FotoHog wrote:
Well done, Joe.
You are showing us perfect examples of the crowded ultra high-rise dwellings standing in some of China's mega cities. Seeing such a city for real is like having a hallucinatory vision of towering, densely spaced, trees in a gigantic concrete forest. I greatly admire China in general, but would not choose to live in one of these structures.
Thank you Kip. Yes, you are right, these are almost like giant "stone forests" inhabited by thousands and it is tough for us westerners to imagine living in one of these structures. But think of the alternatives in these mega cities: There is not enough space to house all these millions in a relatively safe and secure manner. We were very lucky when we lived in HK, we found a spacious flat (2600 sq ft) in an older, very well maintained building and our flat was even on the auspicious 8th floor!
Earnest Botello wrote:
Great and colorful series, Joe.
Thank you Earnest, glad you liked the set.
Toment wrote:
Nice shots!
Thanks
Thank you Toment for looking in on the tour again and your kind words.
angler wrote:
A good colourful set Joe.
Thank you Jim, glad you liked the colors in this set.
JBuckley wrote:
Love your scenes of Hong Kong.
The outdoor markets look the same as they did when I last visited in 1971.
The only difference might be the "amounts" of flies that surrounded the
fruit bins of the venders.
The side street (open air) venders were amazing and beautiful when visiting.
Those (same streets), looked a bit frightening after the sun goes down.
(The thieves ally), was off limits to service men and women after dark.
Thanks for the colorful shots.
Thank you JBuckley for looking in on my travelogue and your thoughts. Glad to hear that these images brought back some memories of your time in Hong Kong, last time in 1971 which, by the way, is they year we got married in Hong Kong! I believe this is the first time I see you commenting on one of my tours, so I don't know how much of this HK segment you have seen. The market pictures in today's post are from an indoor market (less flies!) but I did post a series of shots from the Wan Chai market a few days ago, that were from the outside alleys and more representative of the general outdoor markets - and this might very well have been the market you visited. In case you have not seen it, here is the link to that post #199:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-762960-1.html
Again, thanks for your comment and welcome to the tour!
roder10 wrote:
Joe, can't imagine living in an apartment in those high rises. As many time as I have moved, being a military wife, can't imagine the logistics, probably would reduce all the stuff we accumulate. I'm thankful I live in this beautiful state and the open space around us. We are indeed fortunate. Thanks for sharing and enlightening us to the density of living in Hong Kong.
Thanks Rowedean for your thoughts, with which I certainly concur. Frequent moves are a great motivator to get rid of accumulated, unnecessary "stuff". As to the buildings: it is not only the size of these buildings, that are bewildering, but also the size of the flats (or apartments) in these buildings. While these buildings provide a solid structure to protect you well from the elements, the flats they contain are generally very tiny. The average flat in HK has 484 sq ft - and that's the average. There are plenty of larger flats around, that come at a tremendous cost, but that also means that there are a multitude of smaller flats around as well, to come to that average. By comparison, in1979-1984 we were living "royally" in an older building on the Hong Kong Island side with a great view - and around 2600 sq ft of living space - towards the end of this series, when we see the view from the "Peak", I will point out the house in which we lived.
Here is an interesting link to an article I dug up online on this subject:
https://alifeshift.com/2018/01/16/hong-kong-house-sizes/
ecobin wrote:
Try to get an elevator in one of those - wow.
Interesting thought, Elliott - these buildings are actually quite well equipped, have to be to move the masses of residents. In these very tall commercial buildings, some of the elevators come even double-decked, to increase the load factor and efficiency, and you enter either the upper or lower deck depending on whether your floor is on an even or uneven number. Not sure whether they do this also in very tall residential buildings.
jaymatt wrote:
Nice shots and narrative, Joe--enjoyed.
Thanks John, glad you enjoyed this a bit different world.
nimbushopper wrote:
Huge structures!
Thank you Gary - these structures sure make you feel small and insignificant - but they are "home" to thousands.
Thank you Jim, glad you found this "urban forest" interesting.
For your reference:
11 - Trip map of the Hong Kong segment of our tour, Tseung Kwan O is at the bottom right just across the waters from Hong Kong Island
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Continuing from yesterday's post with mainly images of high-rise buildings, in this second and final set on Tseung Kwan O, we see fruits and vegetables displayed at a local indoor market, followed by Christmas-themed decorations both outside of and inside one of the modern shopping malls.
Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to THIS SERIES on SOUTH & EAST ASIA. See it at
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-724330-1.html
HONG KONG COUNTRY INFO in set # 196: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-762698-1.html
TSEUNG KWAN O INFO in set # 205: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-763498-1.html
EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105
Thanks for visiting, for improved clarity please view the downloads. I look forward to your comments and questions.
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1 - Fruits at the market
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2 - Exciting reds and oranges
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3 - Pears, dragon fruit and apples
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4 - Healthy looking greens
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5 - Purple floral beauty
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6 - Christmas decorations Hong Kong style with fake snow at the "PopCorn Shopping Center"
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7 - Closer take of the artificial trees with fake snow but real ornaments
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8 - Indoor Christmas-inspired decoration at the PopCorn Center
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9 - More decorations
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10 - Finale with the sextuplet snowmen providing a cool, wintery ambience in the warmly lit shopping center
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joehel2 wrote:
Beautifully done, Joe. Especially love the fountain images.
Thank you Joe, it was fun working with those water droplets, I always enjoy these.
Umnak wrote:
Serene, colorful and sparkling beauty led the way in this wonderful set. I truly enjoyed the juxtaposition you created with the sequencing of this and the previous posts. It's reminiscent of a great book taking the reader from busy/high intensity to the serene/calm and tranquil respite that is often welcomed. While I can appreciate that these images are just a part of this area, it was an enjoyable "downshift" from high-rises and economy driving business that we saw in the harbor images.
Rob
Serene, colorful and sparkling beauty led the way ... (
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Thanks Rob - and then I went into the other extreme again with today's post of one of the New Towns as we start making our way out into the "New Territories". It is actually quite interesting how high density/crowded and busy areas are intermixed with peaceful places here in this superlative city. Glad you enjoyed this mix and change of pace.