Month: March 2017

Memories Of Busy Hong Kong

Memories Of Busy Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, we went to a McDonald’s because we had Malay media crew members from Bernama and NTV 7 with us. One of the guys wanted to eat fillet o fish which was a safer bet than many porky places around Hong Kong.

I believe it is much easier finding halal restaurants in Hong Kong these days. Anyway, I was chomping on a burger and a Hong Konger or Hong Kie seated opposite me kept looking at me or the bottom of my seat.

I looked carefully on the floor and realized my comb fell out from my pocket. After dinner, I walked to the harbour area and was scouting for a good angle to shoot the dusk skyline. A man on a park chair started staring at me again. Shit! I instinctively checked to see if I have dropped something. True enough, I dropped a piece of paper that was my printed itinerary.

WTF? At least we Malaysians are more civic minded and helpful. In Malaysia, someone will quickly call out unless you dropped money. Haha. What’s wrong with helping a stranger in Hong Kong? Maybe people are always in a hurry or too busy. I hate to think what happens when your fly is open in public in Hong Kong. Haha.

Will have to tag you again Sam Chan and Hong Kongress Fanny Chan. What is the name of the busy thoroughfare in the pic again?

Find a hotel in Hong Kong through my page at:
http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

#hongkong #hk #travel

The Sun Sets Early At Victoria Harbour

The sun sets very early in Hong Kong during winter season. It was November when I was there. If I am not mistaken, it was only 6 pm local time. We were at Victoria Harbour and a Malaysian Star Cruise ocean liner or cruise ship was docked there. What a lovely coincidence.

The harbour and glittering skyline are a magnet for photographers. Almost missed the sunset as Kuala Lumpur’s golden hour is comparatively late at 7:30 pm usually. It was like going to Sabah for the first time to find the sun setting earlier. By 7:50 pm, Hong Kong sky would have been pitch black. What do you say Hong Kong friend Sam Chan and other HK residents?

Find a hotel in Hong Kong through my page at:
http://www.mycen.my/agoda/

LG Viewty KU 990, ISO 101, f2.8, 1/7 sec

#hongkong #victoriaharbour #twilight #sunset #harbour #skyline #hk #magichour

Missing Hong Kong Suddenly

Was looking for pics of my Hong Kong trip. Asked Samantha Tan of Bernama, who went with me. She lost all her pics too. It was 2007 and, amazingly, she is still with Bernama today.

At last, I found some pics on my old blog after contacting Sam to get her to recall the year in question and the name of the product launch we attended. We took a hovercraft to Hong Kong from Macau where we attended the product launch.

The other day I was lamenting about losing all my pics from my extensive tour of Vietnam. Was very happy to be reunited Cheah E-Ling, my then travel partner but, sadly she lost all her pics too. She remembers our government minder as Vung. He was in some agricultural or health department. Any friends in Vietnam knows any Vung? Hopefully, he kept some pics.

Think of social media or the web as a very good good backup or cloud storage as it stays there and is indexed by Google and become searchable. All images stored on personal devices are at risk.

Pic of Hong Kong, with high density and tightly spaced buildings, the late afternoon sun casts long shadows, turning a small space into two different worlds of day and night. Eerie but beautiful.

This would have been a tough scene even for a dSLR camera but it was captured with the LG’s Viewty camera just launched then and gifted to lucky members of the media.

LG Viewty KU 990, ISO 53, f2.8, 1/2000 sec

#hongkong #macau #lg #streetphotography

Burj Al Arab Jumeirah

If you think Forest City in JB has too many Chinese mainlanders, wait until you go to Burj Al Arab. The luxury hotel considers rich Chinese tourists to be an important market. The building was lighted up in red during CNY and lion dances were held on the street level for a CNY party.

Many years ago, my friend Tony H M Tan said to me we should aspire to travel and stay in 6 or 7 star hotels.That was the first time I heard of 7 star hotels.

Burj Al Arab is the fourth tallest hotel in the world and is managed by the Jumeirah Group, a Dubai-based international luxury hotel chain. The name means Tower of the Arabs and is not to be confused with Burj Khalifa at 829.8 m or 2,722 ft, making it the tallest building and the tallest structure in the world.

The two buildings are 9.61 miles apart by driving. We were introduced to the spectacular height of Burj Khalifa by Tom Cruise in the action movie Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

A hotel star rating is self-claimed in many countries. The Burj Al Arab hotel’s management claimed to never have claimed itself to be the world’s only only seven-star hotel. In Malaysia we have a cleverly named 7 Star Hotel, a budget hotel in Kota Damansara. Maybe some people stay there for bragging rights. LOL.

Anyway, Burj Al Arab is on the bucket list for the world’s super rich and royalty. Set on an island in a striking sail-shaped building and near Jumeirah Beach. This luxury hotel is a 5-minute walk from Wild Wadi Water Park. It is also promoted as the world’s most luxurious hotel and is described with superlatives for every aspect, from service to amenities to price!.

The Royal Suite is billed at USD $24,000 per night, according to Wikipedia. A standard suite is around RM 9000 or USD 2000 per night. Price can vary according to dates selected. Book here:

http://www.mycen.my/burj-al-arab-jumeirah/

Halo There

The sun rising behind the Palace Of Justice, the Federal and Appeal Court Complex in Putrajaya.

This is the first time I am seeing the three signature domes as silhouettes with a halo glow. The architecture incorporates Islamic, Moorish, Palladian and similar Neoclassicism elements.

The amber colour reminds me of the tobacco colour introduced by the French Cokin Filter System.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f8, 1/125 sec.

#landscape #sunrise #dawn #morning #dome #architecture #putrajaya #palaceofjustice #silhouette #halo #sonyalpha #a7r #zeiss