It’s officially summer — the best time to be in Hong Kong. The skies are blue, the air is clean, visibility is excellent, and it’s hot hot hot. It is a real shame that this kind of weather doesn’t last. Not necessarily the heat, but the clear skies. The winter brings a change of wind which push all the air pollution to Hong Kong, and things get very grey and yucky and you don’t even want to look out the window, much less go outside.

An old friend from Trinidad just moved to Hong Kong with his wife and they think it is fantastic. Everywhere you look, the view is gorgeous. They must be thinking, what is she complaining about? What pollution?

Looking outside now, with fluffy blue clouds and bright skies, it’s hard to imagine it being any other way. So to illustrate, I’d like to show you the difference between a good, unpolluted day in Hong Kong, and a badly polluted day. I’ve taken these pictures in my neighborhood standing in the same exact spot, about a month apart. You make the comparison and see for yourself. Also please note these pictures have not been doctored or enhanced in any way.

I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that people really don’t want to go outside on bad days. it’s such a shame because Hong Kong is an incredibly beautiful, lush, mountainous place. It’s just such a shame that the air pollution is such a big problem. This is one of the big reasons we are leaving here. Hong Kong has a lot to offer and provides a really high quality of life. If only it was more of the good days and less of the bad days, Hong Kong would be a great place to stay and settle down for good.