If your local bus company forgets to provide something to sit on while you wait there is always a bit of lateral thinking. All over Hong Kong suburbs I noticed that locals had brought out their surplus dining chairs and placed them invitingly at bus stops. It’s a charming mini protest that seems typical of Hong Kong. Here in Britain this could never happen (although, it has to be said, bus stops such as the above are usually equipped with a narrow sloping bench on which to perch). Here, any chairs left at bus stops would disappear overnight. Anything not nailed down is fair game and, even if the chairs escaped the scavengers, the local authority would remove them on the grounds of Health and Safety. An old chair might collapse and the council would have to pay compensation.
I snapped this row of empty chairs with my Leica Q from the window of a No.6 near Stanley. Sitting on the double-decker I was surprised to find that it is an identical vehicle, even down to the seating arrangements, to the red bus I use regularly in my local London suburb. I was able to choose my favourite seat and felt quite at home. Made by Alexander Dennis of Guildford, this green Hong Kong conveyance is another charming reminder of the territory’s British past.
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