Crowds, Hong Kong

Not a danger as such but people who don't like crowds be warned, Hong Kong is the most crowded city I've ever been to! From dawn to dusk and beyond the crowds of people just never stop! If you have a important date or meeting, please leave plenty of time to get to where you are going as it can be quite stressful being stuck in the middle of a crowd when you need to be somewhere quickly.

Hong Kong like many mega cities are prone to large crowds, especially when I was there, there was alot of construction which only added to the confined feeling walking on the streets.

Like any major city you should just be aware of your surroundings and your personal belongings. I found the city to be very safe, I had no problems, but always use common sense.

Okay so i arrive in Hong Kong....... im so tired its untrue. After collecting my bags without trouble at all, i walk thru these double doors towards the train station.

Now i have been warned about Hong Kong in peak hour, by a very good cantonese friend of mine.

It is peak hour at this point.

In all fairness the train system is actually brilliant. They are always on time and come so often. The thing that got me though is: There are guards walking around and the train is approaching. there are people everywhere.

'How am i going to get on this train?'- im thinking.

I walk towards the train looking around. im stuck in the middle of the crowd. Theres no escape!! We are shoved towards the doors, being pushed...im about to fall over, my backpack is heavy, i suffer Claustrophobia at the best of times....this is not helping the situation at all.... okay almost there...the train is already full...what the ???? okay now the guards are running towards us....what the f...k is going on????

They are shoving us in....im looking around for help, no one else seems to be bothered by this..... I'm not joking when i say that there is no room to even find breathing space!!

Its crazy- then comes the great adventure of trying to get off!!!

When taking the train from HK to go over the Schenzhen, pls. be careful of the crowd. Once the train door opens, you will see the locals doing the run ! Yes, really, they will run and when you get in line together with these ppl, they will start pushing their way to get to the immigration ASAP. So, be extra careful of your belongings !

It sure will be an eye opener !

Sundays are the day the Filipino community (the Amahs etc) have their day off and get together. They congregate around Central - a road is even blocked off for them to mingle, sing and dance and have their little religious gatherings. They also collect around the Star Ferry area Central and at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. They are all fun loving and its almost like party time when they get together along with all their large packages they have bought to send back home to families but if you are in a hurry and trying to get somewhere, it can take you quite a while to get through them all. After all, its Sunday and no one is supposed to be in a hurry.

Roads and streets are so limited around business districts in Hong kong. Traffic jam is one of the common daily life for people living there. If you are a tourist, MTR subway is your best bet to visit downtown and business areas.

HK streets can be deadly. Even if the streets are empty of vehicular traffic, the sidewalks are always packed and there are metal railings between the street and sidewalks so if you are in the street when traffic comes-you are screwed. I'm generally not a rule follower but I did not usually jaywalk in HK.

Like in Singapore, Sunday is the off day for the immigrant domestic workers so shopping and site-seeing will have the extra crowds. Check out the Central District on Sunday if you want to see what I mean.