Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts

08 March, 2013

Friday Fill-Ins - And day ONE in Hong Kong

Friday Fill-Ins

  1.  Life is SO cruel at times... This last week, I heard of a friends battle with cancer, whilst cancer took a mate from school.
  2. A cold wind will soon blow, and cast a little spell. Causing all of the leaves to turn, and make them look unwell, and then a little few will fall, whilst others rather fell. (not quite a rhym, but close...)
  3. I knew it was love when I first saw her, poor sweet Bronty.
  4. When in Hong Kong last week, it lacked sunshine and blue skies.
  5. A little nap is wonderful in the late afternoon, especially when soaking up the autumnal sunshine!
  6. Steak and Chicken, as is Lamb, are my favorite things to eat for dinner.
  7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to editing MORE photos from the trip away, tomorrow my plans include removing the Lavender Hedge out the front, and tidying the front garden and Sunday, I want to have a relaxing birthday, as my in-laws are throwing me a BBQ for lunch!


As you know from Wednesdays Post, I have recently been to Hong Kong. In the first couple of days, we did a few 'tourist' type stuff, whilst on the Saturday, it was a day at the Horse Races at Sha Tin; I will post about that tomorrow (I promise) when I have edited those photos tonight!
After arriving late in the afternoon on Thursday, we caught up with my mate there, and we went to dinner that night; a Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Dinner was great, we had a few beers, and then retired for the night quite late.
The following morning though, we had decided to go up to "The Peak", even though it was quite hazy! We walked to the Ferry terminal and caught the Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island. But, this time, instead of catching the tram up, we caught the bus, which took about 40 minutes or so, but it is actually well worth it (not to mention, it saves time waiting for the tram)! On a clear day, it would be much better, as it winds its way around the suburbs of Central Hong Kong, past Happy Valley Racecourse. We saw the 'Ding Ding's', a Double Decker tram, road workers working 'hard', and some pretty amazing architecture.

Aquarius
Star Ferry Crossing Victoria Harbour
 
Road Works
  When we arrived at the top, yep, not much to see, but I still had fun anyways, so we went and had something to eat at Bubba Gumps! Food was ok, just, but it hit the spot.

The Peak

There's Hong Kong (I think)

We then made our way to catch the tram down, which is an experience in itself, as it is steep, and in reverse! We then headed back to the Star Ferry for the trip across the harbour, and then onto some camera lens shopping. A busy day in the end!!

Descending The Peak
Hoo roo for now...
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06 March, 2013

Wordless Wednesday No. 74 - A Hong Kong Sunrise

Hong Kong Sunrise
"Sunrise over Victoria Harbour"
Hong Kong Sunrise
"Sunrise over Victoria Harbour"


I've just returned from a hectic short trip, down to Melbourne and then onto Hong Kong. The weather, typically, in Melbourne went from clear blue sky's and sunny warm conditions, to that of pouring rain and cold, yet in Hong Kong, it was typically hazy. However, on our last day, we woke to the most stunning sunrise coming in over Victoria Harbour!

I will post some more photos tomorrow, mainly some aviation though, of the trip to the Avalon Airshow!

Hoo roo for now...

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06 May, 2012

Photo a Day Challenge - Day 125 You

When I visited Hong Kong back in 2010, I got to catch up with a turf colleague who's the Track Manager for both Happy Valley and Sha Tin, Hong Kong Jockey Club. Here we are, just past the finish post at Sha Tin...


Sha Tin Me and PAKO on the Track

Hoo roo for now...

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02 May, 2012

Photo a Day Challenge - Day 121 Skyline(s)

I've been lucky enough to see a few skylines in my travels, yet nothing seems to surpass that of Sydney's. And this is not just that its my home city either, its the type of construction, its textures, and of course, surrounded by the magnificant harbour... The only one that comes close, is that of Hong Kong, especially when viewed from atop of Victoria Peak...


Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

Hong Kong (Happy Valley) Tote Board and Skyline

Santiago Skyline

Dubai Skyline

Sydney Skyline

Hoo roo for now...

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26 August, 2011

The return begins...

Date - 24 August

The morning began, without breakfast today, as we needed to check out and get to the airport for the flight back to Hong Kong. We checked out, not a problem, but as we exited the hotel we were almost swamped by local taxi drivers who wanted our business... The bus direct to the airport is only a 3-4 minute walk up the road and the safer option we felt given the chaos on the roads here!

