Funnel in the Fumes

Asia is a contradiction; Laos, Cambodia appear to be largely untouched from the western world - I know this from Cathay Pacific travel documentaries... but China and Hong Kong are out of control.

There is a weird change of culture where all the people on the island are very Environmentally savvy. They save bags, use public transport, filter air inside units / hotels, wear masks; and, promote the saving of paper in public toilet cubicles but seem to miss the big ticket items.

There are hundreds of taxi's on the road, and air-conditioning EVERYWHERE; but even worse the Pearl River Delta has cranked out so much pollution Australia has issued a travel warning to Hong Kong - the worst of it is at Causeway Bay (main shopping and eating district):

Contributing to the problem is Hong Kong's location in southern China's Greater Pearl River Delta region, home to at least 57,500 factories and 99 million people, according to the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.

"Factory of the World" trumpets the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, in referring to the Pearl River Delta on a Web site dedicated to branding Hong Kong as "Asia's world city."

The region is an economic powerhouse, generating exports of $519 billion in 2005, according to the government - rivaling those of entire Asian countries. In turn, half of Hong Kong's GDP stems from the producer services sector, which supports manufacturers' operations in the Pearl River Delta, according to the Federation of Hong Kong Industries report.

Added to the factories and the power plants are more than 225,000 vessels that arrive in Hong Kong's port, one of the world's busiest, the think tank Civic Exchange points out. The Hong Kong Marine Department put last year's figure at more than 230,000. Throw in Hong Kong's tall buildings and narrow roads, and a "street canyon effect" forms that traps air pollutants and mixes with local emissions from vehicles on the streets, according to Civic Exchange.

Rapid urbanization around the region has led to a land-sea breeze system that further traps the pollutants, according to both the Hong Kong Observatory and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

This is a photo from CyberPort, one of the cleanest regions in the south of the islands, as you can see I am in flavour country:

And yes, on top of that people STILL eat McDonalds - even with all the supercheap and healthy food here. Our local restaurant "Ho Yuen" is about a third of the price, BYO and no MSG.

May and I even caught the Macca's delivery man - from his gear I think he may double as a paramedic. Now that's saving on travel costs (think of the environment - you eat, I resuscitate).

I made him stand in the corner... for shame!