 I AMPremium
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA
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 ·Blue Ridge Cable
| reply to medbuyer
Re: [Rant] Do not go for vacation to Hong Kong said by medbuyer:said by I AM:Are you saying the whole world doesn't speak English? WTF!
you're kidding right? Yes I am kidding. I am bilingual. My parents were not born in this country but I was. I am aware there is more than English, Facebook and hot dogs. |
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I AMPremium
join:2010-04-11
Ephrata, PA
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| reply to chgo_man99
said by chgo_man99:Another reason not to see HK - disappointing shopping.
Hrrm...Didn't you know China is like knockoff nation of the world? |
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 Fir_Na_TineGiggity GiggityPremium
join:2001-01-03
Sout Joisy | reply to chgo_man99
I guess everyone sees the world with different eyes. Going to a Asian country and complaining they don't speak much English and then complain when they come here and don't speak it is pretty much lame.
Dude get a book and learn some of the language. They probably freaked out because you were what they call a typical American jerk thinking everything should be suited to you. Act like a jerk and you will get treated as such. Also research a city before you visit it. HK is very expensive to live in and shop in. But there are places you can go that are cheaper and you can deal with them. Most carry a calculator and you can haggle the price down, numbers are universal. HK is known for shopping but if you have the money, its no different than going to NYC to shop. I also ate there, in a few fancy restaurants and also from street vendors and never got sick, lots do everyday. But getting sick can happen anywhere.
I went there about 6 years ago now and had a completely different experience than you. Maybe because I had a girlfriend and other friends that lived there at the time to show me around. I thought while there was smog the streets were cleaner and the city more modern than most American cities. The mass transit (MTR)was super clean and most buses and trains had flat screen tv's in them. The crime rate is also super low compared to U.S. cities. You'll see lots of women walking alone late at night.
I found the people to be nice, I went shopping for beer at a super market and the checkout woman was nice in helping me with figuring out the money.
You should have went to Ocean Park, pretty cool place to visit. Also you should have went to Wan Chi, lots of good times to be had there  Good bars and lots of fun.
I've also traveled to the Philippines a few times as my wife is from there. We also hope to travel extensively in Asia more and eventually settle down there as the cost of living is greatly less.
Just some friendly advice, when you travel to vacation or visit in a different country think of it as visiting a friend or strangers house. Your a guest in their country. Be respectful and don't expect everything to be like what you are used to. In all my travels I never expected to have everyone speak English, I learned some before I went. Do some research into where your going and prepare better.
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| reply to chgo_man99
said by chgo_man99:At my hometown where I grew up, there is a castle that attracts some tourists and to my knowledge a receptionist at a local hotel there must know 3 foreign languages (one of them English) to get hired. And this is in a small town.
does the castle get millions of visitors a year like HK? how certain are you that the receptionist was REQUIRED to learn 3 languages or he / she just learned it by herself that's why he / she got hired?
comparing your castle's receptionist skill to speak different languages vs. HK people is not an apples to apples comparison....
my boss who's also Polish American isn't like you though...he understands that when in Rome, act and speak like a Roman! not a jerk! |
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1 edit | reply to I AM
"Hrrm...Didn't you know China is like knockoff nation of the world?"
I knew, I just expected Hong Kong as SAR to be a little different. |
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| reply to Fir_Na_Tine
said by Fir_Na_Tine:I guess everyone sees the world with different eyes. Going to a Asian country and complaining they don't speak much English and then complain when they come here and don't speak it is pretty much lame.
Dude get a book and learn some of the language.
And what language to speak? Hong Kong is Cantonese unlike rest of China that speaks Mandarin, but found out some few places like taxi cab drivers speak Mandarin. Cantonese is not the same as Mandarin. Chinese is not like language of western countries, i.e. if they speak Portugese, they write and speak in Portugese.
If Hong Kong wants to stay competitive in global financial business, less locals speaking of fluent English won't help them. Dude its not like I expected them to speak English in Wan Chai, but in IFC mall tower? And that experience in restaurant I described used bilingual menu.
Ocean Park is nice but I already been to one in San Diego, I had no interest in visiting amusement park in a foregin country where I had less than 1 week to stay.
