Here at Howzit-HongKong.com, we’ve been moerse (very) impressed at the effort put in by the South African Consulate in Hong Kong in promoting our country’s honour of hosting the world for the FIFA Football World Cup in June 2010. 

Local Hong Kong businesses have joined the party and added their own events to the groundswell in anticipation of the world’s biggest sports event back home.

It is more than clear that world-wide, South Africa, and in a wider scale… Africa, is currently the flavour of the month.

I regularly visit the new K11 Mall near my apartment and have been impressed at the levels the promotions department of Hong Kong (and the world’s) only Art Mall have gone to in promoting Africa and South Africa.  In late March, K11 hosted a South African dance troupe to kick-off their Africa focus.  All over the Mall, exhibits and fotographs featuring Africa can be seen while their frontline promotions staff are all kitted out in African-print uniforms. 

Last week, I popped in to the Jason’s Grocery Store at K11 for my weekly provisions and took the following pictures:

The K11 frontline staff are dressed in African-style uniforms:

Well done K11 Mall!  You are playing your part in focussing local attention on South Africa in 2010!

This kind off African/South African-promotional initiative is but one of the un-recorded spin-offs of the FIFA 2010 World Cup that often go un-noticed.  Howzit-HongKong.com can only hope that local events like this will in the future help to welcome more Hong Kongers, Mainland Chinese and other Asians to South Africa.

That, for us, will be the REAL benefit and legacy of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ke Nako. It’s our time.

Mike Jansen

K11 is a high-rise building located in Hanoi Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon developed by New World Developments.  Underground it can be accessed via the pedestrian walkway from the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR towards Tsim Sha Tsui East MTR.  The building features a 340 000 square-foot, 6-storey shopping centre beneath the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong.

While I was living in Taiwan, a colleague used to tell stories of his days spent in Chungking Mansions.  He was travelling on a “backpackers budget” and Chungking was the only the place he could afford.   In a city where space for accommodation (both for locals and tourists) come at a premium, Chungking Mansions is universally known as probably the cheapest place to live in Hong Kong.

Wikipedia describes it as: “a labyrinth of guesthouses, curry restaurants, African bistros, clothing shops, sari stores, and foreign exchange offices. It often acts as a large gathering place for some of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, particularly South Asians (Indians, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), Middle Eastern people, Nigerians, Europeans, Americans, and many other peoples of the world.”

I have not stayed at Chungking Mansion, but must admit that I do like to go there to buy some otherwise hard-to-get South Asian spices, fresh vegetables and other products.  When I do venture out there, I’m always amazed at the long lines that form at the elevators.  Bear in mind that air conditioning on the ground floor is virtually non-existant and in the height of summer this place could be unbearable.  “Melting pot” then takes on a whole different smell!  However, the queues that form also tells me that the place is also very popular, especially with budget-conscious travellers. 

My visits to Chungking Mansions have also be limited to the ground floor mall, so I cannot tell you what it looks like upstairs.  However, while research Chungking on the internet, I came across this informative video (posted 2 years ago):

Stay tuned for a first-hand account, right here on Howzit-HongKong.