3 a.m. Gallery: Another world revealed

From the seemingly empty streets of West Shinjuku in Tokyo to the more than hoppin' Mohammed Ali Road in Mumbai, seven of Asia's most exciting cities can look and feel decidedly different from their afternoon counterparts when the clock strikes 3 a.m.

We're not talking about drunken nightlife either. That's easy. This is a gallery of the true Asia night life (or lack thereof.) This is what goes on at 3 a.m. sharp.

Tokyo: West Shinjuku

Outside government offices in west Shinjuku, where you can find any number of people coming and going right through the night.   The backstreets of west Shinjuku, probably the biggest electronics market west of Tokyo. It's active at all times of the day, every day of the year.  Tokyo: Suginami-ku Under the Chuo railway line where large segments of space are rented out as car parks, small restaurants and even super markets. This is often the fastest route when travelling from one district to the next.  Hong Kong: Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market Every night for the past 96 years, the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market comes to life as wholesale fruit vendors prepare crates of longan, lychees, durians and dragon fruit for sale to retail stores.   The daily motion slows as the street fills up with boxes to be unpacked.   There's nothing wrong with a nap when you're working from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.   The market can be a tough place -- a triad member working for a fruit vendor was chopped to death here last summer -- but nothing intimidates the retail buyers who arrive overnight to haggle for fruit.   The busiest hours are between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., when workers push around massive carts of fruit. Don't get in their way.   A worker in a market shop heads upstairs to a second-floor storage room. More than 3,000 people work in the market's 240 shops every night.  Bangkok: Pak Khlong Talat flower market Pak Khlong Talat, Bangkok’s largest flower market, dates back to the reign of King Rama I (1782–1809). Most of the flowers sold here come from neighboring provinces, though some that require cooler growing temperatures are sent in from as far away as the northern city of Chiang Rai.   Pak Khlong Talat is open 24 hours a day, but it’s busiest just before dawn, when buyers rush in to purchase produce and flowers for the day ahead. At all hours of the night, workers can be seen delivering or unloading goods -- like this spicy load of chilies -- brought in by boats, trucks and even tuk-tuks.   A produce seller unloads his tomatoes in preparation for the busy morning ahead. Pak Khlong Talat is best known as Bangkok’s primary flower market, but it also has an extensive produce section featuring fruits and vegetables from around the country.  Mumbai: Mohammed Ali Road The main attraction here is the food stalls. And the main attraction of the food stalls is meat. People consume every variety of it imaginable here. Served here are things like tongue soup and pan-fried brain and liver along with the more mainstream seekh kababs and chicken kababs. Small birds hop around in cages waiting to be cooked.   A one-legged food vendor prepares to flip the goods.   The rain doesn't slow the level of activity. Chai wallahs run from one stand to the next seeking shelter under restaurant-issued umbrellas. People bunch together under tarps and watch the water cover the road as they continue to eat, and eat.
  Two young girls wander Mohammed Ali Road in the rain, looking for a place to eat.  Singapore: Little India It’s as close to a 24-hour, one-stop shop as you can get. Mustafa Centre, along Syed Alwi Road in Little India, is a hive of activity, even in the wee hours, and a retail magnet for sleepless Singaporeans. Singapore: Geylang District An itinerant mobile hawker peddles his wares along the streets of Geylang. One of the notorious ‘red light’ districts of Singapore, Geylang has more than its fair share of good eats and restaurants, drawing people at all hours of the day (and night.)   Geylang district is considered the 'King of Fruit'. Besides its seedy reputation as a 'red light' district, Geylang stocks some of the best quality and top graded durians around.  Kuala Lumpur: Chinatown night market A lone outdoor restaurant on Jalan Petaling, by day and evening the site of the bustling Chinatown night market.  Shanghai: Jing An District Is this Jing An district or some apocolyptic dream? A little of both maybe.
A concrete container sits poised on a Jing An construction site.