Hong Kong: Big Crowd, Little Fear
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Oakland News
By Linda Aldy
I am writing this from Hong Kong on the last day of my travels. Imagine Mississippi’s most humid day, probably in August, and then combine that humidity with hundreds of high-rise buildings holding that humidity in, and you have some idea of the weather we have encountered here. The people who live here say this is unusually hot and humid for this time of year. According to an internet search, there are 400 to 800 people living here per acre in the downtown area of Hong Kong.
My daughter-in-law, with whom I am traveling, lived here for roughly seven years as she worked for the Tory Burch line of women’s apparel and another company. We had the opportunity to visit with many of her friends over meals. I also had interesting chats with people I met on the buses as we moved about. They all expressed how much they love living here. One lady on the bus was Australian but had lived here most of her life. She teaches English, and she said that the peace of mind that she has living here is worth any inconveniences. She said you can walk alone down the street at 4 a.m. in the morning and never have fear. You can leave your laptop on a table, and three hours later it will still be there when you return.
My return flight has been canceled (and rescheduled for midnight tonight) so I am about to find out if I can navigate this city by myself! My traveling companions have already left on their flight back to the Chicago area! Hong Kong was under British rule for around 150 years, and most people do speak English here. The airport is supposedly one of the most customer-friendly in the world. I have already determined that I can head to the airport at 11 a.m. when I am required to check out of my hotel and have the airport store my luggage for the day. They have a free tour bus that will carry me on a circuit to see some sights I may have missed. They also have nap rooms that I can rent in three-hour blocks as well as some excellent dining options in the airport. There are many other services available as well.
I just discovered that ChatGPT is banned here. I used it to prepare for the trip by asking for a sleep schedule during the flight that would limit the intensity of jet lag. Since my flight has changed dramatically, I was going to ask for a revised return-trip sleep schedule. I will check again when I get to the airport, which seems to have everything you could want!
One of the most fun things that we stumbled across while moving about was an international coffee show! We were able to purchase a ticket and sample coffees from all over Asia and some European coffee roasters.
The coffee show was in the PMQ, which was the Police Married Quarters and has now been turned into shops and restaurants. We also discovered an old hot-type print shop which was set up mostly as a museum but allowed you to produce a small card on a small press. The hot-type printing process was the way that American newspapers and wedding invitations and the like were printed for nearly 100 years before new processes came along. The typesetters chose each letter of a word individually from a tray and had to learn to read the letters backwards! They were truly artisans of their craft! Both my stepgrandfather and my uncle were hot-typesetters. My grandfather worked in both Kosciusko and Yazoo City and my uncle in Greenwood. My grandfather was able to retire when his job went away, but my uncle had to find a new kind of employment.
Closer to home, I am told Oakland Day was a huge success and that the children loved the little train that drove them all over town! Congratulations to the committee that put hours and hours of work into this event! I have seen a video of it, and it looked like everyone was having fun and eating well!
The Yalobusha 4-Hers returned successfully from the State Fair Livestock Show. I’m sure that Missy Burney will have more on that, but I know that my great-nephew Kash came home with a second-and third-place finishes! Congrats to all who participated!
Mother had several visitors over the past week, and she and sister Carol cooked lunch and delivered it to the guys out in the field near the Moore place. I can certainly remember the days when we did that on a frequent basis when my daddy was farming!
Thank you to my friend Nancy Kimbrough for sending word through my mother that she enjoys reading my column!
It is time for me to check out of my hotel and find my way home! I hope to see you real soon!
