Back in Hong Kong

It has taken a week and a half to do all of the posts from our two weeks on the road. What a wonderful experience, but it feels really good to be in our Hong Kong home. Although it is exciting to explore foreign cultures and customs, there are always a few things that you are happy to leave behind. In Malaysia it is the motorbike drivers who play "dodge ball" with the cars, trucks and busses - and they are the ball. Not needing to drive in HK is really a treat. I think I could handle driving here, but there is really no need. So much is within walking distance and the trains, ferries, MTR (subway) and taxis are great. The taxis are even quite cheap. We took a 35 minute taxi ride last weekend and it cost a little over $20.00. That wouldn't get us to the airport back home and its only 15 minutes. No tipping here either!


Driving in Beijing is no picnic, but not allowed for Westerners. Good decision. You really have to love traffic jams if you plan to travel around Beijing at all. The water in mainland China is not potable for our systems. The hotels provide one free bottle per person per day for brushing teeth and taking pills. There was a little sign on the bathroom sink with a drinking glass with the red circle and line through it. You can't safely have ice in your drinks either. The last restaurant we went to proudly displayed there water purification system in the main dining room and gave free water and refills. It was great. 


It is also difficult for us to comprehend not being able to access whatever we want on the internet. Things are slowly changing, but at present it can be frustrating. The internet access is also very slow.


The thing I liked least about our visit was the bathrooms. If you were not in the hotel, it was a real toss-up as to what you would find. Lets just say very little of it was what we are used to and primitive is a hallmark for bathrooms (and in some cases an understatement).


So now we can run a glass of water anytime and use our beautiful bathrooms and find most people speak English. The differences between HK and China make them almost polar opposites. The papers here are much more open and critical (although we didn't have time to read many papers in Beijing). I understand that Shanghai is becoming more open and foreign friendly as it grows into a world city like Hong Kong. I hope to visit there before we return.


And just so all of you Steelcase followers know that Ken is working hard...

...here are Ken and Scarlet with the team from Dung Wong when they traveled there last week. He said the workers are all very friendly and working very hard on their English. They have special days during the week where they can only speak English to help them practice.


The main thing you learn when traveling around is that people are the same the world over. Most are friendly, helpful and interested in the life around them. It is a great lesson and we love them all for it.