I found this interesting arrangement in a small quiet area just to the side of the tourist drag of Stanley Market in Hong Kong. Behind all the hustle and bustle of the trading stalls lay a workshop with all manner of boat-repair paraphernalia strewn about the place. Here the vivid blue tires stood out against the surroundings, I worked quickly to make an image of it as it looked like it could topple at any second!

Incense Sprials from inside the Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong. A black and white rework of a previous shot to cut through all the haze made by the intoxicating fumes thanks to literally hundreds of these things hanging overhead. Each spiral had a message attached, I wonder what this one says…

Firstly; Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Tiger! This is the view across Victoria Harbour towards IFC1 and IFC2 (International Finance Center) at night,  identical in design except that IFC2 is over twice the height of it’s brother and currently 7th tallest building in the world. The keener eyed viewers will also recognise these from the movie Batman: The Dark Knight where , in order to capture his target, Batman jumps from the top IFC2 down to IFC1. Rather him than me.

The astute among you might have found a few new additions to the galley pages as I organise my images and start uploading them onto the website. The most recent addition (currently) is a series of images from Hong Kong, Kowloon, The New Territories and the outlying islands. Navigate to the gallery to see the series.

A trip to the quiet and unassuming Cat Street Market (officially Upper Lascar Row*) can come as a welcome diversion from such markets as found over in Kowloon. There is no gaudy plastic to be found here, mostly antiques – or excellent copies – jostle for space on the tables lining the street, each one loaded with fascinating objects. Upon approaching one stall it felt like stepping back in time to the 50′s to when People’s Republic came to power. It was quite literally overflowing with all manner of bric-a-brac under the general theme of ‘Red’. The communication gulf between myself and the wizened and wrinkled lady, who seemed to be seated somewhere inside a pile of Little Red Books (the words of Mao himself), was partially bridged as I managed to buy a couple of things from somewhere in the pile. Definitely the most interesting market of the area by a long shot!

 

*Lascars were seamen of Indian origin typically under the employ of the British Navy and merchants, some settled in Hong Kong hence the name of the road. These seamen were not the best guests and Upper Lascar Row gained the reputation as an area of lawlessness and various criminal behaviours. As noted elsewhere If something of yours was stolen the first place to look was Lascar Row, the name Cat Street refers to the Cantonese slang for thieves being ‘rats’ and hence the cats buy things from the rats… Today Lascar Row is lined with antiques and various