Dinner was a success.  Our stomachs were full and content.  The team was enjoying community around couches in the Dean flat, much like every Thursday night in Hong Kong.  In that living room flat, we were drawn to a fantastic coffee table book that allowed us to travel around the world through picture and word for the next hour. We visited Afghanistan, South Africa, Brazil,  Guatemala and Thailand to name a few, all from the comfort of a couch and without jet lag haunting us or long airport security lines to wait in. Eventually we finished up by flipping to Hong Kong, naturally, right? Most of the facts and figures we knew:

  • Close to 7 million people live in Hong Kong, check.
  • It’s home to one of the most famous (and beautiful) skylines, check.
  • Hong Kong is a city that never sleeps, check.
  • The MTR (mass transit railway) services close to 3 million people per day, check.
  • You’re always aware of a constant lack of personal space, check.
  • Dumplings, dim sum and high tea are a “must do” when visiting, check.

“Hong Kong consumes more oranges than anywhere else on earth,” huh? Did you know that one? More than ANYWHERE else on earth! Now, it’s nothing extremely profound, but that’s why “fun facts” are called… “fun.”

Here’s what WIKI had to say about another way oranges are used in HK:

Religious and funerary supplies

In keeping with Buddhist and Taoist funeral traditions, Chinese specialty shops also sell incense and funeral items which provide material comfort in the afterlife of the deceased. Shops sell specially-crafted replicas of small paper houses, paper radios, paper televisions, paper telephones, paper jewelry, and other material items. They also sell “hell money” or currency notes. These items are intended to be burned in a furnace.

These businesses also sell red, wooden Buddhist altars and small statues for worship. Per Chinese custom, an offering of oranges are usually placed in front of the statue in the altar. Some altars are stacked atop each other. These altars may be found in many Chinese businesses.

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Lonely Planet The Travel book.

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