Note the ‘X’ taped onto the doors in preparation for the typhoon!
I can always tell a typhoon day first thing in the morning. Even without watching the news or checking online, there’s an eerie silence in the neighborhood. (This is perhaps due to the lull in the incessant drilling that takes place nearly 365 days a year!) The only other time this silence occurs is during the Chinese New Year holiday.
Friday morning was one such quiet period. Confirming that there was indeed a typhoon, I stayed in for most of the day, finally venturing out around 11 pm. Despite the typhoon signal number 9, a time when there are barely any taxis on the road, and when both public and private offices are shut, many of Hong Kong’s nightlife institutions remained open.
Walking through Lan Kwai Fong, one of the main bar areas in Hong Kong, I decided to conduct a little research. What would the difference be between Friday and Saturday nights? See for yourself!
Lan Kwai Fong on Friday night around 2 am:
The same spot on Saturday night around 1 am:
Passing typhoons usually help clean the air and Saturday was no exception. The day after the typhoon hit Hong Kong, the skies were blue and visibility was high. On Saturday afternoon I decided to go for a walk to see if I could spot any damage.
Most of Central wasn’t effected much by the typhoon. The biggest potential threat are high winds that occasionally knock down shop signs and advertisements that hang from the side of buildings. The bamboo that’s used in building construction can supposedly withstand typhoons better than rigid scaffolding. (But that doesn’t make me feel any more comfortable walking underneath those sharp wooden spikes!)
The Peak, with all its trees and shrubbery gets hit much harder by high winds.
These photos were taken on Luard Road which winds around the Peak. On Saturday afternoon, the normally clean roadway was littered with downed branches.
Want more Hong Kong typhoon madness? Check out some of my previous typhoon posts here and here!