Hong Kong

Hong Kong

17 Sept 2010

The internet was down earlier this evening so this post is going up a bit later then usual. I've done a load of washing, had dinner and done the washing up. Jamie Oliver is on the telly doing Venice and I'm on the laptop.

I thought I'd post some images from the last stop on my trip - Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a very popular tourist destination for Australians, so it wasn't my first visit and it probably won't be my last. I have a little tradition of staying somewhere really nice the last day of my holiday and chose the Mira Hotel. The hotel is suitably glamorous and after 2 weeks without a laptop, the flat screen interactive tv/pc had me in heaven. I was so jet lagged I was awake all night so it came in handy.



I took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong and then caught the Peak Tram for some skyline views of Hong Kong.



I went on a walk around the Central District of Hong Kong which is where the following images were taken. I hiked up the hill to visit the Man Mo Temple.



Something I'd not done on my previous visits.



I love the dust motes in this picture.



Along the way I visited the antiques district of Cat Street and Hollywood Road plus Ginseng Street of course. I photographed lots of interesting things, many of which I'd be reluctant to consume I might add.



I walked back down to Central via the Graham Street Markets.



At times it's a little hard to believe that you're in the heart of the financial capital of Asia.



I've always enjoyed street photography and no I don't ask people if I can take their photo. I observe from afar and quietly take my photo when the time is right. When is the time right? Somehow instinct tells you.



and my favourite water lilies.



The past week I've received a few sweet emails from my blog readers. Thank-you for your kind words of encouragement. It's lovely hearing that you enjoy my images and my little stories. 



It's been a long week and the weekend is now beckoning, so I'll close here.

I'll be back next week so until then,

Jillian

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The Last Stop - Hong Kong

The Last Stop - Hong Kong

13 Jul 2010

I arrived in Hong Kong today after a long flight from Zurich. Whilst in Zurich I met up with some former clients who've now become friends and their 6 week old daughter. I spent some time wandering around the streets of the old town and once I'm home and can edit the photos, I'll share them with you.

Zurich was scorching and at one time the car thermometer registered 40 degrees. It was seriously hot - much hotter than Hong Kong.

I'm now staying in the uber cool Hotel Mira, with rooms designed by Colin Cowie. The room has an interactive tv p.c which is how this blogpost is coming to you. It's so ultra fab that I've had to take some photos to show you.

I'll be home so soon I can almost smell Sydney. I've heard it's been really cold there unlike the last week I've had in Paris and Zurich. I wonder how I'll cope?

It's been a long day so it's time I hit the bed. I'm hoping next week to start bringing you some new photos from my journey.

Until then,

Jillian

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong

2 Oct 2008

When I planned my 5 week holiday, Hong Kong was not on my itinerary. I had used every second of my annual leave and then some, so getting home as quickly as possible was my goal. My travel agent Kurt arranged a creative return route which involved a flight from Lisbon to Barcelona, Barcelona to Helsinki, Helsinki to Hong Kong then Hong Kong to Sydney. There was a tight connection between the arrival of the Finnair flight into Hong Kong and the departure of the Cathay flight to Sydney. What could possibly go wrong?



It all went to plan until the flight from Helsinki was delayed by an hour, resulting in 26 Sydney passengers being offloaded in Hong Kong for 10 hours. Some of the passengers chose to stay in the Premiere Lounge but I couldn't really face the thought of being cooped up in the airport. Even though I was hot, tired and dirty I caught the train downtown to Central.



I think it's 4 years since I last visited Hong Kong but I'd forgotten how busy it is. It was also a Sunday so every-one was around and about shopping or meeting for lunch. It was incredibly smoggy that day so it was hard to get a decent photo of the skyline.




In the end, I only took a couple of photos because I was tired after 3 days without much sleep. I tried to take photos of the Star Ferry but the ferry staff kept waving their hands in front of my camera - I wasn't quite sure what I was doing that was wrong as I've taken photos of the ferry on past trips without any problems. Can any-one help me out here?



Over at the Convention Centre in Kowloon I kept bumping into wedding parties. I hung around long enough to take photos of one of the brides. Obviously "candid" wedding photography is not the norm in Hong Kong. Whilst I snapped the bride having a cooling drink and being fussed over by her friends, her 2 official photographers were cooling their heels.

I caught the Star Ferry back to Central and went back to the Airport to wait for my flight home to Sydney. It's hard to believe I've been back at work for 2 weeks already,

Jillian

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