C
Christopher DeWolf
Guest
HK 2.0
huzzah! the hong kong series resumes! since the first part of the series focused exclusively on kowloon, i figured it would be fitting to start this time with hong kong island. to make a long-winded introduction short, hong kong feels quite different from kowloon. it's definitely wealthier and more gentrified -- shopping here isn't quite the bargain it is in places like mongkok. most surprising is the relative lack of traffic. there aren't too many private cars on the streets here, compared to kowloon, and they're mostly luxury vehicles (mercedes, bentleys and rolls royces) or delivery vans. plenty of buses and taxis, though. the geography is also quite distinct, as you'll see -- far hillier than most of kowloon.
ON THE TROLLEY
one of the most distinctive features of HK island is the double-decker trolleys that ply is main artery. they're made of wood, cost very little -- just HK$2 or CAD$0.25 -- and run very frequently. there's no air conditioning, either, but the windows are all thrown wide open, which makes for a perfect opportunity to take photos.
oh, and they're called "ding-dings" in colliquial cantonese. isn't that cute?
we start in north point, one of the eastern terminals. we're going to head west to kennedy town, the western terminus.
we've just passed victoria park and have entered into causeway bay, HK's most prominent shopping district.
we've skipped through wan chai and admiralty and have now entered central.
we've just passed through sheung wan, which abuts central, and have a clear view of hong kong's biggest phallic object.
now we're in western, one of the more old-school districts on the island.
CAUSEWAY BAY
causeway bay is hong kong's biggest, busiest, glitziest shopping district. (although mongkok is a close rival for the title of busiest.) there's everything you'd expect: times square billboards (not so much neon), big malls, enormous japanese department stores, cinemas, restaurants, etc. etc. etc.
on sundays, indonesians, most of them domestics, flood the neighbourhood to shop and hang out. (sunday is their only day off.)
on this single block, there is an IKEA, two cinemas, an HMV megastore, a huge 24-hour supermarket and two shopping malls containing dozens of smaller stores.
anybody visiting HK who either reads chinese or is interested in indie music should visit mackie study, a tiny bookstore-café tucked away in the third floor of an old building here in causeway bay. their music collection focuses on HK indie pop and rock, with indie music from taiwan, north america and europe, too. (i bought keren ann's cd "nolita" there for just CAD$15 -- cheaper, strangely, than you'd be able to find here.) their selection of books leans heavily on self-published stuff and small press.
flat a, 2/f, 52 yun ping road, causeway bay, hk.
that's it for now -- there will be more in a few days.
huzzah! the hong kong series resumes! since the first part of the series focused exclusively on kowloon, i figured it would be fitting to start this time with hong kong island. to make a long-winded introduction short, hong kong feels quite different from kowloon. it's definitely wealthier and more gentrified -- shopping here isn't quite the bargain it is in places like mongkok. most surprising is the relative lack of traffic. there aren't too many private cars on the streets here, compared to kowloon, and they're mostly luxury vehicles (mercedes, bentleys and rolls royces) or delivery vans. plenty of buses and taxis, though. the geography is also quite distinct, as you'll see -- far hillier than most of kowloon.
ON THE TROLLEY
one of the most distinctive features of HK island is the double-decker trolleys that ply is main artery. they're made of wood, cost very little -- just HK$2 or CAD$0.25 -- and run very frequently. there's no air conditioning, either, but the windows are all thrown wide open, which makes for a perfect opportunity to take photos.
oh, and they're called "ding-dings" in colliquial cantonese. isn't that cute?
we start in north point, one of the eastern terminals. we're going to head west to kennedy town, the western terminus.
we've just passed victoria park and have entered into causeway bay, HK's most prominent shopping district.
we've skipped through wan chai and admiralty and have now entered central.
we've just passed through sheung wan, which abuts central, and have a clear view of hong kong's biggest phallic object.
now we're in western, one of the more old-school districts on the island.
CAUSEWAY BAY
causeway bay is hong kong's biggest, busiest, glitziest shopping district. (although mongkok is a close rival for the title of busiest.) there's everything you'd expect: times square billboards (not so much neon), big malls, enormous japanese department stores, cinemas, restaurants, etc. etc. etc.
on sundays, indonesians, most of them domestics, flood the neighbourhood to shop and hang out. (sunday is their only day off.)
on this single block, there is an IKEA, two cinemas, an HMV megastore, a huge 24-hour supermarket and two shopping malls containing dozens of smaller stores.
anybody visiting HK who either reads chinese or is interested in indie music should visit mackie study, a tiny bookstore-café tucked away in the third floor of an old building here in causeway bay. their music collection focuses on HK indie pop and rock, with indie music from taiwan, north america and europe, too. (i bought keren ann's cd "nolita" there for just CAD$15 -- cheaper, strangely, than you'd be able to find here.) their selection of books leans heavily on self-published stuff and small press.
flat a, 2/f, 52 yun ping road, causeway bay, hk.
that's it for now -- there will be more in a few days.
