Sunday, March 25, 2012

From Desk to Deck (Part 2)



My view of the streets of Hong Kong Island

My journey home from my office in Mong Kok, takes me from the Kowloon side of Hong Kong under the Harbour to the Hong Kong Island side.

By bus, I have a night view of the lights, traffic, and street front retail shops during their peak hours.
As my bus makes its way from Admiralty MTR Station to the Aberdeen tunnel, I share the view with passengers riding in the double decker coaches of the Hong Kong Tram Lines.



Just before the approach to the tunnel leading to Aberdeen, I pass the Happy Valley Race Course, with its statues of colorful horses prancing in a circle.

For more about this journey see  Kowloon Kommutin' Sampan Blues

(continued from Part 1)

Friday, March 2, 2012

From Desk to Deck (Part 1)



My view from my desk

I began writing about and photographing my neighborhood in and around the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter as a way to share what I feel is a unique part of Hong Kong.  Along the way, I've discovered that other parts of Hong Kong have their own character that also call out to be noticed.

My office is in Mong Kong, Kowloon.   I work in an ultra modern towering office building, 50 floors above the streets.  What struck me early as I began my Hong Kong experience is the difference in my view of my surroundings between working the day almost above the clouds, and the daily journey of traveling home to a village-like floating community across the Hong Kong Harbour  and on the far side of Hong Kong Island.



I've written about my feelings making this journey in  The Kowloon Kommutin' Sampan Blues



My view from the streets of Mong Kok

The Streets of Mong Kok, the most densely populated place on earth, are a Blade Runner's world away from the view seen from the splendid isolation of the Tower.  Here the colors and the details, the variety and the exoticness (to me, at least), draw you in for a closer look, a what-will-happen-next anticipation.

(continued in Part 2)