Fact of the Day: A Really Pricey Spot

Ultima has some expensive flats as well as parking spots that break the bank

Hong Kong can boast having the most expensive parking spot in the world.

One was recently sold for a staggering HK$6 million (US$760,000) in Ultima, a luxury residential complex in Ho Man Tin, Kowloon. In case your calculating, that's HK$44,444 per square foot.

The couple who sold the 16.4 feet by 8.2 feet spot made them a whopping HK$2.6 million profit, reselling the space only nine months after they bought it.

The parking spot is in a building where a four bedroom, 1,911 square foot flat costs a heart-stopping HK$98 million.

"The development is in a luxury residential area. The residents have a lot of cash and simply do not care about a few million dollars when a flat there costs about HK$100 million," said Sandia Lau, a director of Centaline Property Agency. "Their convenience is more important."

No kidding!

Except the rest of us plebeians have no idea what it's like to be so uber rich that HK$6 million is chump change...

Picture of the Day: Friday Rush Hour

An MTR worker held a plastic tape preventing commuters from going down

My office is in Taipo in the New Territories, and our company provides us shuttle buses to get to and from work, otherwise no one would want to work so far from town.

This morning we were on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai, trying to turn left to get over to the Harbour Tunnel when there was a massive traffic jam and the traffic cop directed our bus go eastwards to the Eastern Tunnel.

Interestingly we arrived at the office only about five to 10 minutes later than usual.

Then in the evening, I decided it would be better to take the shuttle bus to Kowloon Tong and then take the MTR back home.

But when I got down to the station, past the turnstiles, no one was allowed to take the escalators down to the platforms. There were too many people already down there.

There were so many people waiting to get onto the train

After a few minutes we were allowed down and the platform to take the train towards Whampoa was several people deep. I had to wait for three trains to go by before getting on, and even then it was a tight squeeze.

What happened? Why an unusually large number of people today?

It was partly because of the new MTR stations at Ho Ma Tin and Whampoa on the green line, because a number of people were still on the train, while the rest of us got off to get the train to Central.

So by the time I arrived at Kennedy Town station, it was exactly an hour and 10 minutes later, which usually would have taken an hour if there weren't so many people at Kowloon Tong.

Very strange, but hopefully this is not the new normal. We can only take being squished like sardines for so long.

Speaking of which, have Hong Kong's senior officials ridden on the MTR during rush hour lately to see for themselves what we plebs go through everyday?

Two More MTR Stops

Passengers crowded into the new stations to check them out

Hong Kong now has two more MTR stops on the Kwun Tong or green line.

It used to start or end at Yau Ma Tei, but now Whampoa and Ho Man Tin have been added.

The two stops were supposed to open last August, but there were engineering problems, space constraints and limited construction hours to avoid disturbing residents.

A map on the train showing the new MTR stops

However, the over one year delay didn't deter excited commuters who were ready to ride the train at 6.10am yesterday, a Sunday morning.

Even before the shutters were barely raised, over 100 people rushed into Whampoa station and cheered as the train pulled away from the station.

However seconds later the train came to a sharp halt and Adi Lau Tin-shing, operations director at the MTR explained that with any new system, new equipment and operation, there will be teething problems that have to be resolved.

But the people on the new train didn't seem to mind -- they were just too excited to have consistent transportation in their neighbourhood, or they are MTR diehard fans.

Some people were really, really excited to be on the first train

Already 108,000 people used the new stations up until 5pm yesterday, but the station is designed for some 146,000 passengers a day.

It is hoped the new stations will relieve traffic congestion in Hung Hom district, while Ho Man Tin station will become the biggest interchange station on the MTR network as it will eventually connect with the Sha Tin to Central line.

While it's exciting to see more areas becoming easily accessible, it's also the sad reality they are becoming more gentrified too...