Lost (or Found) in Hong Kong

Filed in archive A World Away on August 23, 2007

I mentioned Hong Kong in a good light a couple of days ago. So I'm not hesitant about pointing a downside. Karl Taro Greenfeld, whose articles for Time, Salon, and World Hum come as close to explaining Asia as it really is, gives an ode to Hong Kong's famous Chungking Mansions. A budget traveler's wet dream, Chungking Mansions have all the shopping and guesthouses one could want. This somewhat squalid, somewhat mysterious maze of building and atmospheric laneways is home to small eateries, skilled tailors, shifty touts, and pretty much any experience, legal or illegal, one can imagine.

Greenfeld explains the energy at atmosphere at The Mansions:

Like Bangkok's Khao San Road or Jakarta's Jalen Jaksa, Chungking has become a legendary jumping off point, the same seedy rooms used to plot a thousand getaways, and not just for a holiday but also for a whole new life. These tiny rooms represent a nadir of sorts. Most of those passing through Chungking Mansion are very far from home and at the end of a run of horrendous bad luck. You don't show up at the Mansion on a winning streak.

Of course, it is possible to wander around the narrow corridors of the neighborhood without having to shack up at Chungking Mansions. But, if you are on a budget, this is the place to place your head.