In the interests of being fair...

Hong Kong vs. Manila....round four (I think!)

there are some areas where Manila does have the edge over Hong Kong..

non-smoking restaurants...whilst in Manila I appreciate being able to enjoy my food and wine without sucking up a load of second hand cigarette smoke...being back in HKG reminded me of just what an awful experience it is...

shopping...in Manila whenever you go into a department store they ask you to 'deposit your bags' (more to stop theft than to be helpful - however...)...I used to think it was a real pain...however, when you are doing a lot of shopping it is a good idea...particularly if you can leave it all there and come back later to collect it....whilst doing my bit for HKG's economy last Saturday a 'deposit your bag' service would have been a good addition.

smiling...when you have been in the Philippines and Thailand...it really brings home how little the average Hong Konger smiles....I know everyone's busy rushing around and making money...but the odd smile from a shop assistant would not go amiss!

noise level...although the gatherings of domestic helpers in Central and Sai Kung would contradict what I am about to say...the 'human' noise factor in Manila is much lower than in Hong Kong...I always forget that wall of human noise that envelops you in Hong Kong!

level of English...I think I can safely say that the level of English spoken in Hong Kong continues to drop dramatically...Hong Kong seems to be lagging behind even the Mainland at this stage..let alone somewhere like the Philippines or our main 'competitors', Singapore.