Hardly Bridging the Chaos

The bridge is keeping bus operators busy 24 hours a day ferrying tourists

Since it opened last October, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge is being used a lot, though there are still a lot of logistical problems that need to be ironed out.

Yesterday my aunt and uncle were late coming from Zhuhai to meet us for dim sum in Tuen Mun.

They thought it would be easier to cross the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, but the reality is, thousands of others were planning to do the same too.

There is a lot of chaos in running the shuttle service

According to my relatives, even if you arrive at 8am, there are hordes of people already there waiting for shuttle buses to take them across to Hong Kong or Macau -- you have to get there an hour earlier.

And then the drivers are not properly instructed on which bay they should stop at to pick up passengers -- it is complete chaos and passengers have to rush to the bus instead of the bus being directed to where they should go.

The next challenge is going through immigration. Once you leave one jurisdiction, taking your luggage with you, then you have to get back onto the shuttle to drive for a bit before entering another jurisdiction and going through its immigration section. Why can't you go through one immigration counter and then the other within walking distance so that you only have to go on and off the shuttle once?

Another issue is having mainlanders trying to jump the queue at immigration, but it's not a new problem...

More work needs to be done to run the services smoothly

Meanwhile the shuttle bus companies are making a killing, ferrying people across to the three destinations, each bus completely full and charging between HK$120-HK$170 depending on where you are going. And the bridge is open 24 hours a days so you can imagine these bus companies have no qualms working day and night.

The unpredictability of the the bridge situation has resulted in many paying more to take the ferry instead -- if you can get a ticket. And with Chinese New Year, ferry tickets were hard to come by, which meant having to try your luck at the bridge.

In terms of tourism, it has meant a lot more day trippers coming to Hong Kong and shopping up a storm and eating quick bites, but not staying overnight to save on hotels.

For Hong Kong's economy that is dependent on tourism this isn't a good thing -- we still have lots of people visiting but not spending more of their money here.

It'll be interesting to see what the long-term effects of this will be -- does this mean fewer hotels in Hong Kong and more shops? I'm more interested in these visitors' perceptions of the city since their impressions will be very superficial and not very meaningful in terms of experiences.

Wonder how the Hong Kong Tourism Board will persuade them to stay a bit longer...

China's Boom in Airports?

Imagine the number of planes at the new Beijing Daxing International Airport

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), by 2035, China will have 450 airports -- nearly double the current number. If this projection is realized, then the Middle Kingdom will overtake the United States as the world's largest aviation market.

Would that really happen, given the dearth of pilots to be able to fly that many planes to keep all these airports busy?

Chinese express carriers are also struggling to secure landing rights at some of the country's busier airports, such as Beijing Capital International Airport, and instead turning to neighbouring Tianjin's Binhai Airport.

There is an ever-growing number of Chinese traveling by air, but is there enough qualified manpower to service them all?

Picture of the Day: Tax Refund

The line went all the way down to the end and to the left. Daunting, right?

Italy encourages tourists to shop shop shop -- the more the better. That's because if you reside outside the European Union, you are eligible for a tax refund when making purchases of 155 euros (US$175.36) or more in Italy.

The shop should help you fill out a tax refund form with the receipt attached so that you can claim the VAT refund of 22 percent. It's a huge difference which is why it's worth getting the refund.

However, the refund can only be processed at the airport, which is why it's advisable to go there with plenty of time before checking in. The morning I went, my flight was much later, and so I had time to get the refund.

The line for the VAT refund (in a big yellow sign) was very long to say the least, though it did move, slowly. It was full of mostly Japanese people who were holding wads of receipts.

Another rule about getting the refund is that you may have to show the officer your purchase so you can't pack it into your suitcase.

My biggest panic was waiting in line and not being in the right line. When I bought a pair of shoes, the sales assistant told me I would need a stamp on the form and then get the refund. So when my line slowly inched closer to the counters, I couldn't see where you were supposed to get a stamp and started to worry.

The people in front of me were Japanese tourists. They were young people who had bought many name brand luxury items. Thankfully they had an Italian guide, a well-dressed middle-aged man who spoke good Japanese and helped them with translation or questions.

I quickly asked him if I needed a stamp and he said no, and that I was in the right line.

