A quick word on space and competing in Hong Kong. First sight of those massive Hong Kong apartment buildings genuinely blows you away. Arriving at night, the road from the airport is flanked by this whole wall of lights — a forest of towers stretching from shore to mountain. Typically 30-40 stories, but in some areas pushing 60-70. Coming from Auckland and Sydney — sprawling cities where we were earlier in the trip — the contrast is a lot. Tall apartment buildings exist in plenty of other cities, but rarely on this scale. This hits different.
It’s hard to imagine how ordinary lives are shaped by this vertical world. Giant blocks clustered so tightly that several thousand people occupy a space smaller than a football pitch — all competing for the same shops, the same buses, the same trains, the same recreational space. The density is almost unreal.
Being Sunday, today we did dim sum in Tsim Sha Tsui, walked the crowds along Nathan Road, and then went deep into the Sham Shui Po markets hunting for Beyblades. If you don’t know — it’s basically a spinning top meets gladiator battle, and the kids here are genuinely obsessed. Seeing groups of them competing outside shops and on the street was honestly the highlight of the day. I had a list of exactly which one to buy, came prepared — and still got beaten to it every time. Not my finest hour.
Finished with a Korean meal in Lok Fu, the usual congested MTR ride back, and a short walk home through those towering blocks. Good day.