Escalator CF, Hong Kong Edition

[Midorikawa]

For those who don't know, my new job as a Senior Systems Administrator takes me to places like Hong Kong (and maybe Tokyo soon) for server installs and other fun things. I've been here in Hong Kong for a week and a few days, and leave saturday morning. In the mean time, here's some sightings.

So, it seems Americans aren't the only ones completely oblivious to everything around them. We'll start small, and go to the uber.

Would you JUST MOVE?!
I'm walking through the subway tunnel, trying to get to a market before it closes. I'm in a hurry. In front of me is a lady of about 25 walking slowly and talking on her phone. All other walkway is taken with oncoming foot traffic.

*I step to the right to walk around her*
*lady on phone mindlessly steps to the right*
*I step to the left to walk around her.*
*lady on phone mindlessly wanders to the left, and stops REALLY short.*
*I slam on the brakes, and go to pass on the right again*
*lady moves to the right, still on her phone, and still oblivious of the white guy behind her who almost steamrolled her*
Me: *growling* WOULD YOU MOVE ALREADY?!
*lady looks startled and moves*

-------

Street Vendor asshattery

I'm walking down the street after a long day in crowded areas. I'm feeling claustrophobic, and trying to avoid large groups of people. I walk up to a crosswalk, and stand in the least densely populated area to wait for my turn to cross, when...

Hawker: Copy watch sir?
Me: *shakes head, says no, and goes back to staring ahead*
Hawker: You sure? I have fake rolex *yadda yadda. I tune him out at this point.*
Me: *gets tired of hearing him, glares at him, and moves away*
Hawker: *jumps in front of me, shoves 2 watches in my face, and insists I take a look. At this point, I freak out at the close proximity.*
Me: OY! FUCK OFF! *moves quickly to less close quarters area*
Hawker: HOW RUDE! *stomps off*

------

...and finally,
Escalator Pileup

I'm leaving the subway, on the escalator going up. About 6-8 people in front of me is a couple hogging the entire escalator and yammering back and forth, oblivious to all around them. The couple reach the top of the escalator, step off the moving platform, and STOP, blocking everyone. The normally pushy people around me (at least 3 people in front of me forced their way past to get on the escalator in the first place) all of a sudden go really polite, and try to keep from bumping into the couple.

As you can imagine, I have nowhere to go but up, as does everyone around me. The people pile up into a huge mass of human, that eventually starts to topple over the edge of the escalator. About this point, I feel about like Indiana Jones running from the rolling boulder in the intro of Temple of Doom...except I can't run. Fortunately, the people piling up in front of me collapse on the escalator platform in a waving, cursing mass of human, and I'm able to side step as I reach the top. As I get to the couple, they walk off, still completely oblivious to the massive wreck they caused, talking back and forth.

Until the other day, I thought it was a purely American thing to do this with, but my eyes have been opened. >_<

People suck, and I'm ready to hide in my condo for a few weeks.

[nicolecj]

For those who don't know, my new job as a Senior Systems Administrator takes me to places like Hong Kong (and maybe Tokyo soon) for server installs and other fun things. I've been here in Hong Kong for a week and a few days, and leave saturday morning. In the mean time, here's some sightings.

So, it seems Americans aren't the only ones completely oblivious to everything around them. We'll start small, and go to the uber.

Would you JUST MOVE?!
I'm walking through the subway tunnel, trying to get to a market before it closes. I'm in a hurry. In front of me is a lady of about 25 walking slowly and talking on her phone. All other walkway is taken with oncoming foot traffic.

*I step to the right to walk around her*
*lady on phone mindlessly steps to the right*
*I step to the left to walk around her.*
*lady on phone mindlessly wanders to the left, and stops REALLY short.*
*I slam on the brakes, and go to pass on the right again*
*lady moves to the right, still on her phone, and still oblivious of the white guy behind her who almost steamrolled her*
Me: *growling* WOULD YOU MOVE ALREADY?!
*lady looks startled and moves*

-------
...and finally,
Escalator Pileup

I'm leaving the subway, on the escalator going up. About 6-8 people in front of me is a couple hogging the entire escalator and yammering back and forth, oblivious to all around them. The couple reach the top of the escalator, step off the moving platform, and STOP, blocking everyone. The normally pushy people around me (at least 3 people in front of me forced their way past to get on the escalator in the first place) all of a sudden go really polite, and try to keep from bumping into the couple.

As you can imagine, I have nowhere to go but up, as does everyone around me. The people pile up into a huge mass of human, that eventually starts to topple over the edge of the escalator. About this point, I feel about like Indiana Jones running from the rolling boulder in the intro of Temple of Doom...except I can't run. Fortunately, the people piling up in front of me collapse on the escalator platform in a waving, cursing mass of human, and I'm able to side step as I reach the top. As I get to the couple, they walk off, still completely oblivious to the massive wreck they caused, talking back and forth.

