Risky business: sex workers walk a blurred line in the streets of Wan Chai
The shocking killing of two Indonesian women in an upscale flat a week ago has thrust Wan Chai - and its reputation as a hub for the city's sex trade - into the spotlight. It is unclear if the victims were part of that trade, which sees hundreds of sex workers from Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe and South America descend on the neon-lit streets
Armed with a bubbly demeanour and an equally apparent street-wise air, Dao arrived in Hong Kong from Thailand about a month ago, and each night since she has been on or near Lockhart Road, Wan Chai as the strip of bars and nightclubs thrum in the late night and early morning hours.
Dressed in skin-tight jeans and a light-coloured bodice, her black high heels lift her petite frame a few inches higher.
The curls in her light brown hair fall softly around her face, the fake eyelashes and make-up framing her brown eyes.
It's well past midnight when we first talk in a cavernous basement nightclub on Jaffe Road. Dao scans the crowd, sitting with her friends, sipping a drink as loud dance music fills her ears and garish strobe lights colour the dance floor.
Dao (not her real name) is one of the thousands of sex workers in Hong Kong who work in what is euphemistically called "the world's oldest profession" - a business that in Hong Kong manages the neat trick of being hidden in plain view - the elephant in the room that you can talk about, but only if you want to.
Like many foreigners who flock to the city, Dao has come to earn a living. And if you thought the bankers and derivatives traders took risks, one night in Dao's not inconsiderable shoes would put paid to that notion.
Despite her situation, Dao, 29, remains optimistic: "I can make double what I can in Thailand," she says, stealing a few moments outside the Hong Kong Café on Jaffe Road before heading back inside, where she can charge around HK$1,000 to "take a customer out".