Asian Sabbatical - Day #20 - Hong Kong, China

Tuesday, July 19th

Busy streets in Kowloon - Hong Kong, China

Popular street

Walking Nathan Road

A look over the harbor to Hong Kong Island

The tall building is the Two International Finance Centre - 25th tallest building in the world

Mountain behind skyline on Hong Kong Island

More city shots

Famous Clock Tower

Thought this was interesting

Crowds at the Symphony of Lights Show

Symphony of Lights - big draw

Spectacular views

Two International Finance Center

Great views

There it is - Hong Kong Island at night

1 more pic of the skyline

Busy nighttime streets in the Kowloon area

City comes alive at night in Kowloon

Interesting boat - Symphony of Lights

Alrighty then -- I'm back in the game!  Coming to you live at 11pm local time on Tuesday, July 19th from the 8th floor of the Luxe Manor Hotel in Hong Kong, China.  Good to be back.  The obvious question one may be asking is:  "If this guy is in Hong Kong, China (which is apart of China), how is he able to get on certain websites and post this blog?"  That would be a very good question.  The answer - "I'm not sure".  All I can say is Hong Kong is as different from mainland China as the US is from mainland China.  Hong Kong has different money, a different language (Cantonese vs. Mandarin - and I'm told that one cannot understand the other), they drive on the opposite side of the road, and have completely different rules in regards to website access.  Honestly, I really don't get it ---- and, it would take a lot of effort to understand the politics.  So - I'm just going with it. 

Today's label is TRANSITION.  Transition to travelling alone, transition to a different mindset, transition to a different city.  I've spent the better part of the day getting caught up on the blog - but have taken several breaks to get out and see some sites. 

Travelling alone is different.  It really does require a new mindset.  You no longer have a backup to lean on.  Nobody to get you to your hotel, remember the room number, coordinate travel to site locations, etc.  I can do this -- I just need to get up to speed a bit.  The other difference for the next 2 weeks -- I truly have little planned other than the areas I'm going to.  That means - I need to figure out the cities and areas I'll be travelling - and do it in an expedited fashion.  Again - I like this.  It's challenging.  What I've come to understand when trying to make this happen --- be willing to use your resources and ask a lot of questions.  I spent 45 minutes today in the main visitor center going over a city map with a very helpful lady.  I have a plan in place for the remainder of my time in Hong Kong.

First thing to know about Hong Kong - it's made up of a number of islands.  The main 3 being Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.  According to my research, the main sites are focused on Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. 

Today, I did the Kowloon portion.  I walked the better part of the city.  Nathan Road is the main draw with a number of shops and restaurants.  The streets feel a lot different here than in Beijing or Shanghai.  It's safe to say if I wanted a nice suit, a rolex, or a massage --- I would have no problems on making that happen. Because - on every corner I am approached by someone with a flyer, etc.  Some of this is due to the fact I'm male and travelling alone, but I think there is more to it than that.  I'll have to give it another day before making any opinions.

Being that Hong Kong is made up of a bunch of islands - the water and waterfront play a big part in this city.  I just got back from the Symphony of Lights Show.  Every night at 8pm, on the waterfront, they put on this 15 minute light show.  Really cool stuff!  I was able to get some great pics - see above. 

In addition to seeing the waterfront and walking the streets of Kowloon (Nathan Street), I did a walk through Kowloon Park as well.  It's located on the western section of the city.  Interesting area - not a lot of folks -- the big crowds are down in the city proper.  I saw the famous Clock Tower.  It is the only remnant of the original site of the former Kowloon Station on the Kowloon-Canton railway.  Built out of red bricks and granite, the Clock Tower peaks at 44 meters in height. 

Being that I didn't do a ton of stuff today, I thought I would post a couple Top Ten List.  Randy/Wendy and I talked a lot about population of countries and size of countries during our couple weeks.  Because, when visiting Asia - the size and population density of the major cities is a really big headline when it comes to understanding things and how to get around.  These lists are really interesting to me.  Notice how China, the US, India, Russia, and Brazil make both lists.  7 of the Top 10 most populated countries are in Asia.  The first European country in population is Germany at #17 (81 million).  California, Texas and New York would roughly equate to the population of Germany. 


