This is Hong Kong Culture - The strange and the weird

July 8, 2024 Jamie Lloyd

Volume 4 - The Strange side of Hong Kong Culture

Discover the Real Hong Kong with Jamie

Another 18 Strange | Weird Hong Kong Images

Hong Kong Culture 101

Being English and from Yorkshire and of a certain age I have what is called a very well developed sense of humour, honed on Monty Python humour for the most part…

Living in Hong Kong for 52 years has not affected my humour in any shape or form and I have over the years taken quite a few images that are strange, odd, perplexing and just plain weird and I hope they will make you smile and perhaps give you a little insight into Hong Kong Culture.

The images are as usual in a totally random order and yes, this is volume 4, for volume 1, 2 and 3 click on the buttons below

Probably not a good idea to have a brand called “Moist Diane” !

This got embarrassing as I found myself explaining to certain young ladies why this poster is hilarious, my English female friends got it, my wife and her Chinese female friends and relatives did not.

Try explaining if you will why MOIST, DIANE is not a good choice for a brand of haircare and skincare products for young ladies, you will not be surprised to know that it is a Japanese brand.

I should point out that in all their 2024 adverts I have seen in Hong Kong, they seem to have dropped the MOIST, from the brand name, Diane is now just plain Diane and is no longer moist (sorry!) and then you look at their websites and everything is Moist, Diane, it is all very confusing

…. and sometimes I get the impression that I am the only one to see the funny side of this cultural faux pas

This baby Cobra almost took me out…

Snake soup is one of those local cultural things, good for humans not good for the snake - one of the more interesting things I did was go into a snake shop in Sheung Wan and management was very accommodating, they opened a large wooden chest and there had to be 50+ baby cobra’s in there, you can actually see one making a bid for freedom in the background, anyway long story short the snake in the snake wranglers hand went for me and bit my camera hood and left it’s venom on the lens… to say it scared the crap out of me is an understatement!

Personally I rather like snakes and they do not particularly scare me but this whole snake eating cultural thing is just a little wrong, but given I eat meat I can hardly complain.

All that remains of the iconic Kowloon Walled City

What could have been Hong Kong’s greatest Cultural Conservation Project.............

Kowloon Walled City was an aberration, a little piece of China in British Hong Kong and home to anywhere between 33,000 to 50,000 poor people in 1990 on a plot of land of roughly 7 acres, illegal high rises were built on illegal high rises and builders flouted all construction laws. The entire Walled City was controlled by criminal elements who operated on the basis that they would never be prosecuted and this led to an influx of unlicenced Doctors and Dentists and thousands of wanted criminals and hardcore drug users.. make no mistake it was a slum.

I used to go to Kowloon Walled City when I was a kid in Hong Kong in the early 1970's, I was always fascinated at how so many people could live in really dodgy buildings, full of criminals, prostitutes and such and yet they seemed pretty happy and just tried to make a living. I was one of the lucky ones who witnessed this amazing place.

To cut a very long story short, the Chinese Government and British Government agreed in 1984 that Kowloon Walled City could be demolished and a park (Kowloon Walled City Park) was touted as the replacement, all well and good so far.

Had some real effort been put in by the Hong Kong Government, they could have easily preserved a couple of the buildings and alleyways and turned them into a Museum (which they have done successfully with other buildings here) but I guess this was too much trouble (and cost) and when demolition started in 1993 it was a near total demolition and in essence all that remains are the exposed foundations of a single building and one very low rise building which is as interesting as watching grass grow and then they built a very nice but very bland park... what a total conservation disaster.

I understand that preserving old illegal buildings is problematical but look at what the Government did with the hugely successful conservation project, the Tai Kwun Centre on Hollywood Road and they had to preserve buildings from the mid 1800's (and yes, one of them did fall down during renovations!) | quite simply it could of and should have been done.

What a shame to deprive residents and visitors alike the chance to see a major cultural icon, a few grainy photographs and a scale model do not and will never do Kowloon Walled City justice and the very bland park is like many other bland parks in Hong Kong with a thousand signs attached to gates and fences threatening heavy fines and jail time for littering and not following the footpaths.

Welcome to Hong Kong.

The Golden Orb Spider - it’s as big as it looks

Oh yes… I have a thing about spiders and have spent a lot of time in our Hong Kong summers tracking them down to take images of them, I am totally fascinated by the Golden Orb spider.

This was a another particularly large one about 70% of the size of my hand and as my camera does not have a zoom lens I had to get very close lucky for me that they do not jump, I have no problem with them, they can give you a bit of a nip but I always think it is the size of the bloody things that gives you the nightmares.

Kids love them, parents hate them and at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, they are everywhere but very, very hard to spot and what you can’t see………..

A slightly delayed birthday gift for our youngest son in 2016 on his 16th birthday!

…. and this is not what you think.

Hooters only lasted a couple of years in Hong Kong before high rents forced it’s closure in 2018, shame really, it was a lovely if somewhat expensive place to visit, our youngest son got his wish to visit in 2016 and that was good enough for me….

