The streets of Mongkok are a little slow as the sun rises on the east, from the east. Mongkok, the area of Kowloon known for retail deals and entertainment, rise as late as it stays up. The backpackers, huddled in cheap guest houses, get a late start on the day, the karaoke bars and lounges the main culprits. Street cleaners banish the mess left by the merrymakers while newsstands and hole-in-the-wall restaurants wait for the rush that will come as the district wakes.
Mongkok is listed by the Guiness Book of World Records as having the highest population density in the world: An estimated 130,000 people per square kilometer. A walk down Argyle Street or Nathan Road on a balmy summer evening is testament to the record. The streets are a seething sea of bodies, returning home, shopping, or out for a stroll. It’s an experience, one many people, even big city veterans, don’t try twice.
The Mongkok area is home to numerous markets, slaking the commerical thirst of travelers and tourists. The Temple Street Night Market, the Goldfish Market, the Flower Market, and Fa Yuen Street (translated: Sport Shoes Street) all do brisk trade – when they eventually open.
Captured: July 11, 2008, too early in the morning.
Another arresting shot.
Merci, Jax.
Are all the signs out there in English too?
(Pardon my ignorance, but is that in Hong Kong? If so I guess the English signs would make sense).
I’m not sure I’d even brave it once. I get a little bit claustrophobic in crowds like that. I can’t imagine living there! But I guess it’s just normal life if you’ve never known anything else. I wonder if residents of Mongkok get weirded out by big open spaces.
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dude you’ve got such a great eye for these urban shots, i really like this one!
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wow. that’s a pretty cool photo.
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That’s a really nice capture, great angle and great B&W conversion.
R(etc… )
Yeah, I love the shot. The apartment building, I take it, in the background.
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Sorry All: I have been negligent in replying. School just started, and a number of other things have been “going down.”
Wanda: Thanks to British colonialism, yes, the signs are in English too.
Theresa: I used to, but not so much now. Still, it can really grate on your nerves.
m727: Thank you, kind sir.
NM: Merci, traveling man.
Ron: Thanks. Feedback from you is always welcome.
yb: Tis, yb.
I don’t think I would try it even once. I might like to watch from up high but I’m not sure I would want to try it on street level.
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