Finally it was my turn at the counter and after showing them the receipt, the tax form (filled out by the store), my passport and credit card, the whole process took less than five minutes. She was even busy chatting with her colleague next to her that she didn't even ask to look at the shoes I bought.

She gave me a receipt showing the amount credited to my credit card and that everything was done. I was able to pack my shoes in my suitcase before checking it in, so there was one less thing to carry.

And in my next credit card statement, the refund was credited. It made my expensive purchase easier to justify. Ha!

Picture of the Day: Mainland Tourists to Macau

Mainland tour groups are getting ready to board the ferry to Macau

This evening I headed to the Macau ferry terminal in Sheung Wan to get some ferry tickets for tomorrow, and I was shocked to see large groups of mainland tourists (on tours) crowding the departure area and talking loudly in their various dialects.

When I was buying my ferry tickets, I asked the woman behind the counter if it was like this everyday. She nodded and said, "Last night was even worse!" she exclaimed and added they had snapped up tickets until 10pm.

These tourists are waiting around with their luggage...

So there are more mainlanders going to Macau these days? She nodded again.

For a while there, the numbers dropped off as China was trying to stop capital flight, but these tourists are not high-end rollers, but tourists on their first visit to Hong Kong and Macau... can you tell?!

Cries for Sympathy Leave Bad Taste

This year there weren't fireworks to mark the start of the Year of the Dog

The Year of the Dog wasn't as boisterous this time with the cancellation of the fireworks on the second day of the new year.

It was the seventh day after 19 people died and 66 injured in a horrific bus crash in Tai Po and in Chinese tradition it is believed on that day the souls of the dead visit their loved ones for one last time.

Many restaurants like this one capitalize on the fireworks

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor made the right decision out of respect for the victims and their families, but that decision wasn't easy to make -- as expected local businesses were financially hit by the fireworks cancellation.

"On the surface, it seems like it would not be a big deal to cancel [the fireworks], but there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that travel agencies have to take care of... there are bound to be losses," tourism sector legislator Yiu Si-wing said on a radio show on Saturday.

Yiu added restaurants with a view of Victoria Harbour, where the fireworks are usually held, would be affected the most. "According to my understanding, one-third of the customers had backed out of their reservations," he said.

During the same radio program, Travel Industry Council chairman Jason Wong Chun-tat suggested the government should give priority to the affected industries if the government was going to organise any activities in the future.

Jason Wong hopes travel and restaurants get help in the future

Yes fireworks are a big deal in the city -- hundreds of thousands of people turn up on both sides of Victoria Harbour to get a good spot to watch them. Some make reservations at restaurants with a view, prepared to pay a bomb for their vantage point.

However with the cancellation of the pyrotechnic show, restaurants probably lost out the most, having ordered a lot of fresh (and expensive) ingredients beforehand and with many customers cancelling -- perhaps a bit to easily -- they took a big hit.

But these businesses were capitalizing on an event they didn't have to pay for in the first place. They would still have business (probably not at prices as jacked up) anyway because of the view.

Yiu says there are losses in the restaurant industry

More importantly, can we have some respect for the dead? For these legislators to hint there should be sympathy for the tourism and restaurant sectors is too much. Lives were lost -- can you put a price on that?

This also demonstrates how tough things are in the restaurant and tourism sectors to make a buck -- with rents sky high, customers are really paying the rent than enjoying good food and service at a decent price.

Many establishments are just trying to keep their heads above water these days as 2018 is going to be another challenging financial year.

The legislators were also probably hoping they could get the sympathy of Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po ahead of the upcoming budget speech at the end of the month. But he seems pretty tight lipped -- about everything.

Storm of the Year: Typhoon Hato

Trying to keep dry while Typhoon Hato lashes Lei Yue Mun waterfront

Hong Kong woke up to the strength of Typhoon Hato that was T8 around 5.30am and quickly went to T10 just after 9am.

My flat in Kennedy Town was very noisy thanks to the wind passing through the elevator shafts, howling louder than the wind outside. And at some points I could feel the building swaying -- not a lot, but enough to feel like things weren't quite steady.

Some storm watchers braved the severe weather conditions

I stayed home like most people, as buses, trams, ferries and outdoor MTR trains were stopped, including the Airport Express and hundreds of flights cancelled at the airport. Even the stock exchange was closed all day.

This was pretty much unprecedented, as us underlings have always had a theory that tycoons might have a hand in deciding the severity of the weather because they were in the business of making money.

