Living in the Sky

To meet one of my mentees in a mentoring program, I went to On Tai Estate (安泰邨) for the first time.  It is one of the newest and most elevated housing estates in Hong Kong.  

It is higher than Shun Lee Estate (順利邨), one of the original estates in the sky.   15-storey elevator higher, to be exact.  

It is high because it was built on the site of the Anderson Road Quarry.  Behind and in-between the high rises one can still see what remains of the quarry.  

Looking west one can see On Tai is practically half way up Fei Ngo Shan (飛鵝山).

Further West one can see it is close to the level of the Lion Rock.

It has very good views, with little obstruction, because of its elevation. It is also airy.  So airy it feels cooler than down at the sea level.  

One of the complications living here is getting in and out.  There are buses that come here but they are not easy to find.  

Of course, once you start living here you learn about these things.  But there is also the little problem of traffic jams.  It is said ~100,000 people are or will be living here.  But the roads do not have enough capacity for so many people.  So it can take an hour just to go up or down the mountain during rush hour. 

Imagine, living in an old quarry.