never went swimming in HK nor did I eat seafood from there.

    As soon as the COVID-19 travel restrictions lift, I will be flying to HKG to visit me mates and update my HKPR ID card, so will have to reacquaint myself with it all again. I've only been gone for 2 years. I dont remember being able to ride a horse on any Hong Kong beach like we do here in Beachmere.




    And hiking this is one of many places nearby.


    Sorry @Coolboy it's just not the same experience.
    Last edited by Skyhook; 07-05-2020 at 02:41 PM.
    TheBrit, bdw and Jaz Paul like this.

  7. #37

    Join Date
    Jun 2019
    Posts
    7,463
    Quote Originally Posted by Skyhook:
    totally agree with you.

    Here we have the MyGov electronic system, all my medical records are on it, tax, human services the whole lot is in one easy to use system, plus the phone app and mesaging system like hospital appointments, which have been on time or within 1o minutes wait of the appointment time.

    My aunt has worked at both Paris airports, and has ever since CDG was opened so 30 plus years, and since the COVID-19 situation she has been on 80% of her usual salary to stay at home. when I look at my youngest sister who has been off work here in aus, she has been paid $1500aud via the government per fortnight for a few weeks now, I am still trying to see what's convenient about HK even from a local perspective.

    Having lived in HK for 46% of my life and having EU, AUS and NZ multi-nationality, it's easy for one to compare. The world has moved along somewhat. Coolboy's comment about Hiking and access to beaches made me smile, which considering where I am situated ( surrounded by unmolested national parks and litter free beaches with completely unobstructed abundant free parking, all 30 - 40 minutes from the cbd.

    For the record I never went swimming in HK nor did I eat seafood from there.

    As soon as the COVID-19 travel restrictions lift, I will be flying to HKG to visit me mates and update my HKPR ID card, so will have to reacquaint myself with it all again. I've only been gone for 2 years. I dont remember being able to ride a horse on any Hong Kong beach like we do here in Beachmere.


    And hiking this is one of many places nearby.


    Sorry @Coolboy it's just not the same experience.
    But you are comparing apple to oranges. Australia is a whole damn country. HK is one city, two entirely different scales. And judging by a city, HK have impressive access to hiking trails, nice beaches, even corals and wildlife. That is nothing to sniff at. Of course, it isn't as great as the best places on offer in Australia, but like I said, that is one big country and HK is just one city. And HK has a lot to offer given it's small area. Like I said, if you insist HK has nothing to offer and is not convenient, nothing I say will change your mind. We can only agree to disagree.
    Last edited by Coolboy; 07-05-2020 at 02:47 PM.
    alexdown, Sebastien-F and Cornmeal like this.

  8. #38

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Posts
    64

    I've lived in Sydney and Auckland too, and frankly they're not bustling cities at all in my standard compared to Hong Kong
    What we are talking about is a bustling city that is so close to nature

    In Hong Kong, I can easily grab top Japanese and Thai food, as well as top French restaurants, which are my favorite cuisines ( btw, Japanese food in Australia and New Zealand tastes like shit)

    I can also easily buy almost most of the latest fashion brands from Korea, Japan and Europe. Australia and New Zealand are like the countryside when it comes to shopping

    Last edited by Wooden; 07-05-2020 at 02:35 PM.
    Coolboy and junichitsuyo like this.

  9. #39

    Join Date
    May 2019
    Location
    Hong Kong / London
    Posts
    7,760

    I think the convenience of living in Pak Tam Chung and the urban areas is totally different . To find some middle ground, HK is very convenient as long as you don’t live in the middle of nowhere.

    Coolboy likes this.

  10. #40

    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Posts
    64

    As a half Japanese, I really want to laugh to see someone here using Japan as an example to prove that Hong Kong is not convenient. Japan certainly has a very progressive side, but its tradition of red tape is too much to bear. Don't get me wrong, I actually love Japan more than Hong Kong, but I know Japan better than the western kids here