photo diary - hong kong 香港 2008, part 2

This is the continuation of the photo diary of my trip to Hong Kong in early winter of 2008. There are so many photos I want to post and I have to make hard choices. Many evoke my nostalgia of my growing up there.

I board a bus as soon as I got off the airplane. I chose the bus instead of the much faster subway train because I could not wait to see the city en route to my cheap hotel in Mong Kok in the Kowloon peninsula.

as in my youth i went straight to the front seats in the upper deck of a double-decker bus

I could hardly recognize the streets on the route the bus took from the airport to Mong Kok 旺角 as most of them are new from reclamation land filled into the sea. I however immediately knew I reach Mong Kok. I just have to determine which stop to get off. I was a bit disoriented initially. I was so shock of how much more crowded Mong Kok is now. On the main artery Nathan Road it was jam packed with people heels to heels. It take effort just to making headway without crashing into someone going in the opposite direction. The cobblestone paved sidewalk make dragging my suitcase difficult. I have to figure out which direction to my hotel.

the sidewalk of this street is not so crowded because the whole street is closed to traffic

paid mini bus is a public transportation; it is the most dangerous transit there as the drivers are very aggressive so they make each trip fastest possible; i used to like riding in the front seat in my youth

this street is full of stores that sell mobile phones and electronics

inside a building jam packed with stores i had trouble breathing because the CO2 level is so high

the once ubiquitous delivery bicycles - it is not uncommon for one to carry up to a thousand pounds

ultra modern juxtaposes the old

exposed sewer pipes are very common on buildings from decades ago

an indoors produce market

the verity of seafood make me want to stay there in an apartment where i can cook

i am so jealous

there is not much of a social safety net; everyone fends for oneself; i saw many very old folks making very hard living there

typical older buildings in mong kok

 

when i lived there there were no businesses on the upper floors - it is now like cities in korea and japan

streetscape of street with street vendor stalls in early morning; everything (nearly everything) are stowed away for street cleaning; by late afternoon you would not recognize the same street

early morning on nathan road 彌敦道

a lone deliveryman with is bicycle crossing a major intersection early in the morning

big brother is vigilently watching

this is a highly respected private primary school located in one of the most exclusive residential area adjacent to kowloon city 九龍城

more indoor produce market photos

 butcher that sells only pork - note the whole hog head hung there

government subsidized housing apartment

as a teen i had my teeth filled by dentists in the building to the left; it is funded by catholic church that also operates a school across the street

one of the neighborhoods which we carried out mischief as teenagers

we live here once - i cannot image living there again

not much change except the graffiti and the steel entrance gate - i snuck in as it was unlocked

stores that sell coffins in the neighborhood - how depressing :-)

i remember this place that wholesaler of pork blood; yes most cantonese like pork blood as many folks in asian countries such as vietnan and thailand

another staircase where i used to live; now there are businesses upstairs too - again i snuck in behind the unlocked steel entry gate

a typical hardware store - you would be amaze what you can find in the little store

i was very hungry so time to find a place for dimsum; the choice was easy as there are few places within walking distance

pretty decent give the relatively modest economic strata of the neighborhood; you are expected to share a table unless you come in a party of 12 or more

all but few of the shanty towns had vanished; this one still remain due to some legacy land ownership dating back to the qing 清 dynasty

within a few years these few last standing shanty towns would also vanish except images in the museum

the temple the neighborhood bears it's name - wong tai sin 黃大仙

one of the high schools that i was kicked out due to poor grade- this one is relative prestigious catholic school

the school master used to park his black falcon in this garage - now it has a metal gate; the school keeper was nice enough to let me inside after i told her that i am an alumi (though i did not mention my disgraced past)

the toyota hi-ace is a luxury vehicle in hong kong

shanghai street is the cookware junkies' paradice

the apartment building made famous by wong kai wei's movie "chungking express"

if you an art film lover you owe it to yourself to see the movie (and many of his others) if you haven't

looking up from the back alleys - this used to be our playground

the big sign is the classic store sign of pawn shops in hong kong - this pawn shop was here when i lived in the neighborhood

street vendor selling roasted chestnut of the bygone era - the aroma fills the street even blocks away

street vendor that sells pickled fruit - where i spent much of my limited allowance (we rarely get so called allowance) as a kid

automobile ownership is a luxury in this city most folks cannot afford

a staircase in the world-renowned grand peninsula hotel

a old fire house being converted into luxury shopping mall as a part of the project with the former colonial marine police headquarter

the former marine police headquarter being converted into luxury shopping mall - the old fire house is to the right of the photo

a cruise ship moored at the ocean terminal at tsim sha tsui

star ferry adjacent to the ocean terminal at tsim sha sui - this building is much older than me; the building covered in a green mash at the distance is the famous clock tower of the old railway station which has long since demonised

arrival passenger exit of the ferry lower deck - very little change including the classic green and white paint

 arrival passenger exit of the ferry upper deck

i had always prefer riding in the open lower deck even in bone chilling winter breeze

the iconic star ferry

hong kong central district in the background; victoria peak to on the right of picture

as a kid i would gaze into the engine room and the smell of oil and diesel evoked so much memory

you can see the slow rotating crank of the propeller shaft of the massive engine

for this elderly fishing at the harbor in front of the ferry is probably his greatest pass time - despite the posted no fishing sign

construction of the harbor reclamation was still underway; in my return trip in 2010 the construction was complete

the shortest building in the foreground is my favorite - the hong kong cityhall building with the understated mid-century architecture

 the iconic street trams that run the east and west length of the hong kong island

 one of the many steep stepped streets in the central district

 this one still has the colonial era feels

these hairy crabs 大閘蟹 are from shanghai - the bigger male ones cost just short of $20 usd each; the female ones are much more due to the prized roes

 wan chai - this eastern neighborhood of the hong kong island has a concentration of affordable eateries of the by gone era

 a noodle shop

 a very popular joint for clay pot rice 煲仔飯

 austin mini cooper was my first love in automobile; minis used to be ubiquitous in hong kong

Kowloon City is one of the must see neighborhood if you visit the city wanting to see the older part of the city. It is also a neighborhood for foodies due to the concentration of restaurant of varied ethnicity including Thai. Walking down the streets you would be delighted to see many unrelated businesses coexist. You get to see the common folks in their daily toils.
laborers filling sand into bags for construction and renovation work

 natural stone fabricator shop

a worker of the finish carpentry shop cutting a stack of sheetgoods on the street - the shop is too small to do any work

 a noodle factory and wholesaler shop

 a mechanic of a tiny garage servicing a mini bus - all the work is done on the street as the store front is only big enough as a place to store the tools and equipment

across the harbor are the most valuable real estate of hong kong which live cannot be dreamed of by these working folks; here a bird of prey soaring high above the ifc building

adjacent to it is the grand four seasons hotel

christmas decoration at the times square shopping mall at causeway bay