7:00 am: I leave my flat, and take the elevator down to the second floor. To save space, apartment blocks are built above shopping malls, so my elevator leads straight to the mall. A short walk past McDonalds (Hong Kong has the highest rate of McDonalds consumption in the world, and seven of the world’s most profitable McDonalds) brings me to the Ma On Shan bus station (still indoors!).

7:05 am: I catch the 807k green minibus (technical term: ‘public light bus’) to University train station. Minibuses are a strange invention – they are fairly large, rickety, and seat 16 people, but their drivers treat them like race-cars. To prevent them speeding (frightening elderly passengers), the Hong Kong government requires minibuses to install large speedometers inside the passenger cabin, so you can see exactly how fast the bus is travelling. If the bus crosses local speed limits, the speedometer beeps, much to the irritation of the gas-happy driver.

7:15 am: I arrive at University station, which runs on the Kowloon-Canton (East Rail) line of the MTR, Hong Kong’s train network. This particular line is overground, and the oldest in Hong Kong – built in the early 1900s by the British government keen to secure influence in Southern China. The trains are clean and modern, helped by metal seats (uncomfortable, but easy to clean) and a no-eating policy that has landed me in trouble on more than one occasion.

7:16: Trains typically arrive within 1 minute, and it is a fifteen minute ride to Tsim Sha Tsui, the terminus of the line, and tourist capital of Kowloon, the second most important region in Hong Kong.

7:30: A short walk along Nathan Road past world-class hotels, hawkers selling fake watches, and a torrent of people brings me to the Star Ferry, Hong Kong’s oldest but most celebrated way of crossing Victoria Harbour. It is half transport, half tourist attraction, but for less than 50 US cents, it offers an elegant way to cross the harbour. The harbour itself is spectacular, flanked on both sides by skyscrapers that rival New York.

7:35: Five minutes on the ferry, and I’ve arrived at Wanchai, a business area, but also a party center on Hong Kong Island itself. A short walk, an elevator ride up to the 48th floor, and I arrive at my desk. It’s time to work.