Hong Kong Hong Kong! part 1

This wasn't my first time in Hong Kong. In fact I spent my first 17 years there. However it's the first for my other half. Everyone said we chose the worse time to visit, since it's the hottest summer (July & August) in the last 10 years. Yes, it did feel like the hottest I've ever experienced, and it was also very humid (well above 80%) as usual! Nevertheless, please don't let this keep you from visiting Hong Kong. It has many advantages over many other cities in mainland China, which you'll find out more as you keep reading my blog!

Sweating plus going in and out of air conditioning places all day long, one could catch a cold easily. If you do, no worries. There're plenty of herbal tea stores <涼茶舖> where bitter tasting, dark color herbal tea is sold in little ceramic bowls. My two favorites are <感冒茶> (tea for catching a cold) and <廿四味> (24 flavors). During this visit, I became a loyal customer of <感冒茶> (the "cold" tea). The other one is for eating too much fried food, having an oral ulcer, etc. Let's say this could be a way to experience the effectiveness of some light Chinese herbal medicine! However certain stores' products are definitely better than others, and a good one doesn't have to be made by a big name store. For example, my favorite store is located in To Kwai Wan <土瓜灣> on To Kwai Wan Road <土瓜灣道> across the street from the Hong Kong Jockey Club <香港賽馬會>. It's small and looks very plain, but their <感冒茶> (the "cold" tea) works for me every time (HK$18)! (Sorry, the picture shown here is not the one I go.)

One great way to prevent catching a cold in this Hong Kong environment is by keeping a damp towel (in a plastic bag or a little plastic box) in a size of a handkerchief for wiping all that sweat often (which also serves to keep from having sticky skin and make you feel much much better). Toilets are easy to be found in Hong Kong (I don't remember ever having to pay a penny for it), so you can wash it under the tap water as often as you want. Also always carry a light sweater that you can easily stuff into your handbag or backpack for wearing in the air conditioning places, which is pretty much everywhere indoor including transportation. The air conditioning could be so strong that I once felt like I was going to be blown away just by standing on the street in front of an entrance door of a store!

During summers, mosquitoes could be a problem especially in parks and rural areas. the "damp towel" method above is also useful in keeping these annoying creatures away, because one way they find you is by the smell of your sweat.