Many typhoons have blown through overnight, or the T8 signal isn't raised until 5pm or 6pm when people were leaving work anyway.

But this time the typhoon really was severe, as there are videos on social media showing giant waves crashing into walls, flooded underground car parks, trucks tipping over, a revolving door spinning madly, and even hordes of cockroaches fleeing on a ledge.

There were many areas reporting extensive flooding

By around 5pm the signal was lowered to T3 and by 6.20 it was T1, and finally all signals lowered.

Some market analysts are calculating that the loss in business today was estimated between HK$4 billion to HK$8 billion. Those numbers include tourism, transportation, marine, financial services, agriculture, event organizing, entertainment, administration and import-export firms.

And even though some businesses managed to open, there were hardly any customers to serve because the weather conditions were so bad not many wanted to venture out.

I feel for shop owners and restaurants who lost a lot of business today, but this time the typhoon really was quite serious. The last time we had such a severe typhoon was in July 2012 when Typhoon Vincente hit.

Tonight Wan Chai MTR station was very quiet!

In any event all is calm again in Hong Kong and it's back to work and school for everyone tomorrow. But we'll all have stories about Typhoon Hato that we'll be telling for years to come.

Keeping Traditional Transport Alive

An iconic picture of the Star Ferry with Hong Kong Island in the distance

The tram and Star Ferry are iconic public transport in Hong Kong, and while tourists love to ride them and take photographs, and locals like the inexpensive fares, there are fewer and fewer young people willing to work in these two areas.

In the case of the Star Ferry, chief coxwain Chan Tsu-wing is 61 years old and has returned from retirement twice to help out the company.

Because he is the longest-serving employee, he has to manage subordinates, but he'd much rather be out in the water steering the ferry back and forth between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

Chief coxwain Chan Tsu-wing at the helm of the Star Ferry

"If we want to protect this cultural symbol of Hong Kong, we have to have successors," he says. "Fewer young people want to work in this field and we have no one to take our place. The most difficult thing for us is the lack of fresh talent. Nowadays, we would need to urge people to take license examinations. People today are not as hardworking as in the past."

While driving trams isn't as monotonous, as drivers need to keep a constant look out for pedestrians darting out into the street, while having to deal with all kinds of vehicles on the roads, not many young people are interested in this job either, preferring to work in an air conditioned office and make more money.

These jobs may seem monotonous, but imagine if Hong Kong didn't have the Star Ferry or trams anymore? That's why they need to be supported.

And this is where the Hong Kong government needs to step in. It should be subsidizing these two means of transport because they are a crucial part of the city's landscape.

Most people think it's easy to drive a tram -- think again

That way fares don't necessarily have to increase all the time, and people might have more incentive to appreciate them more. If people have decent salaries doing these jobs, then maybe they won't mind doing them so much?

Currently it's hard to find people willing to sit by the docks all day in all weather conditions to help dock and undock ferries, while tram drivers also have to deal with all kinds of weather conditions and mostly have to bundle up for winter, or sweat it out in the summer as most trams don't have air conditioning.

Ridership for both have dropped off considerably -- the Star Ferry when its Central location was moved several hundred metres away, and trams were hurt when three more stops on the MTR were added westward towards Kennedy Town.

Hong Kong and its people don't have enough appreciation for these old school means of transport. Will the government just let the companies kill off the trams and Star Ferries because one day they won't be feasible anymore?

"It is a pity that Hong Kong is not the sort of place that credits people for their knowledge and passion if it can't make money, says tram enthusiast Joseph Tse Yiu-hon, 36.

"Passengers are often happy with the low fare if HK$2.30 a ride and appreciate the fact that the century-old transport is still running on the streets, but it is easy to forget the faces of those who are actually continuing the legacy," he says.

The government should really look at subsidies to ensure the existence of these two means of public transport keep going well into the future.

Mickey Mouse Gets the Last Laugh

Disneyland has the upper hand in negotiations with Hong Kong

Hong Kong taxpayers are left holding the bag yet again thanks to Disneyland managing to bully us into shelling out HK$5.45 billion for an extension to the amusement park.

That's because the Hong Kong government is the biggest shareholder and was somehow unable to negotiate a fairer deal when Disneyland had a "take-it-or-leave-it" ultimatum.

