Weekly Phoneography Challenge: My Neighbourhood.

So the weekly photo challenge is My Neighbourhood as seen through a smart phone. I decided to cheat on this slightly, I did not use a camera, camera like some have, but instead I have used a new ipad. I figured it is a hand-held device that does a lot of the things that my iphone does but with a better set up for taking an image. It actually worked out better than I thought it would, and I got quite a lot of images.

Let me start by talking about “My Neighbourhood.” I live in Hong Kong on the Kowloon side in a place called Tai Kok Tsui. I live on a big new estate with a lot of features that make my life very easy, and I have lived there for the whole time I have been in Hong Kong.  I love where I live,it is close enough to town for me to get whatever I want but is more local in lots of ways, something I really enjoy. It used to be/still is pretty notorious for its cage homes, or so some of my friends from the police rugby team tell me. ( See the following web link for an example. Cage Home)

What it is also famous for is metal working and recycling shops, something I really enjoy. I love seeing the metal being worked and cut, maybe this comes from my family history as both of my grandparents worked in heavy industry.

But the area is changing, the Urban Renewal Authority has come in and are starting to tear old buildings down and replace them with new apartments and hotels. The character of the area is being lost and I feel a little bit sad about it all in a way.

Anyway on to the photos, I have a lot this week as I have so much to show of the area.

All of these shots are from the metal working shops, or the street outside the shop in the case of the last one.

The guard dogs that look after these workshops are well looked after and do a really good job of barking at people that they do not recognise.

The following images are of some of the old buildings. The second one shows some of the redevelopment that has happened in the background. Along with one of the buildings that used to be a cage home area.

The new building is nearly complete so down comes the bamboo scaffolding. I am always amazed at how high they go with this stuff. When they were building the tall building in the previous picture the bamboo went all the way to the top, about 70 floors.

 

 

 

 

At the end of the day some of the workers are winding down with a cool beer.

They also recycle metal here with trucks turning up with old window frames, fire extinguisher’s and old air conditioners to name some. There is a lot of complaints about this activity as they often park two deep.

It is not all metal working shops, there are also car places that can give your car a quick clean or buff.

You can also get something to eat at a local “Cha Tsan Tang” basically a local white wall restaurant with good cheap local style food. For fellow Brits the guy is not swearing, just posing.

But it is not all heavy industry, there are some relaxing features. Hong Kong has some really good local parks where you will find a quieter, greener location that is a breath of fresh.  This one is right outside where I live.

In the park you will find a lot of old guys playing Chinese chess on the special tables they provide.

So there you have my neighbourhood. I was impressed with the images that the ipad took. I am planning on returning to take some more images of the cut metal pieces with the painted ends on my proper camera. I think they would have made good images for last weeks challenge.

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