As for supermarket, everyone there is nice. I never had problems at 7-11 store. You'll impress me once you tell me that a camera shop salesman did not try to rip you off for something worthless for 10x of price. If thats what they do to tourists and government does nothing about it, they still exist, f*ck them if thats how they treat them, they won't come back for sure. |
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| reply to chgo_man99
:  hey,men,the way you think about a world can make a change to your future. donot be a men whom tried a no good
feeling for the everyday life which you think really sucks!!!
i am living in now the city for you have just mentioned ,and it
beautiful. |
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| reply to Cthen
i am totally agree with your idea ,you are really a men
full of wisdom and kindness. china is a big country,and HongKong is also a good country.people their are friendly and
working hard.and by the way,as far as i known,the city is well
known as "the pradise for shopping,hahaha |
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nonymousPremium
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ | reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed: But I find Chicago, NY, LA to be dirty, unfriendly places.
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I find LA way to large and spread out. You can go from a nice area to a really bad area fairly quick. Unless you live there may get in trouble real quick.
Phoenix metro does have bad areas. Yet during the day unless you look like easy pickings you could break down most places and not get mugged. Dont wear expensive jewelry in a ghetto. Thing is LA there seem to be places you could look normal and basically poor yet since you dont belong get mugged or killed.
Its been awhile since worked graveyard shift doing repairs everywhere. At least then never felt really scared. maybe once take my old work truck please I dont care. They didnt. Then once during daylight a man fighting with a woman. Domestic violence. ugh even if it had been in a good area which it wasn't.
Since I do not know LA does make it uneasy for me to travel there as have not done it often. Wrong exit on freeway end up where I dont fit in and not wanted.
I have been in and obviously made it out of most west valley and south Phoenix areas even at night. Hope it has not gotten worse in the years since though not that long ago. Just was working never had large wads of cash. Always drove a shit company vehicle. Never lighted up the whole area for safety as one boss wanted. like I want drunks target shooting at the pretty lighting for fun.
Think only twice nicely told to leave so resheduled to daylight hours. Once had a boss argue told him to go do it if he wanted too or call me a police escort or it will wait for daylight.
Still not truly threatened just polite come back later. Now if I had refused?
LA though with a wrong turn and too much past and many movies doesnt make me feel secure as do not know the area inside and out. |
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nonymousPremium
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ | reply to chgo_man99
Also i mail order with paypal not necessarily through ebay but from Hong Kong and get good pricing. Either you expect too much, go to wrong stores or look like a sucker. You need to doa little research into buying even in the US.
Just because a store is in Hong Kong doesnt mean it is cheap or trustworthy especially for a tourist they know they will never see again. |
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| said by nonymous:Also i mail order with paypal not necessarily through ebay but from Hong Kong and get good pricing. Either you expect too much, go to wrong stores or look like a sucker.
Or just perhaps Chinese mess up more with people who are white and recognize they are not from there?'
As for sales from ebay mailed from Hong Kong or so, a lot of those are cheap knock offs.
Its one thing when salesmen don't tell you about something you might wanna know but its another thing when they are friendly and lie straight to your face about the product. Also its another thing when store sales new product for 2x price other store charges and another when it sells old crap describing as "new" for 10x the price. That was not isolated incident. I came across a few like that.
Hong Kong is not shopper's paradise. Plain and simple.
P.S. The exception is big stores like Fortress or Broadway. Those may not have sales, but they sell authentic products and you can be assured they won't rip you off there.
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 Cthen
join:2004-08-01
Detroit, MI
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| said by chgo_man99:Its one thing when salesmen don't tell you about something you might wanna know but its another thing when they are friendly and lie straight to your face about the product. Also its another thing when store sales new product for 2x price other store charges and another when it sells old crap describing as "new" for 10x the price. That was not isolated incident. I came across a few like that.
That also happens here in the U.S. as well. You don't get out much do you? I guess there goes shopping for you here in U.S. huh? 
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| Yes they happen but you won't find them in high traffic popular centers. They are usually run in holes or anonymously through eBay etc. they are not next to Barnes or nobles or near them for sure. Plus big retail here is so more competitive that that most will go out of business if customers find out they're cheated. Not so in HK where I see a bit of communism and much worse consumer protection where sellers see themselves above customers, where what customer voices does not matter.
