H for Hong Kong, a Room with a View....

H is for Hong Kong.


On 15th July, the four of us, left for Australia in the afternoon. After a twelve hours’ flight we arrived in HK where we had to wait 16 hours. Fortunately we had booked a day room in a hotel, which was wonderful, for we could sleep for at least some hours, have a shower, and a cup of coffee. My daughter and I went exploring the surroundings of the hotel, which was very interesting. The streets were very narrow and the houses were built in a way which would have been impossible in the Netherlands, where everything and especially building plans have to be executed according to strict rules. Nothing of the kind here in HK. Yet it was so refreshing and pleasant to see that people put plants in front of their houses and added a veranda to their houses if they wanted one. Apart from one lonely swimmer, the beach was abandoned and that was understandable, because a large sign warned people that the water was polluted and swimming was not advisable.
The hotel was good and situated partly under a long bridge. After a great meal we had to go to the airport again. We arrived in Cairns the next morning on the 17th July.

SIX WEEKS LATER:

We took leave of my Australian daughter and her children, but had a delay of ten hours, due to a typhoon in Hong Kong. We arrived, consequently, ten hours later in HK than planned. It was very chaotic: people were waiting in a long, long line. Others were sitting on the seats. My grandson was so tired that he lay down on the floor and fell asleep, his father was sitting by him.
We had to wait four hours, so at last we sat on the floor, talking with other waiting people. There was an atmosphere of fraternization. Until some people tried to “jump the queue”, then every body was angry, shouting:" Oy, who do you think you are!! We have been waiting for hours! You have to join the queue at the back like anybody else!". We all watched the offender, who reluctantly joined the long line and also had to wait four hours like us.
In the meantime it was 10 am and we got a place for the four of us in the midnight plane for Amsterdam .

Hong Kong
.
Hong Kong was a dependent territory of the United Kingdom from 1842 until the transfer of its sovereignty to the People's Republic of China in 1997. The Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of Hong Kong stipulate that Hong Kong operate with a high degree of autonomy until at least 2047, fifty years after the transfer. Under the "one country, two systems" policy, Hong Kong is not considered as part of the Mainland China and remains largely self-governing, but defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the government of the PRC Central government.
Beginning as a trading port, Hong Kong emerged as a leading financial centre in the late 20th century. Its highly capitalist economy is heavily based on service industries, and thrives under a long-standing policy of government non-intervention.

Thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt, who has hosted this ABC game for the third round to the letter H for ABC Wednesday Anthology and/or ABC Wednesday Round 3 For other fascinating H entries click on the ABC logo in my side bar.