Daily Photo - Hong Kong SAR

Daily Photo - Hong Kong SAR

Daily Travel Photo - Hong Kong

This is in honor of my friend Haley’s fake birthday which is celebrated on a random date in early February. This is the statue of Bruce Lee on the Walk of Fame in Hong Kong Harbor.

The Big Mac(Donald’s) Update

McDonald’s in Okinawa

Since I last did a McDonald’s update, I’ve gained a lot of readers. For those who are new, I try to eat at a McDonald’s restaurant in every country I visit. McDonald’s in every country are just a little bit different as they adjust the menu to fit local tastes. Eating at McDonald’s is an attempt to try and see how each country is different through the lens of something which is very familiar. I do not usually go out of my way to eat fast food, but I do eat at least this one meal at each place.

My last update was in Taiwan, so I have Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong/Macau to fill everyone in on . Brunei didn’t have a McDonald’s that I could see (but they did have Pizza Hut and Jollibee’s) and I’ll wait till I pass through KL to talk about Malaysia.

Japan

You think Japan you think seafood. It should come as no surprise that Japan’s contribution to the global McDonald’s menu should come from the sea. They have given us the Fliet-o-Ebi, or the shrimp sandwich. What was interesting was that the Japanese McDonald’s all had cheaper seafood sandwiches than beef sandwiches. This is opposite (outside of Lent) as it is almost anywhere else. The filet-o-fish was the cheapest thing on the menu and the Quarter Pounder was the most expensive.

McD’s in Geyongju, South Korea

I had a helluva time finding Diet Coke in Japan and South Korea. I guess they aren’t that fat so don’t feel the need to drink diet coke that often. I’d usually get a Grape Fanta when I ate in Japan.

In the Asian McDonald’s I’ve visited (except for Hong Kong) they had a very clever system for getting rid of your garbage. Each garbage bin had a drain attached for dumping your ice and extra beverages. You were then expected to stack your cups. Also, hard plastic like forks, drink tops and straws were usually put in a separate bin. It was very efficient. Very Japanese. The drain on the garbage is one of those simple ideas that really should be adapted everywhere. It reduces the weight and potential mess of the garbage by removing the liquids from the bag. It also reduces the volume by stacking the cups. It would be very simple to implement and I think everyone would use it immediately.

South Korea

South Korea has one of the more boring menus I’ve seen so far. The only really unique thing I saw was the pumpkin pie, which sounds like something that is probably on the menu in North America in the fall, but I don’t recall ever actually seeing it.

Lots of McDonald’s in Hong Kong

The one thing which sets South Korean McDonald’s apart from Japan was something you could see all over the country: space. Most of the Japanese McDonald’s I saw were very crowded. Many had spaces for eating while standing up against the wall. There were very few booths or large tables. This is sort of a reflection of everything in Japan. Everything is tiny and crowded.

In South Korea, even though the country has a higher population density than Japan, you don’t see the same amount of crowding. I noticed this the moment I arrived in Busan. The apartments were bigger, almost American sized. Likewise, the McDonald’s were more roomy and less seafood oriented. Even though South Korea is heavily into pork, I didn’t see a lot of pork on the menu.

They also had corn soup on the menu, which is something I also saw in other Asian countries. I don’t get why corn is so popular. It certainly isn’t a traditional Asian food.

Hong Kong/Macau

There is a McDonald’s smack in the middle of the historic area of Macau.

I noticed that Hong Kong and Taipei had way more fast food restaurants than I saw anywhere in Japan and South Korea. You’d see them around in Seoul and Tokyo, but not in the same degree as in Taipei or Hong Kong. I have no clue if it is a Chinese thing.

That being said, the two places I’ve eaten the most fast food were in Taipei and Hong Kong. I think that is more a function of me staying there far longer than I had originally planned, having a screwed up sleep schedule, and McDonald’s being open 24/7. If you recall from my report on Taipei, they had great fried chicken. The Hong Kong chicken wings were also really good. Probably not very good for me, but they taste good. The only unique thing I saw was the Prosperity burger, which was available in beef and pork. I think it might have been a seasonal thing like the Shamrock Shake, but for Chinese New Year. I also saw the Prosperity Burger in Malaysian Borneo, which has a sizable Chinese population.

I plan on doing a special McDonald’s update from Bali. From what I’ve heard, the menu is very different there.

Daily Travel Photo - Po Lin Temple, Hong Kong SAR

The stairs leading up to the largest self standing Buddha statue in the world.

Daily Travel Photo - Hong Kong

This is a night time, high dynamic range photo of the Lippo Center in Hong Kong. This photo was made by combining seven exposures of various length.

The Ecology of Urban Hong Kong

Hong Kong is to small businesses as the rainforest is to plants.

I think that analogy not only captures the idea that economic and regulatory conditions in Hong Kong are favorable to business, but it also captures a very real sense of how and where businesses spring up. They pop up like plants wherever conditions will support life.

A Quiz

First let me start with a quiz which was given back in my introductory Microeconomics class: Assume you selling lemonade on a beach. On that beach there is another vendor of lemonade. The lemonade is exactly the same as yours and the same price. The only reason why someone would choose one vendor over another is the distance they have to walk. Also, assume that the people are spread out along the beach evenly and the beach is of finite length. (Think 100m if you want)

The question is, where will both lemonade vendors end up?

