Day 118 : Hong Kong

No photos from today. I was too busy working in the Hong Kong International Airport!

Day 005: Hong Kong

Well I am off to Vietnam in a few hours so this is farewell from Hong Kong! Rumor has it that blogging may be difficult from Vietnam so please don't be alarmed if I go M.I.A. for a few days! Hopefully I will have access to my Flickr account, if so then you can catch up with me there!

Day 004 : Hong Kong

Day four was a bit of a relaxation day for me. I was pretty wiped out after yesterday's intense day of hiking, not to mention I need to rest up for Vietnam (heading there tomorrow evening)! So I slept in this morning, organized some documentation, had a late lunch, then wandered out for a relaxing stroll around the Central and Causeway Bay areas of Hong Kong...

Maid Day

When I stepped out of the subway station onto the main street in the Central area of Hong Kong I found all of these women sitting everywhere along the street. They had colonized every possible inch of free space - even the unused stair case. My helpful host Coleman informed me that every Sunday all of the 'household helpers' in Hong Kong gather to enjoy some rest and relaxation on their only day off. These publics areas within the city become their gathering space for the day. The Central area of Hong Kong draws the Filipino crowd in particular.

Maid Day
As I proceeded further into the crowd of Filipino Women things got more and more territorial. Some started using card board boxes to define the boundaries between them and their neighbors.

Cascading Street Market

Bamboo Scaffolding
I am used to seeing steel scaffolding so at first this bamboo stuff startled me. It looks a bit rickety but seems to work just fine not to mention it's semi-sustainable.

Liver?
Of some sort I think? Or maybe just a huge sack of animal blood? Not sure...

Street Scene

Hockers!
I think that's the correct term...basically street meats and treats. These people LOVE food!

Urban Threshold
There are many alleyways and thresholds in Hong Kong that have caught my attention in passing. This one in particular lured me in. Inside I found this...

Inside the Urban Threshold
...some crazy electrical wiring as well as an alternative cafe and clothing shop. As I ascended the stairs even further I began to hear what seemed to be bickering Cantonese...so I turned around and headed for the ground!

Click here for Hong Kong photos!

Day 003 : Hong Kong

Day three led me to the country side of Hong Kong to an area called Sai Kung. After taking the subway, minibus, and taxi (only cars with permits are allowed to drive in the country side as a measure to limit traffic) we arrived at our destination. It was breathtaking! After a day full of blood, sweat and cheers (not tears!) we finished our 12.5 mile hike up and down the hills of Hong Kong.

The Scene
This was the scene pretty much everywhere I turned throughout the entire day.

The Trail

Whenever I was beginning to lose steam I just reminded myself 'It could be worse'. Check out the massive backpacks on the guys ahead of us! What an inspiration.

The Peak!
This was the first of three! Up and down, up and down...all day long. Thank goodness for thunder thighs!

The Beach!
Little did we know going down hill would be so hard...

Bushwhacking

This was Kitty's idea of a short cut! It ended up taking us just as long as if we had stayed on the proper trail. I wish I had my handy dandy Leatherman with me...My Dad always said 'that saw comes in real handy'. Needless to say, after many scrapes, cuts, trips and slips we made it all the way down this hillside to that beach in the distance!

Beach One!

Village Restaurant
At our half way point of 6.5 miles ramen with egg and cabbage never tasted so good! Slurp slurp!

Beach Village

Wet Market
We ended the day in the Sai Kung City Center where we got some refreshments and checked out the Wet Market. From here we caught the minibus back to the subway station.

Click here for Hong Kong photos!

Day 002 : Hong Kong

Day two in Hong Kong brought me to a cemetery, a public housing project, a jade market, and a crazy street market. We decided to do the urban immersion today since tomorrow will be spent in the country side.

Women's Street

Women's Street
I thought the streets of New York City were crowded...but then there was this!

Temple Street

Temple Street
The ceiling of this temple was filled with incense coils which are constantly burning to honor the spirits of the deceased. The aroma and lighting in the space was quite intense.

Street Market - Meat!

Street Market - Tofu!

Jade Market

Jade Market
Good thing I'm not really into jewelry!

Public Housing Project

Typical Hong Kong Cemetery

Most of the Cemeteries in Hong Kong are found on prime hillside real estate like this! The location affords a truly moving experience and a spectacular view. My sources tell me that like the rest of Hong Kong, the cemeteries are becoming increasingly crowded so space is extremely expensive.

Click here for Hong Kong photos!

Day 001 : Hong Kong

So today was the official Day 001 of my adventure abroad. Thanks to my fabulous hostess, Kitty, I had quite an adventure! It began with a visit to a local Wet and Dry Market, followed by a walk across town to meet a couple of friends for lunch. In the afternoon we took public transportation deeper into the country side to check out a super quaint fishing village on the shores of Lantau Island. Following is some visual documentation of Day 001!

Lantau Fishing Village Shrimp Paste Process

Lantau Fishing Village Living Room / Storefront

Lantau Fishing Village Shrimp Paste Factory

Lantau Fishing Village

Lantau Fishing Village

Lantau Fishing Village Facade

Lantau Fishing Village Vendor

Lantau Fishing Village Waffles

Lantau Fishing Village

Lantau Fishing Village

Lantau Fishing Village Street Market

The View in Sai Wan Ho

Wet Market

Wet Market

Dry Market

Hong Kong Subway

Car Garage

Facade

Click here for Hong Kong photos!

The View

Last night when I arrived in Hong Kong it was completely dark, so I couldn't really grasp the intensity of the landscape and high rise housing. But this morning when I woke up it was all so clear. This is the view from Kitty's apartment on the 46th floor - not bad, huh!