We brought the family back to visit our parents-in-law. We took the chance to visit Hong Kong to understand the situation. Hong Kong used to be packed with people and visiting places during the peak hour via MTR would be a struggle. We are surprised that the number of people on the streets seems to be lesser than before. During the weekend, we did not see a lot of people at Causeway Bay. In short, we felt sad about how Hong Kong is struggling. Most people are more conscious of spending. 兩餸飯 is the equivalent of Singapore’s mixed vegetable rice. More people are going for cheaper and value meals.
Closure of restaurants and shops
There are a lot of restaurants that are closing down. My biggest regret is not ordering the pigeon from 新園興記燒臘 as I did not know this restaurant was closing down after the Qingming Festival. We were in the restaurant for lunch. We saw a lot of empty shops. This does not feel like the Hong Kong that we know before.
We met up with friends and they shared that more Hong Kongers will travel to Shenzhen to shop and dine. The cost in Shenzhen is 2-3x cheaper while service and quality are better than in Hong Kong. There is an outflow of Hong Kong people to the UK, SG, Canada, and Australia. The outflow is balanced by the influx of Chinese. This is similar to 1997 when there was an exodus of people. This too shall pass. There will be a new generation of Hong Kongers. Some of the friends mentioned that they are working hard to save more money to leave for other countries before 50 years old. Some will retire in China, and some will retire in Western countries.
Total Expenditure
I tabulated every expense like I do in Singapore because I am the CFO of the house. Below is a summary of the total expenses in Hong Kong.
Dining HKD 5723
Transportation HKD 800
Shopping HKD 284.6
Books HKD 757.8
Gifts HKD 406
Parents Allowance HKD 23,200
Hong Kong will always be a special place for us, our family and extended family are there. My wife grew up there. We believe Hong Kong will go through this and recover. We believe in how resilient and resourceful the people are.
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