LettersLife in the fast lane for a slow walker in Hong Kong: things can turn scary

The MTR earlier brainwashed commuters into standing on the right and walking on the left on escalators. Now that they have realised this wears out escalators, they are changing their tune – don’t walk on escalators. But the habit is deep-rooted and there is no lack of walkers in a rush.

In my experience, even those who choose to stand on the right will still walk past and then stand in front of me. I thought it was because of Hongkongers’ habit of wanting to get ahead. But it was explained to me that I am slow and that they fear I may stumble at the end of the ride on the escalator, so they have to overtake me to avoid bumping into me.

It’s the pedestrians, though, who are really scary. They walk at a quick pace towards me as if to bump into me, only to sashay past at the last minute. So this slow walker always stays close to the wall side of the pavement. But instead of overtaking me in the “fast lane”, they would rather squeeze through the narrow space between me and the wall, often brushing against or even bumping hard into my shoulder. I have no explanation for this, except perhaps that they will not spend that much more energy on working their way around me on the more spacious side.

Rupert Chan, Mid-Levels