Even lawmakers of all stripes felt the government should have gotten a better deal. They must be terrible negotiators.

The lawmakers said if the government was going to finance half of Disneyland's six-year renovation, it should be subject to better shareholding, financing and management arrangements with the entertainment corporation. But on Tuesday the Legislative Council's finance committee approved the funding by 30 to 24 votes.

Commerce minister Greg So says we did the best we could...

Pan-democrats had tried to filibuster, but after five months of bickering and lobbying, the government's funding application was passed.

"I am delighted that the finance committee approved the expansion plan," said Commerce Secretary Greg So Kam-leung. "We have gone through a lot of analysis. We have also pushed very hard in the negotiation. We believe that this package is really the best package that we can achieve."

Does anyone believe him?

Meanwhile Disneyland released a statement saying it was "grateful" to secure Legco support.

The HK$10.9 billion expansion project, with the other half financially covered by Disneyland, will start next year, and will have themed zones based on the animation hit Frozen, and Marvel superhero films, as well as a revamp of the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Many believe the partnership between the Hong Kong government and Disneyland is unequal, because the latter receives millions of dollars in royalties and management fees even though the park continues to lose money.

How about spending $5.45 billion on social housing instead?

Before the final vote, pro-establishment lawmakers rejected more than 40 motions by the pan-democrats, including requests to disclose more of the theme park's financial figures, give more discounts to Hong Kong people, as well as review further economic benefits to Hong Kong.

"We are very disappointed. I am sure it won't be the last time that Disneyland asks for money from Legco," says Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai, accusing those who approved the funding of ignoring public concerns.

Why is the government spending so much money on a money-losing proposition? One financial columnist even boldly suggested the Disneyland site should be bulldozed and made way for social housing. The infrastructure is already there!

The HK$5.45 billion could be better used in so many other ways, like revamping the education system and helping underprivileged children get the extra resources they need to have a decent education so that they can have a leg up in life.

That money could also be used for social housing, to build or convert brown sites into affordable housing for people so they don't have to live in subdivided flats.

But this isn't the foresight of the government, whose priority seems to be solely focused on tourists and not on the livelihoods of its own people.

Disneyland may like to describe itself to be the happiest place on earth, but not for Hong Kong taxpayers.

"Explosive Shopping" Evaporates in Japan

Mainlanders aren't snapping up as many products as they used to in Japan

Hong Kong isn't seeing as many big shoppers from the mainland, and it looks like the same is happening in Japan.

Mainlanders used to clear shelves there of all kind of products, from chocolates to toilet seats, a phenomenon the Japanese called bakugai, or "explosive shopping".

How come we in Hong Kong didn't come up with a term like that?

Like Hong Kong, Japan is seeing steady numbers of tourists from China, but they are more careful about where they spend their money. Last year they were the biggest spenders, splashing out about 227,800 yen per person (US$2,008), but that figure was down 18.9 percent from a year earlier.

Japanese toilet seats used to be a popular item for the Chinese

Visitors from Hong Kong spent even less, plunging 23.6 percent year on year.

"I would not say that the decline in spending by Chinese tourists has been 'dramatic', but it has come down quite a lot," says Martin Schulz, senior economist with the Fujitsu Research Institute.

"There are two primary reasons for this, the first of which is that the yen has become stronger and that has an immediate cost impact on tourists," he said.

"... the products Chinese tourists were buying in the Ginza -- the big suitcases, the heated toilet seats, the brand name cosmetics -- are all available in China now."

He also suggested Chinese travellers who have been to Japan before are going further afield in Japan, to places where there are fewer shopping opportunities, and are actually more interested in services, which Schulz says is good for high-end restaurants and hotels.

Mainlanders don't buy as much cosmetics as they used to

The only way there will be a second wave of bakugai is when the yen weakens again to the point where more Chinese visitors will be enticed to come to the Land of the Rising Sun, but he's not so optimistic.

Service staff are probably relieved at not having to deal with such a deluge of customers, but their bosses might be annoyed they didn't capitalize enough on bakugai.

Ditto could be said for Hong Kong...

Up The Peak for Sunset

Managed to capture the sunset from The Peak looking over Kennedy Town

Last night I saw an acquaintance's stunning picture of Hong Kong at dusk from The Peak on Instagram which inspired me to get up there too.

