The love-hate relationship with Hong Kong

Hong Kong

THESE days, it is almost unheard of for anyone in Hong Kong to complain of overcrowded public places. The obnoxious tourists and a never-ending stream of business travellers thronging the streets and malls are no more, long faded into memories of better days for the suffering retail economy.

The local population has declined the most this year since the government started keeping records a half-century ago in 1961. This is certainly comfort for those preferring the peace and quiet. Pollution levels, including those from noise, have eased considerably. With the crowds out of the way, does that mean the experience of living in Hong Kong has turned for the better? Has the city become more bearable? Famous restaurants are readily available for booking any day, with seats available even for walk-in diners - even if it means less budding excitement for that highly anticipated meal.

The opportunity for anyone to chaff at ill-behaved crowds at the Shenzhen border going to shop for designer knock-offs has come to a screeching halt. Disneyland is no longer bursting at the seams with mainlanders. You can also easily find plenty of empty spots to unwind at popular beaches like Repulse Bay.

The smaller numbers of party-goers determined to get drunk at Lan Kwai Fong generally means some respite for residents in the area, but as some have personally found, there are also less interesting and serendipitous encounters at the famed bar district. Ask both locals and expats, and some will readily admit they enjoy the slightly slower pace of life. Others bemoan that the once steroid-charged Hong Kong is "not there" anymore and therefore less fun to be in.

Part of the fun involves a love-hate equilibrium. The deal with living in Hong Kong is that the city offers aspects worthy of condemnation, and several other compensating factors. Sick of the urban jungle and tight apartment spaces? There are many ways to escape this cabin fever - hop on a ferry to one of the nearby islands or simply hike your way to breathtaking views of nature or the city's commanding skyline, whichever you fancy.

Want to complain about stressful corporate politics? You can find misery (or fun) in company at that bar buzzing till late night near your office in Central, where most expats work and live. Where noise used to permeate all aspects of life, the upshot is that you can find massage parlours to ease your tired body in the wee hours of the morning and convenience stores to furnish every other need, at almost every street corner.

Hong Kong is still alive, at any hour of the day. In short, the city finds an avenue for you to love, just enough to keep a lid on the things you don't fancy, but is still brewing underneath. With some intertwined annoyances and pleasures gone, so has a certain kick to Hong Kong. As I strode along Hollywood Road cutting through Lan Kwai Fong when the first moments of 2021 rang in exactly a year ago, the police presence outnumbered civilians due to Covid-19 gathering restrictions, bringing instant killjoy.

While I hope this will not be the case again this upcoming New Year's Eve, I realise that this city that has embodied both heaven and hell, which may one day cease to inflict an optimal ratio of woe and joy. And when that ratio skews away from joy (or love), perhaps I will join the exodus who have left. Only time will tell. But for the past and ever precarious present, there is still no place like Hong Kong.