A Different Convenience

Hong Kong is the weirdest place to live when it comes to getting ahold of household items.

When I needed caulk, I couldn't go to a big box store like I could in Canada, where all home repair items were under one roof. I had to find a street in Wan Chai where a bunch of paint stores were all grouped together.

When I wanted a new faucet for the kitchen sink, I had to go to the plumbing shops on Lockhart Road. When I needed an office chair, I found it in a row of office supply stores in Tin Hau.

On the other hand, other items are easy to locate. If I want to get a key cut or buy a fluorescent bulb, it takes less than 60 seconds. I can have a beer in a pub in less than two minutes, or 20 seconds should I choose the one across the street. I can buy a power strip in under three minutes and computer parts in less than ten minutes.

Once I got used to the system I found many things I needed in the little shops around the corner. Heck, I can buy toilet paper in less than 30 seconds if it runs out. Now that's convenience!

Businesses get their goods delivered by small trucks, including the wet markets. The seafood is alive when it arrives, as the Chinese prize freshness in their food. At first it seemed odd to see bamboo baskets filled with vegetables on the back of a truck, but I came to understand the efficiency of the system. This is how a city of 6.8 million people survives.

I can buy most things I need within a ten-minute walking distance of my home. I don't need to drive anywhere. I don't have a car, nor do I need one.

Not everything is convenient, but most things are; I just needed time to get used to the system.

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