There is a large Filipino population here in Hong Kong, mainly consisting of younger women. Almost all of them are employed as domestic housewives, maids, drivers, waiters etc. Basically, the jobs that the Hong Kong people themselves don't want to do. They work hard 6 days a week, and their only day off comes on Sunday. So when Sunday comes, they are everywhere. They usually crowd together in public spaces en mass to catch up/relax/play games and basically do nothing. It reminds me of school girls at recess.
I knew about this phenomenon beforehand, but I had the pleasure of stumbling upon an extremely large gathering on a trip to central. There were thousands of them, all women, and they were sitting in all groups along and in this street in Central. The city even closes down the street in anticipation of their "social time".
After that quick detour, I arrived at this really interestingly designed Starbucks. Half of the inside of the store looked like any other Starbucks, and the other half was designed to look like a historical Hong Kong Bing Sutt corner. These existed in the 40's 50's as kind of a local "soda shop". It literally translates to Ice Room, and inside people could gather and enjoy some western treats and traditional Chinese tea and coffee. The cool half was designed by a local modern/culture store called G.O.D. (Goods of Desire) - who mark is working for on his project for class. You can check out their website HERE.
The Bing Sutt Corner
You can see people taking photos in the space in the background.
Where the transformation actually begins..
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