[sylvesterjay]

Readers Digest and CNN say so!

The CNN story even talks about my biggest pet peeve, locals rushing to get on the MTR before others have the chancet to get off.

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/arti...233162,00.html

See http://edition.cnn.com/
"Why HK is one of the rudest places on earth" in the Video listings

[KnowItAll]

>> locals rushing to get on the MTR before others have the chancet to get off

Let us not just accuse the local population of being rude. Hong Kong has a way of inspiring rudeness from everyone. I've grown immune to the button pushing and rushing into the MTR / lifts.. but what I cannot deal with are the westerns being rude to anyone they perceive as asian.

You'd be surprised how many rude phone calls we get in our office. One so called pillar of society kept insisting that he wanted to talk to my boss, assuming that I was the office help, because I am Indian. Finally had to tell him ... "listen, just because I answer the phones does not mean I cannot own the company".

I seriously doubt this individual would have behaved the same way in his home country (UK).

For some reason everyone thinks they can get away with impoliteness in Hong Kong (even I fall into this category when I've had a bad day...)...

[discobay]

Yes the rushing into the MTR thing is annoying but not as much as the queue jumpers queuing up inline with the doors.
I get a kick out of watching the "runners" slipping and falling, knocking innocent "walkers" or being slammed out by the closing doors.
The video clip of CNN's Anjali Rao finishes off nicely with two doors closing on her and her not too surprised expression.

[sylvesterjay]

True, I have heard the stories of FILTH (failed in London, try HK) and their behaviour towards the "colonials"

[Lammarite]

I helped a woman up the stairs yesterday with her pram and she had a look of total surprise on her face!

Basic manners are definitely missing here such as holding a door open for people behind you-especially when the person in front held it open for you.
Shri, I have seen a similar thing when I worked for a female boss in Dubai- everyone came to me instead of her and talked through her to me presuming she was my secretary in my office cleaning my desk while I was sitting at someone else's desk!

[Max]

Originally Posted by Lammarite

I helped a woman up the stairs yesterday with her pram and she had a look of total surprise on her face!

Basic manners are definitely missing here such as holding a door open for people behind you-especially when the person in front held it open for you.

You're not alone Lammarite. What really ticks me off is when people fail to even ACKNOWLEDGE your efforts. I remember a few months ago when I was walking down a busy street near the Central Market and saw this elderly woman dragging a basket of vegetables (potatoes) that suddenly keeled over and spilled its contents on the sidewalk. I promptly helped her pick up most of them and put it back into her basket. She just walked away without even the slightest note of thanks! Instead choosing to grumble about how much time was wasted! Sheesh! talk about sincerity!

More often than not i get the same muted reaction when I hold open doors for anyone or even let the person behind me in a queue go first because they're accompanying older passengers or with children or pregnant women! At least a simple 'thank you' (even in Canto, I'm not picky ) would have sufficed!

[jimbo]

Max

Don't even bother trying to help anymore, I get the same thing all the time too so I no longer bother.

The only time I ever do something is if I offer my seat on the MTR to somebody elderly and thats as far as I go to help nowadays.

[sylvesterjay]

HK is good about their public service announcements...maybe the government should kick off a manners campaign, but do you think anyone would listen?

The Readers Digest poll listed Seoul right near the bottom, and when I was teaching English in Korea the manager said she wanted to start teaching manners to the kids. I snickered and thought to myself, how is she going to do that, when she is one of the most ignorant people I had ever met. Sweetie, ya kinda need to know what manners are before you can teach them!

I also always had to remind the kids to wash their hands after using the toilet and always the second refrain..."did you use soap?" as they wheeled around and went back

[jayinhongkong]

It's definitely true about NY'ers being polite. When I used to fly back to HK through Narita, I knew I was going back to HK because everyone would be fighting to squeeze into the line and bumping each other around. Be it ever so crazy, there's no place like home.

[fly]

Hey, I like that one. Now I just have to work it into a conversation involving chavs and asbo...

Originally Posted by sylvesterjay

True, I have heard the stories of FILTH (failed in London, try HK) and their behaviour towards the "colonials"