4/14/13 -- Victoria Peak, meeting Qiao, new phone!

There's a gem of a product in use here in Hong Kong - the Octopus card! Originally conceived as a public transit microchip payment system, it's now been expanded for use as a sort of debit card. It's accepted as payment for busses, trains, ferries and taxies - and when you get to your destination you can buy yourself a nice cup of coffee or a snack. It's all RFID, so a simple touch of your (unopened) wallet completes the transaction - no stumbling around for cash or change, and no cumbersome credit card swipes or signatures. It all becomes even more appealing when you learn that merchants will bluntly inform you that if you wish to use your credit card, you get to front the 3.5% Visa/MC service charge. It's all very convenient, and I hope they do something equivalent in the Bay Area with our Clipper card.

Public transit is an absolute delight here - it's some of the fastest, cleanest and CHEAPEST transit i've ever experienced. Trans-bay, cross-city trips with a transfer take less than 15 minutes. Trains come every 2-3 minutes ALL DAY. The best part? One transit ride costs the equivalent of .25c USD. It's absolutely stunning.

All of this high-tech infrastructure of course does not materialize out of nowhere. It's often noted that HK has the highest per-capita percentage of billionaires of any city in the world, and one look around at the cars and people of this city will confirm that statistic! Aside from the plethora of 90's taxi cabs, almost every car on the street is a BMW, Mercedes, or Lamborghini. Massive public works projects are underway throughout the city. Currently the entire waterfront of Central HK is being excavated to construct a new underground freeway and subway line - on top of this will be a world class public park. New sky rises are erupting out of the ground everywhere you look, pushing their way out into the bay, and up on to the steepest hills of Victoria Mountain. This attention to infrastructure is omnipresent - on every block in the city will be 2-3 paid maintenance workers. Using simple tools they wash the sidewalk, hand-weed planter beds, meticulously clip even the smallest vegetation, and carefully sweep all public spaces with palm-frond brooms. Coming from SF, I find myself continually astounded - how do they fund it? I met up with Qiao who's been living here for a little less than a year. He informs me the city is sitting on a $12.5B USD surplus! In a municipality that has no sales tax, and very low income tax, one can only assume these dollars come from real estate taxes, development dollars, and…. you guessed it - gambling. There's supposedly a huge horse jockey scene here, attracting high-rolling billionaires from around the world. It's a wild world, and it operates at a level of opulence that I can scarcely comprehend.

I was thrilled to get to meet up with Qiao on Sunday afternoon. It's been ages since we've seen each other! After graduating from Columbia university in NYC, he moved back to SF and got a great job at an architecture design firm. They later transferred him to HK in August of 2012, and he's been here ever since. He seems to be doing well - his work is fulfilling and I can see that he clearly enjoys the hustle and bustle of this fine city. We met up at the IFC building, at the monumental Apple store that made worldwide news last year when it opened in one of the most iconic locations in the world. Qiao is impressed by things that are 'the best,' 'the rarest,' 'the most expensive,' and so it seemed a fitting meeting location. He cracks me up! After a quick tour of the rooftop gardens of the IFC we headed off for a quick bit of HK fast food - ramen noodles and chicken wings.

Qiao on Victoria Peak!

I'd been jonesing to get up to Victoria Peak - the highest point on HK's central island since i'd first arrived. The actual trail is difficult to find, particularly without a phone, so I was glad to have Qiao and my tour guide. We rode the mile-long mid-lands escalator half way up the hill before snaking our way through a series of extravagant high-rises perched precariously on the side of a 45 degree slope. The urbanity of the city quickly fell away, and we found ourselves on a steep mountain trail surrounded by and honest-to-god rain forest. The foliage is surprisingly diverse and tropical - Chinese banyan trees dominate the upper canopy, and below are a cornucopia of broad-leaf Tarro plants, Kahuli Ginger with large white flowers, fruiting banana trees and mangos! It's really quite something. After a 30 minute strenuous hike up the hill we arrived to a stupendous view of….. SMOG. Apparently air pollution is quite a problem this time of year. The winds shift and bring with them much of the air pollution from the Pearl River Delta - one of the largest manufacturing regions in China. Visibility can vary dramatically from day-to-day, and yesterday was certainly pretty yucky. Either way it's neat to see the dramatic terrain that forms the backdrop to this beautiful city.

More Views From Victoria Peak

Lastly, I thought I could make it without a cell phone - that was incorrect. I lasted a whole 72 hours before breaking down a getting a phone. SWEET SWEET mobile data, how I missed you. My Gmail, Gchat, Facebook and Skype all go straight to my pocket now, so feel free to message away! My HK cell is (country code) (852) 61855923. This number will be good until Friday when I fly to Vietnam. Feel free to give me a call!

Today Crystal and I are off to explore Lantau Island - more to come!