East Asia 2011: Last hours in HK

There are some traditions that cannot be forgotten, so on the day before going back home, there's only one thing to do...

Shop, shop, shop until you drop!!

(and then try to pack, of course...)

Next day, the long journey back home...

East Asia 2011: HK Museums day, and swing!

Breakfast at Urban Council Centenary Garden, and then Hong Kong
History Museum and after lunch Albert Einstein exhibition at the
Science Museum.

Now dinner at my favourite noodle place in Causeway Bay and if
there's still any energy left, going back to Central for swing and
fun!

East Asia 2011: HK: Victoria's peak and walking tour...

... coming soon ...

East Asia 2011: HK: T3, Tang dynasty gardens and exhibitions

I have already discovered what those "T-i" warnings mean. Basically they have to do with the proximity of typhoons (tropical cyclones)

Meaning of signals:

T1: A tropical cyclone is centred within about 800 kilometre (km) of Hong Kong and may affect the territory.


T3: Strong wind is expected or blowing generally in Hong Kong near sea level, with a sustained speed of 41-62 kilometres per hour (km/h), and gusts which may exceed 110 km/h, and the wind condition is expected to persist.

T8: Gale or storm force wind is expected or blowing generally in Hong Kong near sea level, with a sustained wind speed of 63-117 km/h from the quarter indicated and gusts which may exceed 180 km/h, and the wind condition is expected to persist.

T10: Hurricane force wind is expected or blowing with sustained speed reaching upwards from 118 km/h and gusts that may exceed 220 km/h.

(More details at: http://www.weather.gov.hk/publica/gen_pub/tcws.pdf )

Anyway, today we have T3. The typhoon is still far, but we will feel it's there with strong winds and stormy weather.

Today I'll be meeting a friend from HongKong and visit the Nian Lian Garden, which was designed in the style of Tang Dinasty gardens. We've enjoyed a great vegetarian meal at the restaurant in those Gardens, by a window under a waterfall.

At the exhibition center in the Nan Lian Garden we could visit an Exhibition of replicas from the (Buddhist) scultures and paintings from the Dunghuang Mogao Caves.

 

After that, we proceded to the Polytechnic University for another exhibition. This time organised by the Design Department, and talking on the traditional agriculture and it's future in HongKong. 

After the exhibition, some congee (chinese rice porridge), and off to Central to meet the Lindy Hop community in HongKong and to dance till midnight!!

East Asia 2011: Just arrived in HongKong

After all this adventurous travel, staying a week in Hong Kong should feel like holidays from holidays.

Only from the first step you take into the airport you already experience that you are in a very developed city/country.

Let's not waste any time, and start exploring. By the way, we have a T1 tropical cyclone warning, whatever that might mean... ;-)

Seeeyyaaa!!!!

East Asia 2011: Rushing forward

I know, I know... I haven't been updating this blog for a few days. Some friend even sent me a worried message asking whether something had happened to me. Do not worry, I'm fine, just traveling and doing and seeing so many things that I haven't had much time to write in this blog, or even to classify, sort out and select any of the ~1200 pictures I must have taken so far.

Since last entry in the blog, I've spent still another day in Xi'an, then travelled back to Beijing for a couple of days, managed (after some delays) to reach Hanoi, and from Hanoi visited Bac Ha and Sapa n the very North of Vietnam, cruised in Halong Bay and gone also South of Hanoi to visit the Perfume Pagoda.

Of course I'll write more detailed accounts of the visit to all those places, and probably you'll be able to find the first of them published some time later this weekend. In the meanwhile, and still talking about 'rushing forward', let me introduce you to a very characeristic peculiarity of the city of Hanoi. I refer to the fact that it's a city with a population of 7 million people which has some 5 million motorcycles registered. May be you'll thik that might be an exageration, but let me show you the afternoon rush hour and probably you'll believe it (please notice that there are even a few motorcycles using the pavement as a fast lane to beat the slow moving traffic on the road!!).

East Asia 2011: Vietnam: Halong bay

East Asia 2011: North Vietman: Sapa

Night train to the North of Vietnam. Sapa and tekking on the rice fields.

East Asia 2011: Beijing: Forbidden City