Weekly Photo Challenge – Everyday Life

Everyday Life.  It has so many meanings, so many representations.  Everyday life looks different from country to country.  

So I decided for this challenge, I’d look a a snippet of everyday life from the three different countries I’ve been to most recently:  Hong Kong, Vietnam and my home country Australia.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has lots of Taxis.  Lots of them.  They are really cute and they look like little matchbox cars when you see them all lined up waiting.  One of the things that really intrigued me was that many cab drivers run their business out of their cab.  There is no central dispatch, they do it themselves.  Many of them run other businesses too.  We found that a large percentage of them did not speak English but it was never a problem.  We either showed them the card for the Hotel (though I did find it strange that so many didn’t know the names of the hotels around the airport) or they would call someone who did speak English and we would tell them where we wanted to go and they would pass the message on.  We always managed to get where we needed to.

This shot is not a technically great one, taken on my iphone as we bumped around in the back, but it’s a great illustration of how for many of these cabbies, their lives are run from their cars and they set themselves up to do just that.  How he managed to keep track of all this technology and drive around I have no idea.  I thought I had a lot of technology in my office.  It looks spartan compared to this set up.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, much of life is lived on the street.  Families and friends gather on the sidewalk to eat and chat.  Many people run their businesses from their homes front room or the sidewalk in front of it.  The below is one of many Barbers we saw, who work along the street.  What is more everyday life than going for a haircut or a shave?

Australia

Nothing says “everyday” in Australia than a trip to your friendly Barista.  We are a highly caffeinated country.  Coffee shops across the country start their rush in the morning, giving busy Australian’s their fix.  Weekends are for long brunches enjoying a coffee or several with family or friends.  Of course I’m a bit of a fraud in this regard, not being a coffee drinker myself.  I do enjoy the smell though, it’s worth hanging out in coffee shops just for that.