The Ultimate Hong Kong Blog | Me, Jamie, 49 years living in Hong Kong - I know the culture
I am a friendly Yorkshireman, born in Middlesbrough, England, who has lived in Hong Kong for 49 years, raising 3 boys with his local wife and witnessing first hand the ongoing & difficult change from British Rule to Chinese Rule.
The Ultimate Hong Kong Blog
Hong Kong Culture from a Gweilo’s perspective
The empty seat next to me on
Hong Kong public transport
Living in the real world
This is my 50th year in Hong Kong and one thing that continues to annoy me is the reluctance of local Hong Kong Chinese residents to sit next to me on most forms of public transport :
The MTR (Subway System)
Double decker and single decker franchised buses
Minibuses ( red top and green top )
Trams
I took these 2 images below on 21st June 2021 on the single decker bus, route 234B from Tsuen Wan West to Sham Tseng
It is a popular route and after just a couple of stops if filled up rapidly with at least 12 people standing and an empty seat next to me!
Not for a moment am I saying that it happens all the time, it does not, but at least 50% of the time would be accurate.
I am fat but not overly so, I do not encroach onto the seat next to me, I have no disgusting habits like picking my nose and wiping it on the seat back in front of me or worse, hawking up a snot ball! I do not smell sweaty, I never ever talk on the phone on public transport, I am polite and friendly and yet after 49 years, the empty seat remains empty.
…. and before you ask I do suffer the indignity of sitting next to someone and them getting up and moving to another seat.
Most non Chinese Hong Kong residents will have this happen to them frequently no matter what their race or colour.
I am am not dumb, I know exactly the reason why, I have a lot of Chinese family members on my wife’s side who have been more than happy to fill me in on the intricacies of Hong Kong Chinese culture and most of the time I am amused, most of the time.
…… and on a related subject, there is also the issue of local residents closing the lift door even if you are 5 steps behind them and they know you are there! it is absolutely infuriating, I have heard numerous nonsensical explanations as to why they do this, saving time is an oft touted explanation ( because Hong Konger’s are always in a rush ) and again I know the real reason, in my opinion being polite and friendly is a way of life.
You get used it to and as mentioned I shrug it off with a shake of the head and a wry smile, it is the sort of thing that makes life in Hong Kong so fascinating… and do not get me started on the issue of being called a GWEILO ( white foreign devil ) - there have been many mainstream articles over the years and again the old wry smile when people tell me it is a friendly jibe and nothing personal…. absolute bloody nonsense!! you can imagine the indignity and howls of protest if I uttered a racial slur along the lines of the infamous Prince Phillip comment about Hong Kong Chinese people in the 1990’s. I have no issues being called a foreigner by the way and I am very tolerant for the most part as I live in the real world.
Tags
Hong Kong Culture, quirky Hong Kong, Hong Kong habits, Hong Kong bad habits
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