Story Archives

Hong Kong Travel Stories

Hong Kong: Culture Shock (4): Hong Kong "Double-Decker Buses & Moving Sidewalks"
- Story by Jason Gaskell, Msc.
- 6th Online Issue

Prior to arriving in Hong Kong, I was expecting hustle, bustle and the kind of traffic-induced pollution so often found in South-East Asian cities; something similar perhaps to the sense contorting metropolis of Bangkok, where you will get touted and shouted at around every aroma-filled corner. I anticipated anxiety and confusion; those feelings that so often come hand in hand with visiting an unfamiliar country – the very definition of culture shock itself. However, it was almost immediately clear that this place was different. It wasn’t due to a lack of crowds or traffic though – it just, well, it felt like home. Now, I’ve traveled around quite a bit and it’s rare that I don’t feel any kind of disorientation when visiting an Asian city. But what was one of the first things I saw upon my arrival? Double-decker buses!

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Hong Kong: The Travel Bug - Story by Tom Spurling
- 3rd Online Issue

The recent bird-flu epidemic that swept across Asia has made me all sentimental about travel in the region.

In 2003 I flew from Japan to Hong Kong at the height of SARS hysteria. It was Spring Break and my girlfriend and I needed a cheap getaway. Being a global citizen, it would have been poor form to reschedule on account of CNN warnings.

All the toxic spills and adrenaline refills of adventure travel were screaming at me through saturated lungs. Being a vagabond at heart, my girlfriend was also buoyed by the idea of a spot of virus dodging in the petri-dish of British-Chinese confluence – spectacular Hong Kong island. If biology was spitting back at the human race, then we wanted to be there to cheer the bastard home.

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