Dear Vicky: a hole-in-the-wall business
Here’s a title photo, shot right before I hopped on a plane with a one-way ticket.
Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places on earth, and hence the sky-high real estate prices. If you live in Hong Kong long enough, you’d hear horror stories of tiny homes, subdivided housing and more. Google around, and you may find photos of such horrors, and once seen, they cannot be unseen.
The impact of high real estate prices can been seen on the streets. Walk around Hong Kong, you’d find many small businesses. And they are small. So small that many are literally a hole in the wall. There are all kinds of businesses established in such small “real estates:” lock smiths, plumbers, hardware stores, and funnily enough, real estate agents. Many of these shops are so small they are two-dimensional. You see them often enough, you take them for granted. They are just there. But sometimes, you can’t help but stop to marvel at their tenacity, their obscure but visually striking presence amongst the skyscrapers. Okay, I’m not here to editorialise or romanticise. I am here to show pictures. Here are two photos of one such small establishment in Sai Ying Pun, near the west end of the Hong Kong island. Unfortunately, this one did not survive the pandemic. It was gone and lock smiths took its place. I am glad I took these photos before its demise. It’s a metal welding shop.
Photos were shot on Ilford XP2 film. It’s a C41 black and white stock, or a black and white film stock that can be developed as colour. It saves money and has a faster turnaround time.
This piece of Hong Kong no longer exists That’s it for today.