A Morning in Wan Chai

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Greg designs and develops YLF.

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A Morning in Wan Chai

— by Greg

on February 22, 2015

Angie and I had a couple of hours free one morning during our recent trip to Hong Kong, and we decided to spend it in Wan Chai, a neighborhood on Hong Kong Island just two MTR stops from our home base in Central. We’ve been here many times before, but like many areas of Hong Kong it has its own unique feel and there’s always a lot of interesting things to see (and photograph).

Wan Chai is just a short walk from Admiralty’s pristine skyscrapers and is a great illustration of the wonderful mix that defines Hong Kong.

The rest of these pictures were taken down the road to the left below, which is Wan Chai road.

It’s a busy road with lots of people visiting the food markets and an unending stream of delivery trucks.

Travel

25 comments · Add a comment

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Love all of these pictures! In many ways, Wan Chai looks exactly the same as it was before.

When I lived in Hong Kong in the 70s Wan Chai had a lot of bars catering to Vietnam Vets on R&R. This would have been 1973-75. At that time I was attending HKIS (HK International School, in Repulse Bay) so, not old enough to visit them. Then when I returned in 1995-97, there were bars and clubs catering to young expats from all of the Crown countries who worked in HK at that time. I’m not sure if I asked this in another blog post, but is there still the same high number of expats? My guess is, acquiring a visa is not as easy as it was during the Crown Colony days.

February 22, 2015 at 11:45 am

Greg

Administrator

CocoLion, we’ve heard conflicting views on the number of expats. Some say they are just as many as ever, but other friends tell us that there are far fewer opportunities for expats these days. I haven’t seen any hard numbers, but my guess is that its much more of the latter. I don’t think Hong Kong needs to import skills to the extent that it used to. These days the main expat hangout after hours is the area of Lan Kwai Fong in Central.

February 22, 2015 at 12:29 pm

crutcher

Veteran

Wow…what a juxtapositon of yin and yang…The old and the new..I have had such a delightful trip with your creative eye..I have really enjoyed these travel posts…Thank you for sharing and go somewhere neat to do this again…soon…

February 22, 2015 at 12:59 pm

Karie

(website)

Veteran

Such gorgeous photographs, thank you again for sharing these Greg. I feel like I’m stepping into Hong Kong when I look at them, and it makes me miss visiting Chinatown in NYC. You have an excellent way of capturing the true essence of your surroundings.
The way the vendors have the meats and seafood sitting out like that always intrigues me – I can’t imagine buying it after it has been out all day. What is the red with green fruit (?) in the 7th photo?

February 22, 2015 at 1:15 pm

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Dragonfruit!

Karie, in the best places the volume of business is high enough that very little would sit all day. The fish is on ice, so it is no different than in a supermarket, really.

Greg, these are amazing photos. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. It makes me feel as if I have been there. It looks similar to Shanghai in some ways. Modern Shanghai has that same mix of high and low in the same few blocks.

February 22, 2015 at 1:55 pm

jackiec

Veteran

More juicy photographs of your vacation! Love it! I can practically smell it through the computer screen. Thanks again for sharing

February 22, 2015 at 2:43 pm

MsMary

Veteran

Greg! How fun to see you weighing in with a blog post! Your commentary and photographs almost make me feel as though I were right there with you! I especially love the market photos — markets are some of my favorite places to visit while abroad! Thank you so much for this!!

February 22, 2015 at 2:46 pm

Debbie

Veteran

Love these pictures. I’ve loved seeing it through your eyes.

February 22, 2015 at 2:50 pm

Jjsloane

Veteran

I’m a sucker for market shots! It looks like you are enjoying using your new lens? Great shots, and always appreciate the sharing.

February 22, 2015 at 3:46 pm

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

It has been so much fun sharing into your Hong Kong travels – the second best to actually being there. Amazing shots – thank you!

February 22, 2015 at 5:53 pm

Eliza

Veteran

Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos and descriptions of neighborhoods with us. YLF is hitting all of my favorite topics with fashion, travel and food. Appreciate the inspiration on all fronts!

February 22, 2015 at 6:25 pm

SW Ann

Veteran

Thanks, Greg for the gorgeous photos of Hong Kong–I feel like I’m there! This is probably the closest I will ever get to seeing it in person, so I’m soaking up the beauty and composition of those photos….

February 22, 2015 at 7:28 pm

gardenchick

Veteran

So cool! I love those market shots, it is always facinating to see what markets look like around the world.

February 22, 2015 at 8:04 pm

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Thank you for responding to my comment and question Greg. Hong Kong continues to be a fascinating place.

February 22, 2015 at 8:20 pm

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

These photos of Wan Chai remind me of some parts of Hong Kong I remember, from a very short visit there in 1980. Maybe I went wandering around in that area during my visit.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos with us, Greg!

February 22, 2015 at 8:32 pm

skylurker

Veteran

the city comes to life in your pictures, it looks so dense and busy.
Thanks for sharing.
What’s your next destination ?

February 23, 2015 at 4:12 am

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Thanks for the fascinating pictures Greg! What a city of contrasts!

February 23, 2015 at 6:22 am

Vicki

(website)

Veteran

So colorful, so dense, and so amazing. I can feel the movement and energy just looking at these photos. Thank you, Greg, and welcome home to you and Angie!

February 23, 2015 at 8:01 am

Laurie

Veteran

Greg, gorgeous photos – colors, action, people and place. I’ve never been to HK and this definitely makes me want to put it higher on my wish list. I love the photo of the woman holding the red box selling something fried that looks good – the way you captured the exchange of money and the man popping the food into his mouth! So much said in that one shot.

February 23, 2015 at 9:24 am

merwoman

Veteran

Love these photos – thanks for sharing Greg!

February 23, 2015 at 10:15 am

Inge

(website)

Moderator

This is the icing on the cake! I was so curious to see more of the “contrasting Hong Kong”, and this is it. I love the colours, shapes and “hecticness” of the buildings in these photos, and am now more convinced than ever that I would adore Hong Kong
Street markets and independent shops are such a great way to pick up the atmosphere of a place, and to learn more about all the tasty local treats, of course.

These pictures are brilliant, Greg, thanks so much for sharing your view of the city with us.

February 23, 2015 at 10:48 am

Debora

Veteran

Greg, your photos are so beautiful! I love seeing all the different sides of the city. I’ve just added a new city to my travel wish list. Thanks for sharing. It’s been fun seeing HK through your eyes.

February 23, 2015 at 5:46 pm

Ruth M

Active Member

Late to this, but have to thank you for another batch of colourful and atmospheric photographs – I’ve loved having these glimpses into your trip, and also reading comments from members who have been to HK.

February 24, 2015 at 12:37 am

Lisa

Veteran

What colorful photos, a great glimpse of Hong Kong.

February 24, 2015 at 6:14 am

lyn67

Veteran

Loved to see the oh so lively and diversified markets of Wan Chai, wow! It’s trully overhelming me! I asked earlier if Angie speaks cantonese, and she said no. Oh, my! I know Hong Kong was British when Angie lived there and it pribably wouldn’t have been a problem communicating all the times as English is widely spoken there, still-my question was more about how did she FEEL LIKE growing up in a place where not understanding ALL that’s spoken or written. Appologies if I am just so box minded, but I find this a bit traumatic. It may not compare well, but I also grew up in a country where my mother tongue was not the official language-and it was not easy for me(us). I ended picking up the official languange from school and life as it was happening as a great necessity, but at least we had the same latin alphabet:-).

February 25, 2015 at 2:29 am

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