Hong Kong in Wide Angles - The Book

For anyone who would like a copy I've done a book of my favourite 160 pics I took in HK.

Details here

Peter Ip Update

Had news from HK and it appears that Peter is doing well and could possibly be allowed to go home next week. Thank you to Doğan for the update. (Mr Kebab, Lamma Island, The best chicken shish in HK.!!!)

hangover, humidity and a 13 hour flight....

Welcome, to the last blog!! We are currently getting the last few bits packed and then we shall close our laptops for good from Hong Kong! Last night we went down to the piers to see the skyline illuminated and then went to the Wheel Bar for our goodbye drinks. We didn't order them but various colours of tequila and other shots appeared on the bar before too long along with magical auto-refilling pint glasses. Rus had a great time with a microphone which he found on the bar and played some guitar and we both went home in the early hours. Not too bad considering the amount of drinks they were trying to make us drink.
Today we check out shortly and then off to central to do the in town check in. We then have to hang around for a few hours before we go to the airport so wish us luck - the weather is hot hot hot today. To all of you that have been following the blog, thank you for your comments - they meant a lot to us and we shall see you soon. Will we miss Hong Kong? parts of it for sure, some of the people we feel are better friends out here, than the ones we have back home but there's no substitution for our Mums and Dads, that we are both really looking forward to seeing again soon. Lots of Love Emma and Rus x x x

Bit of a sad sunday....

Today we had all good intentions of making the most of our last sunday in HK! we got up quite late due to some late night packing last night and headed off to Lamma - down to the piers and the fast ferry later, we were walking down the front. We love Lamma. We had a quick look around for Peter, but could not see him. We went and saw Dogan (sounds like Doran) a turkish kebab shop owner that knows Peter very well and he informed us that Peter had an accident on Wednesday and was currently in hospital on the mainland. One kebab, a ferry trip and a trip the entire length of the Island line on the MTR later, we caught a taxi to the hospital and went to see Peter. It was one of the things we wanted to do today, but in different circumstances. We hope that he gets better soon and will stay in contact with him through Dogan. He's really a very lovely guy indeed.

Drip drip drip......

I have no idea how anyone can be in hong kong in the summer months! today we had to do very little and very slowly because of the humidity. Frosties first thing followed by a walk to the IFC (slowly), Starbucks, down to the Pier 3 bar, melted there for a while, bought a beer and slowly walked back to the apartment. Tonight, we slowly walked down to the Star Ferry pier and caught a ferry along with a million korean tourists over to Tsim Sha Tsui to watch the symphony of lights. A slight breeze by the water front tonight but that was it. Air con on full in both the lounge and the bedroom. I want to shave my head....

Updates

38 new pics have been added to Emma's Lomography Gallery. (You may need to refresh your browser )

Pics Here

Big Buddhas Birthday!

Public holiday today because it is the big buddhas birthday. I sang to him earlier and received an email from my mum doing the same :) After thinking that due to the holiday, our cleaners would not be coming, we were rudely interrupted by the bell at around 1pm, when we were still lolling about in bed.

Quick shower and out so that the cleaners could come in and we had our first stop off of the day at the twee coffee shop on Princes Terrace (opposite from the nudey "white girls" exhibition). We picked up some photos that had been developed and because Starbucks was shut, we went to Pier 3 for Uncle Russ coffee and then back through central up to the escalators. Because of the high humidity (and shiny clamminess that comes with it) we came back to the apartment around 3 to sit in the air con!

Around half five we started to get ourselves together to do our last visit to Temple St Night Market. Rus had seen some holographic glasses last time that he HAD to get. Anyway, as you can see by the pic - we had success!! Noodles and chicken at the reclamation diners where we went with my brother Andrew when he came visiting, and was greeted by the same man doing the "two finger salute" and then mtr back to the apartment to finish. All in all a lovely but very sticky day. Thank you, the chap that invented aircon.

Tai Long Wan - The Final Big Hong Kong Adventure!!

Tai Long Wan is considered the jewel in Hong Kong's crown. It is a stretch of coastline on the coast of the Sai Kung East Country Park and is notoriously difficult to get to. It either involves shelling out for a boat to approach by sea, or a walk over the mountains from the west by foot. This is the place I probably most wanted to see while in Hong Kong. Partly because I love beaches and partly because it was going to be the hardest place for me to get to. Now strap yourselves in cos this is going to be a long one!!!!.
I must stress at this point that I am fine so don't let what you're about to read concern you too much!!.
I set off on Wednesday morning as the forecast said there were storms coming on Thursday so I knew I would not get another opportunity. Firstly 2 hours to Wong Shek , the starting point by MTR, and buses.
Just around the bay from Wong Shek there is a place called Chek Keng where there is a pier. I had to get here to be able to pick up a path that would lead me to the "Maclehose Trail". This trail runs around the entire area and on first hand experience I can now confirm that it is a monster!!!. People usually camp here and do this trail sections at a time as it's so tough. I saw numerous runners here that obviously use this trail to "batter" their body's into competition shape. And I am not a particularly fit man!!. There are kilometre markers on the trail and although I had a rough idea as to the distance it ended up being 7 kilometre's each way from Chek Keng to Tai Long Wan, up and over 2 mountains. The most important thing here was to be able to get out and back to Chek Keng for the ferry out at 16.50, or I would be spending the night here. And trust me on reflection I wouldn't want to do that without good camping gear and I had none. And even then after dark you would have no chance of even finding the campsites.
Immediately after leaving the ferry I was completely on my own. Apart from 1" ants and what looked like 2 inch parasites scurrying away with every step I took. Really spooky. There had been a bit of rainfall when I first arrived and there was thunder rolling around but the sun was out now. I set off on what was to turn out to be the biggest adventure of the trip, in both good and bad. The walk was arduous!!...serious incline after incline round every corner.
I saw butterflies with 6" wingspans, the biggest I've seen, groups of wild dogs, Insects of both the scuttling and flying variety that were nightmarishly big!!!. The downhill sections were as punishing as the up as they were so steep. But I made good time and got to Tai Long Wan and rested before taking some pics. Knowing I had it all to do again to get back!!. I saw a sign at a cafe with prices for boats directly back to Sai Kung for 800HKD and if I had it, it would have been a no brainer...I had 150. I spent about an hour and a half at Tai Long Wan after spending around 5 hours to get there, and set off back toward Chek Keng. Although now I had an idea how long it took for the walk I could afford to go a bit easier and rest more. I just wanted to make sure I was back at the pier for the one and only boat out and not stuck here should anything untoward pop up on the way back. I made Chek Keng with plenty of time to spare and waited on the pier. After my (for me) Epic 14k round trip walk I was truly shredded. But only had the wait for the boat and make the 2 hour trip on buses and MTR back to Hong Kong Island.....or so I thought........
At just before 4pm it began to rain, and the thunder I'd heard earlier was back so I headed for the nearby shelter happy that I had taken the decision to err on the side of caution and was back at the pier and had cover.
Then at about 4.15 I was happily listening to my ipod when a massive fork of lightning hit an electrical sub station on the bank across the water right in front of me. After this all hell broke loose.....the storm was right over me, lightning was going off everywhere and it was EXTREMELY scary.
Within minutes a group of 5 Chinese men came running around the corner toward the pier. They ran right past me shouting and gesturing for me to go with them, it was at this point I noticed the speedboat hammering it's way into the bay to get them. They had obviously phoned for someone to come and get them out. I quickly figured that this was NOT the place to be and followed them onto the boat. We only had a short distance to travel round the point and into the adjoining bay to Wong Shek Pier. We pulled off of the pier but although the speedboat had twin engines we were going nowhere against the now howling winds that were driving into the bay. The driver quickly manouvered us into a position behind the pier wall to shelter from what was now pretty obviously a typhoon.
We spent the next few minutes furiously bailing the boat out with 5 litre plastic containers with the tops chopped off as it was quickly filling up with the lashing rain. Even despite this it was a couple of minutes before we got the better of the flow. Soon after this the storm abated a bit, the wind dropped and the driver slammed the boat into reverse and then made the sprint out of the bay and round the point for Wong Shek. 3 or 4 minutes later we were at the pier safely. One of the men laughed and said for me to give the driver his 20 HKD fare. I gave him 50 and to my suprise he went to give me change!!!......I just laughed and left the boat, absolutely soaking!!!...He said "thanks".
All of my camera's were ok, and i made a point of wrapping them before heading off anywhere as it was still raining substantially. I rode the bus's, and MTR all the way home soaked, but was not the only one so I don't think it mattered. After getting back to central I met Em at the IFC with a coffee and we went home together at which point I had a HOT bath followed by copious amounts of deep heat!!.
Today I'm chilling and sorting out all my stuff, the storm was still rumbling through the night. I'm a bit achy but i'm all to aware that it all could have been so much worse.
But i got my pics!!!...looking at them now it's almost impossible to believe what actually happened later in the day.
Em is off from tomorrow so we'll have a chance to chill together before heading back.

