9 Years of the MK

Wow-- It's been 9 years of living in Mongkok. I moved to this lovely little village on August 8th 2002 and it has changed a bit, but more importantly, I have changed a lot.

Mongkok is still the shopping and eating capital of Hong Kong in my eyes. All transport to every major area of Hong Kong can be found in Mongkok. No matter what it is that you're looking to buy, you can most likely find it in Mongkok. Food -- forget about it -- there are restaurants on top of restaurants on top of restaurants.. Night life fun, now depending on what type of fun you're looking to find, Mongkok has just about everything covered. I think there is still a disco just off Shanghai street behind the CLP building, but I will have to check on that. KOK is everywhere in the MK and bars are also in every corner of MK. Cafe's --haha- too many if you ask me but you're not asking..

Maybe your thinking why is it that I love Mongkok so much?? It is or has been rated as the most densely populated residential area in the world. So, needless to say it is a bit crowded. There are buses, taxi's, cars and minibuses everywhere, so needless to say the air quality is not a reason to move into the area but more of a reason to move out. It also has the highest crime rates of all the districts of Hong Kong and is notoriously known for crime and Triad activity. So --- Why?

I think it's a combination of all of the above mentioned components of what make Mongkok Mongkok. At anytime of the day or night you can hit the streets and find what you're looking for. If you worked and lived in Mongkok, you really would have little reason to leave the area unless forced too.

How well do you know Mongkok?? Most people have very little knowledge of where to go in MK for the things that they are looking for.. Most people come and go and stay on the same streets and window shop at the same stores time and time again. But you really need to delve into Mongkok and start going into random buildings that have some businesses in them. You would be surprised to find off the wall book shops, music shops, obscure cafe's, music rooms that are extremely cheap or even free if you go in an chat a bit and the list goes on and on. Everyone wants to do business in Mongkok simply because of the number of people that come to the district that people work off the volume equals success equation. Sometimes that works and sometimes people open in too obscure of places and have little funds or resources to get the word out about their business. So, the next time you're in MK, try to just go into a building that you've not been in before and start at the top floor and walk your way down to each floor. You will be surprised as to what you will find.

I guess that's it for now.. I know that I have written the following words before and I have all the right intentions at the time, but sometimes time just isn't on my side. But here it goes again...... I will try to keep a regular writing habit on this here site and really crack some good words and pics of Mongkok and my adventures in and out of MK... The future and past does have some great opportunities and stories. I just need to convert them from my handwritten journal to this digital format..

So, Peace for now--

The Way of MK