008_maid in hong kong 02

Quiet open spaces away from the city’s rustling movement are favourite spots for these maids. They collectively establish a subculture in subordinate urban niches on every Sunday. The gathering is territorial, usually happens at the same place, around the same time, with the same group members and probably with the same activities. One of the most popular places is the plaza under Lord Foster’s famous building, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank.

007_maid in hong kong 01

Sunday is an official day off for maids working in Hong Kong. I think the majority of them are from Indonesia. Of course they hang out where they can find Indonesian shops and restaurants. It is quite an impressive urban phenomenon to see some parts of Hong Kong turn into Indonesia for a day in every week. The gathering is so massive that there is no space left for people to walk through, except on the road. For a story about maid in Singapore, check out 018_maid in Singapore at http://urban-o-mania.blogspot.com

006_david

It’s not always bad to have the same name as other thousand of people. You can buy a key chain with your name written in Chinese. This is a great way to check popularity of your name. Though it doesn’t show in the picture, I’m sure you can find a Peter there.

005_bamboo scaffolding 02

Here is a close-up view of the same bamboo scaffolding from below. There are so many connections and tying points. I once watched a documentary on discovery channel. The female scaffolding builder in the show used plastic straps to tie bamboo sticks together. She was really quick and working without any safety gear even though she was hundreds over meters above ground.

004_bamboo scaffolding 01

Local contractors in Hong Kong use bamboo for scaffolding, no matter how tall the building is. It is quite dangerous since bamboo is weaker than steel. The positions of joints are also not uniform because bamboo sticks don’t come with consistent length. Building bamboo scaffolding needs a lot of skill, as it is complicated. The one in the picture even has cross bracing members, the same system used for the Bank of China Tower.

003_floating boxes

This is what happens when an apartment is designed without air-con ledges. You cross over from Hong Kong to Kowloon and there are plenty of them. Some of tenants have added extra overhang to protect their unit from rain. Some have larger cantilever than others according to the owner’s need. The random order of these extra elements actually makes the building look interesting though. I have a similar picture of air-con condensers taken in Singapore, please visit 020_condensing city at http://urban-o-mania.blogspot.com.

002_flying text

One of the most unique characteristics of Hong Kong’s streetscape is advertisement boards and shop signage that span across the road. They all collectively create a very provocative urban phenomenon. One would inevitably feel being really overwhelmed by these immense amounts of data surrounding him. It’s quite amazing how they can erect all these things in such a bustling city. And I bet they won’t get any cleaning or maintenance at all.

001_airport express

The MTR Airport Express is a gateway to Hong Kong after you landed at HKIA (Hong Kong International Airport). It runs from the airport through Kowloon before arriving at Hong Kong station. The train is clean, the seat is comfortable, the luggage hold is big and I like the blue LED meter on top, which helps you get ready for your destination. You can roughly estimate how much time you have left before the train makes a stop. But the LCD screen in front of the seat is a waste of time and money because it doesn’t show anything interesting.