I politely said no thanks to the first couple of guys (all asking at the same time I might add) and we walked on... Then, another guy standing a few meters away asked, and this got a firmer response of NO back from me... now, I am normally a fair guy and replies are generally polite, but this morning I was either not in the mood for the constant repetitive questions that was going on about the same thing, all within earshot of each other, and when the last guy didn't take nicely to the firm 'NO' and said goodness knows WHAT to me in Chinese, I gave him the universal sign of NO THANKS being the 'Bird' back to him... (the middle finger)!!! Well, the garbage that came out of his mouth, both in Chinese and English, is way to unsavoury for this blog, so I will not tell you what he said, but he finally got the idea that he was not going to get the fare from us!

We got to the bus, paid our fare and whilst waiting on it, they squeezed us into a seat... The ride was, often slow, but uneventful in getting us to the airport on time. NOW, the Chinese have a very strange way of operating a dual operation, single terminal here in Xian... You see, the last 10 or so gates are International designated so no problem here right. Well, to get to them, you have to pass through a gate that has immigration officials there serving no purpose other than stopping you going through to check-in until a given time! That time, was of course, uncharacteristically late (for Chinese) and we were left standing around for an extended period of time. Once through, there was very little in the way of shops, including places for breakfast, so we simply sat around and chatted a little... The flight was uneventful across to Hong Kong as well.

Once we arrived in Hong Kong again, there was a slightly smaller line to clear immigration, We were only here for around 24 hours, so it was a quick trip to the hotel, and to hit the streets for some shopping. However, it was sad to hear that along the way, taxi from Kowloon Station to the hotel, that DW had lost his iPhone! We tried to locate it via phone finder (great app), but it was nowhere to be seen using GPS. We even tried calling it, but when it took the girls (four) in reception to have a conference about doing it and how, we walked away!

We eventually caught up with CJ in Hong Kong for some shopping. He showed us around some great shops. Both J and I got battery grips for the cameras, but unfortunately, D and us got separated and as we had no way of calling/SMS'ing him, we caught up much later that night.

Date - 25 August

After a restless nights sleep, we had an earlyish morning to get a couple of things done. D had purchased a new phone and needed to go back to the 3 Shop (around the block) to get the PUK code fixed. So he and I walked around, but when we got there, it would not open until 11am!!!! So we left it, grabbed some bread/pastries from a shop (with an OJ) and went back to the room for breakfast. After checking out, we hailed a cab to get us back to Kowloon and back to the airport for some spotting... Maybe!

Unfortunately, when we got back there it was SO hazy, which meant we would not be able to see much. We headed up to the Skydeck, but due to haze, heat and glare, we headed back inside!

When we were heading in, J had noticed a couple of things and wanted to clear immigration and get some pics, so he headed off through terminal 1 whilst D and I grabbed a coffee. After which, we headed through immigration through Terminal 2, which was a much easier exercise than through T1!

After grabbing a couple of shots etc within the terminal, we boarded our MH flight and returned back to Kuala Lumpur. It was an uneventful flight and clearing immigration in KUL was a breeze!

When we arrived at the hotel, and as it was also Ramadan, they were having a feast and a buffet in the dinning room. It was well after the sun setting, and there was a lot of people there, but the food smelt amazing! We dropped our bags in the room and headed for dinner. The food was as good as it smelt, and the array of choices was simply amazing indeed!

After a hotel massage, I headed for bed, not that I could sleep that much as we needed to be up at 4am to get ready, breakfast and be across at the airport for an early morning flight back to Sydney!

Date - 26 August

Breakfast in the hotel, was a typical continental breakfast, with a slight twist of Malaysian style as well. We checked out, and caught the bus to get across to the airport. On the way, there was a young lady who was not at all well, and within about 2 minutes of the bus leaving (and it took all of 10) she had a bag and was throwing up into it. She was very discreet about it, so it must be a common event for her. Again, immigration clearance was easy, and we were into KUL locating our gates for the return flights We were out at the satellite terminal this time, so a short trip across on the driverless train and we were there. We said our farewells to D and boarded our flight back to Sydney whilst D got his flight back to Melbourne.

It was a great trip, of which I would happily do again. Xi'an was a fascinating city, if only it had blue skies, and Hong Kong is marvelous and will most definitely revisit!

Hoo roo for now...

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21 August, 2011

Doing the Kai Tak Trek...

