my impression of hk

the hk trip was marred at the beginning by the extremely unethical camera dealer who made every attempt to extract more hongkong dollar from me. while it is it be expected, i didn't appreciate very much, or at all. and this experience sort of ruined the whole mood for me and my impression of hk as a city. Hong kong island is basically a giant mountain with tiny strips of flat land near its fringe where all the bustling is goning on. this in turn determined the compactness of life on hong kong island. along the upper fringe we've got basically a continuous strip of commercial land where causeway bay, central and other packed districts are.

I think the article of Jardine Matheson on wikipedia does a far better job than me at describing hongkong, its past and present:

"At the mouth of the Pearl River, about ninety miles from Canton, there stands a small island. It is separated from the mainland by a strip of water which, at the narrowest point, is only a quarter of a mile wide. As late as 1840, the island seemed to have no potential development value except perhaps to a few visionaries. The island lies just below the Tropic of Cancer, and its climate was always thought to be hot, humid, and unhealthy. In area the island is less than thirty square miles, and it rises steeply from the water. No one lived there except a few stonecutters and fishermen whose huts were scattered along the southern shore, and it was suspected that the island was a hiding place for pirates. Its only recommendation was a natural deep-water harbour. It was this island, together with a small strip of China's mainland that was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.

Despite all obstacles of terrain and climate, in spite of opposition from many of the Canton merchants, this outpost was developed with almost incredible rapidity. Today, on the northern slopes of the island, close-packed roofs of the city blot out the natural landscape. The harbour, world-famous for its beauty; presents a scene of bustling activity; vessels from the earth's four corners come and go, small steamers sail to and from Canton, and ferryboats hurry back and forth from the mainland. The island has become a great port and trading centre in the Far East--Hongkong."