parallel lives
Chan Chau-choi, ice-cream and soft-drinks vendor Age: 41.
Career path: I was born and educated in Guangzhou. My wife came to Hong Kong after the birth of our third child in 1973, because we thought our children would have a better future here. I joined her in 1977. My first job here was in a handbag factory. Then I repaired small appliances for an electrical company. My uncle was a vendor and he told me there were worse ways to make a living, so in 1980 I bought a vendor's cart for $14,000. My hawker's licence is now $3,000 a year, but it was less when I started. My site was outside Queen's Theatre in Central until three years ago when I moved to Star Ferry, where I hope to stay.
Chan's day: I wake up at 7 am and go for yum cha at a restaurant near my home in North Point. A van collects me and my cart, which I store near my home overnight, and drops me off at Star Ferry, from where I wheel the cart to my regular spot near the subway. The first thing I do is unpack the stock I keep inside the cart and arrange my display. Before 10 am I receive a delivery of ice which I pack inside the cart to keep ice-cream and drinks cold. On a hot day, I buy more ice at lunchtime. Ice-creams are delivered daily, and I get regular deliveries of other stock, such as snacks, tissues, batteries and so on. My prices are quite low because I only put a 30 per cent mark-up on the goods I buy.
I work 365 days a year; business is particularly good at Lunar New Year and on public holidays. I only take a day off if I am too sick to get out of bed or when there is a typhoon. I pack up at around 8 pm and the van takes me home.
I like being my own boss and it is interesting watching people and chatting to those customers who have become friends. It does get hot during the summer, but I don't mind because the hotter it is the more business I get. Since the economy has taken a downturn, business isn't what it used to be because people think twice about having a drink or an ice-cream.
Salary: About $7,000 a month.
Ambition: I worry that the Government might revoke hawkers' licences because I would like to carry on doing this until I retire one day.
Lo Hoi, magazine vendor Age: 68.
Career path: I was born in Guangzhou and came to Hong Kong as a teenager in 1946, after my father died. I thought Hong Kong would give me the chance to make a new life. I had an uncle here who owned a newspaper/magazine stall and I started working for him and learned the business. I eventually became a partner, and when he died 20 years ago the business, Ah Lo Magazines, became mine. I have been in Theatre Lane for 40 years and have watched the area change as old buildings have been torn down to make way for fancy commercial blocks. I live with my wife. My three children are all married and I have two grandchildren.
Lo's day: I live in Central, a five-minute walk from my shop. I wake up at 6 am and go to a local restaurant for yum cha before work. I get here at about 8 am to unpack the magazines - they are locked up at night - and lay them out on the shelves. Then I open for business at 9 am. I have my lunch here and work until 7 pm or 8 pm. I work seven days a week, but not on big public holidays. I have two assistants who enable me to take some time off. I have always stocked a very wide range of foreign magazines and one or two Japanese titles.
I don't stock Chinese papers or magazines because I would have to wake up much earlier to meet the delivery. Besides, I am used to the magazines I sell. My best sellers are news magazines like Time and Newsweek, then computer magazines, photography and sport, women's magazines and porn. They are delivered by agencies. Because I have been doing this job for so long they know me well and keep me up to date with new titles, so I don't have to worry about sourcing. I like this job.
My customers are half Chinese, half Western, but that's okay because I speak enough English to get by, and I know all the titles. The only thing worrying me at the moment is that business is down 30 per cent because people have come to regard magazines as a luxury they can no longer afford. The Internet has also been very bad for business.
Salary: $15,000 a month.
Ambition: To keep working. I have no plans to retire.