Pics Here

Sai Kung West And Tolo Channel

I have finally manged to sort out some of the best pics of my 2 days on the Tolo Channel in The Sai Kung West Country Park. The ferry went from Wong Shek on the first day and docked at Ma Liu Shui and I went on the reverse version on the second day. It cost 18 HKD per day (About £1.50) and lasted 2 hours per trip. With around 2 hours travelling to and from the start and end points these were 2 busy but very rewarding days. I worked out the cost of not only the ferries but also the MTR, Buses, and trains taken in transit at around £6 per day for 6 hours of travel. Try and get that in the UK.
This was one of my must see's.

Pics here

Sai Kung West Country Park Pics.

I Managed to get some great shots of the Sai Kung West Country Park over the last couple of days and will be putting them up just as soon as I have a chance to sort them. There are over 750!!.
Tomorrow I'm off to the Sai Kung East Country Park to see if I can get to Tai Long Wan. This place is only accessible by chartered boat or by foot so I shall be trudging there to get some pics in the morning as it's probably the only chance i'll get as the weather is closing in after tomorrow.

Sai Kung West Country Park

Filmed during 4 hours on a Kai-To over 2 days, through some of the awesome scenery in the West Sai Kung Country Park near the China Mainland. This is one of the most remote parts of Hong Kong SAR.
Music: Tangerine Dream - Cloudburst Flight

Monday - Travelling in the New Territories.

Well Em has entered what is her final week of work here and is still furiously working on getting the new starter up to speed. It's a short one too with it being a national holiday for Buddha's birthday on Friday, so Em's last day here will be Thursday.
We were up at around 6 and I was out by 06.45 and on the MTR for 7.00 headed for the Sai Kung National Park in the New Territories. Just in case you're following on a map this involved an MTR from Central to Mong Kok, Change line and on to Choi Hung, Bus from there to Sai Kung, then another bus to Wong Shek ferry pier in the Sai Kung West National Park. I was already in the town of Sai Kung by the time Em got to work and in all it took me 2 hours to get to Wong Shek Pier, the start point for the day. After watching a load of college students loading their boat for the day up with all kinds of canoeing equipment. I got the 10.20 Kai-To from Wong Shek for a 2 hour journey stopping at Tap Mun Island, and various other places and skirting the Chinese border before heading down the Tolo Channel past Plover Cove and finally berthing at Ma Lui Shui in the Tolo Harbour. There are very few settlements here, and the Islands are for the most part untouched. The whole area is a protected geological park. There were both Police patrol boats doing spot checks in evidence and also numerous Chinese PLA PT boats and a Destroyer. The PLA have been maintaining a very high profile in the South China Sea in recent weeks and there have been a number of articles about it in the South China Morning Post. Apparently China has been building up it's navy over the past 10 years since becoming a major financial player and has been flexing it's muscle in the area over the last few months, much to the disgust of neighbours Japan, Taiwan, The Phillipines and Indonesia. Who are all alarmed at the scale of the manouvers that have been taking place. Indeed the PLA are currently patrolling the south China Sea enforcing a fishing ban in their waters. On arrival at Ma Lui Shui i headed for University station and headed straight down eastern rail line to Hung Hom where I picked up a Star Ferry to central, grabbed a coffee and went to the garden cafe/bar on pier 3 where i stayed till Em joined me after work. I got chatting to a very funny Danish airline pilot called Soeren over a beer or two. We ate at the reclaimation diners on our way home.
Pics will be up soon but as of writing this it's really sunny today so I am contemplating heading back to University to go on the Kai-To again to get some more pics as there are storms forecast for the end of what is our final week, but heading in the other direction this time ending at Wong Shek. The Boat leaves at 3pm which means I'll more than likely not be home too early so I may have to wait till tomorrow to put the pics taken over the 2 days up. That is of course if I don't make the trip to Tai Long Wan that I'm seriously contemplating!!

Star Ferry Harbour Tour

Another late start today as we wallowed in bed for far too long again - but it is the weekend!
Quick march down to the IFC and onto Uncle Russ coffee at the pier followed shortly by a drink at Pier 3. When the weather is glorious, its good to get out of the shopping areas and somewhere peaceful. Deciding not to go to Lamma as it would be completely packed today, we chose to do the Star Ferry Harbour Tour. Starting from Central Pier 7, it took us to Wan Chai, Tsim sha Tsui, and back to Central. The boat ride took an hour and I sat at the front like lady muck (Hyacinth Bucket) while Rus did all the running around taking video footage! Some northern brit did a rendition of Kate Winslet at the front of the Titanic and almost got a shove from me for being so irritating. Weather was beautiful and we got some good footage (note, I say "we") of the skyline from the water. After disembarking we considered doing the full blown tourist thing and get on the big bus tour of hong kong but it was pretty pricey considering we've already walked the entire route and have seen all the buildings. Instead, we went back up to Pier 3 for a quick drink before making our way back up to the apartment. Grudge 2 was on the telly today - will have to sleep with the lights on. This evening was spent laughing at video footage and chilling in our pyjamas - rock and roll! x Em x

Have a guess where we've been......

