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Malta vs. Hong Kong
#travel #solotravel #malta #hongkong #experience
You can leave Hong Kong, but it will never leave you.
Just to remind you of the intro to my Welcome to Malta post:
The salty air. High level of humidity. People driving on the left side. British sockets. Narrow, mostly one-way (and one-lane!) streets. You can find parking… Haha, good one! Parking, lol. December and it’s 17oC/63oF. Welcome to Hong… Malta! Welcome to Malta!
It was December – in both cases. It was 2017 when I first visited Hong Kong*, and 2022 when I first visited Malta. The temperature was roughly the same. Both times I forgot to bring along a power adapter – the difference was, I bought my first one on the way back from Hong Kong, and the second one on my way to Malta. Super narrow streets, crosswalks saying “LOOK RIGHT”, people driving on the side I’m not used to, shops and vendors everywhere, a strange combination of very old and modern styles… And of course, both places are so tiny. And there are far too many foreigners, so many that you can never tell who the locals are.
Apart from English, the main language is different from the most frequent one heard in the largest nearby country, although the history and culture are apparently shared. In Hong Kong everyone speaks Cantonese Chinese – although it’s one of the prevailing main two languages of China, it is not as widespread as Mandarin. On the other hand, Maltese should sound as a combination of English and Italian – however, English is heard everywhere, and Italian only from a couple of tourists. Architecturally, Malta resembles most Italian coastal cities, while Hong Kong looks barely different from any modern-day Chinese metropolis.The British colonial spirit is still felt in both countries, and it’s quite difficult to see past it. Although Malta evidently has a higher percentage of British tourists (due to obvious geographical reasons), everything in Hong Kong screams differentiation from both the Chinese and American. On the other hand, Malta is somewhat similar to its neighboring Italy.
*I know, it’s highly unusual for a European to visit Southeast Asia prior to Southern Europe – but that’s a story for a completely different post!
Both countries speak their stories of independence, as well as their prevalent history of staying unique and not combining with local forces of other nearby lands. Malta is not overly densely populated, and with all the tourists, you can still find a place where you can be alone. I cannot say the same about Hong Kong – humans everywhere! What I really liked about both localities are excessive amounts of ethnic and foreign restaurants. I’ll have you know, the only places where I’ve eaten Indian food are these two. A huge plus for all these restaurants being quite genuine and very closely resembling their original cuisines.
Another very specific and unexpected similarity is the greenery. Despite small surfaces of both Malta and Hong Kong, I’ve been around parks (as large as they can get!) in both areas. Sure, in most cases you will be surrounded by buildings and skyscrapers, but the oases of trees and grass help move the passengers to completely different sceneries – with distinct atmospheres and, dare I say, auras. Although very scarce, the experience provided will be otherworldly, separating you from hardships (and smells) of daily big city life.
And did I forget to mention that both countries are islands?! That part somewhat went without saying.
So, what about the cars driving on the “opposite” side of what most tourists are used to? Luckily, many crosswalks in Hong Kong are marked with “LOOK RIGHT” signs, which is overly necessary. In Malta, this is the case only seldom. However, most streets in both countries are so narrow, that no one will have troubles crossing them.
But what about being connected to other nearby countries? How do the roads work? Now this is a completely different set of issues. In Malta, this is not a big problem, as the islands are secluded and there are no roads taking to and from them – only ferries and airplanes. In Hong Kong, the situation is different, as it is connected with China by road, where it is driven on the right. I’ve seen a documentary once about this, and I do not know how to interpret it in simple words. The roads are connected, but the sides shift at some point. I believe the trouble arises again when driving on to Macau, which, again, drives on the left side. Now I found a good reason to go back to the area!
What about the quote? Does Hong Kong truly never leave us? What about Malta?
When I was in Hong Kong for the first time, I absolutely hated it! I was there to extend my Chinese visa, and I was not given good instructions. My hotel was also not paid for, so I had to pay up and reimburse the expenses upon return to Shanghai. This kind of bad organization got the better of me. It ruined my first day there (out of three!) and it did cloud my memory of the city-state. Also, the day before, I had returned from my trip to Beijing, so I didn’t even get to explore online what to see and what to skip – I had to improvise. I was only lucky that people spoke English, since I was barely into my second month of learning basic Chinese – and Mandarin, not even the one widely spoken in the South.
I went out, walked around, discovered on foot… Nothing much, nothing big. I got to check into a new country, that was it. Since that was maybe the 10th country I’d visited, it was something. But other than that, it could have been skipped. I was thinking I should’ve stayed in Shenzhen, just across the border. Oh wait, I didn’t have my passport, it was in the embassy for visa extension. And I couldn’t even charge my phone, so I have no pictures. Argh! Oh well, it is what it is.
But when I came back, I started thinking more about all the great things that can be seen and done there. So many activities, so many sites, despite the small surface of the area. Now, that was something! Going back to Southeast Asia, I would definitely spend at least 4-5 days in Hong Kong, explore the bay more, take a deeper look into the skyscrapers, as well as the more traditional parts of the city-state. I’d probably not stay in Cowloon again – not because I didn’t like it, but because I’d rather explore other neighborhoods. Then I would make sure to have at least 2-3 days in both Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and leave a few days for the biggest Las Vegas on Earth – Macau! Guess I’ll need to open a funding page on my website, lol!
And Malta? Well, I’d go to see the three things that I skipped the first time around. But does it ever leave us? It’s been a bit under a month, and the feeling is still triumphing. I feel as if I were still on a secluded island (or archipelago), with strange, unexpected and picturesque nature among the modern buildings of our age. I would find a restaurant with unique Maltese cuisine (how could I have missed that?!) – come to think of it, I’d do the same in Hong Kong! But I will be delighted to feel the spirit of both countries again, as their singularity is unmatched by most other places in the world.
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