Tokyo and Hong Kong in 2018
haywirez.com
haywirez.com
Second, about 90% of the tech scene is now Bitcoin or Blockchain. It's really unsustainable. I'm not sure where they got the impression that there isn't anything blockchain here.
Most of the other analysis was just on the stuff that exists for tourists. We don't use balloons filled with hydrogen and lights, most people don't study abroad, the meat is perfectly edible and the pipes are outside the buildings by design - it makes them much easier to service!
By the way, face masks are partly to prevent the cold wind (Chinese medicine) from entering your body and partly to stop others from becoming infected with your cough/cold.
What you said about HK applies to BKK as well however. I'm really surprised of the opinions that tourists form of the city, given that there's basically zero correlation to the lives of residents.
For example, it's pretty common for (older, less enlightened) people to talk about the city's red light districts, as if they occupy the entire CBD. Although the well known ones aren't too far from major thoroughfares, you'd literally have to go out of your way to see anything seedy while traveling in the city.
People also talk about how difficult it is to get around, citing unprofessional taxi drivers. Residents drive cars or take the elevated train / subway, or more recently, Uber et al. The taxi industry serves (or preys on) the tourist industry almost exclusively now. Residents tend to avoid peak times and when you arrive somewhere you'll usually have the option of a valet or an underground car wash, so you're comfortably going from AC zone to AC zone.
Or I've known people who've stayed at a hotel on a major road and then complained about the city's congestion, not knowing they're too far from anything enjoyable in walking distance. Residents don't walk anywhere, really. It is congested but more importantly, too hot.
I could go on but won't. I'm sure the OP's take on BKK would have made me cringe as well.
But I avoid rush hour CBD like plague, yep.
BKK? CBD? AC? TMA-2KTO.
It's just a habit and I'm sure the GP didn't intend to be obtuse.
CBD = Cajun Beer Draught. Or Central Business District
AC = Air Con. Or DC
TMA-2KTO: Too Much Alcohol 2: Kept Too Cold
OP : One Punch, a great Manga
Blockchain and Bitcoin are huge in HK tech circles right now, in fact I'd say it's way too huge. Same for all of Asia really, but the main Crypto operations are all HK or Singapore based. I know quite a few people in Asia caught up in the Crypto hype to the point that it feels like a cult.
If OP spent a bit more time in Asia he might start to see the dark sides to this "progress" he lauds and realize it comes at a human cost. Many in Asia are cast aside or left behind as a result of constant advancement. Europe tends to strike a better balance between change/progress and mitigating the human toll IMO.
> Many in Asia are cast aside or left behind
I don't see so many people left behind in Asia because of the progress, indeed in my opinion is the opposite. Even the elderly people are willing to embrace change and use smartphones for their daily life, something that is not so true in Europe. In China you may find street food stand owned by older women in their 60/70 using everyday smart payment systems. Something that in Europe would never happen.
There's a lot of blockchain companies in Singapore yes, but no ICO company can get a bank account. Singapore banks are notoriously backward/conservative.
As far as I can see everyone is going through HK/Malta et al for banking.
It is not so. Helium is a non-renewable resource. It's extracted by mining and it escapes into space once released into the atmosphere. Using it for silly things like balloons takes it away from science and industry forever [0].
Hydrogen may be flammable, but it can be extracted from water. So please, don't waste helium.
[0] https://www.quora.com/Are-we-really-running-out-of-helium-Is...
https://www.wired.com/2016/06/dire-helium-shortage-vastly-in...
He probably never went to proper mainland China! Hong Kong is not that chaotic compared to Shenzen, a couple miles away. I would even say it is less chaotic than central London or Paris
Melbourne, AU has a good startup scene and many interesting meetups. New Zealand doesn't really have much of a scene going on, except in Wellington.
I may want to move back to a Western country. Which other countries have a good tech scene going on?
Barcelona has better weather.
There's a scene in the coastal towns of Morocco now too, which is much cheaper than anywhere in Europe. Not Western of course but the nature inland is beautiful.
I'm currently living in Hong Kong.
This is what keeps me here. There's an excitement and energy in the air that I haven't found anywhere else in the world. Big Asian cities are not the place for you if you like stability and quiet but if you thrive on variety you should come experience it.
Funny this is exactly how I would describe Japan
I also find this amusing:
> there's a general sense of aimlessness and cluelessness.
That's how Europe has always operated. Its historical success came from chaos. Tons and tons of chaos from many sources, all competing. Columbus was looking for India and he stumbled upon the Americas.
"Nationality is a fading illusion, nobody cares where they were born unless they have nothing else to cling to. We are citizens of the globe. Home is basically where a good bed, a supportive environment and fast Internet is. The former you can get from IKEA pretty much anywhere. For the latter, we'll just travel and spend most of our time where things are easier, cooler and better"
The author says 99% of things written are unavailable to him -- and I'm sure it's even more of the spoken word around him. If you subtract out 99% of communication, and all the deep relationships and casual understandings that make a community, yeah, I guess every place starts looking the same.
But boy howdy, that stuff is really valuable to some people, and not just people with nothing else going on in their lives.
[0] https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/05/demise-of-the-n...
I was born in Spain, and had experienced this effect multiple times, living in San Francisco, Boston, London, Shanghai, Tokio, Berlin...
Right now I value a lot more Spain and Europe at its culture than I ever did.
Living abroad gives you perspective and lots of options. When I started I thought it was risky. Now I think what is risky is living in the same place all your life.
A few additional reasons, for wearing a mask, not in the article:
- Forgot or didn't have time to put makeup on
- Kafunsho (hay fever) protection
- Odor protection, there's also scented masks
- Hiding braces
Not in Tokyo.
Go in the morning (by boat from the Hong Kong harbor, train or bus from elsewhere), get lunch in Coco park in Futian or Sea World in Shekou and go to the electronics market in HuaQiangBei in the afternoon.
In the evening go talk to armchair experts on Chinese culture in on of the foreigner bars or if you don't care much for drunk westerners lost in limbo maybe better get some hot pot in HaiDiLao or Little Lamb or Chinese barbecue in one of the street barbecue shops.
Everything here seems so laid back which was one of the reasons why we moved to EU – to have a better/more relaxed lifestyle but at the same time, I do miss the vibrancy and liveliness around me.
You mean Germany? And I agree German infrastructure can use quite the upgrade, it's 3/4G is pretty patchy and internet speeds lacking.
What a nice, sheltered life :)
Tokyo actually felt a lot less like the claustrophobic megalopolis it's often described as being. I stayed in an Airbnb in Shimokitazawa, (just a few short stops from Tokyo's main train station) and it felt distinctly village-y.
Because of all the self-imposed order and politeness everywhere it's an extremely pleasant place to visit.
The octopus card in Hong Kong led to the development of the London oyster card.
[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20180420054609/https://haywirez....
To be fair I live in Hong Kong, and it's chaotic, sure when you first come here, but after a few months you adjust to it's normalcy... And it's really no different from New York, Toronto, London. I guess it's something about people more so than anything else.