To Lamma!
Yes, shock, horror - its the weekend and we have once again revisited Lamma Island.
To be fair, we didn't wake up until gone eleven this morning and by the time we left it was just after midday. After an amble down to the IFC, we went to the IFC rooftop terrace over the mall. Unbelievably hardly anyone goes there but the views are breathtaking, lots of places to sit, water features, gardens, bars and restaurants. We then took a walk over to the piers and after a teriyaki chicken and Uncle Russ on the front we caught the ferry over to Lamma. Rus almost fell asleep on the boat :)
We opted not to do the walk after my allergic reaction to a particularly nasty mozzie last week, where we were considering walking into A&E because of the size of the bite and subsequent rash that spread over my leg.... we went straight to two shops (I HAD to get a particularly childish but I love it Cookie Monster bag) and on walking back to the front we met up with our old friend Peter Ip again.
After some dinner with Peter (his shout as a farewell gift to us) we caught the 8:30 pm ferry back to central and enjoyed a further few drinks at Pier 3, overlooking the harbour.
Looking forward to another lovely day tomorrow with my lovely Rus - no real plans except chill and see what we fancy.
Em xx

"BT" & "Dub Dub" Get Funky

Famous world travellers and style guru's "BT" and "Dub Dub" get funky somewhere in Hong Kong for your viewing pleasure.
Music: K C & The Sunshine Band - Get Down Tonight.

Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui to Central.

Onboard the Star Ferry upper deck for the 7min crossing from Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side to Central Pier 7 on Hong Kong Island.
Music: Massive Attack - Bumper Ball Dub.

IFC2 55th Floor Viewing Platform.

Today I went up to the 55th floor of the 88 floor 1362ft IFC2 where they have a viewing platform and currency information centre. IFC2 was until quite recently the tallest building in Hong Kong (overtaken in 2009 by the International Commerce Centre, Kowloon at 1584ft and 118 floors) and is currently the 12th highest in the world (ICC Kowloon being 4th). Although in a "Height to roof" measurement it actually ranks #7 with ICC being #3. I had to complete registration including passport scans before I could go up and when I did manage to get in it was in one of 8 dedicated turbolifts to the gallery. The staff lifts were located elsewhere.
Glad to see there is very stiff security.
The lift took all of 30 seconds to reach the 55th floor, at great expense to my ears!!
But the view was fantastic even if it wasn't the clearest day, on the 55th floor you are at the same height as the top of the Bank of China Tower nearby and it was quite awe inspiring to see just how high you had gone up in such a short period of time. I'm just glad it wasn't a glass lift or there would probably have been one hell of a mess!!.
The Monetary information centre was interesting, with all kinds of stands relating to the history of Hong Kong finance as well as how money is made, counterfeited etc etc. Quite an interesting read.
I got some pretty good video of the view without too many problems with reflections as well as some of the exhibits.
Music: Pink Floyd - Money

Central in Daylight

Yesterday I decided to see if I could go up to the Viewing platform of the IFC2 building to have a look but although visiting the rooftop garden of the IFC mall which overlooks the harbour I found I needed my passport to get near the IFC2 proper (Which I did suspect would be the case anyway). Instead I decided as I had the camera gear with me anyway, i'd take some pics around the local central area, I've taken a few in the evening but not really during the day as i'm usually off and away somewhere.
The days in Central are very very busy which is why i'm usually out of there but I had a good walk around and got not only pics of the metropolis area but also a lot of the more traditional smaller streets.The sun just happened to come out with avengence in the afternoon which meant that by the time I was finished I was absolutely soaked in sweat as I'd put on some combats expecting a breezy overcast day.
After making it home to meet up with Em and grabbing a shower and some food we headed for the wheel for quiz night, A lot of the regulars were not there but after hearing that last week was such carnage with a rather large piss up happening we did expect that maybe this week would be a little calmer. Bottle of vodka and second place, that'll do nicely. Got 3 bottles in the fridge now which'll do nicely for gifts for housekeeping and others when we leave!!. See, We don't really drink as much as some would think, indeed out of all the bottles we've won in our time here we only opened one of the vodka's for one drink when Andrew was here, And have opened the Red wine to use when cooking!!. The rest is still completely untouched!!...Honest!!!.
We didn't stay too long after the quiz as on the weekend Em had been bitten by a mosquito again and it had come up to the size of a large orange!!. Luckily the local chemist had recommended her taking some antihistamine and using some Hydrocortisone on it which luckily we had both of, And as a result it's much much better today. However I think it would be safe to say that Em is probably allergic to mosquito bites!!!.

Pics Here

Gallery Raid!!!

On friday I was at a quaint little coffee shop I am a regular at in princes terrace when i saw a guy in the window of one of the galleries looking like he was having a bit of trouble getting a pic on his instant camera of the recent installation. I went and asked if he'd like me to pop down with the wide angle as i had nothing else to do. To which he agreed.
On my return I took pics of the gallery for him and told him he could use them as he saw fit.
While I was there a police officer turned up stating that there had been a complaint regarding the art as being too rude, There were nudes in the exhibition but nothing at all extreme.
That evening was due to be the opening of the exhibition, and I left wondering if the guy was going to get shut down....with local media, critics and others due to attend the opening.
The Artist in question gave me a couple of signed copies of his book of prints of the collection, one personalised), for doing the shots...and invited me and Em to the evenings opening......
We decided to pop down but not necessarily enter just to see if it had all gone well for him.
The opening went brilliantly, and although the police had stated that the local "Thought Police" or whoever they are would be there on Monday to deem his art "OK" or not,,,,the opening was not interrupted!!!.....apparently you have to be ssooooooo careful now the Chinese rule here.
Anyway...it turned out the following morning that there was a feature in the South China Morning Post about a gallery that was raided for nudes being too rude!!!!. And I was there when it happened!!!!
Turns out the artist was not only the Artistic Consultant for Louis Vuitton Asia Pacific, but also Deputy Secratary General for the Hong Kong Arts Council, and the head of Secretariat of the Australia Council for the Arts.......as well as being a respected art critic!!!.
And me and Em got enjoy a glass of wine with him and to see him pissed!!!!
Brilliant!!!!.......a thoroughly nice bloke!!!

35 degrees in Sok Kwu Wan

Today we went for our picnic and a walk from Sok Kwu Wan to Yung Shue Wan on Lamma Island....and it was hot!!!!!.
Lovely ferry over in the beautiful sunshine, chicken and mayo sandwiches en route, stopped off and Lo So Shing and Hung Shing Ye beaches, and finished up in Yung Shue Wan bumping into our friend Peter Ip for a few Tsing Tao's on the front and a shish with all the trimmings at our friend Dohra's shop. We even managed to pick up a couple of bits in the shops as well as a 24 case of Pepsi max for em.
A boat back at 19.30, taxi to mid levels and we were home for a shower and are now getting settled for a movie and the Tottenham game at 23.00 local time. A fantastic day!!!!
Em is SOOOOOOOOOO red!!!!! LOL.

we're busy doing nothing....

Today we had another lovely saturday - following the torrential rain, thunder and lightning storm of Friday morning, today was another beautiful, hot and humid day.

First stop was the coffee shop on Princes Terrace (see pic) where Rus and I had a rather tasty sandwich each and then we walked from Central to Sheung Wan to the Lomography store to pick up some more films.

We crossed the road to go into the park nearby and found a bridge over a large Koi lake where there were baby terrapins, koi's, eels and many other fish! Ice cream and a walk later, we were back in Central where we spent a few hours (doing not much but enjoying it nonetheless) and then headed back up to our apartment. A short sleep later (saturday afternoon siesta!), we went to the supermarket and picked up a roast chicken for dinner. Tomorrow we're off to Lamma Island to do the walk from one side to the other and are taking a picnic!

