What I learned while being in Hong Kong

I loved the experience of Hong Kong and it gives me a look of what is a clear example of free trade and unbridled capitalism. Not that I'm a pro-capitalism person, to be clear I'm for balance and mixed strategies: extremes never work out for the best because there is always an exception to the rule.
It gives me a lot to compare and contrast with Philippine Closed economic policy versus an Hong Kong's

Open Economic Policies. The bottom line is that open economic policies shift the balance and has the potential to being about a lot of unpredictable changes. The problem in the philippines is that the powers that benefit hold that valve and it takes effort to make free up trade. Note that Monopolies/Cartels are how still most business make money in the Philippines. 

Notes:
  • after the cost of money-exchange it is Php6 to $1HKD. It is about USD $1 to $7.5 HKD. So its easier to just x6 all the prices to get the Philippine equivalent.
  • Its Php540/90HKD to get the express rail to HK from the airport per person, Although if you line up to get the sale price at 140HKD for two or Php420 each. 
  • Meals are similarly portioned as in the Philippines. the average hole-in-the-wall meal is about $45HKD or Php270 per head; pricier is easily 50% more at 65HKD or Php390 per head. That is without drinks, I bring a bottle where I refill in the hotel. 
  • Softrdinks in the Convenient stores are 9HKD or Php54; in restaurants its about 25HKD or Php150. 
  • Lai Cha or milk tea is about HKD12 hot and 14 HKD cold or about Php72 to  Php84. 
  • unlimited Internet in a day is 24HKD or Php144 (much more expensive than the Ph BUT much much faster). if you are buying a sim for you phone or tablet do it in a Shop that can install and configure it for you. I bought a sim in 7-11 and could not configure it, it was 76HKD php456 down the drain.  
Hong Kong from Mar 25 to Mar 27

Housing - much of their apartments happen in 3 stories up. you can see the difference between apartments from offices because apartments have decentralized airconditioning. This means you have window or split type aircon, while office buildings have centralized aircon which is in the machine room inside the building or in the topmost floor.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/1/13/1294942209735/Hong-Kong-apartment-build-008.jpg

This is where HK gets its population density, and interestingly there are a lot of positive benefits to having living conditions this dense: 
  • Every shop in the ground floor has a HUGE market. Note that the cost of living is high, like in makati. A meal is easy Php270 per person in the hole-in-the-wall while fast food, like McDonalds, is Php150-180. At these levels the Business Process of fast food franchises kick in more strongly than ever, creating a much cheaper (but unhealthier) meal per person. 
  • The population density makes civil works more cost efficient, the MTR is nearly always full. All such public goods are near full utility and makes a surplus to the Gov't since HKG tends to pay out its surplus. 
  • Because of the High Density the parks are better funded and the common good is more stressed. People are more protective of what little aesthetic value there is in their neighborhood. Also this population would rather maintain the nearby apparments.
  • I think the housing market is much more sustainable in HKG, there is no "building spree" which has that problem of "guessing" how much the market needs, and the land is trying to be optimally used.  Good housing market means more stability and more people being able to do long term business. 
When you compare trade-offs, its better being poor in a rich country than being poor in a poor country. 


Things to Improve
  • We can do cheaper place. Now that we've figured out how to go around, where to go, and what to buy, and how to save on eating we can look at the map and stretegize where to stay based on the amount of foot travel we will do.  
  • There are a lot of free internet but buying a SIM with unlimited internet is the best because Google maps is your best friend. IT also allows you to automatically sync photos, write comments about the places you visited while there, and continue to gather intelligence and best routes.
  • I need to pack up on anti-nausea medication, a lot of it.10 minutes before going on a bus it will help a lot. 
  • I need to build up hiking endurance and get my back checked. Walking +6 hours is killing my back because of my bags, but I need the basics like ipad for navigation and some translations. 
  • Stock up in HK language PDFs and library of key characters to look for when looking at a menu. 

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