Checkerboard Hill

The average Hong Kong resident lives in a tall apartment block, but some people are not average – such as Ah Chung, who bought a retired KMB double-decker bus and transformed it into a two-storey home.

Photo via China Motor Bus Memorial Page

He built a roof over the bus.

Photo via China Motor Bus Memorial Page

Turning the upper deck into a bedroom and living area.

Photo via China Motor Bus Memorial Page

And building a kitchen, laundry, bathroom and toilet down below.

Photo via China Motor Bus Memorial Page

HK Magazine interviewed him in 2009 on his unusual home.

HK Magazine: Why did you decide to start living in a bus?
Ah Chung: I always loved buses as a child. I admired the British-style buses and I would daydream about how cool it would be to live inside one. In 2004, my family home needed repairs as it was getting increasingly dilapidated. It did some calculations and realized that to renovate my home would cost several thousand dollars, so why not realize my dream of getting a bus and turn it into a home? I often saw old buses sitting in a dump in Kam Tin whenever I passed by, so I went there, spoke to the owner, bought an old bus and started my project.

HK: How long did the renovations take? What was the hardest part?
AC: I worked practically around the clock for an entire month,so in a way, it didn’t take that long. But getting the bus towed to the village was pretty painful. The hardest part was figuring out where to put the bathroom, but it turned out that the space next to the stairs was ideal. I just asked a technician to connect the pipes.

HK: Do you get many visitors? Has anyone ever offered to buy your bus from you?
AC: My home is right up in a really rural area of Fanling, so the only people that really see it are old folks taking a walk. The press accidentally found out about it two years ago when they were covering a story about a piranha that bit a villager in a nearby river. One reporter, a huge bus fan, actually came all the way out here—but not for an assignment; he just wanted to visit. No one’s offered to buy it yet, but they certainly enjoy peeping in through the windows.

HK: What does your wife think of your home?
AC: She’s not that impressed. She just sees it as a place to live. I managed to convince her that it’s better than living in a regular house. She did get grumpy because we went over our budget—we ended up spending around $150,000 on refurbishments. She jokes that she can’t get away from buses, as she has to take a bus to work as well as live in one.

As did the i-CABLE News Channel in July 2007.

The bus itself is a 11 metre Dennis Dragon – KMB fleet number S3N43 with registration plate DM9890, which entered service in January 1987 and was withdrawn on 7th January 2004.

Further reading

• Ah Chung: Living in a Double-decker Home
• Thread at HK Bus Forum (Chinese language)
• Article at China Motor Bus Memorial Page (Chinese language)