Bottom line it happens a lot more often in HK than in the US for sure! |
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| reply to CylonRed
said by CylonRed:I think you idea that they should know English well, is really not very reasonable...
I know a pastry chef who does culinary tours of other countries like Italy. He does visit major tourist cities and he goes off the beaten path. You can learn how to make fresh pasta from 85 year old grandmothers who do not know a LICK of English but are in major tourist cities.
In Europe - there is no rule to know different languages in tourist areas. English is know just because most business is done in English with the US being the largest economy for many decades. Many folks in Europe know more than one language because there are many countries that are so close together. Europeans know more than one language because of the close proximity of other languages.
The majority of educated people in Hong Kong do speak English, as it was (and in many cases still is) required in schools. It was a crown colony for over a hundred years following the Treaty of Nanking (with a brief remand to the Japanese during WWII).
I noted your earlier comment, which indicates you're fairly ignorant of Hong Kong's history, so hopefully you'll find the above information useful. |
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| reply to chgo_man99
said by chgo_man99:said by Fir_Na_Tine:I guess everyone sees the world with different eyes. Going to a Asian country and complaining they don't speak much English and then complain when they come here and don't speak it is pretty much lame.
Dude get a book and learn some of the language.
And what language to speak? Hong Kong is Cantonese unlike rest of China that speaks Mandarin, but found out some few places like taxi cab drivers speak Mandarin. Cantonese is not the same as Mandarin. Chinese is not like language of western countries, i.e. if they speak Portugese, they write and speak in Portugese. If Hong Kong wants to stay competitive in global financial business, less locals speaking of fluent English won't help them. Dude its not like I expected them to speak English in Wan Chai, but in IFC mall tower? And that experience in restaurant I described used bilingual menu. Ocean Park is nice but I already been to one in San Diego, I had no interest in visiting amusement park in a foregin country where I had less than 1 week to stay. As for supermarket, everyone there is nice. I never had problems at 7-11 store. You'll impress me once you tell me that a camera shop salesman did not try to rip you off for something worthless for 10x of price. If thats what they do to tourists and government does nothing about it, they still exist, f*ck them if thats how they treat them, they won't come back for sure. British HK is on the decline, which is unfortunate. Many HKers lament the horde of mainlanders, as they are not hip to the local culture, and don't really give a damn about its preservation. It's the way things will be, as the SAR is a part of greater China. The same is happening with Macau SAR, following the departure of the Portuguese.
Many of the folks who didn't communicate with you in English were likely not confident in their knowledge of it. They certainly have studied it, unless they managed to miss all 13/14 years of primary and secondary school. Others may simply be mainland transplants from Guangdong, where Cantonese is also spoken.
I still fondly remember the bars closing, and heading to 7/11 with fellow expats to enjoy drinks by the harbour. It's a magical place for folks with an imagination.
HK is amazing. |
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 DC DSLThere's a reason I'm Command.Premium
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Washington, DC
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| reply to Fir_Na_Tine
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| reply to chgo_man99
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz2LaJOVAiA |
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DC DSLThere's a reason I'm Command.Premium
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| reply to nonymous
Perhaps some of you are old enough to get this. If it's too subtle or your brain just isn't wired right, move along and have a nice day.
»www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9mwELXPGbA
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 J E F FWhatta Ya Think About Dat?Premium
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| reply to CylonRed
Re: [Rant] Do not go for vacation to Hong Kong said by CylonRed:BTW - I find many big cities to be the same thing - expensive, dirty and all have questionable food somewhere frankly. The only really nice large city I have been to was San Fran. But I find Chicago, NY, LA to be dirty, unfriendly places.
Can't speak for Chicago or LA, but what part of New York? I spent time in Brooklyn and found it to be very clean and very hospital. I liked it so much that I thought if I had to move to the US, it would be Brooklyn. Can't say I was as impressed with New York City (Manhattan) all that much, but it really wasn't bad or dirty, just very busy!!! I did stay away from Queen County and The Bronx, and never had the chance to hit up Statin Island...although I will say that New Jersey isn't worth visiting ever again.
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