I love Hong Kong, the hustle and bustle, the convergence of the old and brand spanking new. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in Mongkok, the heart of old Kowloon, which 20 years ago was claimed to be the most densely populated place on earth.
In 1969, the Far Eastern Economic Review described it as "one of the most swinging parts of Hong Kong". And it still is. More "Chinese-only" than southern Kowloon mid last century, the area has changed dramatically in recent years but there is still a whiff of the old city on the crowded footpaths, in stark contrast to the shiny new Langham Place Hotel and shopping centre soaring above Shanghai Street.
Arrive late at night and the narrow thoroughfares are busy with bare-chested men unloading great crates of produce from rickety trucks. In the early morning the teeming footpaths close to the hotel are a minefield of activity: butchers plying their trade (I tiptoe around buckets of tongues and bullocks' hooves); fishmongers stocking tanks with curious, generally unidentifiable creatures of the deep; and greengrocers laying out trays of freshly picked choi sum and baskets spilling over with pink dragon fruit and tiny pineapples
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