I didn't plan it out too well, but managed to get on the No. 13 Kotewall bus at 6.20pm in Central and made it up to the start of the Morning Trail on Kotewall Road at around 6.40pm.

It was still light at that time, but I knew sunset would happen soon. Most people were walking down The Peak, only me and two other women were walking up and I walked past them.

Hong Kong at dusk on the Morning Trail

The Morning Trail is a good workout, though the signage is quite amusing because it is posted every 100 metres.

Soon it started to get dark, and the trees illuminated by a bright orange glow from the sun.

Luckily there was a clearing at one point on the west side looking down on Kennedy Town and some local amateur photographers were taking pictures of the sunset and I joined in. A gweilo stood off to the side, trying to have his own private nature moment, while others chatted around him in Cantonese.

After several pictures, I continued on my way, and when there was a fork in the road where the path is flat, I made a sharp left turn to walk towards what YTSL calls "the money shot", where all the photographers come take pictures of Hong Kong in the evening.

Watching the sun go down on a clear (and hot!) day

Because the path was flat, I picked up the pace and soon got to one of the few photo sites, and as I kept going, there were more and more people, many speaking Putonghua.

I finally reached the Peak Galleria in 4.5km, and together with 5.5km running in the gym, it was a pretty good workout today.

I quickly wandered through the Peak Galleria, which is slated to be renovated in phases soon. The shopping mall has an eclectic selection of shops, from SaSa and Coach, to a small space with lots of toy vending machines crammed in it, a Japanese dollar store, a supermarket and a shop selling smartphone accessories.

Many mainland tourists capturing the scene below

It was time to go and the wait for public transport was really long -- I had to wait for three minibuses before I could get on, though the line-up for the No. 15 bus wound around the block and a massive line for the Peak Tram. Taxis did a brisk trade.

HK Financial Secretary Promotes Tourism

John Tsang (right) with some fencing students at La Salle College

Tourism is down in Hong Kong, with hotels offering cut rates on rooms -- even Disneyland is slashing its room rates in half -- and there are lots of shopping incentives -- if you have the money to spend.

To pitch in and do his part, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah is starring in a new mildly amusing video encouraging people to visit the city.

It starts off in his alma mater La Salle College where he is a fencing coach -- who knew Tsang was a fencer! -- and then he asks a group of students if they are talking about him.

They reply they talking about Hong Kong and one asks the senior official in a Cantonese pun, "Sir, would you tai sou?" which means "shave", referring to his moustache.

He doesn't miss a beat and instead says, "No, but I'll definitely tai show", or "watch a show".

Groan.

Then the video continues much like any other tourism video with flashy nightlife scenes, mouthwatering food, verdant hills, famous landmarks and so on.

Should we be impressed? Amused? Proud?

Just seems weird the Financial Secretary would do this, but then again practically everyone else in the administration is mired in mini scandals (Paul Chan Mo-po, Gregory So Kam-yuen), or burned out (Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor).

Then again Tsang is the one trying to promote his food truck idea too which is somewhat touristy...

Retail Sales Plunge in Hong Kong

Causeway Bay may look busy but who is actually shopping?

Retailers in Hong Kong are freaking out with sales plunging 13.6 percent in the first two months of the year, the biggest slump since 1999. More bad news is expected later in the year.

The Hong Kong Retail Management Association expects retailers to see double-digit decline in the first quarter, and end the year with a contraction in the high single digits.

Part of the reason is due to declining visitor figures, which dropped 13 percent in the past year. Those from the mainland fell 18 percent even though there was an increase of 7 percent in overseas visitors, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Supermarkets seem to be the best retail sector at the moment

Some expect large-scale layoffs and a string of shop closures this year if the situation doesn't improve.

In 20 retail categories surveyed, only supermarket goods recorded growth, expanding 0.2 percent in the first two months of 2016, while 13 other categories saw double-digit declines.

Thomson Cheng Wai-hung, chairman of the association, was very surprised people didn't splurge for Chinese New Year, adding that local consumption had softened.

"We were all shocked... People would not spend money even during Lunar New Year," he said.

The biggest slump was in jewellery, watches and other valuables that mainlanders typically came to Hong Kong to buy, followed by sales of clothing and department store goods, which shrank 11.4 percent and 12.3 percent respectively.

Jewellery and watch sales dropped in January and February

Cheng said many locals and tourists were more interested in spending their money outside of Hong Kong.