Most Populated Countries in the World
(1)  China - 1.367 billion
(2)  India - 1.251 billion
(3)  USA - 321 million
(4)  Indonesia - 256 million
(5)  Brazil - 204 million
(6)  Pakistan - 199 million
(7)  Nigeria - 182 million
(8)  Bangladesh - 169 million
(9)  Russia - 142 million
(10)  Japan - 127 million

Biggest Countries in the World
(1)  Russia - 6.59 million sq. miles
(2)  Canada - 3.85 million sq. miles
(3)  USA - 3.72 million sq. miles
(4)  China - 3.70 million sq. miles
(5)  Brazil - 3.29 million sq. miles
(6)  Australia - 2.97 million sq. miles
(7)  India - 1.27 million sq. miles
(8)  Argentina - 1.07 million sq. miles
(9)  Kazakhstan - 1.05 million sq. miles
(10)  Algeria - 919,352 sq. miles


It's midnight now -- I am done writing on this blog today.  I've said just about everything I want to say at this point.  I'm excited for the next 2 weeks.  Hang with me - and let's make some miracles happen!

Asian Sabbatical - Day #19 - Shanghai, China

Monday, July 18th

Shanghai Museum

4 levels of displays at the Shanghai Museum

My hotel room at the Radisson Blu Hotel

Big rooms at the Radisson Blu

Waiting in line at Pudong Airport in Shanghai

I met up with Wendy at 8:45am this morning to do one last tour.  We walked over to the Shanghai Museum - across from our hotel.

The Shanghai Museum is a famous art museum in Shanghai.  Exhibits included a ceramics area, old currency display, bronze statues, jade pieces, and bamboo carvings.  The museum had a whole variety of exhibits throughout the 4-floor layout.  We did a 2-hr walk through, then back to the hotel by 11am.

We grabbed our bags, did 1 last check of the rooms, and then took a taxi to the airport (175 yuan - $20).  Randy/Wendy had a 4pm international flight via United Airlines back to Chicago.  I was flying via Hong Kong Airlines - scheduled departure at 5pm for Hong Kong.

I write this blog aboard the plane - it's 7pm - still no departure.  2-hr delay.  I tell you - I'm not having much luck with air travel in China.  I'm 0 for 3 at this point. 

LATER ---- the flight took off around 7:30pm - around a 2hr, 30 minute delay.  I got into Hong Kong around 9:45pm.  I was able to efficiently get through the airport, onto an express shuttle to the city, than a free bus to my hotel -- the Luxe Manor.  I arrived around 11pm.

Goal for Tuesday -- transition day.  Get caught up on some stuff and refocus for the second part of my trip.

I really enjoyed my travel with Randy/Wendy.  Thank you guys for spending a couple weeks with me.  I had a lot of fun!  Looking back - we did a ton of stuff in our short time.  A great experience and something I will always remember!

Asian Sabbatical - Day #18 - Shanghai, China

Sunday, July 17th

Zhujiajiao - water town about 1-hr from Shanghai

Similar canals to Venice, Italy

A lot of tourists taking rides on the water

Small bridges spanned the river

Busy day

Hard working fella

One of the largest bridges spanning the river

Food booths everywhere along the canals

Overview shot

Small walkways

Our lunch location - watching them prepare the dumplings

Lunch location - Din Tai Fung

Xiantidi section of town

Xiantidi section of town

Just starting our cruise of Huangpu River

City lights coming on

Great views

Awesome views with the ships in front

Special stuff

Colorful building lights

One of my favorite shots

The moon enters the picture

If you're wondering who the best is -- it's this shot

Really like this Tower

Couple more pics

I like this one as well

The Bund section of the river

The Bund section of the river

A view of the busy metro stations at night

Sunday started at 8am when we caught a cab/bus combination to a really neat historical town - called Zhujiajiao.  It was a 1-hr busride to our destination - only 12 yuan each way (roughly $1.75). 

Zhujiajiao is often referred to as the "Venice of Shanghai" - and rightly so.  Numerous canals run through this extraordinarily historic town.  (The Hutongs in Beijing - similar makeup to this location).  We walked the better part of the town - many folks took boats (like gondolas) to view the town.  We opted for the more flexible approach and did our walking for the day.  A bit warm I must say- so we had to take a side tour to a Starbucks for some much needed A/C.  After a couple hour of touring the town - we were ready to hit the bus back to Shanghai.

Ready for some lunch - Randy/Wendy had read about a great restaurant right off a metro station a few stops from our hotel.  The restaurant was Di Feng Tau.  Their specialty was the soup dumpling (xiaolong boo).  This dish is made of a homemade dumpling wrapped around a juicy pork filling.  The wrap is filled with broth.  We got to watch them make these through the window. We had an order of 5 dumplings each.  I really enjoyed the meal!

After lunch, we stopped by the Xiantidi street/area on the return trip to our hotel.  A fancier, upscale section of town with some nice restaurants.  We enjoyed a short walk through the area - all agreeing this could be a fun area to have spent more time.  After absorbing the sites, we set out for the Bund - we wanted to take a cruise on the Huangpu River at night.

