Made famous by Wong Kar-wai in his quirky classic Chungking Express, the Chungking Mansions are, well, a shithole. A right shithole.
A massive, atrium-style compound with 17 floors, their lower levels house a bazar-like maze of small shops selling electronics, phone cards, cheap souvenir and clothes. Most of the shop owners are Indian or Pakstani, as are many of the residents of the Chungking Mansions. The upper levels have flats, "businesses" of various sorts (some trustworthy, others less so), as well as countless affordable hostels and guest houses. "Affordable" here means not necessarily cheap of value for money, but certainly small and miserable.
Why do I know so much about the place? Well, I regret to say that Himself and me stayed around the corner in the equally shitty Mirador Mansions! Since we went during one of the busiest weeks and didn't book far enough in advance, the tiny, sweaty confines of the USA Hostel were the best match to our budget.
We therefore got the full Chungking Express experience, coming in and leaving through the bustling market every day to the beat of Arabic music, the smell of Indian food and the sounds of countless Indian, Pakistani and Middle Eastern gentlemen approaching us: "Sir, care for a suit?" "Ma'am, handbag?" "Copy watch?" "Copy bag?" in their unique accents. Every time you came into or left the mansions, no escaping them.
The regularity with which they would pick us to approach was stunning, and thus we ended up creating the Copy Song: take any fancy pop tune and keep half-saying, half-singing, "Copy watch, copy suit, copy bag?" "Copy suit, copy bag, copy anything!" (Don't forget the accent!)Anyway, here are my photos of the Chungking Mansions. After living in their companion hole for a week, I must say that the film captured the crammed, noisy, colourful multicultural bustle very well. Hang on- you haven't seen Chungking Express? Simple- watch it, now!
Bis dann,
Nadine
Panoramic exterior view
Funny enough, the time that I went in there to take photos, the place was suspiciously quiet. Must have just been raided by the immigration cops or so.
Takeshi Kaneshiro chasing some illegal immigrant in a fantastic shot from the movie
Brigitte Lin in Chungking Express- she plays a drug dealer who is using Indians to smuggle her stuff over the border. After having spent even a day in the Mirador Mansions, I could totally see how such activity is possible in this kind of place.
The, ehm, view- not actually from the Chungking but the Mirador Mansions, but I imagine they're broadly similar.
Posts
