Every Hong Kong street has walking signals. Just like any big city. Unlike New York City though, the pedestrians wait until the signal is green to cross.

This I didn't expect. I thought Hong Kong would be more like New York City — and that pedestrians wouldn't wait for no stupid signal and just walk whenever they wanted to.

"Why is that?" I asked Wendy. "People are just standing there. There are no cars coming. Why don't they cross?"

"For their safety," she said, matter-of-factly. "Drivers don't stop for pedestrians like they do in the States. They'll just keep on driving. You never know when a car might suddenly turn the corner and come towards you."

"Whoa, really? In the States, pedestrians have the right of way. If they're on the street, a car always has to stop for them."

"Really? That's nice. Drivers won't stop for you in Hong Kong though."

I made a mental note of that and made sure to cross only on greens.

I also noted that there are an abundance of Mercedes in Hong Kong. More than any other brand of car. Audi, BMW, and Lexus were also common, as well as a few Toyotas. But nowhere near as abundant as Mercedes.

"That's because Hong Kong people like status symbols," Ray told me. "German cars are especially high status symbols."

"But the traffic is horrible here. Why would they want a car?"

"Exactly. This is not a good city for owning a car. Not only is the traffic horrible, but there's hardly any place to park. So owning a Mercedes is that much more of a status symbol."

I counted five Mercedes as he told me that.

"Oh, by the way, buckle up."

We were in a taxi and I was in the front seat. The taxi driver sped down the street without regard for pedestrians or other cars, it seemed. I wasn't even sure he paid attention to the stop lights.

Then he screeched to a halt at a red light. Whew. They DO pay attention.

I subconsciously scanned around for a passenger-side airbag, but didn't see one. So I held onto the seat belt with both hands.

This, I also noted, is exactly why pedestrians don't cross unless the walking signal is green.

. . .

Have you ever been on Hong Kong's streets?