The Walled City of Kowloon

[dchan]

I don't remember everything since the last time I extensively walked around Tsim Sha Tsui. This was back in 1999, when I was 14.

I remember that the Tsim Sha Tsui area directly around the water was nice, especially in the presence of the Peninsula Hotel. Going deeper into Nathan Road, I remember it was a weird mix of expensive shops (Rolex, Seiko, etc.) and shady malls and the like.

But what I recall most that has stuck in my mind were the Chunking Mansions. I had no idea what they were called, and I recall seeing the word "hotel" on the side of the buildings. I looked up towards the upper floors from the nice shops around the ground floor and thought that those were either sweat shops or some shady places to live. They looked deserted despite the presence of open windows and fluorescent lights. I can't really describe what I saw too well, only that it has stuck in my mind ever since I looked up towards the upper floors of the buildings.