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  #1  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2020, 9:35 AM
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Hong Kong During the Coronavirus Outbreak

The novel coronavirus COVID-19 arrived in Hong Kong on Jan 23, 2020 with the the first confirmed case from a mainland Chinese tourist who arrived by high-speed train.

Highly suspicious of reported numbers from the mainland, who withheld information in 2003 when SARS blew up, there was pressure from both sides of the political divide to shut the border entirely to protect the city. As cases increased in the coming days, and coupled with the Chinese New Year hutdown, rumours started flying of supply shortages. Crowds cleared supermarket shelves of rice and toilet paper.





While officials tried to quell the rumours and business leaders reassured abundant supplies, line-ups continued when stores tried to restock their shelves after the long holiday. A lot of mistrust against the government had built up from half a year of pro-democracy demonstrations, and residents could not rely on the highly-paid government officials to help secure vital supplies. Here, a line formed to buy toilet paper at this supermarket, a fairly common sight in the weeks following Chinese New Year.



Sanitizer and face masks hae also become hot commodities. Huge crowds lined up for hours to obtain the small quotas available as the shortage spread across the region There was considerable anger at the government for not imposing price restrictions to prevent gouging. Officials' promises that millions more masks were on their way and the government was actively souring them amidst the global shortage never materialized. Supplies started re-emerging in limited numbers by late February.







Amidst the shortage, some mischevious sellers were recycling used masks by ironing them to make them look new. Others ventured further to Korea and Japan to find stock. At the time, they still didn't experience mass outbreaks.





With schools closed, people working from home, and malls thinned out, people headed to the countryside to relax. Hiking trails became crowded on the weekend.





























Back in the city, Soho has been hard hit with many restaurants and bars closing. Rents are still too high while business has collapsed. This is quite evident along the escalator ride up from Central, as well as the epicentre of the bar district along Staunton, Elgin, and Old Bailey Streets.































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-covid19.htm
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  #2  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2020, 3:04 AM
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Lung Ha Wan is famous for a rock carving by the sea. Accessing the location is relatively simple by bus. This was perhaps why the trail was so crowded, and with many not wearing face masks, I was a bit concerned at the increased level of complacency.











A sign and staircase leads down to the rocky shore and the rock carving, which was discovered by hikers in 1978. The geometric patterns resemble animals and birds, but there is a debate whether this was man-made or natural.























More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-clearwater.htm
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  #3  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2020, 5:29 PM
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Cool pics! The situation there is very similar to the U.S. and I will forever be perplexed by the toilet paper hoarding.
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  #4  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2020, 11:17 AM
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Finding a good activity on the weekend without the crowds is quite difficult. Many have hit the hiking trails or outlying islands. I didn't want to invest in a yacht and sail to an empty piece of real estate in the sea so I turned to a forgotten historic squatter slum for inspiration.

Originally a Hakka settlement, many of Cha Kwo Ling's residents worked at the granite quarry from the mid 19th century to the 1940s. It was one of 4 old villages in Kowloon, of which only 2 have survived. As the city grew around it, this place seemed to have stopped in time. Today, it is just a short walk from Laguna City, a highrise residential area where a 500 square foot apartment can cost USD $1 million.

Much of the population left in the 90s for public housing, and the village is slated for redevelopment although there are new immigrants from China living in the squatter homes.























































More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-chakwoling.htm
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  #5  
Old Posted May 6, 2020, 1:39 PM
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Finding a quiet hiking trail with a nice view is a challenge these days as people flood the countryside on weekends. The hike up Cheung Ngau Shan in the northwestern suburbs starts in a small old village and looked promisingly empty.















This dirt trail gets steep and slippery at times, and with no tall trees, I roasted under the sun for almost an hour heading up.



The hills on the other side are far higher and looked just as difficult.















The skyline in the background is Shenzhen.





More : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-northwestnt.htm
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  #6  
Old Posted Jun 2, 2020, 2:38 PM
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Miniature replicas of classic Hong Kong were out on display at Heritage 1881 earlier this year. The exhibition is divided into 5 different theme areas. At the entrance is the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, a floating colour parade (piu sik), and the Cheung Chau Bun Festival.





















Dim sum carts with name plaques of its contents at the front once roamed restaurants, but labour got progressively expensive and now the common way to enjoy dim sum is to check off what you like on a piece of paper.













There was a drive to remove street food carts like these due to sanitary concerns.









More : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-miniature.htm
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  #7  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2020, 6:53 PM
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^ It's like what they call santons in my country. This is really old and traditional over here.
It's a cute thing. All little kids would go fascinated at villages made up of these figurines.
Myself, I was fond of them as a kid for Christmas.

Nowadays, some specialized craftsmen can stage thousands of these figurines in a same traditional village scene. It's just amazing.
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  #8  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2020, 3:36 PM
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A great way to escape the city is to enjoy one of the many islands that make up the city by boat. A yacht can actually be quite affordable if you know where to look, although parking and maintenance fees do add up. The salt water is not too good for the boats while gas is quite pricey for a day's outing.





































More on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-saikung2.htm
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  #9  
Old Posted Jun 28, 2020, 4:57 PM
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With life getting back to normal, crowds have begun appearing again. The latest faze is a sunflower field in an otherwise obscure location deep in suburbia that is closer to Shenzhen than Hong Kong's core. The farm owners are quite enterprising, charging a modest admission, creating simple paths and arranging the plants to make them look good in photos. They even offer sunflower stalks for visitors to borrow to make that perfect selfie.

















More on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-sunflower.htm
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  #10  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2020, 4:48 AM
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Despite the 30C+ heat, it is still worth hiking in the summer heat as the skies are more crisp and clear with southerly winds. This hike on Tsing Yi island is short but the views are very rewarding.









