Hong-Kong, baby !

I have two homes: France and Japan. As I live in the second one, all my holidays are generally used to get back to the first. As a result, since I move to Tokyo three years ago, I had never put a toe on another Asian shore. But friendship is a powerful decision-maker, and I decided to experiment the rest of Asia visiting Miss E. in her "Fragrant Harbour". Noisy, busy, quirky, yummy Hong-Kong!

Hong-Kong is only 4 hours away from Tokyo by plane, but it's difficult to find a Tokyo-HK-Tokyo flight for less than 40 000yen (400 euros). The HK-Tokyo-HK flight is much more affordable, which is very unfair if you want my opinion, but I guess that as long as the Japanese will be OK to pay ridiculously expensive air-tickets, the companies won't slow down their prices. Low-cost airlines are flourishing, though. Maybe there is hope. Anyway.

Hong-Kong is, indeed, smelling incense, but also stinking money. The mix between the Chinese population, with its inner sense of business and its unlimited apetite for growth, and the Western wolfs ruling the global financial system, is explosive. People there don't loose their time with subtle concepts such as the cultural differences or the local mindset. First, Hong-Kong is not a "special" Chinese region, but the "Asia's Global City", as written everywhere around. If a Westerner comes to study Chinese, it's really for business - and most of the time they don't, and if they do they focus on the spoken language. Not a lot of foreign businessmen seem very attracted by the inner poetry of the Chinese characters, or personnally challenged by the complexity of the language and/or thinking. Learning Chinese, for the HK golden boys, is just a painful and boring must-do for their career. I've been there only five days, but I have met no one who is genuinely interested in the Chinese languages or the Chinese culture; and people don't take a special pride in mixing with the Chinese or in making Chinese friends, whereas in Japan, most of the foreigners are dreaming of an inaccessible integration. Having Japanese friends (not only lovers), speaking/reading/writing Japanese, knowing a bit of Japanese history and culture are highly appreciated and valued. In Japan, only a (very pitiful) tiny part of the expats don't make efforts to adapt themselves; most of the foreigners I know in Tokyo are living there by their own decision and do their utmost to reach a kind of understanding of the local mindset. But in Hong-Kong, I have experienced a strange lack of mutual fascination between the East and the West. No one there is special for no one. And everything is about money. Fortunately, Hong-Kong is also a major land for cinema, and this allows me to keep a glimpse of hope about the ability of its population to enjoy poetry.

Because Hong-Kong is poetic indeed! Check it out!

Hong-Kong by day

Hong-Kong skyscrappers are tall, thin, and ugly. There is a perpetual rumor of mixed voices and car noises on the streets. The city is alive, roaring and frantic. Parks and terrace let the citizen have a breath from the fast-pace atmosphere around.

Hong-Kong by night

Darkness let us shine.

More pictures to come!

Comments

[NOEMI]

Je me mêle de ce qui ne me regarde pas, mais en effet, je pense qu'il est vital pour ces white wolfs d'avoir un partenaire avec la tête sur les épaules pour traverser l'aventure sans trop de dégâts - sans devenir trop con, pour parler plus clairement. sans ce précieux garde-fou, ça vire quand même bien vite au pathétique vieux richelard garni de trois poules chinoises. Je crois très sincèrement que tu œuvres pour l'âme de Ch. et pour son intégrité. I'm with youuuu!!

[Estelle]

Tres bonne analyse de l'atmospehree qui regne ici... Heureusement que ces golden boys ont parfois des partenaires qui compensent cette vie "de surface" en s'attelant au dialecte local, s'essayant a dechiffrer ces ideogrammes tarabiscotes et s'interessant a ce qui fait la culture de ce bout de terre, quels liens rattachent ce petit territoire a l'empire du milieu millenaire... Parce que si HK a ete clairement occidentalisee, ont est encore loin des US et il regne encore ici une forte odeur d'encens et de vapeur de dim sum!