Sunday 13 December 2009

A Small Island in the South China Seas


I find myself in Hong Kong for 6 months. It was an unexpected business opportunity, which arrived(as these things tend to do) all of 5 days after I collected the GS, which now sits in a Sussex garage.

So there will be little to report on the buying/driving/riding front, not helped by the fact that Blogger has decided that I must now be capable of reading Chinese, as the log-in page is now in Han characters and the 'log-in' button's whereabouts a total mystery.

However, I shall endeavour to share my thoughts of the place over the coming weeks.

After 4 weeks here I'm missing my two sons, the rolling downs and beaches of West Sussex, and driving - in that order. Its a crowded island, and parking is at an expensive premium, so there is little point in buying a car so six months. Public transport, and taxis are also cheap, and drinking something of a way of life.

However, so is conspicuous consumption. Hong Kongers like the latest and greatest in up-market Western branded merchandise - designer stores are on every street corner, and the roads are full of expensive imported motors. I've seen, plenty of premium saloons and SUV's; Maserati is big here, Cayennes are two a penny, and the Panamera is clearly selling well.

I've also seen lots of great 911s on the road, often in groups - clubs are another big local thing. I've spotted a few early IB's, a smattering of 964s, and 993's are more frequently sighted. There are lots and lots of 996/997s, and of those Cabs are probably the most common variant. Most cars here, including sportscars are have auto transmissions, either because of the traffic conditions, or because driving standards are poor.

Speed limits are low (50 - 80kph mostly), and speed camera's frequent, but pretty regularly I hear the bark of a Ferrari engine echoing between the buildings at weekends.

SS7