Hong Kong is a place to drop in, do your business, and leave again. It is designed to be used and not to be liked. And it is actually hard to like Hong Kong. It often calls itself a hub. And that's what it is: easy to get in and out, practical and convenient. Sometimes it also calls itself "Asia's World City". But this is wishful thinking. Hong Kong is an accounting trick. It efficiently processes millions of lives from the cradle to the grave. When you die, you just move into a smaller box. Life happens between a cramped flat, an office cubical and the Mass Transit Railway (MTR). This is not a city, but the most efficient storage system for life human bodies. A more pleasant reality people find on Facebook where they upload photos of their dinner plates sharing culinary pleasures with friends. The big moments in life are also posted: for example photos of the University graduation posing with academic gown and a "Hello Kitty" or wedding pictures when "prince and princess" are taken in front of the Luis Vuitton store. A carnival. Everything is just a costume to play something which they never become. You grow up very late in today's Hong Kong, if ever. It is an infantile society which's intellect is formed by local gossip tabloids and a view of the world which is framed by an iPhone and thick short sighted glasses.
For those who come for business though, Hong Kong is a great place. It has just enough regulation to keep things on the road. But what you do on the road, is absolutely up to you. Processes for everything are of breathtaking efficiency. Hong Kong is not really governed, but it is managed. And it is managed well. You find interesting people, who take advantage of this and have put Hong Kong on their list of places to operate. You "operate" in Hong Kong only. Other things you do elsewhere. But if you need to stay longer, there are still places to hide away, which are not converted into a shopping mall yet. Not many, but there are. And last but not least Hong Kong has wonderful islands and country parks - which are mostly empty, because the Hong Kongers live on Facebook and work long hours to pay off their overpriced flat.