M’sian Experiences Staying in Tiny Hong Kong Budget Apartment Spanning Only 79sqft

Hong Kong-based influencer Torres Pit recently invited his editor from Malaysia, Zuwei, to a trip to Hong Kong, where he had the displeasure of staying in their budget apartment. Hong Kong boasts the world’s second-highest billionaires, but most of its residents are poor, with the wealthiest garnering over half of the city’s income.

First, Zuwei had to drag his luggage up to the eight floor. He opened the grill door and the wooden door, and what he saw was what he got. The door opened just enough for him to squeeze through. It costs HK$3,000 (approximately RM1,830) monthly for the subdivided flat, which spanned only 79 square feet.

Shockingly, more than 200,000 Hong Kongers (out of a population of over 7.3M) live in dismal flats like it. The dusty and tiny window only opened enough to let air in, and the man’s hand could just about fit through it. The room was so minuscule he had to store his luggage in the adjacent toilet.

Zuwei lived there for three days and two nights, and he said that on his first night, he heard “masseuses” downstairs. Shady much? At a height of 178cm, Zuwei fit just nicely on the bed. Surprisingly, the room fit a mini fridge, cabinet, TV, and air-conditioner.

He had to hop over to the toilet because there was no room to walk, and Torres demonstrated how there wasn’t even “room to wash my armpits” but it came with a heater and shower. The now-successful influencer Torres spoke of his humble roots, sharing that he grew up in a room of about a similar size.

Zuwei also shared that once he returned to his room for the day after climbing eight flights of stairs, he didn’t want to venture outside as there were prostitutes downstairs. Eek!

He also compared the rent price of RM1,800 to Malaysia, saying that you can rent a flat with three bedrooms in our country. He said, “Apart from the scrappy walls, everything else is acceptable. But if I were to stay here longer, it would be hard to be stuck in a tiny space for a long time, which is not good for the soul.” Torres also showed how a parking space of 143 square feet was much bigger than the room.

They also visited houses occupied by the middle class, which are incredibly high-density. The house they visited has an area of 515 square feet and costs HK$20,000 a month (RM12.2K). It is staggeringly tiny for a space deemed expensive.

They also visited a home which only the rich can afford with 2,800 square feet costing HK$200,000 (approximately RM122.3K).