Hong Kong, Macau, China

November 2009

Travelling in the Hong Kong region


Tens of health declarations filled during the trip... I almost could do that with the eyes closed :-) Before flying further to Bangkok we went outside for an hour just to ruin the whole page in the passport! The crazy 40-story residential towers are everywhere... Some strange mushrooms in bacon? Nice... One of the very few preserved historic buildings in Hong Kong - the bell tower in Kowloon, overlooking the skyline of Hong Kong Island The non-postcard Hong Kong - industrial barges riding between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island at dusk, polluting the air The infamous Star Ferry coming from Hong Kong Island The internals of a Star Ferry - state-of-the-art of British technology at the beginning of 20th century In some many they still have English translations of road signs, but these are becoming more scarce nowadays White people playing violins in public places? Hong Kong is full of contrasts :-) Part of the skyline, with Bank Of China in the middle At the base of IFC, currently the tallest building in Hong Kong, overlooking its very similar cousin being built on the other side of the bay, the ICC. Both over 400m tall Walking the urban jungle (sometimes hard to break free from the escalators and tunnels) Buddhists try to survive in the urban jungle The craziest thing about Hong Kong - the daily 8pm symphony of lights is beginning The worlds largest permanent light and laser show has 44 participating buildings. You can listen to the accompanying music at designated places or by radio and even by dialing a phone number :-) The only junk boat left in Hong Kong View from the Avenue of Stars Chinese have strange names... What a small hand uncle Jackie has :-) Japanese tourist posing as uncle Bruce Crowdy local streets English and even Mandarin speaking tourists are no longer welcome here Early morning at the local fast food Star Ferry harbour, again - its only HK$3 to cross, the cheapest way :-) The skyline is never clear during the day time because of the polluted air Aboard the Star Ferry Kowloon side - museum of science Approaching the mighty IFC The IFC tower, 415m View from the 50th floor (in the middle) of IFC to the Victoria Peak You feel like watching ants when looking down from IFC across Victoria Harbour Chinese phonetic keyboard - couldn't resist taking a picture :-) A bit more eye-friendly Hong Kong The other side of the Moon - Southern Hong Kong Island is almost always seen against the sun The classic Victoria Peak view over the Victoria Harbour (do you also feel that there are too many of 'Victoria' there?) At Victoria Peak you finally feel at the same level with IFC :-) Nice free temple-like viewing platform. Why do people pay for the Victoria Peak Gallery? The level of commercialization The Victoria Peak gallery, with awfully many restaurants, shops, and tons of tourists Lions seemingly protectively overlooking the Great Urban Jungle The overpriced Peak Tram Crazy Brits has left their heritage with the double-decker trams A more real glimpse of Hong Kong at Kennedy Town Some smaller hidden streets among skyscrapers have the real feel to them Bamboo is probably cheap and easy to get in this region Riding a tram - the cheapest sightseeing imaginable - HK$2 for the whole day! Yes, you may feel a bit lonely here... I am so famous, that people already name streets and buildings after me :-) And the street :-) You can even find authentic markets among the walls of concrete! Tea can be a work of art... Fast-tea place on the street Betting (I was kicked out from there with my camera a moment later) Interviewing the local chicks A food or a soap? Answer: food, but not something I would eat again :-) HK is famous for shopping These guys are not discouraging local Pakistanis to offer you a hash, copy watch or a tailor-made suit on almost every street corner Every day compulsory Symphony of Light, now from the other side No wonder why Hong Kong is so sterile... Local trains have no cars - they are like giant worms crawling under the City of Concrete A nice getaway further in the mainland. Looking for a monastery here... Even when hiking up a mountain, you are never far from 7 million of people Many, many statues while climbing up the hill, all different... The Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery - even the names says that they are crazy! Unlike Vietnam, Cambodia, etc - even the monasteries are very hi-tech here Yes, yes, ten thousand buddhas here! Actually more than 12000 to be more correct... Crazy! It seems that Asians invented the copy-paste long before the computers... Hiking even higher Swastikas are everywhere. For us, Europeans, it seems like a ghost of Adolf is floating nearby More buddhas, a big one and thousands of small ones... The Big Buddha greeting the guests If you don't look back at the city in the distance, it may feel like an idyllic place But millions of people are very close More crazy statues around the monastery A cemetery Graves