Day #145: Hong Kong trams

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One of my favourite features in Hong Kong are the old-style street trams, built by the British in the early 1900s and shipped over. There is only really one route, running along the north of Hong Kong Island, with a small side route into Happy Valley. Just taking the tram from one end of the line to the other is a great way of getting a flavour of the island, and I wished I had done it on the first day I was there for orientation, rather than the last. They feel so narrow inside - the opposite of the design of modern transport, which is as roomy as possible - that you start to think they might topple over on bends. The tramlines aren't separated from the rest of the roads, so the traffic weaves around the trams.

The trams are very much still used by local commuters and are rammed full during rush hour . They are also covered in advertisements these days, so don't look as charmingly antique as they otherwise might - on the other hand, it was nice to see they have not been relegated to tourist relics. There is at least one tram, though, that has been preserved with something resembling its original maroon-with-gold-trim decoration and it seems to be for private hire for parties, judging by the vibe and noise coming from the one I saw. I suppose it is the equivalent of the rear-boarding London buses that you can hire for weddings.

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