Monday, December 29, 2008
The Patrol does Asia Solo Pt. 1: Hong Kong
So, I decided to go to Asia. There were three stops; Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Koh Samui.
The first stop in HK was a bit of a whirlwind, but I managed to knock out a large number of cool site along the way. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
This is the building from Dark Knight. It’s currently the tallest one in the city, but will soon be surpassed by one across the harbor. It dominates the skyline of HK Island, as you’ll see in another photo.
Next is the Bank of China building. It’s designed by the guy who designed the Sears Tower. You can see a bit of resemblance in the shape. It’s a pretty neat building when it’s lit up at night.
This is where I had put in some interior photos of the LPC offices, before I had a massive brain-stroke when I realized what I was about to do. So I had to delete the three photos from the interior. One of them was an awesome shot of the harbor with the 2 IFC building (batman) in the view. The new office doesn’t have nearly as good of a view.
This is the view from the top of the island, at The Peak. There is a big mall and restaurants up here, and it’s supposed to be incredible at night. I got lucky and got a relatively smog-free day to check out the sights, which was nice. The LPC office is in the skyscraper to the left of the Bank of China (white X’s) and the 2 IFC building (batman) is the tallest one in this photo. To the extreme left (across the harbor) is the International Commerce Center, which will be the new tallest building in the city and one of the 5 tallest in the world when it’s finished.
Here’s a nighttime shot from the Kowloon side of the harbor. This is the view from the table I ate dinner at with my boss. On the company tip, as well. That was a pretty sweet deal. The view was amazing too, especially for the laser light show that goes off every night.
This was the scene of the carnage at the dim sum restaurant we ate at with our tech support providers. We put a serious hurting on this place, and if there is any sort of creature that walks the earth, chances are there was one fried and diced up and put in a pot for this table. Yummy.
Yes, I do know how to use chopsticks. No I don’t like the taste of the chicken foot I’m eating.
Another night shot of the harbor, this one form the ferry back to HK Island.
The day after exploring HK Island, I ventured off to Lantau Island, home of the brand new airport, for some more sightseeing. There’s a cable car that ascends from the last stop on the subway line to the top of the island’s hills, about 2,500 feet up. Naturally, I hopped on for the ride up to the Big Buddha.
Along the way, there was a vista of the new airport. HKIA is pretty incredible, in that it’s huge, and the tarmac is just stacked with 747’s and other jumbo jets. A very cool sight to see them taking off and landing.
The hill climb was pretty crazy in some spots. There were only 7 towers that the gondolas went over the entire trip up, a bit different from the lifts on a ski slope.
At the top, I stopped into a little village and had some tea at a tea house. It was rather tasty, and I slammed two pot-fulls, to re-hydrate after the previous evening’s festivities.
This is the Big Buddha, and me in front of it. The thing is huge, and those stairs were not fun to climb.
A view of the plaza at the base of the statue (but the top of the stairs). They have lots of little Buddha statues like these ones sitting around the big statues.
A view south from the top of the hill. You could see a long, long way, even with all the smog hazing things out.
After the visit to the Big Buddha, it was time to refuel and move on. I took a 30 minute cab ride down the opposite side of the island to a ferry pier, where I hopped on the boat to Cheung Chau island. As far as refueling goes, well, PBR tastes like American victory, even if you’re 9500 miles away form Milwaukee.
Cheung Chau is a small island that is mostly fishermen and poorer folks. It was a good way to see how normal folks live in China away from the glitz and glamour of HK Island itself. Needless to say, I’m still washing off the smell.
Here’s a few shots of the coastline around the island. It was a pleasant way to spend the day. Nice and warm, got a lot of sun. No complaints.
To get back to the ferry pier for the ride to HK Island, I paid a guy $5 to take me over in his rickety little passenger boat. That was quite a trip, as he pulled right up to the dock to let me off without even stopping, as soon as one foot hit the deck, he was already in reverse looking for new fares.
A few last shots here: This is the Main Terminal hall at HKIA, and it was really, really long.
The view from my hotel room.
The Wynn Casino in Macau. We took a ferry over there to go gamble at one of three craps tables on the island. I won $300 and paid for the next 3 days of my trip with the winnings. It was a good time.