with a nice view :-) On special days, these guys send stuff to their dead relatives by burning servants, cars, houses - all made of paper Long passed away grandmother probably still doesn't have a nice villa for enjoying her life in another world, so this one must be sent there How can you live nicely in another world without a Mercedes? I guess long time ago these guys burnt real servants, horses, etc to please those who passed away... Transmission of goods to another world They make their relatives happy this day! A nice quiet town of Sha Tin Tai Chi gathering on the street Chinese schoolgirls seem to have some Scottish influence When you take pictures of people in Hong Kong, they leave the frame and apologise... Very unusual after people chasing you to photograph them in nearby countries Victoria Peak view by night The peak tram's ghost is approaching West Kowloon After only 3 hours in Visa queue, The People's Republic of China welcomes you! Although similar, its definitely not Hong Kong anymore The great city of Shenzhen has grown to 14 million during the last 20 years! Full of contrast :-) China Mobile - the largest mobile operator in the world! A smooth taxi ride Overgrown Chinese pigeons Silence, emptiness, weird provided you're in China Pioneers playing Soviet military stuff! Can you spot a huge potential in this kid? An abandoned old Soviet military aircraft carrier transformed into a theme park "Minsk World"! Last look back before boarding the huge ship Woa, it's huge! Many Russian signs aboard seem to be written by Chinese owners Tough stuff No, these signs can't be real :-) A friendly Chinese girl, pretending to be serving in military Where does this door go? ;-) We were able to have an excursion on our own! Russian Alyoshas and Chinese script, wonder what is written there! Old WW2 propaganda is very cool! Picture spot for kids :-) Deep inside the ship Minsk served in Soviet Pacific fleet. After it broke, it was sold to a Korean businessman, who sold it later to Chinese More huge shopping centers - China is cheaper than Hong Kong, so people make visas and come here Street security Chinese homeless guys Walking back to Hong Kong Starting the morning trip to Macau! After only 2 hours and a bunch of new stamps in the passport you can enjoy Portuguese heritage Macau has a lot more character to it than Hong Concrete Very cool Catholic churches in Asia Our old European friend, Jesucristo! Most signs in Macau are in Portuguese and Cantonese, English is optional Very distinctive Portuguese pavement in Largo do Senado area Great social way to fill your stomach! Reading the menu is a bit complicated, though If not the local girls willing to help, I would not manage here... But the stuff tasted good after boiling :-) População local When people are absent you really feel like in Europe! The main landmark - ruins of St Pauls Cathedral, build in 1602 You can already feel the great casino spirit - Grand Lisboa Mais pessoas locais Feels like a lost city in jungle? Not quite - you're in the center of Macau! The only Vietnamese hat outside of Vietnam that I have seen. The second one is more traditional to China An old fort is still aiming somewhere... Maybe at casinos? A cool mix of East and West Local people are more funky than their fellows from Hong Kong 8 bit art? View towards the reclaimed Cotai casino district At least here wedding couples are not photographed in front of escalators! Some older casinos are on the main island. Last year Macau has beaten Las Vegas in casino revenue The casino brands are all familiar if you were in Las Vegas The highest bungee jump place in the world (but certainly not the most exciting one) The biggest casino in the world on the reclaimed land of Cotai Strip Still, Cotai Strip is nothing like Las Vegas - there are no crowds, no fun, just very quiet Asian gamblers inside... Feel like in Vegas, baby Very, very quiet inside! Very weird after the noisy 'ding-ding-ding' casinos of LV! The fake Venetia ...with a bit of local character This is were Indians and Pakistani make their taylor-made suits! Just next door from our hostel in Mirador Mansions Mirador Mansions gets a face lift this year Going up the Lantau Island on the departure day Higher, higher - who could image now that we would lose the last journey back? ;-) Another Big Budda for us - the Tian Tan Buddha, 34 m tall, recently was the tallest buddha in the world The guy looks magical in the lush green mountains of Lantau Getting closer, trying to make friends Walking around the forest, you can encounter somebody like this The Wisdom Path The last sunset in Hong Kong, you could know you can escape the Urban Jungle and enjoy it in the nature like this? Lantau island has great hiking trails The Big Buddha from the Lantau trail This is wisdom, but you don't have to understand it Can you spot the Big Buddha? Later, after 20 km of hiking down the mountains in the darkness, we reached the airport terminal building
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Hong Kong, Macau, China