Thursday, March 25, 2010

What do you think of this place? And where is it?

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6 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 28, 2010 at 6:38 PM

    Oooo, oooh - I know teach!
    Love the view, but it's not nearly as cheap or as fun as it used to be ;-)

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  2. TCMarch 29, 2010 at 3:49 AM

    I'm going to guess Hong Kong, and say the image is unbelievably beautiful and compelling, suggesting to me that to possess the eye of God must be an unspeakable pleasure.

    But I've never been in Hong Kong, nor ever will be. I've only been here... and a bit of there. But not there, there.

    And I have never possessed the eye of God, in fact my all too human eyes are rapidly failing, I have to squint into the screen even to make out the details in this photograph.

    Which I have done many times (with various sizings and croppings of this image, on two blogs where I have at one time or another posted it), over and over.

    A magnificent testament to how marvelous the things of this world can be made to appear, even if (or especially if?) you've never seen them and know you never will.

    Oh, and one other thing, probably a confession of a personal sense of disqualification for life in the civilized world, as presently comprised: there are certain nights when this image has a way of scaring me... I was going to say half to death, but the percentage is probably a bit higher. Though of course most of that is down to me, not to Hog Kong.

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  3. UnknownMarch 29, 2010 at 8:29 AM

    You are correct, sir. It is indeed a picture of Hong Kong Harbor taken from near the Peak, looking toward Tsim Sha Tsui. This shot seems to be a bit to the west of most of the pictures I've seen (or taken) from the Peak. Perhaps it's from someone's apartment up that way. Our company's apartment is just to the left of the building in the center of this pic, on the Kowloon side of the Harbor. It is across the street from the YMCA Hotel & the Kowloon Hotel - kitty-corner to the Peninsula Hotel. That building in the center is the tallest in HK (Tower II, International Finance Center - AKA IFC 2), over 1300 ft high and built start to finish in a scant 6 years (take note WTC!!).
    By the time I first visited, in the early 90's, Hong Kong was already past it's prime as a cheap place to get high quality electronics, jewelry and clothing; but there were still some great deals. Today, the only deals are for counterfeits and knockoffs, most of which you can also find on Canal street in NYC - albeit in less quantity and variety. But Hong Kong is and will remain an amazing, vibrant city, drenched in history and culture; well worth visiting if you find yourself in that part of the world and have some disposable cash.

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  4. ACravanApril 18, 2010 at 7:50 PM

    When I first saw (cribbed) this photo to use on this blog, I recognized it as Hong Kong before I knew it was Hong Kong because my two visits there (made years before I believe this picture was taken) made such a deep impression on me. The first time we visited was when we were on the way to the PRC to adopt Jane. Our space/time "issues" were severe (but survivable) on account of anticipation of parenthood, travel fatigue, work and other events going on at home, and our superb planning for an utterly sybaritic week prior to the heavy lifting that we expected would accompany parenthood. The high points were continuous. I even spent the day with the "Bruce Lee people" from Golden Harvest Films, who I'd worked with for years, but had never met.

    When I returned to Hong Kong years later on the tail end of a fascinating, but exhausting business trip, it was still a great delight and reward. Like New York City, though, it would be a difficult place to survive enjoyably without a rich sponsor.

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  5. AlikiApril 25, 2010 at 2:31 PM

    i realy want 2 go 2 hong kong

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  6. ACravanMay 4, 2010 at 12:33 PM

    Aliki:

    You really, really do.

    It's a fascinating place -- like being placed upon on a movie set. Excitement all the time, great views and dependable and inexpensive ferry service across the harbor.

    Oh -- the food, both simple and elaborate -- is exquisite.

    ACravan (father of Dr. Jane B. Cravan)

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