From here, it was off to Bangkok, which was possibly one of the most interesting 24 hours in my life.
The first stop in HK was a bit of a whirlwind, but I managed to knock out a large number of cool site along the way. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
This is the building from Dark Knight. It’s currently the tallest one in the city, but will soon be surpassed by one across the harbor. It dominates the skyline of HK Island, as you’ll see in another photo.
Next is the Bank of China building. It’s designed by the guy who designed the Sears Tower. You can see a bit of resemblance in the shape. It’s a pretty neat building when it’s lit up at night.
This is where I had put in some interior photos of the LPC offices, before I had a massive brain-stroke when I realized what I was about to do. So I had to delete the three photos from the interior. One of them was an awesome shot of the harbor with the 2 IFC building (batman) in the view. The new office doesn’t have nearly as good of a view.
This is the view from the top of the island, at The Peak. There is a big mall and restaurants up here, and it’s supposed to be incredible at night. I got lucky and got a relatively smog-free day to check out the sights, which was nice. The LPC office is in the skyscraper to the left of the Bank of China (white X’s) and the 2 IFC building (batman) is the tallest one in this photo. To the extreme left (across the harbor) is the International Commerce Center, which will be the new tallest building in the city and one of the 5 tallest in the world when it’s finished.
Here’s a nighttime shot from the Kowloon side of the harbor. This is the view from the table I ate dinner at with my boss. On the company tip, as well. That was a pretty sweet deal. The view was amazing too, especially for the laser light show that goes off every night.
This was the scene of the carnage at the dim sum restaurant we ate at with our tech support providers. We put a serious hurting on this place, and if there is any sort of creature that walks the earth, chances are there was one fried and diced up and put in a pot for this table. Yummy.
Yes, I do know how to use chopsticks. No I don’t like the taste of the chicken foot I’m eating.
Another night shot of the harbor, this one form the ferry back to HK Island.
The day after exploring HK Island, I ventured off to Lantau Island, home of the brand new airport, for some more sightseeing. There’s a cable car that ascends from the last stop on the subway line to the top of the island’s hills, about 2,500 feet up. Naturally, I hopped on for the ride up to the Big Buddha.
Along the way, there was a vista of the new airport. HKIA is pretty incredible, in that it’s huge, and the tarmac is just stacked with 747’s and other jumbo jets. A very cool sight to see them taking off and landing.
The hill climb was pretty crazy in some spots. There were only 7 towers that the gondolas went over the entire trip up, a bit different from the lifts on a ski slope.
At the top, I stopped into a little village and had some tea at a tea house. It was rather tasty, and I slammed two pot-fulls, to re-hydrate after the previous evening’s festivities.
This is the Big Buddha, and me in front of it. The thing is huge, and those stairs were not fun to climb.
A view of the plaza at the base of the statue (but the top of the stairs). They have lots of little Buddha statues like these ones sitting around the big statues.
A view south from the top of the hill. You could see a long, long way, even with all the smog hazing things out.
After the visit to the Big Buddha, it was time to refuel and move on. I took a 30 minute cab ride down the opposite side of the island to a ferry pier, where I hopped on the boat to Cheung Chau island. As far as refueling goes, well, PBR tastes like American victory, even if you’re 9500 miles away form Milwaukee.
Cheung Chau is a small island that is mostly fishermen and poorer folks. It was a good way to see how normal folks live in China away from the glitz and glamour of HK Island itself. Needless to say, I’m still washing off the smell.
Here’s a few shots of the coastline around the island. It was a pleasant way to spend the day. Nice and warm, got a lot of sun. No complaints.
To get back to the ferry pier for the ride to HK Island, I paid a guy $5 to take me over in his rickety little passenger boat. That was quite a trip, as he pulled right up to the dock to let me off without even stopping, as soon as one foot hit the deck, he was already in reverse looking for new fares.
A few last shots here: This is the Main Terminal hall at HKIA, and it was really, really long.
The view from my hotel room.
The Wynn Casino in Macau. We took a ferry over there to go gamble at one of three craps tables on the island. I won $300 and paid for the next 3 days of my trip with the winnings. It was a good time.
From here, it was off to Bangkok, which was possibly one of the most interesting 24 hours in my life.
