‘…for me, Hong Kong has always been about moving people. Because that’s how trade and commerce are boosted.’
RALPH, a friend of mine in his mid-20s, just had the thrill of his young life this week: he flew overseas for the first time, on his own. His destination? The Crown Colony of Hong Kong. Or should I say the HK Special Administrative Region?
It was a quick four-day trip intended in part to be a late celebration of his birthday and to take advantage of still affordable prices before the holidays kick airfare and hotel room rates sky high.
Not surprisingly, the start of the journey was anxiety-filled: would Philippine Immigration offload him? Would the fact that he was not yet formally employed be an issue? And if he got through our BID, would he get past the Immigration officers in Hong Kong?
I tracked his PAL flight (PR 310) when it departed Manila on Monday evening, remembering how anxious I was on my first trip to Hong Kong. Three hours later, I received a text from him jubilantly saying he had made it and had activated roaming. I finally heaved a sigh of relief and wished him well.
Hong Kong was the second foreign port I had visited as a young man. I was 22 and it was 1984. A year before I had been to Germany with three other “studentin fuhrers” as guests of the West German government and that was my first but not solo trip abroad. But Hong Kong I explored on my own – when it was still the Crown Colony.
Forty years later, Ralph had the same reaction to Hong Kong as I did. Aww. Envy. A “Why can’t it be like this at home.” Like me, it was the ease of movement that struck him the most – how easy it is for people to move from place to place, relying not on private vehicles but on public transport.
Then, as now, the network of subway lines amazes a visitor. And what a network it is now – transporting locals and tourists alike from the airport to all corners of the territory. And if you don’t need the MRT there are the iconic double-deck buses to take you around – even to Stanley on the other side of Hong Kong island.
And who cannot but enjoy the short ride on the upper deck of the Star Ferry or take a cab across Victoria Harbour? It’s practical.
Yes, for me, Hong Kong has always been about moving people. Because that’s how trade and commerce are boosted. This is not to say that Hong Kong is traffic-free; like any major metropolis, it has its share of bumper-to-bumper vehicles especially along TST in Kowloon. But that aside, it’s been a model of moving people and things as efficiently and effectively as possible. Because it has been designed that way. Because it had to be that way. Because commerce has been its raison d‘etre and moving people (and goods) was the key to its success.
From 1984 to 2024. Indeed, long before, and long after.
It’s as if “Just Move It” was and is the territory’s slogan.