In 16 days we will be flying back to the UK, so we will enjoy every minute of free time we can between now and then...

Em n Rus x

Gallery Updates

New pics have been added to Em's Lomo Gallery.

Pics here

Megabox Karaoke Pics

I have added a gallery of pics taken at the Megabox Karaoke Night, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong including us 2, Khush from the UK office and many of the Ericsson HK team.

Pics Here

Khush at MEGABOX!!!!

Video of Khush, Ethan & Brian on the mics and various members of the Hong Kong Ericsson team at Megabox Karaoke, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong

Happy Birthday Martin!!!!

We'd like to wish my brother Martin A Happy 50th Birthday today!!!. Hope you have a great day, sorry we can't be there but we'll see you pretty soon when we get back.
Love from us both.

Megabox

Last night I met Em and her work colleagues from work and we went to "Megabox" in Kowloon Bay. By shuttle bus from the MTR station. Megabox is a Mall, Ice Rink, Cinema, Karaoke etc etc.
And what a brilliant evening it was!!!!, We had our own karaoke room with en-suite and buffet and waiter service for drinks!!....The karaoke machine worked in numerous languages, had multiple microphones, a good sound system and had all of the tongue in cheek hits!!!.....classics like "My way", New York New York" etc etc. It was great to meet some of Em's workmates as well as seeing my old work colleague "Khush" from TTVUK (Now Ericsson of course) who has been here this week and fly's back tonight. A very funny guy.
Altogether a really fun, humourous evening!!!
After leaving a few of us got a taxi back to the mid levels and had a Black Sambuca nightcap in another bar before heading back. Thunderstorms rumbling through the night we're pretty good here too!!
I reckon there will be a few rolling into work a little late this morning!! :). I'm really glad we got round to doing this while in the east as it was a must ever since seeing "Lost in Translation", I know it's not Japan but pretty close none the less, and they certainly know how to do karaoke here!!, The place was really impressive!!!
A really good evening!!!. I'm still laughing about it!!

Champions League for Tottenham!!!

I was up early today to check the result of our all important match away against Man City, And was delighted to find we won 0-1 and are now confirmed in the champions league for next season!!....Big congrats to Spurs!!!. And in the final game of the season we're away at Burnley whilst the gooners are at Fulham, Lets hope fulham can do us a favour so we can put the icing on the cake and take Arsenal's 3rd place from them.
I've been hanging around the island today as tonight i'm meeting Em from work in quarry bay as we're off to Kowloon Bay for some international Karaoke!!!!. along with practically all of Em's work!!!....i'll let you know how we get on....LOL

Run around in the New Territories!!

Today I decided to set off up to University in the New Territories to see just how long it takes to get there. I had to do this as some of the places I'd like to visit are only available by one or two ferries a day and they generally leave early in the morning so I wanted to know what unearthly hour i'd have to leave to be able to do them.
University is a stop on the East Rail Line and is the location of what is actually the University of China, and not the University of Hong Kong which is actually on Hong Kong Island.
This campus is pretty impressive to say the least!!!...with the station predominately serving the Uni exclusively. Centre's for everything from Sports Science to Marine Biology, Dedicated running tracks, football tracks, Everything Tracks!!!!
The place was sooo Uni driven that I found it hard to find a way to the waterfront and Ma Liu Shui Pier which was the only thing I was there for anyway. Eventually after doing a mile loop I finally got there. And got a chance to check out the timetable ( A major secret it seems as although I've seen mention of it, it's been in a 2 times a day vague kind of way). Not really helpful when you want to know when the bloody thing leaves and gets back, if it does at all!!!. Anyway....sorted now. It was on leaving the pier that i noticed the discrete subway back to the MTR......I obviously walked in the bloody wrong direction again, Im beginning to think it's a bloody conspiricy!!. I swear the chinese don't want us to visit these places and so make sure there are NO signs whatsoever!!!.
I made my way back via Sha Tin with the intention of stopping off at the 10,000 buddha's monastery but ending up getting lost again!!!....still... at least I got to have a look around what turned out to be a nice place (after my initial impression of it being the Hong Kong equivelent of Croydon, I'll make it to the monastery at some point before I leave.) Got a few photo's there then decided to head back to the end of the east rail line at Hung Hom to try to walk to the ferry pier where I got a boat back directly to Central rather than having to change 2 times on the MTR. Got the boat, and home....via the Wheel for a nice cold beer. It was hot today, mostly overcast and cloudy but 29 degrees with humidity like a steam room....Nice!!!!.
Needless to say Em was suitably impressed after immediately breaking into a massive sweat after having to leave her cosy air conditioned fridge!!!!.
Indian Tonight!!!!.

Scorchio - a great weekend

After a truly exhausting week, and an extremely early night on Friday after rolling in from work at gone 8pm, the weekend really picked up!
Saturday morning, Rus and I adorned our summer clothes as the temperature is really high and sunny at the moment, and we went to Victoria Park, Causeway Bay. As it was Labour Day (1st May and coincidentally, my nephew, little Andrews 5th Birthday) the park was heaving with fillipino and chinese - all lining the sidewalks, the walkways over the roads, chattering and eating and enjoying the nice weather.
Rus showed me the boating lake, topiary gardens and on my request, we walked over to the harbour side and we walked along past all the boats moored. We also saw a guitar in the water acting as a buoy, which was quite novel.
When we were done with park, we caught the MTR to central and went to our favourite haunt in the nice weather, Pier 3 bar overlooking the piers, waterfront and all the famous bits of Hong Kong skyline. We polished off some grub, had a couple of drinks each in the shade and headed back home for a much deserved siesta - which ended up being around 3 hours (oops).
Finally, I finished my latest Uni assignment, which has taken up all my time out of working hours for a few weeks now and sent that off, ahead of the deadline on wednesday.

Today (sunday) we woke up leisurely and packed our sun tan lotion, beach towels, mosquito repellant and headed off to the piers again (note, that in our free time, we tend to steer clear of shopping, which seems to be the main past time here) and took the slow ferry to Lantau (again) and took the bus to Cheung Sha beach - this time with no fear of sunburn or mozzie bites, which generally are the quickest and most effective way of pissing me off....
When we got to the beach it was so hot we found a shady area and proceeded to soak up the atmosphere. Rus took some pics and I read a book other than Psychology or Social Sciences which was a nice change.
Spot of lunch at the Thai restaurant on the beach (which, is the second Thai establishment that we've been too that find it impossible to bring out 1) your food at the same time as your partners food and 2) your complete order!)
After waiting for the sunset (which happened behind a dirty great big mountain, so we missed it anyway) we took a bus trip back to the Mui Wo, had an icecream on the front and caught our ferry back to central.
Topped the day off with an Uncle Russ coffee for Rus, and a blister from my flip flops for me. All in all, a great day.
Love Emma x

Guitar Night & Uni Stuff

Guitar night went well at "The Wheel" on Thursday. Starting at about 8pm and lasting till about 04.30 friday morning. Indeed it didn't really kick off till around midnight when the place was packed. All in all great fun.
Completely screwed my time clock though as I slept in the day yesterday and am up now as a result!!!.
Tottenham play today and I'll be following their progress from 10pm local time as both our nearest rivals (Man City and Aston Villa) play each other today, we've got Bolton at home. Our last home game of the season!!.
The new girl has now started at Em's work so she now has her work cut out training her up before we return. Most of her latest uni assignments are now pretty much sorted so thats a little bit of weight off for now. She's been working till about 7pm and then hitting the uni stuff when getting home for the last few days to see it off. So it's a pretty tired Em going into the weekend who is asleep as I write this.
The weather is on the up again just as i hear the opposite is the case in the UK. We've got mid to high 20's in temp and for the most part sunny weather coming, but it can change so fast here so who knows what we'll get. Generally speaking though it's shorts stuff for the most part anyway.
Going to grab a couple of hours now.... Speak soon.