The first answer everyone thinks is they will divide the beach up. One would be at the 1/3 point and the other at the 2/3 point. However, you can always steal the market share between you and the other guy by inching towards him, without losing what is on the other side. The correct answer is, they will both end up in the middle.

The car stero district in Kowloon

If you think about it, it makes perfect sense, and it also explains why you see gas stations on the same corner, car dealerships on the same street, and fast food restaurants lumped together. In larger cities like Hong Kong, you see districts where similar small shops all converge. New York has the fashion district, the financial district, the diamond district, etc. In Hong Kong, I’ve noticed even smaller subdivisions in shops. In my previous post, I mentioned the floor tile district. Literally, there were tons of home improvement stores all clumped around the same street. I’ve seen clumps of car stereo stores, shoe stores, book stores, and certainly on Nathan Street, electronics stores.

I’ve noticed in Hong Kong a serious lack of large stores. Almost every store is a small mom and pop operation. I think this is a function of the regulatory environment in Hong Kong. It is very easy to open up a business in Hong Kong. Probably the easiest in the world. The lower the barrier, the small the size of the businesses that compete. The larger the barrier, the larger the size of the businesses that can compete. With so many businesses competing, it would be very hard to become a huge store. A small player with lower overhead could always come in and take business away from the area you are expanding into to.

The shopping districts are in effect Hong Kong’s answer to the the superstore. Rather than have a Home Depot, you have a block of stores selling home improvement products. Some sell tile. Some sell bathroom fixtures. Some sell paint. Together, they are pretty close to what you find in a Home Depot…minus the lumber.

Nathan street is the main commercial artery in Kowloon

A River Of People

So in addition to behaving like pack animals, you can also see businesses spring up like plants. Plants need water. Businesses need people. The primary arteries of people are the streets, with smaller tributaries going down alleys. Likewise, there is vertical component to people as well. Most are on the ground, but some can go up via elevators and escalators. The farther up you are, the farther away you are from people. Just like plants in a rainforest.

The fact that you find shops on busy streets isn’t really Earth shattering. What is interesting in Hong Kong is how you see shops set up in alleys on the second floor of buildings…but only near the escalators. These second floor malls are basically just permanent kiosks. All of the ones I’ve seen had a lot of empty units, with the only open units being at the very top of the escalator, usually visible from the bottom street level.

Once again, you see growth where you see people. No people, no business. The few businesses you would see are ones which don’t rely on foot traffic. Likewise in the alleys, you would see stands down primary alleys off of major streets, but then in the alleys off of the alleys, you’d see fewer stalls or nothing at all. All a function of human traffic.

The home improvement district in Kowloon

Parasites

Every ecosystem has its parasites. In Hong Kong it is the copy watch and hand bag vendors. They cluster where tourists are and just walk up to people asking them if they want a copy watch. They literally say “boss, want copy watch?”. I guess they got busted selling fake watches, so now they just tell people up front they are copies. I usually couldn’t walk a block without getting approached by several of these guys. Everyone of them I encountered was Indian.

While not parasites per se, you will also get accosted by guys with cutom tailor shops. They will stand outside their shop and target the tourists for custom suits. Unlike the copy watch guys, they run legitimate businesses with storefronts. You can get a custom tailored men’s suit for about US$150, including 2 shirts. Had I needed a suit, I probably would have gotten one. Like the copy watch guys, they were also all Indian.

The last parasitic group are the old Chinese women who hand out fliers for massages. Unlike Saipan, I think most of the massage places are legit. Most offer services like ear candleing and manacures. It is just a very low cost business to open. Nonetheless, they are very annoying deal with. Being a caucasian walking down the street alone, I screemed “tourist” and I was approached by everyone. At least they weren’t as bad as the scam artists I met in Manila.

Hong Kong probably has the most vibrant urban economy in the world, which is really suprising given that it is now technically under the control of the communist government.

Last Day in Hong Kong (for real this time)

Hong Kong, I barely knew ya

I got my tickets and everything is booked. Tomorrow evening I’ll be flying Royal Brunei Airlines to Brunei Darussalam and I’ll finally be out of Hong Kong. I’ve stayed here waaaay longer than I ever anticipated. Granted, I got a lot done and I probably needed to stay put for a few weeks, but I’m getting antsy and it is time to get moving.

I’m currently planning on three days in Brunei, then I’ll be off to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia and Kinabalu National Park. From there I’ll try to visit Gunung Mulu National Park then hop a flight to Jakarta.

I’m on a bit of a schedule. I need to get some documents sent from the states. I’m going to take my planned vacation from my vacation in Australia, where I’ll sit and wait for stuff to get sent and for my passport to get renewed at the US Embassy.

I’m sort of looking forward to Malaysia and Indonesia because I honestly don’t know what to expect. I’m sort of expecting it to be on a par with the Philippines. (Actually, Malaysian per capita GDP is well above the Philippines and Indonesia is below. I have no idea how East/West Malaysia differ, however).

I’ll experience my first land border crossing of the trip this week and my first trip to a predominately Muslim country. Once again, I have no idea what sort of Internet connection I’ll have. Updates might come in bunches when I can find bandwidth.

I don’t know if I want to climb Mount Kinabalu. I have the clothing and shoes but not the pack. I’m sure I’ll find out more in the coming days.