We purchased our tickets (120 yuan - $17) and boarded for our 7pm departure.  Spectacular views - recommended to anyone visiting Shanghai.  We started the 1-hr cruise right when all the city lights were illuminating.  Special!  I couldn't stop taking pictures.  I think my best shots were near the end of the trip as clouds had moved in and the moon shone high over the city.  A perfect way to end the last night with Randy/Wendy - as they depart for home tomorrow.

A leisurely stroll back to the metro and a short train to the hotel, arriving around 9pm.  We hammered through some financial details while watching Phil Michelson & Henrik Stenson dual it out at the British Open.  Tomorrow we say goodbye to Shanghai and I say goodbye to Randy/Wendy as I continue the next 2 weeks on my own.

Asian Sabbatical - Day #17 - Shanghai, China

Saturday, July 16th

People's Park - Shanghai, China

Some sort of display going on today in People's Park

Our hotel - Radisson Blu

Looking down Nanjing Road

Busy weekend streets on the Pedestrian Walkway

A view from the Park Hyatt Hotel

A view from Park Hyatt Hotel - a little hazy today

The circular walkway in the financial district

Lujiazui area

Oriental Pearl Tower

Oriental Pearl Tower - perspective

World Financial Tower, Observatory Tower, Shanghai Tower (left to right)

#10, #2 tallest buildings in the world with Observatory in the middle

Shanghai World Financial Tower

After getting to our hotel last night around 3am after the 4-hr flight delay - we all decided to sleep in and meet at the hotel lobby at noon.  Much needed sleep!  The last couple of days have taken a toll with the prolonged travel.  It was critical to get some rest this morning.

Our hotel is located in a popular section of Shanghai - across the street from the People's Square metro - the busiest metro in Shanghai.  We would later learn that the metros in Shanghai are very spread out - sometimes having 20 exits that could span over a 1/2 mile area or more.  We walked around the People Square Park for about an hour and then walked the popular pedestrian street (Nanjing) down to the Bund.  Tons of folks were out today - small trains transporting toursits up & down the street.  Food, shopping, atmosphere - action everywhere.

The Bund is the waterfront area in Shanghai that separates the newer, modern, skyscraper downtown from the older, more historic section of the city.  The Bund generally refers to the section on the older side of the river.  The second tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower, highlights the incredible skyline. 

World's Tallest buildings:
(1)  Burj Khalifa - Dubai, UAE
(2)  Shanghai Tower - Shanghai, China
(3)  Abraj Al-Bair Clock Tower - Mecca, Saudi Arabia
(4)  Ping An Finance Centre - Shenzhen, China
(5)  Lotte World Tower - Seoul, South Korea
(6)  CN Tower - Toronto, Canada
(7)  One World Trade Center - New York City, USA
(8)  CTF Finance Centre - Guangzhou, China
(9)  Taipei 101 - Taipei, Taiwan
(10)  Shanghai World Financial Center - Shanghai, China

See above list - 2 of the Top 10 tallest buildings in the world are located in Shanghai.  The skies were pretty hazy today - but you could still see the grand scale that is the Shanghai skyline.  We spent some time just taking in the views/atmosphere.  We then decided to get a bird's eye perspective by having a drink at the Vue Bar on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel.  We had a great table allowing us to enjoy the waterfront below as we had a snack and a couple drinks.  Next, we took the metro over to the Lujiazui area (specifically developed as the new financial district of Shanghai - following the allocation of Lujiazui as a special investment zone in 1992, the development of Lujiazui's skyline began.  This was largely driven by Chinese state owned enterprises investing and developing within the area, with the inaugural landmark, the Oiental Pearl Tower, being completed in 1994.  Currently, there are more than 30 buildings over 25 stories high with commerce as their leading function, and over 504 domestic and overseas financial and insurance corporations located in Lujiazui)

There was an elevated walkway that provided terrific views.  As we walked out of the metro station onto the walkway, the city lights were just coming on (7pm).  Awesome!  Watching the Oriental Pearl Tower light up was kind of like seeing the Eiffel Tower light up at night. 

After completing the circular walk, we strolled further along the raised walkway toward the Shanghai Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center (the 2 tall buildings listed above).  These 2 buildings, along with the Jinmao Observatory made an amazing photo.  We continued to walk until we had the 3 towers in a perfectly aligned symmetrical viewpoint (Randy was proud of this shot).  Great stuff!  One of the most impressive skylines in the world - and certainly one of the best I've ever seen in all my travels.

It was getting late by now.  After a quick stop at the Dairy Queen, we caught the metro back to our hotel - the Radisson Blu Hotel.  We went up to the skydeck for a nightcap and listen to some live music.  Nice performance in Shanghai!