Movie Night in Kowloon
“Looking forward to having you guys over.”
“We’ll be there about 7:00. What’s the address?”
“Well . . . first you go to Junction and Carpenter Road and go in the 8th entrance of the walled city, heading east. By the noodle shop.”
“Noodle shop . . .”
“Go in 120 feet, then up the blue stairs, 3.5 flights.”
“Blue . . . 3.5 . . .”
“You’ll see a bamboo curtain thing between a laundromat and a knife place. Go in and then down twenty steps.”
“. . .”
“Take a right, two lefts, then the third right. Jump over the space between buildings, then left.”
“And?”
“And that’s me. You can’t miss it.”
This story references the Kowloon Walled City, the most densely populated place on Earth for about 50 years, although it was demolished in 1994. You can learn more about it here if you want (some of the pictures could be mildly disturbing, just so you’re warned).
The Green-Walled Treehouse 
Crikey! It must be special film to be hidden away or is the streets of Kowloon such a jumble. Looks like a taxi is not an option. I enjoyed the journey, but now I am lost. How do I find my way back?
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This is funny. it’s kind of how I perceive all directions. Short of needing a compass traveling with a miniature lighthouse one can haul out of her purse, I never really know where i’m going.
Maybe Apple will make a GPS to pop in your pocket. .
This is so cleverly written, as usual.. 🙂
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I have a map in my head and just go by that but I don’t know if that would be possible as complex and 3-dimensional as the Kowloon Walled city in this story.
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You travel worldwide. I can never imagine you truly lost. I on the other hand, have been many times. Someone always comes to rescue me it seems…like angels in disguise.
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At least the directions don’t include instructions like “hang a left where the pharmacy used to be”
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haha, exactly. When you need to know local history to get somewhere, that’s too advanced.
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I’m thinking the GPS doesn’t work in this neck of the woods, eh?
But it kind of makes me sad that no one has to stop and ask for directions anymore. No more directions like here. Love this, David.
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I don’t know if GPS would work, although this area was torn down in 1994 so it definitely didn’t work back then, haha. I still remember looking at map books and having to plot out the way to places.
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I’d be frankly surprised if it did! I kinda miss those days of looking at map books…
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This is delightfully clever. The last part about jumping over the space between buildings and you can’t miss it made me laugh. They might need to start an hour or two early.
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There may be still people wandering the corridors in there for weeks, holding snacks and drinks, looking for the right apartment, haha.
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Made me smile! That certainly sounds like directions I’ve gotten (minus the wall of course) to visit a friend or two in Kowloon. A very clever story, David!
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I work with people all over the world and sometimes you get addresses like “2nd house by the gas station” or “next to the bus stop”. People have to get creative at times. 🙂
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Did he want them to come for the movie or was it a deflection? 🙂
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Oh dear. my head’s spinning just reading the directions. I like how the guests are paying attention – until they go silent.
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I can not imagine such a place, great that you told us about it.
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Pretty certain that’s not a destination I’d end up at. Though the journey sounds delightful.
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I went to the link. Fascinating piece of history! How did you happen upon it?
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