The Lowdown of High Density Living in Hong Kong - East Asian tourist attraction?

RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

They look nice from the outside, but once you got inside, it's an
entirely different outlook. You wouldn't be comfortable if you're from
the U.S.

wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

They look nice from the outside, but once you got inside, it's an
entirely different outlook. You wouldn't be comfortable if you're from
the U.S.

True. They look horrible even outside, and certainly inside. They're
not in livable conditions. Part of the experience of travelling is to
go to a place where tourists don't go. Like discovering some forgotten
island in Thailand. And yes, the above is not as exotic as some fishing
villages (speaking about Hong Kong)
http://www.olgaard.com/images/Intl_t...309/tai-o1.jpg

wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

They look nice from the outside, but once you got inside, it's an
entirely different outlook. You wouldn't be comfortable if you're from
the U.S.

And about this travelling bit in Hong Kong, of course, tourists are
advised not to rent cars over there simply because traffic is so bad,
and you want to savor how the locals live etc like taking public
transport, however, RAK recommends renting a Z4 or a boxster for a
week, driving down at insane speeds through those tortuous routes at
'mid-level' on Hong Kong Island for fun. There are more fun places in
the world for sure, but this is not often done by tourists....

RichAsianKid wrote:
wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

They look nice from the outside, but once you got inside, it's an
entirely different outlook. You wouldn't be comfortable if you're from
the U.S.

And about this travelling bit in Hong Kong, of course, tourists are
advised not to rent cars over there simply because traffic is so bad,
and you want to savor how the locals live etc like taking public
transport, however, RAK recommends renting a Z4 or a boxster for a
week, driving down at insane speeds through those tortuous routes at
'mid-level' on Hong Kong Island for fun. There are more fun places in
the world for sure, but this is not often done by tourists....

Public transportation is so readily available in Hong Kong. Why bother
with a car? A car in Hong Kong is troublesome. Foeget about renting a
car.

wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

They look nice from the outside, but once you got inside, it's an
entirely different outlook. You wouldn't be comfortable if you're from
the U.S.

And about this travelling bit in Hong Kong, of course, tourists are
advised not to rent cars over there simply because traffic is so bad,
and you want to savor how the locals live etc like taking public
transport, however, RAK recommends renting a Z4 or a boxster for a
week, driving down at insane speeds through those tortuous routes at
'mid-level' on Hong Kong Island for fun. There are more fun places in
the world for sure, but this is not often done by tourists....

Public transportation is so readily available in Hong Kong. Why bother
with a car? A car in Hong Kong is troublesome. Foeget about renting a
car.

It's the driving experience that counts, not in going from A to B, you
still don't get this point. And I admit there are downsides: 1. air
pollution and smog 2. all those people throwing banana peels out the
windows from apartment buildings so for sure there are many other
countries more pleasant to drive your new boxster S.

RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

Where does the "how" come from?

Have you ever seen homeless people? People can survive homeless.
Of course they can live in a small home. A small home is better than
no home.

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

ltlee1 wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

Where does the "how" come from?

Have you ever seen homeless people? People can survive homeless.
Of course they can live in a small home. A small home is better than
no home.


It may be preferable to live on the streets - more space to roam about,
fresher air, and as mentioned crime rates are low etc, and in fact I
would not be surprised that some of these residents would take it to
the streets than to live in a hut of 100 - 300 sq feet with 6 other
people when it's 90 outside and 100 inside!! Sleeping with 6 sweaty
smelly people (knowing the climate there, and knowing these places do
NOT have central air) must be horrendous unless you're having an orgy
which in this case would be incest, a big no no.

--------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/h...ong/html/1.stm

"The 30 sq m one-bedroom apartment the government offered was a welcome
improvement for the family of six"
"He moved here in 1978 from an estate where six were confined to a
space of 100 sq ft."
--------

This is like human rights abuse!

And it's almost sad to see some of these people living there. Many are
probably decent people. 10-year-old kids just dash home in uniform
after school to dutifully do their homework! And there is no doubt that
these low-income places are much much much safer than any inner city in
the US!! You won't be shot. But you should arm yourself verbally, just
in case, and the recommended gear is:

http://www.insultmonger.com/swearing/cantonese.htm

Any disappointments? Yes. Some are drab, and many are too generic and
lack that signature touch. They all look the same so if you visit one
you've probably seen them all.

Also the locals probably will not let you into their apartments. Having
been to one of these complexes and gone up the stairs into the
corridors with friends (straying way off the itinerary, of course,
after going up the Bank of China building
http://www.molon.de/galleries/China/...building .jpg
) a couple years back, these places are still recommended.

Two other things: tourists, like dogs, always 'leave their mark' -
that's why sometimes busloads of tourists in North America or elsewhere
just hop from washroom to washroom when travelling by coach. So visit
and use the washrooms. And one should try out the food also - local
flavor, be prepared for it to be fatty, oily, and dirty, but if the
locals don't get sick from it, I don't think you will.

By the way, what are these small apartments called locally? "Estates"!
Credit to Hong Kong people: they do have a sense of humor.

ltlee1 wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

Where does the "how" come from?

Have you ever seen homeless people? People can survive homeless.
Of course they can live in a small home. A small home is better than
no home.


It's a prison!
http://www.freephotosandvideos.com/p...ts/tourism.htm

RichAsianKid wrote:
ltlee1 wrote:
RichAsianKid wrote:
RAK Goes Cool....

Forget about the glitzy part of town when travelling to Hong Kong. I
recommend these Hong Kong high density apartments as your next tourist
attraction when you visit Hong Kong! It's too bad that they're not for
rent, well, they are apparently to local low income people, but not to
foreigners who like to spend a one or two nighter where you can live
and taste the life of locals (no sexual innuendo there, oh yeah, for
sure!). It's like double-intensity NYC!

The question remains, how can people *live* in tiny apartments like
these?

Where does the "how" come from?

Have you ever seen homeless people? People can survive homeless.
Of course they can live in a small home. A small home is better than
no home.


It's a prison!
http://www.freephotosandvideos.com/p...ts/tourism.htm

In comparison with the big sky of Montana and the endless plain in
American midwest, or the Mongolian grassland, metropolitans such as New
York, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong etc are all metaphorical prisons of
made of concrete forest.

Of course, metaphorical prisons are not real prisons.
The most concret prison is ones own mind. If one cannot live without a
[BMW or whatever], then he is making a prison for himself.