First impression when you first visited HK?

[rfalcon687]

What was your very very first impression and emotion when you first arrived in HK? (the earliest you can remember)

[bak875]

Vibrant, Fast paced and Efficient City.

And knew I would return to live here.

[Football16]

The harbor on a clear night. The lights, high rises looked incredible. Then I rented a tiny flat and reality set in.

(Now I moved to a smaller flat with less square footage but oh how much bigger it is than the newer Grand Waterfront from where on a clear day I could see so much of the Island and parts of Kowloon.)

[carang]

i come from the prairies in canada, a city of about 220,000....

my very first thought,
"please god, do not let this plane hit the buildings or go off the end of the runway!" it was a landing in kai tak in 1995.

once i got off the plane what struck me was:
the height of the buildings
the number of people
the clothes hanging out the windows, even in "posh" buildings
the traffic
the noise
the smells (stinky tofu, durian)

i found hk to be a total all out assault on the senses. i fell in love with the skyline, the vibrancy, the adventure of the place.

what was supposed to be a 1 week holiday has ended up being a 15 year residence (and still going strong)...

[bookblogger]

Relief, respite, comfort, thankfulness, optimism (I came from China)

[shilo507]

I first visited HK in 1995 and it was one of my least favorite places in Asia. I hated the pace, the noise and the lack of space. All you could hear all day long was the sound of the jack-hammer and construction work.

It was one of those places you stopped over in, did a few days' business and got the hell out of to go to the next city on the tour. I would spend two weeks in the UK and two weeks in Asia or the Middle East.

I always wanted to live in Asia but never thought for a moment it would be in HK. Yet now, on reflection, I think HK is the ideal choice. I love the gung-ho, can-do attitude and the fact that it is on China's doorstep and the fact that traveling throughout the rest of Asia from here is so easy.

Sure, I sometimes think about moving to Malaysia or the Philippines or Thailand etc but I'll save that for retirement. HK is a great place to work provided you are able to get out of the city every couple of months for a breather.

I think it is a great place to live and work and, most importantly, I consider it home.

[Renotommy]

(I came from China

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Bookblogger<

That's news to me....I am surprised!

[Skyhook]

My first visit to Hong Kong was 19 years ago, back in the days that Kai Tak airport was still in service, enjoying one of the worlds most challenging precision approaches known to professional aviation. All part of the arrival experience that was unique to Hong Kong.

As a non resident ( back then ) HK was always fun to run a muck, catching up with long term Aussie friends that had already lived in Hong Kong for many years, and when I look back upon reflection as a resident now, there was a lot more to HK than what first appeared on the surface. It takes awhile to be fully immersed into the HK dynamic, but once you do, what a ride !

Hong Kong for me, has been a great experience, made much easier when we discovered the comforts of the New Territories.

[bookblogger]

That's news to me....I am surprised!

I mean I travelled across China to get here!

[MovingIn07]

I first came for a long weekend prior to the handover in '97. What struck me then, across that whole weekend, was that not a single interaction with anyone was about anything other than money. Not a single "good morning" for the sake of saying good morning; not a single conversation about the weather, or did I like Hong Kong, or where was I from or anything. It was all about buying/selling/transacting.

Not sure that has changed.