Arrive in Hong Kong.

Where to start?

The flight over was good. We sat at the back of plane - close to all the ammenities and I could see if the engines were on fire. Old saying - "A plane never reverses into a mountain." I saw the western edge of Cape York drift by at 800km/h and be replaced by the blue waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria. After a few hours Rachel Ruby kept asking "Are we past the Phillipines yet?"

The temperature in Hong Kong let us know we are in a different country. The extra polite Chinese people that took us from the airport to the hotel were wearing suits when it was 40°C. They have fairly relaxed seatbelt laws in Hong Kong - only the first five people have to wear them.

Hong Kong on a Saturday night - it was like the showbag pavillion at the Ekka. Crowds of people for miles.
We ventured out for a few blocks to find some traditional Hong Kong food but there were so many resturaunts, eateries and cafes that we could not decide. The fragrant aromas of the kerbside eateries introduced themselves at strategic moments untill finally at 11pm we went to McDonalds.

The next day we met with the relocation consultant and she showed us where to get our Hong Kong residency cards - I was wondering if the good people in the ruling communist party wanted to know about my army service. It was a tense moment for me when the officials took my passport as part of the proceedure. It had crossed my mind that they might keep it and take me inside for a quick chat about why I wanted to be in the Special Administrative Region of the peoples republic of China and perhaps give a polite beating. We, and about 1000 other people that day were treated like royalty.

Learning the language. I can only speak a few words - and I can only reply if they ask the right questions.

Things that are the same:
People - two arms, two legs etc.
Cars - most of the cars are taxis. No one drives in Hong Kong - there is too much traffic.
Roundabouts.
Bottled water.
McDonalds.
Church.

Things that are different:
Chinese food.
The sounds that people make when they talk.
There are no houses - the urban landscape goes from jungle to high-rise at the property border.
The factories are in high-rise buildings - we went to furniture factories on the 23rd floor.
IKEA is open untill 11pm.
The supermarkets are the same as convenience stores - the prices are more but we actually pay less.
The toy shops sell guns. (8mm Air pistol replicas)
When its hot, the men dont roll up their sleeves - they roll up their shirts so that their tummies show.
The shop keepers yell out to get our attention - if I don't haggle they give me 15% off anyway.
The roads are for people - if a car wants to use it, then the swarms of people simply part and let a car through while the people fill the space left in its wake.
They drive on the same side of the road but they walk on the opposite side of the footpath. As a result, I keep bumping into people.
Local calls are free and there is phone coverage everywhere - even in tunnels - even on a video call.
The internet does not slow down at the end of the month.