Today, we did the 'Kai Tak Trek, in that we headed for the infamous, Checkerboard! It was the navigational aide for the arrival path for the old Kai Tak. It could certainly do with a repaint nowadays, AND inclusion to the Heritage List!!

After this epic walk (in the heat) we then headed off to the new airport for a bit of spotting and cool... The Airport Express got us there in relative style, and if nothing else, it was cool!! We shot some interesting aircraft, most of which we don't get at home, but every time a Cathay A330 came in, it was cameras down...



The 'Checkerboard'


'J' spotting...


Pufy Cloud


Stormy Cloud (didn't happen though)


9th Green Marriot

Hoo roo for now...

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20 August, 2011

A day in Honkers...

Today, was always going to be an interesting day... It was just HOW interesting! It started off with the sorting for washing, a calculus error, and then out and onto the long sardine can called the train!! It is actually a good service, better than Cityrail CityFAIL back home!

We eventually got to Hong Kong Central, and made our way down to the Pier where the Big Bus Tors stand is located, purchased tickets and on we went. It was another WARM day here, and both J & D stayed downstairs in the AC whilst I went upstairs. Once we got going though, there was a nice cool breeze! we saw the sights, many, and we reached our stop at the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak. This is a well worth visit, so I will let the pics tell the story!


On the buses...

Property anyone?

Signs!!

St Mary's, Hong Kong

Shopping Strip

Legs!!!!

Bamboo Scaffolding

Ding Ding

Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

Tiffany & Co.

Hoo roo for now...

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19 August, 2011

A gondola to a Buddha and Night at the Harbour!

This will be quick as its late, and I am tired (even after a nap this afternoon!)!!

Today, we went out to Ngong Ping for the Gondola up to the Big Buddha. It is a wonderful trip up, as last time I was here it was foggy, so I was really happy to see clear(ish) blue sunny skies! It also offers some fantastic views across over the airport!


Hong Kong Airport

Once at the top, we headed over to the Po Lin Monastery Gate, and then onwards to the Big Buddha.


Water Lilly

Where are we??

Po Lin Monastery Entrance

Big Buddha

Big Buddha

It was a very hot day, and glary on the eyes!!! We then headed out to the HAECO facility, after some advice from a local mate, but as it looked like some incoming clouds, we thought it best to head back into town... We had a nap before heading into Hong Kong itself but thanks to a VERY long line for 'The Peak' we headed across the Harbour on the Star Ferry!! Here is a panorama I got tonight!


HKG Harbour Panorama

Hoo roo for now...

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14 June, 2010

Last day in Honkers...

My last day in Honkers was a bit foggy... Literally! On the night before, there was a couple of lightening bolts, cracks of thunder and a bit of a downpour! So when I woke, and saw that there was fog over the peak near the hotel, I thought my day was going to be 'touch 'n' go'! But, I checked out, and got the taxi to the Hong Kong Central railway station, and to my surprise, I checked my bag there and then! ONLY, 12 hours EARLY!!!

I then got onto the train that takes me out to the airport, where I had to get a cab to the cable car that takes you to the peak. And the fog (and rain) was closing in! But I joined the line, got a 'Crystal Cabin' which had a glass bottomed floor, and I was on my way. I my cabin, there was a couple of Chinese men, (one fell asleep), 3 youngish (18/20 maybe) Chinese girls and a friend of theirs an Irish boy (also 20ish) and myself! In some ways, I followed their lead with regards to photos (feet through floor) but when I got my BIG lens out, I think I put them into quietness as they went very quiet! Anyway, here are some pics of the trip up...

Cable Car Going Up Clear right
Tower Three
Crystal Cabin Glass Floor

Once we got to about halfway, we were in fog clouds that blew through, and by the time we got to the very top, it was even thicker!

Misty Cable Car
Off into the mist

Ngong Ping is Hong Kong's first ZERO plastic Shopping Bag Village, and I think they are very proud of this fact.

Ngong Ping Village ZERO Plastic Bag
Ngong Ping Village ONLY Plastic Bags
Ngong Ping Village02
Ngong Ping Village03
Ngong Ping Village05

I started to walk to the Buddha, but the further I walked to it, the thicker the fog got, so I looked at my phone (AKA watch) and decided, nup, I can not wait and I headed for lunch and then the trip down... Oh well, next time, I will get to see the Buddha, but for now, here is what I found...

Giant Buddha, Ngong Ping 360

The flight home, well, that's for another post I think, once my complaint has been addressed!

Hoo roo for now...

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