Arrived in Hong kong late Friday evening and we were both immediately dazzled by the city and the efficiency of its services, all of which one has read about and expects, but nevertheless, is still impressed by in practice. Later, wandering around the Wan Chai district close to our hotel at 9 pm, perfectly dry in the elevated labyrinth of walkways in the area, we came upon something that epitomised the city that night. At the entrance to a humongous indoor shopping plaza, bigger than anything I’d been in, a row of thin transparent plastic strips near the entrance. As I wondered what it was there for, a passing girl rips off a sleeve from the hanging bunch and slips it over her dripping umbrella. Outside, a downpour that accompanies a low level 3 typhoon warning fizzles out and the metro is filled to overflowing with cheerful crowds.

I want to see more…