Hong Kong - Fall 2010, Part Two

Despite being totally wiped out from traveling, I got up early to take advantage of our single FREE DAY in Hong Kong. A couple of swimmers were enjoying the rooftop pool while the island city loomed on the other side of VICTORIA HARBOUR. I couldn't wait to explore get over there and explore. I fortified myself with some vitamin C before heading out with Karla and Sam to check out the city...







The hotel shuttle took us to the shoreline, where we planned to take the ferry across to Hong Kong proper. Down on the seafront I managed to get a photo of Karla and Sam with a very Chinese-looking boat passing by in the background. Afterwards, we came across this playful display of LANTERNS (which probably looked even more awesome lit up at night)...it was one of the many moments when I thought, "Awwww, I really wish Missy was here to see this!"





























I've been fortunate to have crossed Victoria Harbour via the venerable STAR FERRY a good number of times now, and every time was exciting and breathtaking to me...as usual, this excursion was no exception...

















Back on land in Hong Kong, we eschewed the traditional red cabs and hopped on a bus which took us to the base of VICTORIA PEAK, where we took the FUNICULAR RAILWAY to the top of the mountain. The cable car climbed past the tops of tall buildings and high-rises before the railway ended at the bottom of the PEAK TOWER, where everyone disembarked and entered through the gift shop...





















The Peak Tower is basically a multi-leveled mall filled with touristy cheesiness...I took this photo of a BUDDHIST MONK posing with a wax statue of BRUCE LEE, outside of the wax museum...also, there was a giant display reminding everyone about the Halloween celebrations happening at the nearby HONG KONG DISNEYLAND...







We rode the escalators to the roof of the Peak Tower where we were treated to spectacular views of the harbor and city far below...

Hong Kong - Fall 2010, Part One

So, if you've been following previous posts, you'll know that I recently came across a MEMORY CARD with a bunch of forgotten images from last October. Along with images from last HALLOWEEN, I also found images from my work trip to HONG KONG and CHINA, which happened the previous two weeks leading up to the holiday...since I'm in the mood to tie up loose ends, I thought, "Might as well post these photos from China, too..."

Unlike previous trips to China, Missy was not along with me for the adventure. Instead, it was me and two other co-workers, Karla and Sam, from the Art Department of our company. Our trip to China would take us through the NARITA AIRPORT in TOKYO, JAPAN, on our way to Hong Kong. I tried to take a photo of this JAPANESE SUNSET which looked exactly like the stylized sun on the "LAND OF THE RISING SUN" flag, with big fat rays of red sunlight radiating from a sleepy red sun...only, my photo failed to capture how majestic the sunset looked in reality, capturing instead, a sleepy Australian tourist rubbing the sleep from his eyes...



Narita Airport is fairly small, with nothing much to keep you entertained...before heading through the gate and boarding the plane, I managed to buy a bunch of cute BIRD-SHAPED PASTRIES for Missy...cookies that are too cute to eat, apparently - we've only eaten two of them since I brought them back:









After a couple of hours, we arrived at the airport in HONG KONG...it was late and the airport was relatively empty of travelers.
We stocked up on snacks at 7-11 before catching a train to our hotel in KOWLOON:









After almost 24 hours straight of traveling in taxis, planes, and trains, we arrived at the METROPOLIS HOTEL in Kowloon. The bed was a welcome sight and I couldn't wait to finally sleep in a horizontal position...