To save crossing roads there are many walkways above the road in Hong Kong Central district. The light cross on the left is part of the lighting on the Bank of China building, every night the buildings put on a light show to music.
Two ICF, the sixth tallest skyscraper in the World. Hong Kong boasts 4 of the World's top 15 tallest skyscrapers.
Global wrming is in the news today, if our public transport was as cheap as it is in Hong Kong perhaps we would all use it more. We met a couple who lived on Lantau island, they had no car, they cycled around the island and commuted to work on the ferry. Quicker, cleaner and cheaper than travelling by car.
The people on Lantau work tirelessly in hot and humid conditions to keep the places clean. Tai O has quite a history (see wikipedia) . The weather here was around 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) and up to 90% humidity. A few of the metal houses had air conditioning but not many, although these houses did not seem typical of Lantau island. It is a popular place for tourists to visit but I don't think the locals make much money out of their visitors.
Along the river in Tai O are stilt houses, while people are living in small metal buildings the public playgrounds and amenities are generally new and clean. This is the view on the other side of the bridge from yesterday's post. The smell of dried fish is strong here, the streets are lined with shops selling them.
The smell of these fish drying in the sun will be with me always, have to admit I never tasted any.
At Ngong Ping on Lantau island is the Big Buddha, 34 metres high, the worlds tallest sitting bronze Buddha. You can experience the 268 step climb without the heat and humidity at the Buddhism Depot. Is Buddhism the most peaceful of the major religions ?
A symbol of old Hong Kong in front of the new buildings, taken from The Peak. The Peak Tram has been running since 1888 and never had an accident, at the top station is a new shopping mall, Hong Kong must be the shopping capital of the world.
Walking through Hong Kong Park we came across a group of photographers with telephoto lenses crowded around a pond, this was their subject..unfortunately I only had a 200mm lens so could get no closer. Never did work out if they were on a photo lesson or just a bunch of individuals that knew these insects would be at this location at this time.
There are probably good functional reasons for designing these buildings like this but perhaps it is more art than function.....Terminator ? ... Robot legs ?.... ??
You can walk a long way in Hong Kong without coming out on to the street, hundreds or thousands of shops lining walkways, it has the longest covered outdoor escalator system in the world. Outside, looking down you would never guess.
Had the opportunity to visit our daughter and her boyfriend in Hong Kong where they are teaching English. Just had to take a trip on the Star Ferry where for 2.2 HKD (15p, 25 cents) you can step back in time and sail across from Central to Kowloon .
A typical English Sunday morning in October, grey skies, low cloud , dull and dreary, best thing to do is to stay in bed .... or get some sea air. The sun comes out and the day is transformed. I once worked with a guy from New Jersey, he told me that all the beaches in England where covered in rocks, he should have gone to Saunton Sands.
