Hong Kong

The fourth day we went to the airport for our flight. It was equally as pleasant at the first. Our driver and guide in Hong Kong were great. I got their card in case I should get to return. I was much too tired to do much when I got back and I had developed a dry hacking cough. As a result I just went into the mall next to where the ship was parked. It was very high end and very expensive. Also very large. I was lucky to find my way back to the ship. I stopped in briefly to the folkloric show but didn't stay long as I needed to get a new chapstick at the mall. So I ventured back out and payed about $8 for a Burt's bees chap stick. Talk about sticker shock! I also found a grocery where I stocked up on more food to bring on shore in Vietnam and Cambodia so I don't have to eat the food if it has MSG in it. Surprisingly the Hong Kong products were much better quality than those available in mainland China. I had no trouble finding MSG free nuts and some
gluten free snack bars.

The Hong Kong skyline was beautiful! We were treated to a laser light show before departing.

Due to the pollution and the MSG I hope never to return to China. As I write this I have a cold and am still coughing. I think my immune system just gave out under the stress that China put on it. In previous cruise blogs I had heard others make similar statements but I had discounted them as being unenlightened and not very adventurous. However, I come back from China realizing how lucky I am to have been born in the area of the world that I was born in. I was in China too short of a time to come to any conclusions but will share some of my impressions here.

The quality of items in China was generally very poor, with the exception of the service oriented items which were exceptional in many cases. There were several instances where one was left with the impression that the Chinese were bucking under the oppression and would take the opportunity to assert any power that they could, no matter how small. Some of these took the form of civil disobedience, others presented a threat to their fellow citizens.

The public buildings were impressive and the cities surprisingly modern.

As an outsider it is hard to tell the impact of the cultural revolution which attempted to wipe out the intellectuals. However there has got to be a wide tear in the social fabric from such an event and one is left wondering how much of your experiences are due to what elements of society or historical events. I was so curious that I bought a book at the Forbidden City book store called "One World Bridging the Communications Gap". It is written for a Chinese audience to help them understand business dealing with foreigners. I've read this type of book before targeted toward an American audience to help them work in other countries.

The world financial crisis seems to have hit China earlier than the US. It was a topic of discussion with all three guides we had. The salaries of skilled Chinese programmers are very low. They aspire to get jobs with salaries that most high school graduates would qualify for in the US their first year out of school. The office buildings were lit up late at night. Everyone was working hard to keep their jobs in light of the world financial crisis.

People on the cruise ship are so starved for outside news that the Chinese newspaper I brought back to leave in the library didn't even make it off my floor and onto the elevator before someone asked about it, promising to drop it off in the library when they are done. It was interesting to see the world events reported from the Chinese perspective.