(Sony A55)An undisputable Hong Kong icon, the non air-conditioned bus fleet made the last journey and was put into history yesterday. The non air-conditioned bus has certainly nailed a place in the locals' heart for its long service before the advent of the air-conditioned models.
Passionately dubbed the hot dog bus, an animated term to describe the feeling of riding it, it brought unbearable gust of hot air stream head-on to passengers through the windows when travelling in great speed on the sultry summer days, especially when going through the tunnels. The in-compartment heat could possibly cause heat-stroke if one sat on the lower deck in summer and got stuck in a traffic jam, bearing the brunt of the hot exhaust gas billowing all around outside of the window. The meltingly high temperature in the compartment was not helped by the metal body under the scorching sun. Arduous may be a bit over the top in saying about the journey experience, but stiff is certainly the word jumping to mind at the mention of riding a hot dog bus. Interestingly, it is exactly these unbearable feelings that the hot dog buses will be fondly remembered.
And, oh, the body colour resembling the food did have some bearing on its getting the name "hot dog bus".
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