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Fir_Na_Tine
Time to get riggity riggity wrecked son
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
South Jersey

1 recommendation

Fir_Na_Tine to chgo_man99

Premium Member

to chgo_man99

Re: [Rant] Do not go for vacation to Hong Kong

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.
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

chgo_man99

Member

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.

Poorfellow
join:2008-03-16
Taco Town

Poorfellow

Member

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.

DC DSL
There's a reason I'm Command.
Premium Member
join:2000-07-30
Washington, DC
Actiontec GT784WN

DC DSL to Fir_Na_Tine

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to Fir_Na_Tine