Until the other day, I thought it was a purely American thing to do this with, but my eyes have been opened. >_<

People suck, and I'm ready to hide in my condo for a few weeks.

It seems like in both of these stories simply saying a polite 'excuse me' would have alleviated the situations without all the angst...

[Midorikawa]

I actually did, in both cases. Due to the (VERY) thick language barrier at times, and both culprits being otherwise busy ignoring the world around them, me trying to get the attention of a willfully ignorant person in a language they don't speak didn't work.

The 6-8 guys in front of me on the escalator tried to get their attention, and all it got them was balled up in a mass of cursing human. I heard angry sounding words in chinese, and cursing in german and french as well as my own cursing in english.

[Syriilord]

Would you JUST MOVE?!
I'm walking through the subway tunnel, trying to get to a market before it closes. I'm in a hurry. In front of me is a lady of about 25 walking slowly and talking on her phone. All other walkway is taken with oncoming foot traffic.

*I step to the right to walk around her*
*lady on phone mindlessly steps to the right*
*I step to the left to walk around her.*
*lady on phone mindlessly wanders to the left, and stops REALLY short.*
*I slam on the brakes, and go to pass on the right again*
*lady moves to the right, still on her phone, and still oblivious of the white guy behind her who almost steamrolled her*
Me: *growling* WOULD YOU MOVE ALREADY?!
*lady looks startled and moves*

This happens everywhere. I'm in Ireland and I can have this happen to me in an otherwise empty walkway. I have willingly stepped onto the road just to avoid these oblivious numbnuts, but I'm worried that they might be getting wise to that and will start blocking me there as well.

[PepperElf]

This is why I love Japan. They have an unspoken rule there: you stand on one side of the escalator only. That way people who are in a hurry can dash up the other side. It's SO efficient - I wish they did it in the states too.

[tollbaby]

This is why I love Japan. They have an unspoken rule there: you stand on one side of the escalator only. That way people who are in a hurry can dash up the other side. It's SO efficient - I wish they did it in the states too.

I don't know about the US, but we do it in Canada. You stand on the right, and walk up or down on the left.

[LadyAndreca]

I don't know about the US, but we do it in Canada. You stand on the right, and walk up or down on the left.

You're SUPPOSED to do it in NYC, and not doing it will get you cursed at by people who want you to.

[Mikkel]

[QUOTE=PepperElf;898200]They have an unspoken rule there: you stand on one side of the escalator only./QUOTE]
In the London Underground it isn't unspoken. "Stand to the right".

[Ironclad Alibi]

This is why I love Japan. They have an unspoken rule there: you stand on one side of the escalator only. That way people who are in a hurry can dash up the other side. It's SO efficient - I wish they did it in the states too.

In my experience in the DC area, that rule is usually observed in the US, on escalators that are wide enough for passing. But SCs use escalators everywhere.

[Andara Bledin]

This is why I love Japan. They have an unspoken rule there: you stand on one side of the escalator only. That way people who are in a hurry can dash up the other side. It's SO efficient - I wish they did it in the states too.

It's supposed to work like that in the US, too.

^-.-^

[Shalom]

[QUOTE=Mikkel;898247]

They have an unspoken rule there: you stand on one side of the escalator only./QUOTE]
In the London Underground it isn't unspoken. "Stand to the right".

I'd think in the UK it would be the opposite, no? Stand to the left, walk on the right?

[Midorikawa]

[QUOTE=Shalom;898506]

I'd think in the UK it would be the opposite, no? Stand to the left, walk on the right?

See, most people here in HK do stand to the right, thus my "hogging the entire escalator" comment. And, being that people here drive on the wrong left side of the road, not the right, standing on the right seems odd, but whatever.

Another quick observation: There's no real established "standard" for how they want you to walk through a walkway. Some subway tunnels are marked to walk on the left side, some are marked to walk on the right, some aren't marked, and people walk whereever. it's rather amusing to watch people suddenly switch sides because the tunnel changed from wanting you on the left to wanting you on the right, causing a traffic CF in the middle of an already crowded subway tunnel.

[Mikkel]

I'd think in the UK it would be the opposite, no? Stand to the left, walk on the right?

Not my quote, but the rule is to stand on the right and not the left, even though they drive in the wrong side .

[Midorikawa]

Not my quote, but the rule is to stand on the right and not the left, even though they drive in the wrong side .

Yeah. I think the extra quote tags in Shalom's post got things twisted around. That's what I get for not proofreading my post before posting...that and reading work documentation while posting here. :-P

[Lucky Charm]

When I was in the UK it took about a minute to get used to the "stand on the right, walk on the left" thing (unfortunately we don't have that in suburban NY) It eventually to to the point that when friends and family would visit we would warn them not to be "esca-lefters"