As I mentioned in a previous post, I live in Kowloon Tong. To all appearances, Kowloon Tong is a nice place to live. It has wide streets, big parks, an MTR station, a huge shopping centre and good schools. Rich important people like Henry Tang live here. Cool dead people like Bruce Lee used to live here, when they were living. On paper and in person, it looks like a great place to live.
However, as I've discovered, geography in Hong Kong is far more complicated than it at first appears.
Hong Kong is divided into three main areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
The first two were ceded to the British in the Opium Wars. For those who don't know your history, I hereby present my brief summary of the Opium Wars: the Brits were pushing drugs, the Chinese got into them in a big way, the Chinese government was a little concerned about a nation of dopeheads and asked the British to stop, the British slapped the Chinese around until the Chinese cried mercy, gave the British Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and let the British keep selling them opium. Isn't history fun?
Hong Kong Island is just called "the Island" by those who live there. That should give you a fair idea of the prevailing mentality. People who live on the Island consider Kowloon to be some strange land they have heard rumours of but never dared to visit, except on their way to the airport. The only good thing about Kowloon, they tell me, is that is has a wonderful view of the Island; how unfair that the Island only has a view of Kowloon.
Geographically, of course, this makes no sense. Hong Kong and Kowloon could scarcely be closer and still have sea between them. They face each other across Victoria Harbour, which is less than a kilometre wide and getting narrower each year as land is reclaimed on both sides. The ferry takes about three minutes and there are three tunnels to get you across by car or train.
Of course, every city has its geographical and psychological divides, but Hong Kong's run far deeper than most. Taxis in Hong Kong work on either the Island or on Kowloon, not both. Imagine getting into a taxi at Melbourne Airport, asking to go to Hawthorn and being told the driver doesn't work that side of the Yarra. Convincing a driver to take you from one side of the harbour to the other involves a lot of haggling and a downpayment on his firstborn's school fees. Similarly, restaurants in Central will gladly deliver your pizza free of charge to the furthest corners of the Island, which might take up to 45 minutes, but would never deliver to Tsim Sha Tsui, which is 10 minutes away.
People's attitudes towards Kowloon are absolutely rusted on. Actually, that implies they could be removed with a wire brush. What is harder to remove than rust? Concrete? I'm not an engineer. Well, I'll leave you to complete the metaphor.
If in Melbourne, I met someone at a business lunch and they told me that they lived in say, Pakenham or Sunbury or Hurstbridge, I might be mildly surprised and perhaps follow up with a question about their daily commute. I would not immediately respond with "Why on earth do you live there?", "Are you going to move?" or "What was your real estate agent on?" which are three actual responses I have received. It's as though the revelation that I live on the other side of the harbour has temporarily stunned them out of their usual air of business-lunch-style-politeness. Business development be damned, I simply must solve the riddle of why this otherwise respectable-looking businessman lives on the wrong side.
We've also noticed that tourist guides always assume you live on the Island. One we read recently suggested that we have a fun afternoon out by catching the Star Ferry across to Kowloon. Sounds fun. I heard there are Chinese people living there. I wonder if I'll need a visa?
However, as I've discovered, geography in Hong Kong is far more complicated than it at first appears.
Hong Kong is divided into three main areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
The first two were ceded to the British in the Opium Wars. For those who don't know your history, I hereby present my brief summary of the Opium Wars: the Brits were pushing drugs, the Chinese got into them in a big way, the Chinese government was a little concerned about a nation of dopeheads and asked the British to stop, the British slapped the Chinese around until the Chinese cried mercy, gave the British Hong Kong Island and Kowloon and let the British keep selling them opium. Isn't history fun?
Hong Kong Island is just called "the Island" by those who live there. That should give you a fair idea of the prevailing mentality. People who live on the Island consider Kowloon to be some strange land they have heard rumours of but never dared to visit, except on their way to the airport. The only good thing about Kowloon, they tell me, is that is has a wonderful view of the Island; how unfair that the Island only has a view of Kowloon.
Geographically, of course, this makes no sense. Hong Kong and Kowloon could scarcely be closer and still have sea between them. They face each other across Victoria Harbour, which is less than a kilometre wide and getting narrower each year as land is reclaimed on both sides. The ferry takes about three minutes and there are three tunnels to get you across by car or train.
Of course, every city has its geographical and psychological divides, but Hong Kong's run far deeper than most. Taxis in Hong Kong work on either the Island or on Kowloon, not both. Imagine getting into a taxi at Melbourne Airport, asking to go to Hawthorn and being told the driver doesn't work that side of the Yarra. Convincing a driver to take you from one side of the harbour to the other involves a lot of haggling and a downpayment on his firstborn's school fees. Similarly, restaurants in Central will gladly deliver your pizza free of charge to the furthest corners of the Island, which might take up to 45 minutes, but would never deliver to Tsim Sha Tsui, which is 10 minutes away.
People's attitudes towards Kowloon are absolutely rusted on. Actually, that implies they could be removed with a wire brush. What is harder to remove than rust? Concrete? I'm not an engineer. Well, I'll leave you to complete the metaphor.
If in Melbourne, I met someone at a business lunch and they told me that they lived in say, Pakenham or Sunbury or Hurstbridge, I might be mildly surprised and perhaps follow up with a question about their daily commute. I would not immediately respond with "Why on earth do you live there?", "Are you going to move?" or "What was your real estate agent on?" which are three actual responses I have received. It's as though the revelation that I live on the other side of the harbour has temporarily stunned them out of their usual air of business-lunch-style-politeness. Business development be damned, I simply must solve the riddle of why this otherwise respectable-looking businessman lives on the wrong side.
We've also noticed that tourist guides always assume you live on the Island. One we read recently suggested that we have a fun afternoon out by catching the Star Ferry across to Kowloon. Sounds fun. I heard there are Chinese people living there. I wonder if I'll need a visa?
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