So many people are flocking to Japan to go shopping as the yen is weak and why not go to a place where the residents are polite, the streets are clean and food is delicious?

The second best places for value is Taiwan and Thailand.

While the slowing down of consumption isn't good for the Hong Kong economy, environmentalists must be thrilled people are spending less. And with supermarket sales going slightly up, that must mean more people are cooking at home, which is good for the waistline and the heart.

Perhaps reading enough stories about how fast fashion is not good for the environment, or people wanting to save money are reading about budgeting have led them to cut down on spending too.

Or am I being totally idealistic?

This year is not good for many sectors -- we're all in the same boat. But honestly, who was the one who thought Hong Kong should only concentrate on mainland clientele?

Nothing lasts forever...

Where's the Tourists?

Mickey Mouse must be wondering where all the tourists went...

The Hong Kong government is desperate for tourists.

This is even more evident now with Hong Kong Disneyland (of which the Hong Kong government is a main shareholder) reporting its first loss since 2011, with expectations that visitor numbers will drop even further this year.

This is unfortunately coinciding with the amusement park celebrating its 10th anniversary, as it lost HK$148 million last year, compared to HK$332 million in profits a year earlier.

The park has seen a drop of 23 percent fewer mainland visitors.

"This year will be difficult," said Andrew Kam, Hong Kong Disneyland's managing director. Total visitor numbers to the park were down 9.3 percent to 6.8 million in the fiscal year ending in October 2015 compared to the year before.

Ocean Park is also seeing its profits cut in half. For the fiscal year that ended last June, profit was down 53 percent at HK$45.2 million, and revenue fell slightly to HK$1.97 billion, a drop of HK$600,000 from the previous year.

Competitor Ocean Park has also seen a drop in visitors

Failed chief executive candidate Henry Tang Ying-yen believes the best thing to do is to open the floodgates to allow more mainlanders in Hong Kong. Is this really the solution? This will only get more localists enraged, but really, all those who have been to Disneyland and Ocean Park aren't interested in going again.

And besides, they are probably waiting for Shanghai's Disneyland to open in June, with domestic travel there much cheaper.

Who are we kidding?

Kam is trying to brush off the impending challenge, saying "once you've established your own brands, I think you don't need to worry about the competition", adding there was enough regional demand for both parks.

Really? Surely people will be more interested in Shanghai, as it's brand new and three times bigger.

This is a case of Hong Kong's authorities putting all of its eggs in one basket.

Depending on mainland tourists was naive and hardly prudent. The Hong Kong Tourism Board should have been promoting the city to every other viable market just as aggressively as the Chinese one.

Meanwhile dai pai dongs are a dying breed in the city

And now with the shocking violence that happened last Monday, who wants to go to Hong Kong? Wasn't it supposed to be a safe city?

The HKTB has a lot of work to do to repair the city's image, and also persuade the government that if it wants to bring more tourists in, Hong Kong needs to preserve its cultural heritage and that means street food.

Food is one of the best ways for people to understand a culture and what Hong Kong has to offer cannot be found anywhere else. To kill street food by putting so many restrictions on hawker licenses and dai pai dongs, is killing the city's culture and potential tourism draw.

Hong Kong people are so passionate about their food, why not make this a vital cultural industry? Originally these hawker foods existed to sustain a living, but some are very good and deserve to be encouraged to continue.

Tourists visit Taiwan and Singapore for the food, why not Hong Kong?

It's not all about shopping... and besides, tourism now is about memorable experiences.

Or did the HKTB not get that memo?

Picture of the Day: Nature Calls

The kid looks unfazed as he does a No. 1 in a plastic bag

I'd read lots of stories about mainland kids peeing in the MTR, but I had yet to see it with my own eyes -- until today.

This morning I was on my way to Tuen Mun, when on the train from Central to Nam Cheong, I could see a mainland family, with the grandparents looking over a boy who looked around three years old.

And then the grandparents started rifling through their bag and took a bowl and spoon out of a plastic bag, while the mother, who was sitting in the seat across came over the started undoing the child's pants.

I thought, No! This cannot be happening!

Soon the pants were down to his ankles and the plastic bag placed in front, that collected the bright yellow liquid...

Interestingly no one said anything -- the woman nearby didn't even notice -- too busy looking at her phone, while others just tried to mind their own business.

