OK- So one more!

Again this one could have been taken in the days when the sun never slept on the Empire!
This clever photo panorama was taken in camera from the top of Victoria Peak. It is actually three photos stitched together and gives you an idea of the span of the place if you click on it to enlarge it.

All of a sudden I have wifi to burn so am gonna try a video woohooo!

The video of course doesn't do the Festival of lights justice but then that's the point of going there and doing it! That 44 second video uploaded as fast as the loop- about 20 seconds- impressive all of a sudden. If you are on dial up you may like to push play- go and make a cup of tea and then play iot again- it shouldn't buffer that way and it should play straight through.



Gosh that one went well so I will try another...




This is one taken out on the water.

Last Post from Hong Kong

Me at Victoria Peak looking all touristy- coerced a random to take my photo!

WOW people in particular Tom. Well done for leaving a comment and thanks too to Sherryn. Not long til Christmas! I am at the airport on unlimted but AGod awful slow internet. Must be sharing it with a cast of thousands.

I was lucky to get the last couple of post up and done with photos in twenty free minutes at Starbucks. I am now sitting on the floor in a corner in the lobby of my Harbour Plaza Metropolis Hotel. I think I am lowering the tone of the place as two men just came by to move me on but I motioned to them that I needed some power for my laptop and they left me alone- see a laptop has its uses. I want the computer to be all the way powered up as it can be in case I get the opportunity to get myself in business class on the plane like last time. It is about five o’clock and I have two hours to kill. I didn’t do much today apart from wander around and take a short ferry ride from the peninsula to the other side and back again. I bought an ice-cream for $33HK- chocolate, one scoop. Now I have only $8.50HK left and that doesn’t buy you anything so I had better not want to buy a glass of water!
The view from the top of Victoria Peak- you can just see through the smog haze.

These are my ramblings as regards my two sleeps and three days in Hong Kong.

It is homely that they drive on the left hand side of the road but they walk on the right hand side like Americans- very odd. Maybe it is the Mainland China influence.
I went to the loo in a posh hotel like I did in America and a little lady helped me turn the water on and offered me a towel to dry my hands.
Everything seems very labour intensive- the idea of water sprinklers seems to have passed them by and individual stand there and hand water the gardens with a hose.
Everyone seems affluent and well dressed but I didn’t even think of going shopping for clothes as things were geared for the very rich and the very tiny- neither of which I am!
Everyone is talking on cellphones and most seem to have headsets and earpieces so that look like they are slightly mad talking away to themselves.
I was surprised to see three people begging on the streets- what a stark contrast to San Francisco! The weather here is winter now which is just perfect for me- with a slight breeze in the air to cool things down. Max the travel guy said that they do have a typhoon season which blows things around a bit and in summer it can get stinking hot and humid which I wouldn’t like at all.
Yesterday’s thronging market was a bit overpowering with the high concentration of people but never once did I feel insecure.
Many people tried to sell me replica watches- seeing I no longer wear a watch at all that exercise seemed rather pointless and why would I want to buy a knock of Prada handbag when I don’t even want a real one.
All I have done these last three days is walk and although I have had a couple of sit downs my knees have held up well in the dry weather- hope they will be OK in the cold, wet of the UK as well. Keep your fingers crossed.
These are some of yesterday's photos that I didn't have time to add in. The little junk we toured in was lovely and gave you a chance to get close to what was going on.
My shuttle to the airport comes at 7.15pm and the last time for check is 9pm. Just think I get to see Amy real soon.

The cute kids singing Christmas carols in Cantonese. Way past their bedtime.

This is what the blogger log in looks like in Hong Kong

Blog Post Number Three From Hong Kong

This the part that Dad would have liked. Out on the water. He had probably been to Hong Kong as he had so many stamps in his passport form his time in the merchant marine during the war.
The light show at night was spectacular and I coerced another random to take my photo. I also paid $10HK to a scam artist to take the same thing just to make sure at least one photo turned out half pai decent.
This person fishing enchanted me in the same way I like to take photos of old buildings- it could as well have been taken two centuries ago I imagine.
I liked this naturally framed photo taken from the junk.

Post Number Three

This morning I missed my free shuttle to pick up my Hong Kong tour so had to grab a taxi because I didn’t want to miss it- wasted money buying buffet breakfast that I could have enjoyed if I hadn’t been worried about missing the bus- such is life!

