From Hanoi we flew to Hong Kong. This is an entirely different place and reality. When they toot in Hong Kong it is often loud and long, and there is no confusing the message intended.
Hong Kong greeted us with rain - lots of it. There were a number of Amber Alert rain days while we were there. Amber requires pre schools to close. Red is next - a Red rain warning requires schools to close. Many businesses will also. Black rain warning means the city pretty much completely shuts down. The rain is heavy - as in big heavy drops - and hard. One major concern is the plastic umbrella bags they have at every shop entrance. You slot your umbrella in, go inside, shop, then dump it on the way out, before repeating the whole process with a new bag at the next shop. No wonder plastic is a problem.
Look out if you don’t though. Hong Kong is incredibly safety conscious. Some Examples - Escalators - there are audio safety warnings to get on carefully, to hold the rail the whole time, to advise you the safety rail is sanitised frequently, to NOT walk on the escalator, to be careful getting off, to be careful with your bags on the escalator and so on. There are signs stating all of this and more in English and Chinese on every escalator also - just in case you missed the audio.
Steps - little steps have signs warning they are steps and they are dangerous
Wet and slippery floors - shops have moppers constantly mopping up moisture, they have untold floor blowers blowing warm air across the floor to clear moisture, there are mats, warning signs everywhere about slippery floors and people making sure your wet umbrella is bagged.
Accommodation in Hong Kong is a challenge. It has a law to ensure a very high percentage of green space is maintained on the island, so the remaining space is at an absolute premium - therefore everything is incredibly crowded, cramped and expensive. We were in a flat that was a foot longer than me and 1.5 times my length in the other direction. The toilet and handbasin were in the small shower cubicle. The mattress was the hardest I have ever slept on. There was barely room to turn round with our bags in the room. There was an electric jug but it had soapy water in it - apparently boiling your undies in the jug really is a thing, hence we have not made a single cup of tea all trip. We were on the tenth floor with untold other cubicles above around and below us. There was bamboo scaffolding outside our window all the way up to 15th floor and it was all tied together with string. Since window wouldn’t lock and metal security grill was half unscrewed (two of four screws that is) I didn’t feel particularly good about leaving belongings in the flat.
We hadn’t had any rain until Hong Kong - and neither had Hong Kong until we arrived apparently - but the Hong Kong weather gods seemed determined to make up for lost time.
We spent several days - including early morning staff meetings and late night school presentations - at Kowloon Junior School. We gained - and shared - lots of great ideas. It was an absolute educational highlight to spend so much valuable time there.
We couldn’t do a great deal in Hong Kong outside of school due to a few issues - heavy rain, crowds and a bug. On our last full day we did make it out to Disneyland - it was a cool day. It was very similar to Disneyland in Los Angeles, except for the signs in Chinese, and the attendants also in Chinese.
One of the best things about Hong Kong accommodation is it made us so appreciative of everywhere else. | 
