Decided to update on the HK business trip that I took in end Nov. Personally I do not hate having people around, however, I hate being in a much too populated area. During my trip there, not sure if it is due to the holiday season, it seems like there's tons of people in HK! Trains are packed, even footpaths are packed with locals and tourists alike. Nevertheless, the trains are efficient there and I do note that people immediately stood up to offer their seats to those that need it more, with the recipient offering thanks. Being there for 5 days, I at least witnessed 5 cases of such courtesy. The frequency of the trains are 3-5 mins usually unlike singapore's 3-5 mins for peak hours and 5-8 mins for off peak hours.
However, I do see couple of bad points that are somewhat being more commonly seen in Singapore nowadays. During the queue for the bus to ocean park where the queue stretches for quite a long way, I had a family queuing behind me. Frankly, I do not mind kids jumping around due to their hyperactive nature and being somewhat excited about going to Ocean Park. However, the kid keeps on kicking my leg whenever he moves around and this occurs not once but many times. Bah, since he's a little kid, I should not make too much of a fuss. BUT he did a disgusting thing next. He decided to empty his phlegm next to the ground near to where I was standing. WTH! Luckily the bus did come fast enough and I lost this family.
Another incident also dampens my holiday mood. While I was in a cable car, there's this family that manages to squeeze in the compartment and there's this middle age man sitting across me. He's seems to be sick and had a hacking cough, and worse of all, the lack of courtesy to cover his mouth when he coughs, meant that the person sitting across him which is me get to enjoy his transmitted germs. In addition, I can't help noticing his rotten teeth that's full of dark brown stains.. eek! Luckily, my immune system won out the fight against the germs/virus and I did not bring back any SARS or bird flu virus.
Being alone on a business trip can be bothersome. Imagine going to a chinese restaurant and being shown a menu with all items having 1 pricing. That means that I could not get to enjoy a variety of food and each portion is bloody big. Thus, most of the time, I was sadly relegated to eating fusion food, Jap food or Korean food. In addition, most tea cafes are darn crowded during this period and you guess it, those less crowded places are darn expensive. Well, luckily for company account expenses.
Truthfully, I'm an idiot at shopping so I do not generally check prices of branded labels, but it does seem like stuff in HK are similarly priced to those in Singapore. Moreover, it is Christmas season with weather bordering near chilling, most stores are offering Winter wear which is not exactly suitable for sunny Singapore.
The food there is not bad at all although it's a pity that I could not try out more variety. I had roasted pigeon, Dim Sum, Jap sashimi, beef hot pot and some others which are not bad.
To conclude, for a holiday trip, I probably won't go back again unless it is with friends or to visit my HK friends.
