Consider how the tools one carries are reactions to/solutions for the needs that someone routinely faces. If a tool makes your day/life easier, what accommodations would you make to be able to carry it with you?

In the trunk of this Hong Kong taxi, while the cleaning supplies look right at home (based on Hong Kong’s incredibly high emphasis upon cleanliness, this trio of quite respectable-looking umbrellas seems somewhat out of place. Sure, an umbrella stored up front in the passenger seat for dashing out into the monsoon rains makes sense, but so many here, and so relatively inaccessible in the event of a downpour?

Perhaps (as I’ve seen a few times before across Hong Kong) they’re for propping out of an open window, resting on the door sill and allowing air to flow in from the outside while sunlight and raindrops are kept out as one is parked and resting/napping.

The twin lock latches imply the entire wooden apparatus seen here folds down to reveal additional storage space behind it, although that space may just be a place to put all of the equipment visible here in case a passenger shows up carrying luggage (although that can’t be too common during these still-mostly-flightless pandemic days).

For a poetic look at the incredible all-season utility of the umbrella/parasol, you should refer to the musings of Anxious Resident, a fellow Lamma resident with a keen eye for capturing and reflecting upon life in Hong Kong (and life in general).