Wednesday Morning

Just a quick catch up really...stayed on HK island yesterday and took the opportunity to go and meet Em for a Thai lunch as we've not done it since Andrew was here!! Very nice too!!.
I accidentally left my reason shirt at the outdoor reclamation diners Monday night (Was using it as a cushion on my stool)....but went there yesterday morning and sure enough they put it to one side for me!!....bless em.
I've been putting a book full of pics together that we're gonna get printed in 2 sizes when we get back. I think Em's also going to be doing one of her Lomo shots when she has enough. Yesterday evening we did the quiz night as we missed it last week, We've actually not been to the wheel for nearly a fortnight what with being busy running around doing other stuff or just taking the opportunity to chill when we can between college stuff for Em and so on. Anyway, everyone wanted to know where we've been. We came last in the quiz....bottle of champagne....gave it away as we both hate the stuff!!
Em's going to be getting on with assignments for the next couple of evenings to get them out of the way. It's been demanded that i go play guitar on Thursday night so that'll give Em a chance to get on. I keep on getting offered work over here which is a bit irritating because we're not staying. Music work, web work, photo work!!!
Shame it doesn't happen that way in the UK!!.
Today I'm keeping it local again to try to conserve some dosh as we have to sort out the Cape Verde thing this month too.

2 Fish in The Ocean....A Poignant day...

Busy day today!!!

Em was back to the grind and I was up and out early....To Lantau Island.
First stop, pier 3 for an uncle Russ Coffee...A must have in the morning.
Next stop, Pier 6 for the slow ferry to Lantau, incidentally someone said in conversation today that they didn't understand anyone getting the slow ferry as it always leaves before the fast ferry after it, but gets in afterwards at Mui Wo....to which I replied "Exactly"!!.
After arriving at Mui Wo I caught a 50 minute bus to Tai O as I had unfinished business with 2 fish to attend to.
I arrived and set off to the market to purchase 2 small live fish.
After some confusion and entertainment for the local fish seller (Imaging me telling her to add more water to the bag and her thinking I was saying to add more fish) I finally had my two fish in a ample bag of sea water.
I headed straight for the pier where I proceeded to free them back into the ocean. A tad odd you might think but all part of the plan, although I won't elaborate any further here.
Anyway, It felt good, more human than most I know (Because most I know wouldn't do it). But this is China and normal is different here.
After my little ritual I headed back to the bus for the trip back to Mui Wo, well eventually that is........
I jumped off the bus at Cheung Sha and walked the entire beach....totally alone!!!!....there was no-one else there....at all....imagine that in the UK....yeah the cafe owners were there, and the lifeguards...but I was the only person outside of that.....Very Unordinary if that is even a word!!. This is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking beaches I've ever been to!!.
Got pics with the now sorted camera which I have added to the Cheung Sha gallery by the way and then had a nice Thai lunch at one of the restaurants on the beach before finally heading for the bus back to Mui Wo for the 5.30 ferry back to HK Island.
I met Em at the IFC and then we went to the reclaimation diners on Stanley St for Sweet and sour chicken before coming home.
All in all a wonderful day....crammed in before the weather is due to turn.

Pics Here

Sunday at Cheung Sha Beach

After our Friday night in Lamma we had a chilled Saturday around the local area.
But today the weather was lovely again so we decided to go off to try to find a beach we'd been tipped off about by one of the girls at Em's work called Cheung Sha on Lantau Island.
We got a boat to Mui Wo and then a taxi cos we knew it wasn't far. Just as well, if you didn't know where to leave the main road you'd easily miss it.
Cheung Sha is a beautiful three bay beach. We spent a few glorious hours here, shirts off and all. The place didn't really have too many there either which was a bit of a suprise.
Now i know where it is it'll be a doddle by ferry and bus!!...So i'll be back to hopefully get some better shots than I did today!!!...been having a bit of trouble with the shots but think i've sorted out the problem now so onward and upward!!...I still put the pics up though. To give you a flavour.
Em cooked again tonight when we got back, Chicken Teriaki and rice (She found a sauce in one of the local supermarkets....YUM
Anyway.....I'm off for a bath!!!

Pics Here

11pm Arrival in HK after sunny day in Lamma.

Well....after being a bit downhearted yesterday after our first real major downpour, and the forecasts saying it was going to be rainy for over a week we awoke to beautiful sunshine today!!!
I headed straight for Lamma Island and spent a lovely day with a retired much travelled Hong Konger I met a couple of weeks ago in Wan Chai named Peter Ip. He just started chatting to me and we soon hit it off. He told me that when I was next in Lamma to give him a call as he lived there. So after taking a few shots I called him and we met up....After work Em joined us and we spent a lovely evening in Yung Shue Wan and got the 10.30 ferry back to Hong Kong Island. This is the video I took of our final approach and arrival at 11pm.
We're now looking forward to a lovely weekend....same again please!!

Sai Kung, New Territories

Today I went to Sai Kung in The New Territories. It was my first trip up this way and took around 1 and a half hours to get there involving MTR out of Central to Mong Kok, a change of line then up to Diamond Hill, then a bus to Sai Kung. This is where I will pick up further connections to other destinations in the territories by either ferry or bus on future longer visits so I wanted to make sure I knew where everything was and to check out how long it takes to get to other places from here.
After taking some photo's around the town and waterfront I had my first trip on a Saipan, just out of the harbour and around some of the nearer islands for an hour or so at a cost of 150HKD (around £13). I really enjoyed this and was glad to finally get a ride on one of these after seeing so many of them around the islands. The owner was a sweet old man and it was his wife who originally collared me on the promenade!!...I wanted to get a pic of him but he was a bit camera shy so i didn't push it!!. After my ride I had a coffee in one of the waterfront cafe's and then a walk round the town to check what was available in the shops and then the promenade for a while before making my way back to the bus terminus for my connection toward home. One thing of note was 2 ferries dedicated exclusively to taking rich or pseudo rich Hong Kongers over to an island with nothing other than a golf course!!!...how funny is THAT!!!!, I got some pics of one of the very golfy looking caddies walking down the promenade with what must have been 20 golf trollies in tow he must have collected from the nearby car park that i must say was one of the best camouflage jobs i've ever seen. I photo'd it before i even realised what it was.
After arriving back on Hong Kong Island i met Em at a very quaint coffee shop I found in the mid levels and we headed home together from there.
Em did the cooking tonight, Her first since arriving. Mash and hot dog sausages with wasabi!!!
Very nice indeed!!

