PatrickCheung
New member
Had a pretty good day today Went to visit the Kowloon Walled City, where my Dad used to live... then back to Mong Kok to explore the rest of it!
The Kowloon Walled City is rather interesting. A prof of mine gave a lecture on it and it captivated me. It's been demolished and turned into a park now, which is a shame. I wish I took better notes on that lecture because I forgot most of what was said about it. Well, I remember bits and pieces... though I feel as if I don't know enough about it to share on the topic. Maybe Hillary took better notes than I did and can give a little insight into this beautiful little heterotopia?
My father lived across the street from the Walled City (which was more of a block than a city), the place he lived in was a low rise apartment. "Block 23" if I picked up correctly (my cantonese isn't the best). He could pinpoint exactly where it was, though it's not there anymore. It's been replaced by a high rise residential unit. A few places in the area are starting to be replaced as well. A modern mall popped up a few blocks away from the Walled City, though the area remains much the same as it was when my dad left it.
The above isn't the best photo, though... it's kinda cool. Those cages are now illegal, but they used to serve as outdoor rooms for large families living in the small apartments. I'm currently staying in an apartment that's aproximately 700 square feet... the apartments in the Walled City area are much smaller than that. Though, families of 8 (like my dad's) inhabited those apartments. During the hot summers, people would sleep in those cages. They're illegal now because no one wants to put in the effort to repair and maintain them, they'll eventually fall with age.
Many of the stores in the area still remain! My father showed me a few of them, but the one that made him the happiest is the bakery he used to go to. He loved the eggtarts they made there
And this shot was taken at a restaurant about a block away from where my dad used to live. He also loved eating here. The place is apparently famous for it's squid balls and noodles. They're kinda like meatballs but made with squid meat. We ordered Squid Ball noodle soup and a bottle of pop for everyone, shared a plate of deep fried fish skin (a must have if any of you visit an asian noodle house) and a plate of veggies.
Mong Kok was pretty cool. It's extremely diverse. You can find anything there, technology, clothes, shoes, jewellery, pets, plants, and food. It's pretty much a tourist trap and major shopping area for mainland china residents. There are three types of people that mainly shop there: tourists, rich chinamen, and poor chinamen. I'll touch on the tourists later... the chinamen come from mainland china in packs, prepared to shop, carrying lugguage bags to store their loot. There are two types of chinamen, rich and poor. The poor ones shop here the tourists shop, buying regular things. The rich come for a very select part of the district. There's a street, about 5 blocks long, that's riddled with gold and jewellery stores. There are about 20 of the same two stores along this street. Each of them carry the same thing, and are always filled with customers. These two franchises sell gold goods and expensive jewellery. The demand for their goods is so high that one store cannot support their business, so they open more for the chinamen to spend their money in.
Oh and there's also a street with pet stores (I like animals). One of the stores was called I <3 Rabbit. It had a giant rabbit on display... it was bigger than a small dog. I couldn't take a photo of it 'cause they didn't allow photos. It could barely fit in its cage!
The tourists are mainly drawn to the district for the street markets and cheap goods, though... like I said yesterday, the local vendors usually overcharge them because tourists usually don't think of bargaining. The poor chinamen also flock to these areas, both in the street markets and the stores and buy bulk ammounts of pretty much everything (especially tech). They don't care much about the price, though they'll always attempt to bargain.
These guys were buying a cat shaped toy... the vendor and the customer kept making meow noises... didn't say anything else. Vendors do the strangest things to ensure a sale.
It made me happy seeing this scene. It's rare that you'll see a father so lovingly caring for his child
And... my father and grandma... both captivated by a show on TV. Like mother like son?
Oh. That last shot was taken with my new toy. A Zeiss 28/2.8. They have Zeiss lenses here... and for a decent price! They're impossible to find for a reasonable price in Toronto.
The Kowloon Walled City is rather interesting. A prof of mine gave a lecture on it and it captivated me. It's been demolished and turned into a park now, which is a shame. I wish I took better notes on that lecture because I forgot most of what was said about it. Well, I remember bits and pieces... though I feel as if I don't know enough about it to share on the topic. Maybe Hillary took better notes than I did and can give a little insight into this beautiful little heterotopia?
My father lived across the street from the Walled City (which was more of a block than a city), the place he lived in was a low rise apartment. "Block 23" if I picked up correctly (my cantonese isn't the best). He could pinpoint exactly where it was, though it's not there anymore. It's been replaced by a high rise residential unit. A few places in the area are starting to be replaced as well. A modern mall popped up a few blocks away from the Walled City, though the area remains much the same as it was when my dad left it.
The above isn't the best photo, though... it's kinda cool. Those cages are now illegal, but they used to serve as outdoor rooms for large families living in the small apartments. I'm currently staying in an apartment that's aproximately 700 square feet... the apartments in the Walled City area are much smaller than that. Though, families of 8 (like my dad's) inhabited those apartments. During the hot summers, people would sleep in those cages. They're illegal now because no one wants to put in the effort to repair and maintain them, they'll eventually fall with age.
Many of the stores in the area still remain! My father showed me a few of them, but the one that made him the happiest is the bakery he used to go to. He loved the eggtarts they made there
And this shot was taken at a restaurant about a block away from where my dad used to live. He also loved eating here. The place is apparently famous for it's squid balls and noodles. They're kinda like meatballs but made with squid meat. We ordered Squid Ball noodle soup and a bottle of pop for everyone, shared a plate of deep fried fish skin (a must have if any of you visit an asian noodle house) and a plate of veggies.
Mong Kok was pretty cool. It's extremely diverse. You can find anything there, technology, clothes, shoes, jewellery, pets, plants, and food. It's pretty much a tourist trap and major shopping area for mainland china residents. There are three types of people that mainly shop there: tourists, rich chinamen, and poor chinamen. I'll touch on the tourists later... the chinamen come from mainland china in packs, prepared to shop, carrying lugguage bags to store their loot. There are two types of chinamen, rich and poor. The poor ones shop here the tourists shop, buying regular things. The rich come for a very select part of the district. There's a street, about 5 blocks long, that's riddled with gold and jewellery stores. There are about 20 of the same two stores along this street. Each of them carry the same thing, and are always filled with customers. These two franchises sell gold goods and expensive jewellery. The demand for their goods is so high that one store cannot support their business, so they open more for the chinamen to spend their money in.
Oh and there's also a street with pet stores (I like animals). One of the stores was called I <3 Rabbit. It had a giant rabbit on display... it was bigger than a small dog. I couldn't take a photo of it 'cause they didn't allow photos. It could barely fit in its cage!
The tourists are mainly drawn to the district for the street markets and cheap goods, though... like I said yesterday, the local vendors usually overcharge them because tourists usually don't think of bargaining. The poor chinamen also flock to these areas, both in the street markets and the stores and buy bulk ammounts of pretty much everything (especially tech). They don't care much about the price, though they'll always attempt to bargain.
These guys were buying a cat shaped toy... the vendor and the customer kept making meow noises... didn't say anything else. Vendors do the strangest things to ensure a sale.
It made me happy seeing this scene. It's rare that you'll see a father so lovingly caring for his child
And... my father and grandma... both captivated by a show on TV. Like mother like son?
Oh. That last shot was taken with my new toy. A Zeiss 28/2.8. They have Zeiss lenses here... and for a decent price! They're impossible to find for a reasonable price in Toronto.