Solid 24k Gold R2 D2 Statue

Pure 24k Gold R2D2 around 23lbs of gold so currently around US$883,000+ | Chow Tai Fook, Jewellery Retailer, all Districts, Hong Kong - this was and probably still is, in the 2nd floor showroom in their ISquare Mall showroom in TST Kowloon

Prostitutes in Hong Kong always look so sad

Long story short, prostitution is legal in Hong Kong and in and around the Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon, the business goes on 24 | 7. I am so sad that these young ladies (mainly from Mainland China) are so sad, it is an awful way to make a living

The on | off caring point in subway stations (The MTR)

Caring Centre, MTR Station, Hong Kong - for fainting female locals | Yes, we have always had a problem with young ladies in Hong Kong feeling ill on the subway - where I come from it is called pulling a sickie! it gets so bad sometimes that they put these caring points on the platform and the so called sick person would get a “sick note” to prove to employers they took ill travelling to work, they are not in all stations and they appear when their is “demand”

This image was taken in 2018, a couple of years before Covid appeared.

Only in Hong Kong

The four gorgeous models that stopped me in my tracks

Oh golly

I quite often sit in the lobby of the Peninsula Hotel doing a spot of people watching and on this day, the planets aligned in 280,000 alternate Universes.

These young ladies were models, dressed up to the nines heading out for a photo shoot, I had already asked the chap in the suit outside who was their manager what all the fuss was about

For me it was like time stood still as I gawked but still had the presence of mind to take their photo!

I can almost guarantee he does not have a girlfriend

I have no explanation how this thing which passes itself off as a motorbike is even legal… to put it bluntly he just looks stupid and it is an accident waiting to happen, he will not survive being hit by a double decker bus or large truck.

The demise of street performers in Hong Kong Street Markets

Sadly you hardly ever see street performers these days on the streets of Hong Kong, it is such a shame as they certainly attract the crowds and give the place a bit of a buzz.

The Tai Cheong Bakery - famous for it’s long queue’s

In normal times there is always a long queue 7 days a week outside the Tai Cheong Bakery in Wyndham Street in Central on Hong Kong Island, this is what Covid did to the retail trade in Hong Kong, not a customer in sight.

I could absolutely wear this Graff Hong Kong watch

We are blessed that Graff has shops in Hong Kong, they make and sell exquisite jewellery costing zillions of $., I love this watch with that amazing Hong Kong Skyline dial.

Looking down on ChungKing Mansions in TST Kowloon

Those huge buildings in the central part of the image are the ChungKing Mansions which opened in 1961 and should be on every visitors list of places to visit.

I simply suggest you search on Google for ChungKing Mansions Hong Kong for the thousands of comments and stories about the place, it is amazing

We have highly trained Police Officers in Hong Kong

I photograph the Police going about their business all the time, they are very, very professional and they always give me the once over, excellent training.

The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Temple in Hong Kong at Chinese New Year

Visit Hong Kong | The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, a fabulous insight into Hong Kong Culture and Religion - Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism are covered at the Temple plus you get an appreciation of Hong Kong Government Public (Social) Housing in the area that should be nuff said…… but….. I can simply never understand why some Private Guides in Hong Kong refuse to take guests here, it makes no sense, this Temple has had so much influence on Hong Kong culture for over 100 years

It is a must visit and it is easy to get to.

Did I mention that 8 is a lucky number in Hong Kong?

8 means wealth and Hong Konger’s are very superstitious, this minibus operator leaves you in no doubt that this is route no. 8

Street Signs for mainly one hour hotels in Mong Kok Hong Kong

Sadly due to imaginary safety concerns the Hong Kong Government is determined to eradicate all street signs and erase a large part of Hong Kong Culture

Most of these signs in Mong Kok are advertising one hour hotels and they are very popular (the hotels not the signs!)

So there you have it - as and when I collect more strange and weird images I will do another blog post.

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This unique experience offers an authentic insight into the real Hong Kong, providing a deeper understanding of the city's culture, history, and local way of life.

Led by Jamie, a dedicated Hong Kong specialist and resident for 52 years, the experience covers many aspects of Hong Kong's identity, spanning its time under both British and Chinese rule.

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Jamie, your friend in Hong Kong

52 years living in Hong Kong, our family arrived on January 2nd 1972

I have lived here for 25 years under British Rule, 27 years under Chinese Rule

I have 45 years of Business Consultancy experience in Hong Kong

My wife is a local & has lived her entire life in Hong Kong, her first language is Cantonese

We have 3 Adult sons all born and educated in Hong Kong, 2 still live in Hong Kong

I pioneered the Private Tour Industry in Hong Kong in 2010

2,324 completed award winning Private Tours of Hong Kong from 2011 - 2020

……and yes, I am a bit of an expert on the Hong Kong car culture!

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See this Instagram gallery in the original post

Current images from my Instagram feed