For air-conditioned comfort, many have booked fancy hotels for staycations as rates have fallen. Some hotels even bundle meal deals with the tourist traffic gone. This hotel in Mongkok offers a rooftop pool and nice views of the concrete jungle. They're a bit far from the harbour and not tall enough for a spectacular skyline view though.



















More photos on my website : here
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  #11  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2020, 5:24 PM
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I wonder if some of the COVID boardups will stay boardups because of the new status with China
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  #12  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2020, 4:10 PM
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Supporting our local unique shops has been an important slogan during the virus slump. Mongkok's Fa Yuen Street market is a good place to find these in an open-air setting. One venerable shop is a bakery selling traditional eats for over 30 years.































More photos on my website.
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  #13  
Old Posted Jul 25, 2020, 5:26 AM
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awesome thread, thank you for posting and keeping it updated during these crazy times.

i miss travel. last week i went one county over for work to our satellite office for the first time since march (despite an increase in positive cases) and it felt great despite a hard day's work, and the landfill smelling absolutely awful.

these are so cool, do you mind if i repost to some building block groups?



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Old Posted Jul 25, 2020, 5:41 AM
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I've heard about second wave of coronavirus. The worst part will be during the winter time to see the difference between flu and COVID-19.
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Old Posted Jul 25, 2020, 12:04 PM
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Originally Posted by LSyd View Post
these are so cool, do you mind if i repost to some building block groups?
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Sure. I've got my watermark on the photo already so re-posting is not a problem at all.
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  #16  
Old Posted Aug 13, 2020, 8:51 AM
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With the third wave under way, everyone is back on edge and hand sanitizer is a common sight in malls, apartment entrances, and workplaces. I noticed a dispenser was also installed near the bottom of the Midlevels escalator.



Despite the renewed threat, the bus spotting crowd was out in action when Citybus inaugurated a few special livery buses last weekend. They are quite organized and well aware where the buses they want to photograph are on the route. Follow them, and you won't be disappointed.







Sunday is the typical rest day for our domestic workers, many of whom come from the Philippines and Indonesia. With social distancing laws in place, only groups of maximum 2 are allowed. However, that wasn't the case in Central, where many of these workers congregate on Sunday and a few streets are closed off specially for them. While the police were quick to arrest pro-democracy protesters, they were far more lenient on the domestic worker groups with only leaflets and a sign.





This summer's weather has so far been quite pleasant with many weeks of blue skies and temperatures haven't been extreme. There hasn't been much typhoon activity in our part of the South China Sea as well.







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Old Posted Aug 13, 2020, 10:54 AM
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Cool idea for a thread. I was hoping to do the same for London, though I only have iPhone photos. Never made it out with the camera before the lockdown started to ease (was mostly on my bike or running). Maybe I’ll do an iPhone photo thread at some point.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EastSideHBG View Post
Cool pics! The situation there is very similar to the U.S. and I will forever be perplexed by the toilet paper hoarding.
There’s an Instagram account called “Overheard in London” (there are sister accounts for a few cities). One of the best posts early in the pandemic was someone saying “I grew up in Beirut during the civil war. There was shelling every evening. Never once did we run out of toilet paper.”
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Old Posted Aug 17, 2020, 3:27 AM
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With foreign travel off the itinerary for much of this year, the scramble for local tourism has yielded some interesting surprises. Many have booked luxury hotels for staycations, and there is no shortage of these trip reports on Youtube. I decided to head to 2 of the city's longest bridges for a more unique vantage point.

With a span of 1018m, Stonecutters Bridge opened in 2009 at the entrance of the Rambler Channel and container port. It offers a spectacular view of the skyline from the vehicle deck but it looks great at the base as well.





The western end of the bridge is on Tsing Yi Island. Despite its skyline views, this section of the island is mostly industrial. What a waste.











You can see a steady stream of large container ships come into port set against the city's 2 tallest buildings.



You don't have to worry about crowds or social distancing here. There were only a sprinkle of fishermen along the breakwater.



Not too far away, it is possible to walk underneath another major bridge. Lido Beach is just next to the Ting Kau Bridge and there is a park next door that goes right underneath it.





Although there are lifeguards on duty, theoretically the beach has closed due to the virus.





The perpendicular bridge on the other side is the Tsing Ma, the world's longest suspension bridge for both cars and trains at the time it opened with the new airport project back in the 1990s.



More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-bridge2.htm
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  #19  
Old Posted Aug 17, 2020, 3:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 10023 View Post
Cool idea for a thread. I was hoping to do the same for London, though I only have iPhone photos. Never made it out with the camera before the lockdown started to ease (was mostly on my bike or running). Maybe I’ll do an iPhone photo thread at some point.
I've seen some incredible photos come out of iPhones in recent years. I would have thought they were taken with DLSRs!
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Old Posted Aug 26, 2020, 5:06 PM
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Looking at the crowds, it didn't seem like we were in the third wave. The Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market opened in 1913 and continues to process about half of the city's fruit supply. Once an unsafe slum where triads fought for territory, today's fruit market is busy at night when wholesalers are at work, and a retail paradise during the day when rich folks with deep pockets want to try some exotic fares from afar.



























Taiwan's 8424 watermelon has become famous in recent years.



I tried pitahaya for the first time in Colombia a few years ago. They are fairly common in supermarkets and wet markets nowadays and supplies don't appear to be seasonal.



Japanese premium grapes don't come cheap. The bottom ones cost about USD$18 a pack and the row about them $40.







More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/hk-fruitmarket.htm
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