HONGKONG, Rainy & Colourful

#HongKong

Hong Kong — where high-rise buildings are already part of the city’s way of “getting old,” and somehow feel backdated. And yet, high-rise buildings are exactly what

the city is made of. Endless skylines of similar shapes and structures, repeating themselves over and over. It’s the colour and the light that give the city its unexpected touch and constant surprise factor.

Food exists in all shapes and forms, weird and wonderful colours. The colours of sweets, fruits, umbrellas, and night lights blur into one another. Food shaped like toys, toys shaped like food. Packaging is what adds the fun — it never fails to make you grin, to admire the creativity of marketing. The colours, flavours, and food culture break the monotone look of the buildings.

Hidden among the streets are old temples, filled with Buddhas, incense, symbols of luck and abundance — rituals quietly continuing while the city rushes past. And then there is the green island, Lantau, hosting the Big Buddha: space to wander, to wish, to pause, and to pay gratitude. Red and gold dominate here — the unmistakable colours of traditional Chinese incense packaging — grounding the spiritual in something beautifully tangible.

One temple on Lantau Island felt like stepping into a completely different world. Inside, the noise of the city vanished. Time slowed. The air was thick with incense and calm, as if the walls themselves were holding centuries of prayers. Outside, Hong Kong moved at full speed. Inside, everything softened.

Throughout the city, bamboo scaffolding climbs up buildings like living architecture — flexible, fast, and quietly impressive. A reminder that tradition here isn’t frozen in the past; it’s still working, still holding up the future, one pole at a time.

And then there was the typhoon. A moment when the city paused for safety, when plans dissolved and shelter became the priority. Heavy rain, wind pressing against windows, the strange intimacy of hiding while one of the world’s busiest cities temporarily surrendered to nature.

When the skies cleared, the tram to the Peak offered elevation — physically and mentally. A chance to gain distance, sip one of the most expensive oat milk coffees, eat a KitKat ice cream, and appreciate Hong Kong from above. From there, the density becomes poetry. From a slight distance, the city finally exhales.