Stroller or Carrier in Hong Kong?

Before our trip to Hong Kong, I decided that I wanted to buy a "new" stroller for our trip. Sure, I already had four strollers at home, but none of them would be suitable for Hong Kong. The Graco travel system was too bulky, the umbrella stroller had no canopy or recline function, the Snap n Go was obsolete since we weren't using the infant seat anymore, and my Inglesina Zippy stroller was just a little too heavy. What I wanted in a stroller was something that could recline (at least a little), had a canopy/sunshade, was lightweight (ideally less than 13 pounds) so we could carry it long distances if Baby wasn't happy in the stroller, and most of all, I wanted it to be cheap. This last requirement was most important to me because I didn't want to be heartbroken in case my new stroller got lost, stolen, or dinged up in our travels.

With this checklist of requirements, we went to Babies R Us to check out their inventory and test drive their strollers. We loved the McLaren strollers - but they were far too expensive. I also liked the Chicco Capri stroller, though I still wasn't willing to spend $80 for a stroller that might get damaged in its first few weeks of life. So we returned home from Babies R Us empty-handed, hoping that something would come up on Craigslist.

About a week before we left, and after I started getting a little desperate, I found the Chicco Capri stroller on Craigslist for only $35. I jumped on the deal. I was a little sad at first that I couldn't find such an amazing deal on a MacLaren stroller, but it turned out to be a good thing, because of the recent recall on MacLaren strollers. So for $35, I purchased an almost new red Chicco Capri stroller. It weighs only 11 lbs., has a detachable carrying strap, a travel bag, 2 position recline, 5-point harness, and an adjustable canopy. It also has a really small basket underneath the stroller (too small to be really useful, but good for small things like a jacket or blanket).

Unfortunately, we didn't use the stroller at all in Hong Kong. During our travels, we stayed mostly in busy districts such as Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, etc., where the streets are crowded and using a stroller would have been very inconvenient, if not dangerous. Since we walked a lot, we dealt with a lot of pedestrian traffic and also automobile traffic. The drivers there aren't very considerate of pedestrians (it's like there's a war between pedestrians and drivers over the roads), so I didn't like the idea of pushing a stroller with a defenseless baby in front of me while crossing the street, hoping that drivers would obey the red light.

Another reason why a stroller might not be the most convenient option - we used the MTR, or subway, a lot, and I noticed that elevator access to the subway station itself from the city level was either nonexistent or very well-concealed. The usual access to the subway station from city level is via flights of stairs, and having to carry a stroller and baby (and various other baby equipment like a diaper bag) would have been a pain, especially if I were traveling by myself.

We relied heavily upon the Ergo Baby Carrier - because of its design that distributes baby's weight evenly, I didn't experience any back pain. Baby was able to see the world in the Ergo and also fall asleep (and the attached hood helped him to stay asleep), and I even learned how to nurse with the carrier so that I could walk the streets of Hong Kong while nursing discretely. (I loosened the straps of the Ergo so Baby could nurse, and then I wore the Hooter Hider and draped it over the Ergo so nobody could see that I was nursing.) I felt like I could better protect Baby since he was so close to me.

I did see some locals use strollers in Hong Kong, but the norm seemed to be to either carry the child in one's arms or to use a carrier of some sort.