The same guy Max that picked me up from the airport was the tour guide and he was good too. We started by a trip to the top of Victoria Peak by cable car- straight up- quite spectacular- Mum wouldn’t have liked that bit- it would have made her sick! You can really feel the smog from way up there but the views down on all the skyscrapers was spectacular and I co-erced some people into taking my photo to prove that I was there!

Next stop was Stanley Market where the tourists come to buy the usual tat. I was keen on some silver ear-rings in Chinese calligraphy that said, ‘Good Luck.’. I bought them but was appalled by the sales lady that showed me how nice they looked by putting them in her own ears! I will sterilise them before I wear them! The highlight of Stanley market was the little fishing boat with a little old lady minding her business fishing off the side of her boat.

Next stop was Repulse Bay and a tour on a junk out among the houseboats and fishing boats. I loved that part and got some nice video as we puttered about the bay. In this place I had the feel of China. Max the tour guide says the people of Hong Kong don’t think of themselves as Chinese as they have another 50 years grace before being totally gobbled up by China. Hong Kong seemed to have retained much of the freedoms not afforded Mainland China. It is a real mix of ethnicities and cultures.

I have been offered many spam watches and offers to make tailored suits- all politely refused. I did succumb and buy an 8GB flash drove for $100HK- about $20NZ but that was the only thing that I felt like spending my money on anyway. I have enjoyed going to Starbucks for breakfast and 20 minutes of free internet on my iTouch.

Last night I hung about down by the harbour’s edge till eight o’clock waiting for the Festival of Lights. Many of the Kowloon skyscrapers have lazer spotlights- it is all put to music and very spectacular. Mum would have loved it as we both liked the sparkly things and the skyscrapers lit at night across the harbour was another highlight.

Just as I was leaving to trudge back to the shuttle pick up everyone was gathered around these very cute kids who were singing well known English Christmas carols in Cantonese- ‘All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!’ Very odd!

I was home by nine at night- just in time for another night-time swim an the heated pool followed by a hot spa in the rooftop gymnasium complex. I staggered back to my room and lay down for a moment, only to wake up at 3am with the lights still on and me not even in my nightie yet!

I have to check out of the hotel at 12am today and have seven hours to muck about before the shuttle picks me up to go to the airport at 7pm this evening. I am over Hong Kong and just want to see my Amy- the sooner the better.

Hopefully I will be able to add photos to this post if I find free internet at the airport or I might even lug the laptop back to Starbucks and try and upload from there.

Blog Post Number Two from Hong Long

This my rather luxurious swimming pool at the hotel- I had my own personal life guard to watch and make sure I didn't drown. He even had to sit way up high! In the distance is Victoria Harbour- wonderful view for the night-time swim.

This one’s being written in the lobby of the Plaza Metropolis as I gather my breath- it is 8am in the morning Kowloon time and of course none of the rooms are ready and I am tired and want a lie down and feel sort of dizzy like. It was great having free wireless at the airport as I had written the post on the plane already and I only had to be on line for a minute to actually post it. At the hotel you pay quizzillion Hong Kong dollars to be on line so unless I can find a Starbucks with free access you might have to wait til I get yo Amy’s for this installment to go live.

So what do I do know? I think I might go exploring but really need to open my bag and change into more comfortable socks for walking in. The concierge said I could go for a swim to fill in some time but I really want a nap.

First impressions of Hong Kong- it is nothing like the teaching unit we did in school a few years back on Hong Kong- the thought that comes to mind is, “What happens to the soul of someone who doesn’t get to see green?” The place is very smoggy- I have never been anywhere smoggy before so it is a new experience. You couldn’t see to the horizon where the boats were out in the harbour and the apartments are generally the same colour as the smog. On the bus to the hotel we passed a school just about to start with the kids all nicely lined up in rows on the concrete while a teacher at the front was doing something on a wireless microphone. The kids looked all nicely turned out in their uniforms but three little boys were practising their karate moves when the teacher was talking- typical. LOL.

OK _ time to get organised now I have had a bit of a sit down and go out exploring and take some more photos. The hotel runs a free shuttle into the heart of town so I availed myself of that. The driver fairly hurtles and one stage opened the door to better hurl abuse at someone who wouldn’t let him in to the flow. I then spent a goodly part of the day wandering in out of the malls which were disappointing actually. A lot like shopping in central Christchurch- a lot of shops but nothing that I wanted to spend my money on. There was surprisingly little crap for sale though which was nice.

