HONG KONG TRAVEL SAR BEFORE THE PROTESTS and SECURITY LAW PASSAGE (4K HDR)

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You know you’re in Hong Kong when you see these super humans climbing the sides of buildings standing on top of nothing else other than just bamboo scaffolding.
Bamboo scaffolding is a common sight only in Hong Kong. The industry's fear is that one day supplies will be blocked for environmental reasons and export embargoes. "[Bamboo scaffolding] is a traditional industry, so there aren't too many rules," said So. "The strength of bamboo is often measured just by the eyes of experienced scaffolders, and tested using our body weight."
"There aren't places which still use bamboo scaffolding like they do in Hong Kong - not even in China. Efforts to film women in this line of work proved unfruitful. There were no female bamboo scaffolding workers observed during our stay in Hong Kong.
Ding Ding! Locals, call the Hong Kong Tramway the Ding Ding in reference to the double-bell ring used to notify pedestrians of their oncoming approach - Hong Kong’s much-loved double-deck trams have become an icon of the city. You may see a resemblance to the double decker buses in England. That's because with Hong Kong being an English colony at the time, an English company was also behind creating the Hong Kong tram system. Unlike many other cities that had early tram systems in the early 1900s and then removing them in the 50's, Hong Kong is one of the few that has kept the original tram.
Every day, 200,000 passengers use the tram system from East to west on the north coast to get around conveniently.
With a 164 tramcars, the Hong Kong tramway is the largest double decker tramway still in operation in the world.
Three times a day, you can take a sightseeing tour of the city in one of the antique 1920s open top trams for an hour. Be sure to wear your sunscreen. The tour is similar to the hop on hop off buses elsewhere in the world except this one is on tracks.
The Peak Tram is one of the most fun things to do while in Hong Kong. At least, that is the case when it’s not ridiculously busy. When we went in September, the line wasn’t too bad. It was about a twenty minute wait. About seven million people a year ride the peak tram for the 4500 foot ascent with a 48% steepness grade to the top to get amazing views of the Hong Kong skyline. However, it has been closed for renovation starting in April 2019 and expected to reopen in 2021 which will then hold an additional 600 people per peak hour. It will also reduce wait times from 90-120 minutes on weekends to just 17. And I thought Disneyland had long waits. In recent years, common complaints from tourists have been the two hour long waits for the tram up and down the mountain. It has been nearly 30 years since the last major upgrade.
With this being such a popular destination in Hong Kong, it wouldn’t be complete without the two shopping malls at the top called Peak Tower and Peak Galleria adjacent to each other. At the peak of the peak properties are the most expensive in the entire world.
While this was a British colony from 1841 to 1997, the Peak was the city’s most exclusive neighborhood. Until 1947, it was reserved strictly for European expatriates and Chinese were not permitted to live there.
Here at the top of the peak, the freest economy in the world is seen in all its capitalist glory. If you’ve never been to China before, you’d never guess how different it is just miles north to the mainland border. It’s a completely different world in China where it is rated the 100th most freest economy in the world. The culture is vastly different on both sides. Under the agreement with the United Kingdom when returning Hong Kong to China, China had to agree to certain stipulations allowing for Hong Kong to maintain its capitalist economic system, own currency (the Hong Kong Dollar), legal system, legislative system, and people's rights and freedom for at least fifty years, as a special administrative region (SAR) of China. Publicly, it has not been discussed what will happen after 2047. In recent weeks, Hong Kong has had its biggest protest since the handing off to China in 1997. All of what you see here will likely look very different after 2047. With China insisting it will defend its sovereignty after the protests in Hong Kong, it appears China is already encroaching on the freedoms that were promised to Hong Kongers well before 2047.
Join Daniel, Michael, and Kevin on our tour of Hong Kong (SAR) special administrative region one year before the protests of the Chinese extradition bill. We enjoy sightseeing Hong Kong while it was rated one of the freest economies in the world.
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Our 48 day trip to Asia continues.
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