I'll get to TZ's Simon in a bit :)
I had booked trips to Cuba and Hong Kong earlier in the year - both places had always interested me and as a photographer I was hoping I could get a few nice images of them. Cuba didn't go exactly as planned and I posted a report here about my adventures. Surely Hong Kong would be more straightforward, right? Nope - in June the political situation changed and then followed months of protests and (often) violent clashes with the police. I was a bit worried of course but hoped that either it was being blown out of proportion or that I wouldn't be affected during my week here.
I was staying in Mong Kok in Kowloon, at the Cordis Hotel, which was great. Mong Kok is one of the busiest places on the planet for its size, but I felt safe and people were generally nice.
Some of the highlights of my visit were:
1. Taking the Ngong Ping cable car up to Lantau Island and the Tian Tan buddha. The ride was amazing - 25 minutes and in a glass bottomed pod so very quickly you were hurtling upwards and could see the trees and then sea beneath you. I think I was too busy taking videos with my phone to worry about the fact that I was scared stiff of heights. The actual village of Po Lin is nice, but (as you'd expect) very touristy. Tian Tan is huge and a relatively modern construction, being completed in 1993. I would definitely recommend a visit here but go early as queues after 11am are long.
2. Tung Choi street, otherwise known as 'goldfish street' - tons of stalls selling small clear bags with literally hundreds of species of fish in them
3. Roast goose, char siu, fried rice 'yangzhou' style
4. Eating baked char siu buns at Tim Ho Wan, the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world
5. Strolling down the Avenue of Stars on HK Island on a Sunday morning
6. Visiting the markets like Nelson street
7. Using the MTR system and discovering how efficient they are, and that they are absolutely huge (with travelators like you'd find at airports)
I can see why so many Brits live in HK - it is still very much a fusion between east and west, and still has a large British influence in all aspects of life. They drive on the left, the plugs are UK 3-pronged and nearly all signs are in Cantonese and English.
So the weekend passed and I had almost forgotten that there was a situation. That changed on Monday morning when a policeman shot a protester in the stomach with a live round. It all kicked off from here, and although Mong Kok escaped the really violent incidents, the MTR stations were closed or suspended, and we were advised to be careful and avoid many areas. In the evening, the hotel was on virtual lock down and they were expecting trouble. I watched from my hotel window as a group of over 200 protesters blocked a main carriageway and then built a big bonfire on the road. They weren't that far from my hotel and later there were clashes with police who used tear gas. Thankfully it all ended in the early hours but the next day when I walked around the area, there were many signs of vandalism and destruction. It did mean that for a couple of days I wasn't able to go to the places I had intended to, since they were the scenes of the worst conflict.
It's a very sad situation and I really hope that there is a peaceful end to this soon. I enjoyed my few days there though, and I will definitely go back when this is all over. Hong Kong is a beautiful place - very user friendly, very tourist friendly and apart from the humid weather in the summer, certainly a place you could live.
I've posted some pics from the trip below.
It was ironic that at the same time I was in Hong Kong, one of my images was to be part of the 'Atlas of Humanity' exhibition in Paris.
Atlas of Humanity (https://www.atlasofhumanity.com/paris) celebrates the diversity and ethnicities of humans around the world and previous exhibitions had taken place in New York, UAE, Tunisia, Cologne and Birmingham.
I asked SimonK if he would be able to visit the exhibition and take some photos, since he lives there and is very much into photography himself. Simon very kindly attended the event and sent me some pics he took - I've included some below as well as the original image that was exhibited
HK is a truly wonderful place, was on my bucket list for many years and I will return again. And your photos... just wow, superb skills!
As for Our Man in Paris, he deserves a medal for some of the stuff he does for other members, myself included once upon a time
Just to say, what great pictures you’ve created there.
Re your trip, you can honestly say you’ve experienced a place now, it’s a way of travelling that Simon Reeve would approve of!
I'm going to stick with the Cuba shots - but only just. That's a stunning portrait.
Looks like we were both in HK at the same time. It was an interesting week!
I’ve been before so didn’t bother with a lot of the sights. I still felt reasonably safe despite the protests but having everything on lock down for most of the week wasn’t great.
Living in HK is currently very strange, I'm an ex-pat and can see the argument for both sides and the violence is really escalating to new levels from both sides and trust really is an issue and unfortunately its hard to see a peaceful resolution as there is many contradictions for both to make concessions. I really hope something is resolved before it gets even worse as last week was one of the worst since I've been in HK in 8 years.
Wonderful photos btw, you have an amazing eye and love the colours. Great photos of this wonderful place!
As I wrote on another page here on the forum: my son's team has two invités from Hong Kong. Students who've decided not to go back; they stay in Europe for the time being. The team loaded their boats on trailers for the winter training in the Algarve. Both Hong Kongese students loaded up their boats as well - with very mixed feelings.
Fantastic photos, I've only been once to Hong Kong but it was by far and away one of the most fantastic places I've had the pleasure to visit.
Thanks for sharing - love the portrait photos.
Thanks everyone - despite the last two days where I couldn't really do the things I wanted, I came away with the feeling that I really wanted to go back one day.
@Enda - thanks for the pics - was that in the area around Central?
Hi Shane, yeah that was central.
Great photos. I love Hong Kong, I have been fortunate enough to spend a lot of time there as my father worked between HK and China. At one point I was trying to plan a relocation there but recent events and the gradual absorption of HK into China made me change my mind. Such a shame, it's a fantastic place.
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