LIVING IN HONG KONG
RON ADRIANO
For my uncle, Prudencio Caliyo, whose passing reminded me why we take photos of things in the first place.
Room 6, Mid January Arrival
I can see glaciers from the plane window. I’m going to be very far from home for the next little bit.
Mid January
View of my room window, Late January Kowloon
Floor 2
Sham Shui Po
Mid January
Kowloon
Chinese New Year Market, Early March
Regular Street Vendor, Early February Sham Shui Po
Everything from deities to fishing line
Kowloon
Early March
Sham Shui Po
Early March
Kowloon
Late March
Sham Shui Po
Late March
Late January Kowloon
The local specialty, high-flying bamboo scaffolding installation
Tai Kok Tsui
Late January
Kowloon
Kowloon Funeral Parlour, Early April Tai Kok Tsui
The Big Hotel
Kowloon
Tai Kok Tsui
Early April
Room 6, Early March A gift for my Tita
I wake up to see the underside of a table and the feeling of a rug not much less comfortable than my own mattress. As I raise my arm to check my watch I realise where I am. It’s 9:15 am and, typically, leaving now means that I would make it to work on time. But I haven’t even started to get ready and this isn’t my apartment - I’m already at work.
Mid March
Kowloon
Tai Kok Tsui
Early April
Kowloon
Mong Kok
Early March
Kowloon
Gold Fish Market, Mid February
Mong Kok
Early March
Kowloon
Early February
Yau Ma Tei
Fruit Market, Mid February
Kowloon
Jordan
Early March
Hong Kong Island
Central
Gong Hei Fat Choi!
Late March Hong Kong Island
KAWS is also enjoying Hong Kong
Central
Early March
Hong Kong Island
About a hundred years or so, Mid February
Hong Kong Island
Oil Can Man, Mid February
Room 6, Late March
A curious Filipino woman approaches. “Sapay ag retretrato ka?” (Ilocano for, “Why are you taking photos?”) “Oh it’s just for me” “Oh! You’re English.” She walks away while staring at me in disbelief. Every time I witness helper day I can’t reconcile my feelings of homesickness and alienation. These are my people; I look like them, speak their dialect, share the same food, etc. But just because we share these things, doesn’t mean we can relate. I feel admiration and gratitude for these women because my mother had done the same thing. But this feeling of closeness also comes with the understanding that I can’t really relate to their way of life, motivations, or world-view; I am just a visitor.
Late February
Hong Kong Island
Central
Helper Day, Late February
Hong Kong Island
Lan Kwai Fong
Early March
Hong Kong Island
Sai Ying Pun
Early March
Horse’s Saddle
The Horse’s Saddle, Early February
Sai Kung
Michelin Guide seafood, Early February
Lantau Island
Tai O
Early February
Macau
Late March
Room 6. Early April Almost done
When I leave Hong Kong, it will feel as though it were all a dream. We’ve made these memories together but I don’t know when I’ll see you again. And though we might still talk, I won’t be there to remind you that I’ve been around at all. Soon, the things that we’ve said and done will be filed away deep in our minds – along with dreams, nightmares, daily happenings, past loves, and all the things we’d rather not remember. I decided to make this book because I’ve been recently reminded of how easy it is to forget people when they’re around and how hard it is to remember them once they’re gone. It contains a small collection of my favourite photographs as well as some loose memories and thoughts that I wanted to preserve in writing. Please accept this book as a token of gratitude for having shared this time in Hong Kong with me and making my experience worth remembering. It’s been surreal in more ways than one. Ron
Mid April