I just happened to practically have a front-row seat at this spectacle.

OK nature is calling, but I don't recall any Hong Kong kid doing this in the MTR. Ever.

Their parents would have already trained the child to go to the bathroom before getting on the train, or making them hold it until they arrived to their destination. That would teach children to make sure they do their business at the right time.

But not mainland kids.

If nature calls, then just let them go wherever they happen to be.

In the countryside this would not matter -- natural fertilizer is good anytime.

But we're in the city. In a fast-moving train.

Is it too much to ask for children of a certain age to be toilet-trained before they come to Hong Kong? Or elsewhere for that matter?

Tragedy of a Tourist

The jewellery store on the left was where the tourist was beaten up

It is shocking to hear that a mainland tourist died yesterday after trying to mediate a dispute between a fellow visitor and their tour guide.

Miao Chunqi, a 53-year-old construction contractor from northeastern Heilongjiang province was allegedly beaten unconscious by a gang of four men, thought to be mainlanders.

Together with 19 other visitors from China, Miao joined a tour that was probably cheap in price, but when they arrived, the group had to pay up the difference by buying up in a jewellery shop. The visitors were forced to stay inside and buy something, but a fellow tourist complained to the tour guide not wanting to purchase anything.

The two had a verbal altercation and Miao tried to mediate, but was attacked by four men believed to be mainlanders. The police source said: "Initial investigations showed he was dragged out of the shop and attacked again.

The "forced shopping" tour guide was arrested yesterday

The news of this tragic death has resulted in the Chinese tourism authority for Hong Kong to tell the local government to protect the rights of mainland visitors.

It goes to show the Leung Chun-ying administration is not doing a good enough job of keeping tabs on the situation. The authorities should be cracking down on cheap tours that rely more on shopping. Instead these nefarious tours seem to continue to exist, and now we've seen the ugly and tragic side of "forced shopping tours".

Now the Hong Kong tourism industry is concerned this incident will leave a dark stain, and already mainlanders have pledged online not to visit here.

The local tourism sector is already struggling, thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign that is scaring off big spenders, and now with this horrific incident, one wonders if any tourists from China will want to come here.

"Mainland tourists might lose interest and confidence in coming to Hong Kong," said Josephn Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council. He said tours involving shopping were highly sought after.

But tourism sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing, cautioned against jumping to conclusions. "Maybe it was about coerced shopping, or perhaps, personal remarks. We don't know what provoked the dispute."

Picture of the Day: Disneyland Resort

The marbled floor is decorated with... glass slippers...

This afternoon I visited the Disneyland Resort for work and it was my first time going to the place.

After taking the MTR to Sunny Bay then transferring trains to Disneyland in a Mickey Mouse-themed train, we went to the supposedly happiest place on earth.

In the early afternoon not many people went to the park, a few young families, and a number of mainlanders, though the train wasn't packed.

When we arrived, we headed to the shuttle to get to Disneyland Resort and caught it just as it was leaving; the bus driver wasn't too happy waiting for last-minute stragglers, complaining that now his schedule wouldn't be on time.

So perhaps not everyone is happy at Disneyland...

The Disneyland Resort doesn't have Mickey Mouse or anything decorating the outside of what looks like a massive villa complete with outdoor ceiling fans in the entrance, but inside it's a fairytale-like place with marble floors and faux European decor.

I need to get to the Grand Staircase Foyer and after walking down a corridor, behold! Massive chandeliers!

And down on the floor it indicates who this staircase is for!

Pictures of the Day: Water Fountain

Kids hanging out by the water fountain in front of Wynn Macau

People who work in Macau were telling me that it's busy because many families are here for summer holidays.

But you wouldn't know it by the roads that seemed relatively free of congestion, and hardly any taxis and cars pulling up into the casinos.

I came out of Wynn Macau just as the water fountain started up and Frank Sinatra started singing Luck Be a Lady in the speakers.

Taking in the water show a la Frank Sinatra

The few mainland Chinese visitors around gathered to stare at the water fountain that seemed to dance and sway with the music.

While watching a dancing fountain was probably not new, did they know who was singing and what the lyrics were about?

Written in 1950 by Frank Loesser, the song was featured in Guys and Dolls where a gambler, Sky Masterson, hopes he will win a bet, the outcome of which will determine whether or not he is able to save his relationship with the girl of his dreams.