Pics Here

Soho, Mid Levels & Central By Day & Night

After our Jaunt round the local neighborhood with the cameras yesterday I've put some of the day and night photo's up today. I have also updated the Peng Chau Gallery with some pics I took there yesterday afternoon. Today Were going shopping and just chilling, Em will probably attack a bit of her coursework later.

Pics Here

Love the weekends!!!

After what felt like a particularly long week, Rus and I started off the weekend in the best possible way - curry!

Saturday morning we woke up naturally (what a treat) and took a leisurely stroll armed with cameras and films down to central. Rather than go the most direct route, we opted for some back alleys where lots of the chinese set up their stalls, selling clothes, fish and tourist tat.

We had no real plans on where to go, so after stopping for lunch outside the IFC, we went to the ferry terminal and jumped on "the next" ferry, which happened to be to Peng Chau.

Although Rus had been there before, it was my first time so we stood lower deck overlooking the water and on arrival we were the only westerners in sight and we heard some locals referring to us as Gwailo's (google it). Anyway, jokes about our skin colour aside, we had a really lovely time, walking through the island and round its winding streets. Out by the water, the tide was in and we got some pics of the boats etc and then found a small street cafe (well, someones front room selling cans of drink) where we sat down and spoke to a Scottish couple, who have lived in HK for 12 years. They had just rescued a beautiful puppy that I wanted to keep!!

Back on the ferry we were surrounded by sleeping locals who have a marvellous talent of falling asleep on ferries, on the mtr - you name it - always sleeping! we stopped for a coffee on the way back to the apartment.

This evening we headed down to where the bright lights are and I took some long exposure shots with the box camera and Rus experimented with slow shutter speeds and twinkly lights. It was very chilled and very leisurely and we finished the day with some food at the reclamation street diners and a quick beer at the wheel on the way home. I wish every day was like today!

Emma x x

Rus's Favourite 120 Pics so far.

I've made up a gallery of my Favourite 120 pics of the trip so far (Well 117).

Hope you like em.

Pics Here
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Thursday

It's been raining all day here today and we've had a drop of about 10 degrees in temperature. But it's due to shoot back up to around 28 degrees again next week for a while.
I went to the wheel last night and played guitar which went down well, Em took the opportunity to get an early night. When the wheel shut at around 1.30 I ended up in Lan Kwai Fong with miles one of the barmen at the wheel. We ended up in some club and then in a bar that was showing the Tottenham - Arsenal game.
Tuesday night we went to quiz night and came fifth out of 6 teams, bottle of red wine!!. There were only 3 of us in our team and some of the others had 6 0r 7, and were bankers on blackberrys!!
This week has been mostly cloudy and drizzly during the day so i've not ventured far and have used the time to get other stuff done.

More pics have been added to Em's "Lomo" gallery.

Tottenham Blues & New Territories

We had a chilled Sunday yesterday, went for a walk but didn't stray too far. In the evening we stayed in till about 10.30pm when i went to the wheel to watch the semi final against Pompey which was on at 11.00pm local time. Emma stayed home to get on with some reading for her next uni assignment. As you probably already know we lost :( I ended up getting home after 3 and paid for my one beer too many most of the day today!!. Em couldn't sleep till i was home so she didn't get too much sleep and so went to bed early tonight.
Later this week i'm going to be taking my first proper foray into the New Territories. More than likely starting with a visit to Sai Kung and Sha Tin, Where the "Ten Thousand Buddha's Monastery" is. We've heard they're supposed to be pretty amazing places so i'll have to go take a look.
There is also a port serving the Tolo Harbour and Channel near Ma Lui Shui where I will be able to get connections to islands like Tap Mun and Chek Chau and my ultimate destination Tai Long Wan in the Sai Kung East Country Park.
The other place i'd like to visit is Plover Cove which will bring me pretty much as close as I can get to the Guangdong Province and therefore the Chinese border proper without entering it (As I would need a separate visa for that).
Some of the islands are frequented by the major ferries, the others by Kai-to's, some of which have pretty impressive rock formations and awesome views. I just got sent a mail with this link to give you an idea.

Islands

Updates

Emma has updated her Lomography album.
I have updated the "Cheung Chau Island" Gallery and have also added A gallery of pics taken on my recent trip to Lantau Island with Em's brother Andrew.

Pics here
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Saturday April 10 - Goodbye Andrew

Well it's Saturday and so were here chilling together!!
Andrew left to fly home this morning, We finally managed to get to Lantau as we had a nice day yesterday. Did the cablecar, Big Buddha and po lin monastery and got to Tai o. In the evening Andrew took us both out for an enormous Italian in soho and then we went to the wheel for a final drink, then home and a quick vodka before bed. Andrew was up and out early to have a final look around. After a tearful farewell (Em's not good at goodbyes ;). We both went for a coffee and took the laptop to look at Em's latest batch of pics we picked up from the photo place this morning. This afternoon Em had a massage as she's had a bit of trouble with a trapped nerve in her shoulder lately and after that a very chilled Em and i headed back via a cool beer at the wheel. We are gonna grab something to eat and then pop out for a drink this evening. I'm going to be chilling for a couple of days as Andrew and i had a pretty full on week including but not limited to: The peak, Peak Tram, Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, lugard Rd Circuit, Admiralty, Causeway Bay, Central, Tai O, Lamma Island, Cheung Chau Island, Lantau Island, The Symphony of lights, Ngong Ping Cablecars, Big Buddha, Temple St Market and Reclaimation St diners, Assorted ferry and boat rides, tram ride, Quarry Bay, and views of some pretty awesome buildings!!!.
On tuesday night we came within one point of winning the pub quiz and won a bottle of vodka, although the quiz was rigged and we had a couple of points taken away as the quizmaster is best mates with the nerd team that always win, but no matter, we know we won really!!!. It was great having Andrew with us for a while and I think he had a great time!!....And i'm sure he'll never forget the unmistakable experience of smelling the public toilets on TST pier!!!.....Life to the full!!!!.

Pic by Emma

Thursday....Rain again

Today our trip to Lantau got put off again due to bad weather. But we still had a full on day.
Morning was a trip to Tsim She Tsui for a walk round, and a good soaking!!!. Afternoon was spent on Cheung Chau Island looking around. And for the evening it was back to the flat to grab some stuff, down to the IFC to meet Em from work, then straight over to TST again for the Symphony of Light's. We watched them on sunday but it was very clear tonight as apposed to being very misty on Sunday so we went for another look....and got some pics!!!.
We have been assured that the weather is going to be better tomorrow, and as it's Andrews last day we WILL be going to Lantau Island for the Ngong Ping Cable Cars, The Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery and Tai O. In the evening Andrew is taking us all out for a meal!!!

Pics Here

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Wednesday Weather!!! :(

It was rainy all day here yesterday......
As a result Andrew and I put off our trip to Lantau Island.... Instead we Spent the morning with a trip to the Computer Centre and had a walk through Wan Chai up to Causeway Bay, We then jumped on the MTR and met Em for lunch. In the afternoon we Jumped on a tram all the way from Quarry Bay to Central, it took about an hour. Both of us pretty much nodded off on the way.
Back in Central we visited the Bank of China Building and Andrew went up to the viewing platform on the 42nd floor (I couldn't as i didn't have ID on me, so i sat and had a coffee).
We popped home for a freshen up and then went to The Wheel and waited for Em to finish after which we all came back to the flat and i did us all a Carbonara with the yummy cheese sauce Andrew brought with him. Andrew dived off a bit later on to get some pics of the IFC2 as it was super clear last night, quite a rarity here.
So....were hoping to get over to Lantau today, the weathers misty, but no rain so i don't think we have too much to worry about.