Once I staggered back to the hotel for a late afternoon nap I went for a spa/swim in the heated outdoor swimming that overlooks Victoria Harbour with all the city skyscraper lights starting to come on- it was lovely and just what I needed. I then smartened up and went down the hotel restaurant for tea- Tom Yum Kar hot shrimp soup followed by braised beef with an orange sauce- not bad.

Today’s thoughts from Hong Kong- where is everyone and in particular where are the old people? For a city with a population of 7 million people you wouldn’t know they were there apart from the sea of children waiting for buses on school trips at the Culture and Heritage Museum. I have only seen about a dozen old people the whole time I have been here. Everyone is very polite and helpful and I am impressed by the level of spoken English- everyone I have met seems to know enough English to help me get by. Another thing I have been wanting to fit in the conversation- someone here must have been to Toyota and bought shit loads of Toyota Comfort cars and painted them up as taxis. They look an awful lot like Ford Cortinas but they are all the same and all painted a 1970s James Bond sort of red. There is only company of taxis but they are all very open and the drivers know where they are going and are quite cheap so all OK there.

By the way people- if you click on where it says comments you can type in a sentence or two to let me know you are reading my blog- this means you Mac and Alan and Danny and Sherryn and Yvette and Pam and anyone else that chances by!

My trip from Auckland to Hong King

I sit here at Auckland airport pondering how not -ubiquitous the internet is. It’s not like I’m not fairly well equipped- tapping away on my baby iBook and wishing it was a Mac Air or Netbook. I am also equipped with an iPod with voice recorder and my trusty iTouch. None of which can actually connect to the internet in any sort of meaningful way. I suppose I could buy an iPhone and throw my money down the bottomless pit of data plans or pay to join the Auckland airport wireless network but I am too skint to do so. You would think that they could run to a little bit of free internet but no! The one thing I can do is Tweet from my phone but without the conversations and communication of seeing what others are saying it would be like talking to the void. I will find somewhere to play somewhere in Hong Kong to let people know that I have got there safely.

I haven’t even left town yet and I am over the idea of travelling cattle class all the way to Hong. Lid down here comes tea- very nice it was....

New development. I have just found another absolutely brilliant reason for bringing your laptop with you when you travel. There I was back in cattle class and the cow in front of me throws her seat back so it’s about three inches in front of my face and pretends she can’t hear me when I ask her to move her chair forward just a tad.. Those waves of claustrophobia that have been kept at bay by having ten inches in front of my nose disappear and I start to feel frustration at the invasion of my space. I catch the most sympathetic looking steward and say that I need to use my laptop and there is no space. He looks about and says he will look about for another seat without some cow leaning back in it. The only spare seat is in business class and I can go and sit up there but I only get to stay there as long as I am working on my computer. So here I am sitting with my legs crossed and spread out and no neighbours. Bliss. So this is going to be a really long blog post- until the battery runs out basically- as I pretend to work feverishly on some life changing thesis that I need my computer for. I have turned the brightness down on the monitor to save power. I only wish it wasn’t 2:14am NZ time and I could stay here forever.

They have just turned the cabin lights out. It a good job I can touch type by the light of my screen. I arrive in Hong Kong about eight hours from now and I know my battery won’t last that long- I won’t either as at some stage- claustrophobia or not- I will have to go back to the sardine tin and sleep. I wonder if I can pretend to type with the screen on and me drifting off to sleep. I really am tired as it was closer to three in the morning when I got to sleep on Monday while re-drafting the milestone report for the end of the ICT cluster.

Need to avail myself of the bathroom and had to walk through the darkened sleeping room of white blanketed really rich people lying down asleep strapped with to their safety belts on. Even the bathroom is nicer with real little towels to dry your hands on a moisturising face and body cleansers and creams. OK folks- although the idea of typing all through the night to keep out of cattle class is very, very appealing I do think it is actually beyond as sleep’s tentacles stretch towards- I don’t want to be too knackered when it comes to sightseeing when I arrive.

I am quickly doing this while I am on the free wireless at Hong Kong airport waiting for my bus to take me to the airport.