The song became a signature hit for Sinatra.

After the song was over and the fountain stopped shooting water, kids started leaning on the edge and playing with the water.

"很好玩的," they said. "This is lots of fun."

The good fortune of enjoying simple pleasures.

Depreciating the Yuan

The Chairman Maos aren't worth as much as they used to be...

The value of the Chinese yuan dropped for the second day in a row, following a 1.9 percent drop yesterday, and 1 percent today, making it the biggest two-day fall since 2005 when the yuan was unpegged from the US dollar and moved to be valued against a "basket of currencies".

In Hong Kong this meant that yuan deposits fell by a staggering HK$32.6 billion in a book value of 1 trillion yuan deposits.

However the chief economist of China's central bank, Ma Jun, said there was no need to worry.

"Based on fundamentals, our key economic data all supported a stable yuan," said Ma, of the People's Bank of China, in a commentary in the People's Daily. "China's economic fundamentals obviously fare much better than those economies which face huge pressure to devalue their currencies."

But perhaps the sudden move is to help jump start the country's export markets, particularly car and textile companies to become more competitive, and people buying Chinese goods abroad will find the prices cheaper. Tourists traveling to the Middle Kingdom will find the cost cheaper too.

Nevertheless, this does not bode well (if this drop continues) for those companies exporting to China, particularly luxury goods, as the Chinese will find them even more expensive, while domestic companies that have foreign currency debt will feel the pinch having to pay in dollars.

We will have to see what the fallout is, and how long it is sustained, but everyone gets nervous when China suddenly changes tack without much explanation. If this move is to spur the country's economy, it's a big risk the PBOC is taking...

Picture of the Day: Mainland Tourists

A Chinese visitor climbing Mont Saint-Michel in high heels

Throughout our trip in France we didn't see hordes of mainland tourists like I had read about before, though we did see lots of them in Galeries Lafayette with shopping bags.

As usual they were loud, though they didn't think they were. Many spoke various dialects and hard to tell exactly where they were from. Most looked like they were in their 40s and 50s, not sophisticated, but made sure they bought the right luxury brands.

However at Mont Saint-Michel, the abbey on the rock in Normandy, we saw a group of mainland tourists climbing up the over 270 steps with us -- and one of them was in high heels. It reminded me of stories in Chinese state media years ago warning visitors not to wear heels when walking along the Great Wall to avoid injuries.

One would think it would be an obvious choice to wear comfortable shoes when sightseeing, but for this young woman -- complete with yellow duck backpack -- heeled sandals and a dress are appropriate holiday wear...

Guanyin, Goddess of Lifesaving

Guanyin standing in her colourful tiled robes on a lotus flower in Repulse Bay

Today I got a chance to visit Repulse Bay, and with blue skies, and 32 degrees it was hot! The place was crawling with tourists, their coaches parked outside by the newest development, The Pulse.

It's a sleek shopping/lifestyle/dining destination that is perfect for the summer months, though can it sustain during the winter? It has some hip dining spots, a cool gym and yoga studio, and lots of options for kids.

Near her is this happy Buddha sculpture

Next to this complex though is a quirky place. It's where Guanyin or the Goddess of Mercy stands in her mosaic-tiled glory, several feet high. There's a quasi-looking temple building behind her, but it's really the Hong Kong Lifesaving Society clubhouse. Inside it are several glass-door fridges filled with cold drinks.

We noticed some Thai tourists who prayed in front of the Guanyin statue, and purposely rubbed some statues, probably in the hopes of good luck. There were also mini shrines with Thai script on them too.

The Goddess of Mercy is not related to the sea, but the society seems to have adopted her as the Goddess of Lifesaving.

And then there were lots of statues, like twin lions, horses, and so on, as well as tablets, each bearing plaques to explain who donated them and when, from British government officials from colonial times to wealthy local donors. These stone gifts were haphazardly placed so there was no rhyme or reason to where they were placed.

Nevertheless, further down from the Guanyin statue are more colourful tiled ones shaped like fish and people, creating a really kitsch sight.

Across from her is an emperor-like statue, also made of tiles

It reminds me of the Tiger Balm Garden in Tai Hang, that was Hong Kong's original amusement park, but that is long gone after then owner Sally Aw Sian sold the property to Cheung Kong, Li Ka-shing's company in 1998...