Lamma Island Walk

Music: Andreas Vollenweider - White Winds

Andrew, Em & Rus at The Peak

Today is was pretty clear, so we all headed off up on the tram to the peak and a walk around the Lugard Circuit.
After chilling for a coffee we also went up onto the viewing platform of the "Anvil" peak terminus. Following this we got a taxi down to central and are currently chilling and getting a bite to eat before we head off down the wheel for a beer and our usual Tuesday evening quiz night. We shall let you know how we got on this week in due course...... If the weather is good tomorrow, Andrew and I will be off on the MTR to Lantau Island and the "Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car" to "The Big Buddha" and the "Po Lin Monastery" and then on to "Tai O" before a bus back to Mui Wo port to catch a ferry back to HK island. A mammoth Day!!!.

Pics Here

Bank Holiday Monday in Lamma

Today we've all been to Lamma Island for the day, Ferrying into Sok Kwu Wan and walking to Yung Shue Wan for the ferry back. We stopped for a somewhat extended lunch at the beach restaurant we always end up at (Due to the fact they were so busy it took them over an hour to get lunch together). Then home for a freshen up and a quick forty winks. Tonight we're off to Kowloon to the Temple St Market so it's all go here. Weather was actually better than yesterday but the crowds were out in force it being a bank holiday and all!!. It's Ching Ming festival tomorrow so it'll be much the same and as a result were leaving some of the bigger more popular excursions till midweek when everyone's back at work. Em's seen them already so doesn't mind.
All well here, think Andrew has a little jetlag but nothing much to mention. As a break from tradition of me buying lots of t-shirts, it's actually Em that's in the lead over here with a total so far of 3-0. 2 were added to day.
Onward and upward!!!

First day with Andrew

Bed last night
Awake 3:25am
Awake 4:30am
Up at 5:00am
Shower at 5:45
Escalator at 6:30
Train from Hong Kong to Airport 6:40
Arrive airport 7:15
Andrew comes through arrivals 7:45
Train to HK 7:50
Walk to apartment with case - Andrew jumps in shower
Leave apartment and pound streets and Hong Kong Park - visiting the aviary until 1
Eat lunch at mexican
pound streets some more
arrive back at apartment by 2
Sleep until 4
Awake and out
On MTR to Causeway Bay
walk from Causeway Bay to Admiralty
Jump in cab from Conference Centre to Central Piers
Catch Star ferry to TST (Kowloon)
Walk along front (avenue of stars)
watch laser light show (symphony of lights to music)
walk the streets of kowloon
walk into traditional chinese restaurant (no other tourists)
eat vast meal,
walk it off
back to star ferry
up to bar on pier 3 to look at the lights on the buildings#
bar shut - through IFC
up escalator
pick up beer
arrive back at apartment gone 11pm

Everyone will sleep tonight!!!

Rus and Ems walking the trail at Lamma + beach + bar

After a particularly lazy day yesterday (I forgot to mention that we watched Rocky Bilboa), we were both up relatively early and walked down to the Piers.
We took the same Ferry that Rus had done on Thursday but we walked the trail from Sok Kwu Wan. The temperature today was a good 10 degrees lower than Rus's earlier jaunt, so it was comfortable in that sense, and we stuck to the path rather than deviating to all the different vantange points and beaches. When we got to the beautiful beach at Hung Shin Ye and did our usual - singapore satays at the beach front bar (concerto inn, lamma island). We continued our walk to Yung Shing Wan, picked me up a fabulous Elmo (sesame street) bag, banana muffin for Rus and 10 (yes ten) cans of pepsi max. The excitement.
We then sat outside the Fountain Head (bar) until the manager arrived and bought out Tsing Tao for Rus and my diet coke.... we left the bar just before 8 to pick up the ferry. One of my favourite part of being out here is travelling by ferry in the evening with all the skyscrapers lit up. Its really lovely. Back at the apartment, we have just called customer service out to bring a spare bed, bedding and towels for my brothers arrival (early) tomorrow morning. It will have to be an early night tonight as tomorrow we need to be at the airport by 7 (and that's not a natural waking hour for me). As I type this, my brother will be 3 hours into his flight, hopefully getting some sleep as he's going to have a very busy week as there's a lot to fit in...

Freak Show and Astrologists....

Today was an interesting one. It seems that most people in HK have never seen anyone quite like me. I made the fatal error of walking around showing my stomach. Those that know a little of me, will know that i've got a love affair with tattoos and body piercing, so today, being a warm day, some showed :)
Picture this - walking along quite happily and the women were all staring, disapprovingly, sucking air in between their teeth, shaking their heads, looking horrified and looking scared. Made me smile. The Thai girl grabbing her mate and moving her round so she could get a better look. Then there was the men. Actually turning round and coming back for a second look. Rus looked quite agitated at one point, but when I explained that I didn't care and that it was more likely they were staring because its not common place here, that he relaxed.
After relaxing a bit too much, an Indian came up to Rus and proceeded to tell him intimate details about his life, his past and about things he should avoid. He was an astrologer. The outcome is (according to the indian) that Rus is a honest, good, kind man and he'll live to 89
There I was thinking that in my 70's i'd be having an easy time of it. There's that idea out of the window.
Anyway, off for pizza now. We won't be using chop sticks xx Emma xx

Lamma Walk (Updated)

As it looks like we've got a few cooler days coming i thought i'd make the most of the hot weather while it's here and so today I went to the other port on Lamma Island (Sok Kwu Wan) and did the walk across the island to Yung Shue Wan (The main port). It took the best part of 4 hours but i must admit i did deviate a few times to look at beaches and vantage points. This is one hardcore walk, especially when it's 27 degrees up!!.
Sok Kwu Wan is beautiful when you approach, it's very fishing orientated and is much more picturesque than Yung Shue Wan. I encountered mangrove swamps, also the caves in the pics are called the "Kamikaze" caves and are huge, apparently during the occupation of WW2 the Japanese were in the process of setting up the caves to be able to launch raids on any approaching allies, but the war ended before the arrangements were complete. The walk takes you up and down and up again and really hits the legs after a while, but is hugely rewarding when you get to see the views. I'm always a bit dissapointed with the pics because they never translate the sheer scale of the landscape...we're talking ski jump type hills, both up and down. And the paths you see in the pics are not paths at all but are actually Lamma's version of roads which is why you'll see little pickups in a few of the pics. I must admit that after the last couple of days i'm happily knackered for want of a better phrase, although i'm sure a bit fitter!!.
Em's off work for 5 days now, so were gonna be chilling and maybe heading off a few places together. Really looking forward to it, it's the first real time off she's had apart from weekends that is and so she's really into just unwinding for a few days. Shame the weathers not gonna be too good but we'll have to see about that as a forecast of rain here can often be a 2 minute shower in an otherwise beautifully hot day.
So i have Em to entertain for 5 days, and from Sunday Andrew, Em's brother joins the party!!. So if he can cope with the jetlag, we'll be sorting somewhere we can all go together before Em has to get back to the grind!.

