Summer's hot in HK
But anyone that has been to Hong Kong knows that even though it’s over 30 degrees, you still need to bring some sort of light jacket with you. For those who don’t know, Hong Kongers love cold air-condtioning. Well, ok, probably not love, but expect, but it’s the norm, walking in from hot, humid outdoors to fridge-like indoors of plazas, offices, restaurants, buses, trains… you name it.
Recent news has picked up on this:
- Beeb’s HK aircon is too cold
- CNN HK cold war heats up
- The HK Standard’s conned by air-con
- Yahoo News
Even Friends of the Earth has a “press release”:http://www.foe.org.hk/welcome/geten.asp?id_path=1,%207,%2028,%20150,%202924,%203002 about it. But anyone who goes to Hong Kong instantly notice the pungent smells, the hot sticky humid air clinging to you as instant as walking out of the air-con room. It’s an experience, and not a pleasant one at that. The air feels thick, and hard to breathe sometimes. It feels hotter as you get closer to the city, because of air-cons.
I know my grandparents who live in the New Territories, will not turn on air-con at all, and let the breeze come through the windows and doors. It’s also rather noisy (well, if you get the expensive ones, they are not as noticable), and suck up electricity. I notice it when I go to Hong Kong, I cannot stick the heat, and it’s understandable to have them, but not freezing temperatures. It’s a great way to get a cold, and having a cold in that weather is not fun, especically if you are on holiday!
If a law is brought in to restrict how low the temperature is, I would totally be behind it. Making yourself comfortable is one thing, but this is just too extreme.
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