HONG KONG, May 10 — It can be suffocating.
We are surrounded on all sides by tall buildings, many of them a dishwater brown or greying like the frizzy hair of a wuxia hermit.
They seem stacked one atop the other, leaning against their neighbours for succour. And within them, and on the streets and alleys that wind between them, are so many people packed tightly together — to the tune of 340,000 humans per square mile — that it’s declared the busiest district in the world by the Guinness World Records.
Welcome to Mong Kok.
This is a city within a city, the Hong Kong that older visitors or movie buffs imagine Hong Kong to be: a labyrinth of neon lights and dangerous alleys, of triad members who follow a forgotten honour code, of a lost neighbourhood nearly left behind by the ever more rapid development elsewhere on the island.
When I think of Mong Kok, I think about one of my favourite directors, the auteur Wong Kar-wai.
Famed for art-house atmospheric films such as In the Mood for Love and Chungking Express, Wong really got his start with As Tears Go By, his starry 1988 debut (it doesn’t get starrier than Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Jacky Cheung, surely?) chronicling the lives of triad anti-heroes in Mong Kok.
Part of me believes that side of Mong Kok still survives today, after the sun has set, although perhaps without Wong’s inimitable stylings.
But there is another side to Mong Kok, one that is less romantic, perhaps, but also less dark. The trick is to wake up earlier than the hordes of tourists still nursing their hangovers from the previous night's excesses or gluttonous midnight repasts at the night markets.
I say trick but for many of Mong Kok’s residents it’s a way of life: an early start to the day.
The truth is Mong Kok never sleeps. So even as you step out of your hotel, at however unearthly an hour, there is life on the streets.
Some shops are already open. Folks are out and about, cleaning and making deliveries. In their often aged and grizzled faces, you witness a frozen moment in time that may disappear once this generation passes.
For now, you can still see the iconic bamboo scaffolding that is one of Hong Kong’s best preserved traditions. It might appear terrifying: an entire shaky-looking skeletal structure constructed of bamboo.
However, the natural material is actually safer; as the bamboo rods are light, they don’t cause as much damage as metal scaffolding if they fall down.
We have even come across entire rods of bamboo carpeting the pavement, waiting to be used once the licensed bamboo scaffolders arrive.
These professionals work quickly and can assemble a 1,000-foot-tall scaffold in a single day! This might explain the density of skyscrapers on the island...
There is so much to explore: the morning street food vendors lining Sai Yeung Choi Street, Soy Street and Dundas Street where you can snack on siu mai or brave the delights of stinky tofu; hunt down limited-edition kicks at Fa Yuen Street South or Sneakers Street; marvel at how over 50 retailers for construction materials can compete and survive along Tile Street (Qijun Gai).
More than surviving; most seem to be thriving. It makes sense that Mong Kok means “prosperous corner” in Cantonese (and is actually pronounced as “Wong Kok” by the locals); it’s congested, bustling and a place where everyone who’s willing to hustle can prosper.
We opt for somewhere a little less crowded though and head for Tung Choi Street, where a very special morning market is already underway.
Also known as Kam Yu Gai (literally “Goldfish Street”), this portion of Tung Choi Street that intersects with Bute Street is a secret haven for those seeking to complete their aquariums with all manner of freshwater and marine fish.
Arrive early enough and you might even catch the delivery trucks with polystyrene boxes filled with large plastic bags of tropical fish. Even if you don’t fancy purchasing a fish (somewhat unlikely if you’re in town for a vacation), the experience of joining the regulars and early birds gawking at what’s on offer makes it worth waking up before others do.
Some of the other shops sell other pets such as cats and dogs, even reptiles, but there’s nothing quite like the sight of all the different types of goldfish, all in their own individual plastic bags, waiting for someone to fall in love with them and bring them home.
This is Mong Kok before other tourists wake up: full of noise and colour and little everyday miracles. Don’t forget to set your alarm clock.