Pics Here

Peng Chau Island

Today I wanted to find something to do to take my mind off it being Sam's birthday and not being able to see him so I decided to make a real day of it and set off for Peng Chau Island.
Peng Chau is a small island off the coast of Lantau Island. And tiny in comparison. The ferry options are much less than Lantau or Lamma and as a result it is that little bit more cut off. The island was more developed than i imagined as there has been a lot of renovation over the past few years, and there is a fair bit of development taking place with regard to new housing.
I Climbed "Finger Hill"...all 2000 or so steps of it but was rewarded with huge views all the way to Hong Kong Island itself, I could even see the buildings in Aberdeen. And that's a long way!!.
I had an encounter with an eagle with at least an eight foot wingspan, but had the wide angle lens on so couldn't get a very close shot of it. It did startle me though as i took the lens away from my eye to realise it was only 20 feet or so away, swooping above my head. There were huge butterflies everywhere, Screeching!!. I also got a macro of a hairy catterpillar on a rail and thought i was going to be attacked by a very able and very protective looking dog out for a walk with his 70plus female owner!!. And to top it off i got my trainers completely caked in mud as there was a shot i just had to have in the bay which involved trudging in the mud flats!!.
Trainers came into the shower with me when i got back!!....Rewarding day though, And a pleasureable place to spend it.
Better than being gloomy anyway :)

Pics Here

Happy Birthday Sam XXX

275 days today...Happy 9th Birthday to you Sam...Hope you have a wonderful day... Miss you every day
Lots of love always :)
Dad & Emma XXXXXXXXX

Model Powerboat at Victoria Park "Model Boat Lake"

Victoria Park & Causeway Bay

Today i decided to go and have a walk around Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
I saw people doing Tai Chi, and a model powerboat on the model boat lake in the park. They also have a jogging track, tennis courts including a full on floodlit centre court as well as themed garden areas. I enjoyed some sandwiches here and then popped into causeway Bay centre and then to the waterfront before shooting off to do some shopping on the way home.

Pics Here

Hung Shing Ye Beach on Lamma Island

Music: The Beach Boys - I get Around, Wouldn't it be nice, God Only Knows.

A Flavour of Cheung Chau

Music: Rus Turner - Embraced

Gallery Updates

I've updated the following Galleries:

The Central Escalator
Lugard Road Circuit
Buildings & Skyline

Pics Here

Sunday ... Em update

We have mastered chopsticks!
I have completed and sent my uni assignment off a few days before the deadline!
It's a beautiful day today, where the streets will be lined with Filipino and Indonesian women and chattering at levels off the richter scale, and I should get 4 films developed this week.
We'll go off for another jaunt in a little while after i've made some breakfast - we've no plans so lets see where the day will take us!
Love ME! xx
Sunday Evening
So we've had a lovely day again today - woke up bright and early, then fell back asleep (whoops) but when we did surface for good we made the most of a really sunny day.
We took the Peak Tram up to the Peak and headed straight for Lugard Road where we took a nice walk, stopping off at all the viewing platforms along the way and looking down at the Hong Kong and Kowloon skylines and China sea. We had lunch, coffee and ice cream (a first this year for me and it was great!!!!) and headed home. We've had such a chilled evening which is good - no uni work to do for a few days so nothing to spend our time except ourselves.
This coming week I don't expect to enjoy with it being quarter end and the girl that i'm training up is on holiday so i'll be on my own with all the APAC account managers to tend to. However, as we all know, its only a four day week and Friday I won't be doing the journey to work until the following wednesday for the easter break. My brother is due to arrive next weekend which will be cool. We enjoy the variety of places within easy reach here in Hong Kong. You can be in the uber swanky bar area of Soho where we live in the mid levels of central, wandering one of the many shopping malls, eating noodles in the street or jump on the ferry to a lovely beach, set about on some hilly walks and take in idyllic views. We are going to book into a B&B or hotel on Lamma Island one weekend as we both love it so much.

Saturday - Me and Em together :)...in Stanley....NOT!!!

Today we went to Stanley. We've both heard so much about it,....and were sooo excited this morning. We finally worked out where to get a bus from because you can't get an MTR to the southern part of the island. In short it was An average seaside port with a market like you may see in .....well anywhere reallly!!!
REALLY BORING!!!!....to be honest i don't know why people make such a fuss about the place. After spending time enough to get a drink, get bored, get another drink.......
Well eventually we got a bus to Aberdeen as i knew we could get a ferry to Lamma Island there, and that Em would like it there. In aberdeen we got hassled by a woman to go whatever direction she wanted us to go in!!!......(obviously to her sons junk to make some money). We finally made it to the ferry.... Nice harbour though.
Emma loved Lamma.......and we had a look at the places i went yesterday...but many of then in the evening, lit up and cosy.
After a lovely couple of hours we got on a ferry back to Hong Kong and by way of a couple of distractions made it home. A full day!!!
Excellent!!!!!

Pics Here

CUT!!!!!!!

I was on Lamma island yesterday...(And indeed today for that matter) but anyway......
After looking over Hung Shin Ye beach, and being the consummate professional i am ;)
I decided to video the beach from the point at which i entered it...as it was quite picturesque...... So....imagine the scene....i've got to the place i need to be, got everything sorted for a smooth operation...Lights, camera, ACTION!!!!....This is what happened!!!!...me and emma just fell about just watching it!!

Friday - Lamma Island

Em and I had a relaxing evening in last night and i had spent the best part of yesterday doing necessaries as the weather was cooler and there was a chance of rain although as it turned out we didn't get any.
Today it was beautiful so i went to Lamma Island, I caught the 11.00 ferry for the 20 minute trip to Yung Shue Wan and started exploring from there. A beautiful place, I spent some time wandering around the Immediate harbour area and then set off on the 20 minute walk to the beach at Hung Shing Ye. I must say that the beaches here are spotless, and the "Hakka" women in their trademark hats work very hard to keep them that way. There's no smoking on the beaches although in the terraces of the bars and cafe's it's ok. I spent a good few hours here before heading back toward the port and harbour where i sat and enjoyed a proper pint of draught "Tsing Tao" (My favourite Chinese lager). I've only ever had it in bottled form before so this was a real treat and a chance to sort out my camera stuff. After finishing my beer and taking a few more shots I headed back to the terminal and got a relaxing cruise back, and headed off to the IFC to meet em after she finished work. We went home, stayed in and are going to get another early night as we are both off to Stanley on the south coast of Hong Kong Island tomorrow. Incidentally, there was something very funny happened when i decided to film the beach for everyone to get an idea of what it was like and i got it on camera and will be putting it up here soon. A proper comedy moment.!!

By the way, i hope you're all enjoying the pics and vids.

Pics Here

Tai O Boatride

A look at the stilt houses at Tai O from the water, followed by a trip out to look at the coastline. See previous post for story.
Music: Japan - Canton, David Sylvian & Ryiuchi Sakamoto - Bamboo Houses.

Hong Kong Skyline from Ferry.

Music: Spectre - Covert Dub, Spectre Overseas.

Devon House, Taikoo PLace, Em's Work - Quarry Bay

Some more shots of where Em works, including the seating area outside the "Thai Orchid" where we sometimes meet for lunch.