So how did I get here?
It's occurred to me over the last couple of weeks that there are so many untold stories of my life since I left this blog to mind itself.
So, lets take it back a bit and have a look at my favourite adventure since I left the UK for foreign shores.
I decided to take a 24 break en route to Australia in Hong Kong, firstly so that I had the chance of being on a Cathay Pacific flight as my university friend Elkie now works as a sexy air hostess for them. And secondly I didn't rate my chances of not being sent back to the UK soon for bad behaviour, so I thought I better make the most of my travels east.
Unexpectedly, I didn't just have an enjoyable day in Hong Kong, I had a truly unique experience, which was so much more than I was expecting. Here are some of the photos I took:-
From what I understand this is fairly typical now in Hong Kong. What with the Chinese factories just over the border chucking out huge amounts of pollution and the valley like location of Hong Kong, smog is now a permanent fixture on the HK skyline, however, it does add some kind of unique atmosphere to the place which is quite unlike anywhere I have ever been before.
The infamous (in HK) IFC2 tower. My wonderful guide for the day, Helena, managed to convince the anti terrorist guides at the ground floor of the tower, that I wasn't a terrorist. Amazingly (I don't know why I think amazingly) they believed her! We got the first lift to level 42 which was just before the cloud level. I did take a photo but unfortunately the ultra tinted glass meant that all that can be seen is a lovely, blurred, picture of my rather jet lagged face.
As real estate space is at an absolute premium in the centre of HK they have had to adopt a few rather radical, and many including myself would say rather foolhardy, planning methods to counteract this problem. Here we see a picture of one of HK's most import historical buildings. However it was situated bang smack in the middle of the CBD, and they couldn't have that, so they picked it up, brick by brick. Took it over a hill to the other side of the island and rebuilt it. Marvellously stupid (In my opinion!)
Another method of saving space is to make people live on top of each other. There are loads of tower blocks like this in HK and it seems impossible to count the number of apartments there are in each one, but one should note that even if you only own (or rent) 3 cubic metre of space in the world, everybody makes sure they still have enough money to buy an AC unit.
A very kind family friend of mine let me borrow her sister-in-law's apartment which was in one of these huge towers. My flat was on the 34th floor. There was only one small lift and a stair case that was also used as a storage space. Believe me when I say you don't get much sleep, jet lagged and with the knowledge that there is no real fire escape despite the fact their are a million and one people below you, each with a huge wok or burning oil. Scary! Very!
A typical street view in HK. I loved the hustle and bustle. You need a brolly though as it rains every other hour like clock work. Luckily most big shops have little machines at the entrance, where you place your soaking umbrella and it automatically covers it with a plastic bag tube. I couldn't help but think that if such a device (slightly modified) was introduced to certain Northern England cities, the rate of STDs would be sure to drop.
I love this picture. I sent it onto all the safety goons who worked in my office in the UK. They would surely go mad if they saw what goes on here!
Here we see a picture of the Cable car that they are building. From what I could understand, it doesn't actually go anywhere and it's the longest and technically most complex one in the world. When I asked why, they said, "Because we can" - fair enough!
Finally my day ended with a lovely Chinese meal with my hosts. When we exited the restaurant a huge thunder storm broke out. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but the rain was EPIC and the sound......well I've never heard anything like it, nor will I probably ever again. In short - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
So in conclusion - go to HK - it's great!
So, lets take it back a bit and have a look at my favourite adventure since I left the UK for foreign shores.
I decided to take a 24 break en route to Australia in Hong Kong, firstly so that I had the chance of being on a Cathay Pacific flight as my university friend Elkie now works as a sexy air hostess for them. And secondly I didn't rate my chances of not being sent back to the UK soon for bad behaviour, so I thought I better make the most of my travels east.
Unexpectedly, I didn't just have an enjoyable day in Hong Kong, I had a truly unique experience, which was so much more than I was expecting. Here are some of the photos I took:-
From what I understand this is fairly typical now in Hong Kong. What with the Chinese factories just over the border chucking out huge amounts of pollution and the valley like location of Hong Kong, smog is now a permanent fixture on the HK skyline, however, it does add some kind of unique atmosphere to the place which is quite unlike anywhere I have ever been before.
The infamous (in HK) IFC2 tower. My wonderful guide for the day, Helena, managed to convince the anti terrorist guides at the ground floor of the tower, that I wasn't a terrorist. Amazingly (I don't know why I think amazingly) they believed her! We got the first lift to level 42 which was just before the cloud level. I did take a photo but unfortunately the ultra tinted glass meant that all that can be seen is a lovely, blurred, picture of my rather jet lagged face.
As real estate space is at an absolute premium in the centre of HK they have had to adopt a few rather radical, and many including myself would say rather foolhardy, planning methods to counteract this problem. Here we see a picture of one of HK's most import historical buildings. However it was situated bang smack in the middle of the CBD, and they couldn't have that, so they picked it up, brick by brick. Took it over a hill to the other side of the island and rebuilt it. Marvellously stupid (In my opinion!)
Another method of saving space is to make people live on top of each other. There are loads of tower blocks like this in HK and it seems impossible to count the number of apartments there are in each one, but one should note that even if you only own (or rent) 3 cubic metre of space in the world, everybody makes sure they still have enough money to buy an AC unit.
A very kind family friend of mine let me borrow her sister-in-law's apartment which was in one of these huge towers. My flat was on the 34th floor. There was only one small lift and a stair case that was also used as a storage space. Believe me when I say you don't get much sleep, jet lagged and with the knowledge that there is no real fire escape despite the fact their are a million and one people below you, each with a huge wok or burning oil. Scary! Very!
A typical street view in HK. I loved the hustle and bustle. You need a brolly though as it rains every other hour like clock work. Luckily most big shops have little machines at the entrance, where you place your soaking umbrella and it automatically covers it with a plastic bag tube. I couldn't help but think that if such a device (slightly modified) was introduced to certain Northern England cities, the rate of STDs would be sure to drop.
I love this picture. I sent it onto all the safety goons who worked in my office in the UK. They would surely go mad if they saw what goes on here!
Here we see a picture of the Cable car that they are building. From what I could understand, it doesn't actually go anywhere and it's the longest and technically most complex one in the world. When I asked why, they said, "Because we can" - fair enough!
Finally my day ended with a lovely Chinese meal with my hosts. When we exited the restaurant a huge thunder storm broke out. This picture doesn't really do it justice, but the rain was EPIC and the sound......well I've never heard anything like it, nor will I probably ever again. In short - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
So in conclusion - go to HK - it's great!
posted by Nurton at 11:02 am
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