that image running in my mind

On the way back home from Changi Airport - the night was just creeping into the wee hours - this was the image that kept propping up in my head: narrow streets flanked by shops with a canopy of signboards of all sizes and colours, and tall, skinny buildings looming in the background. Different images formed, but inevitably they were of the same scene.

Nothing else quite came to mind, and I took occasional glances at the speedometer (which was going at 120kmh at one point) while clutching the plastic bag at my feet to keep the two bottles of duty-free Absolut Volka and champange from toppling.

Only a few hours ago i was zipping through dense streets which were constantly overfilling with people, people that were constantly moving rapidly. It was messy, even claustrophobic, but that was quintessential Hong Kong: at least based on what I've come to imbibe from culturally fed images on TV over the years.

And now, here I was seated in the comfort of a taxi coasting smoothly along the Pan-Island Expressway. Orderliness prevails - the vibes of it, at least.