Traveling Tips

Summer break is coming up. Thinking of places to visit? Traveling to Hong Kong? Or anywhere really? Here are some helpful tips:

Family Members

In our culture, we generalize our parents' siblings as our aunts and uncles. Our grandparents are just grandma and grandpa. This is all very simple. However, in Chinese culture, we not only call them by aunt or uncle or grandpa. We take into consideration of which side the relatives are on (mother's or father's), what their last names are, how old they are, and how closely related we are.

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Chinese Food

There are many types of Chinese food, ranging from different regions all over China. The most famous type of food you may have heard is probably DimSum. If you don't know what that is, it is usually a Chinese dish of small steamed or fried savory dumpling containing various fillings, served as a snack or main course. Looks like this:

BBQ Pork Bun, Shu Mai, Shrimp Dumpling, and pork meat
http://www.insideiwm.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Dim-Sum-Baskets.jpg

Nightlife in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, basically a Chinese version of New York City, has a great nightlife, most of it taking place in Central, Hong Kong. One of the more popular places is called Lan Kwai Fong.

A corner of Lan Kwai Fong.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/LKF_Street_View02.jpg

Gambling

In Hong Kong, gambling is a form of leisure and entertainment. Gambling in Hong Kong has been regulated since 1977 when the Gambling Ordinance was enacted in response to the frequent gambling in Hong Kong.

There is now an organization known as the Hong Kong Jockey Club that promotes responsible gambling practices and minimizing the negative effects of gambling, such as addicts. The club plans on providing social and responsible betting to meet their goal. They look for a balance between meeting the demand for gambling and maximizing the social and economic benefits of gambling for the community, while helping to minimize potential harm to the individual and the community.

Outside of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/ManYueStJocketclub.jpg/800px-ManYueStJocketclub.jpg

Respecting Our Elders

If you have read my earlier post Food Etiquette, you see that the elderly is viewed very high up in society. The older you are, the more respect you are usually given in society. The white/gray hair represents wisdom. Also, since they are older, they have gone through more hardships and experiences than we, the younger generations, have, such us:

Food Etiquette

This post will be mostly about food etiquette. There will be a later post about Chinese etiquette in general.

In Western culture, we normally put our young first before the elderly. In Chinese culture, it's the other way around. We put the elderly before anyone else. The way we see it is that: older you are, the wiser you are, therefore, you deserve more respect. In Hong Kong, we normally eat dimsum for lunch and family style with the Lazy Susan for dinner.

Dimsum
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When the tea arrives to the table, the eldest is served tea first and you work your way around the table and you serve yourself tea last. (As you will see, Chinese people put others first. It's a sign of respect and modesty.)