Touchdown in Hong Kong

October 2017

During my travels I had kept a keen motivation for wanting to explore this city I had always heard so much about. Be it through the news of its recent tumultuous history, its martial arts movies of the 70's and 80's (think Bruce Lee) or the poignant films of Wong Kar-wai. Not to mention through the works of prolific photographers such as Greg Girard's dreamy and gritty film captures of decades past.

After a journey through Vietnam, I made it my first pit-stop before attempting to enter China via Shenzhen, another country that felt a mystery to me - making Hong Kong a fitting stepping stone. What I found was a unique atmosphere I had never quite felt before in the cities I had so far visited in the world; Hong Kong's dense populations and towering blocks, maze of streets, markets and food stalls, the neon signs, the electric bustle and magnitude of the city generally was captivating, so new, yet also familiar; as a Brit, in some elements of it's culture, layout and of course the history. Hong Kong was really brimming with character.

Goes without saying that Hong Kong sets the scene for a street photographers paradise. In between waiting for my Chinese visa to process I was fully lost, and enjoying it. Wandering the vibrant districts of Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Kowloon.

And it seems fitting to finish on the iconic view from Victoria Peak, an image widely seen by many, and is fairly typical as far as Hong Kong cityscapes go, but it felt rude not to as an ode to a city that entranced me and left me wanting to dig more under the surface, if only it wasn't so eye-wateringly expensive. Here's to returning again one day.