pris: 2011

make yourself.

these models were made from clay and paper mache.
rather than painting them i decided to collage them using colourful and patterned papers to express their personalities.

fish in plastic bags, g l o w i n g.

Open publication - Free publishing - More fish

Cityscape
skyscrape
Mercedes Benz bus goes
Mongkok sunrise
concrete
block
block
block

hard hat
sunlight
construction site
truck backing
truck backing
truck backing
black pyjama amah
marketing
wax duck
pot luck
tiger balm
dim sum

Star Felly
Day Star Night Star
caterpillar walk on water
Hung Hom
Hung Hom
ho hum
Carlsie Bergie
Susie Wongzie
Hang Seng up down

ding dong deng (xiao ping)
dong
maggie thatcher in beijing
stir-fry
iron dry
nineteen ninety
nineteen ninety
all the sevens
bingo
mah jong
Hong Kong
yum sing!

Hong Kong Sounds by Jan Kemp.
after finding this poem it influenced me to write my own short nonsense verses rather than a story for my graphic novel/ picture book. i just love how the words dont make complete sentences but give off a great atmosphere when put together!

one hundred stories. part deux

one hundred stories.

part one of a hundred photos showing natural and incidental patterns.

i think i'll have myself some beer.

Just noticed that HK has made a cameo in the new Guinness advert!

misguided ghosts.

maybe this is somewhere in Hong Kong you wouldnt want to visit....

http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/play/haunted-hong-kong-read-if-you-dare-060414

these things take time.

It feels like i havent posted in ages but on my travels i bought the magazine TATLER to keep me occupied. I found they had done a jewellery feature themed by different cultures and time periods.
Here is one i instantly related to good old Hong Kong..

the man who sold the world; part deux

This is a second version of my map of hong kong city. I edited and inverted the colours to create this neon, glowing, night scape. I think that the 2 maps could represent night and day in the city, how by day it is exciting and vibrant and by night it becomes an illuminated lively city.

happy house.

When looking at some fun family things to do in Hong Kong i came across Ocean Park. Although there is also a Disneyland in Hong Kong i thought that Ocean Park was a lot more cultural and appealing.

Ocean Park is a marine mammal park,oceanarium, and animal theme park, situated in the Southern District of Hong Kong.
The theme park currently has 19 rides, including two rollercoasters.
It also houses 11 animal exhibits, such as a Giant panda habitat, a jelly fish and Chinese sturgeon aquarium, as well as a four-story aquarium displaying more than 2,000 fish.
Besides being an amusement park, Ocean Park Hong Kong also operates observatories, well developed laboratories, an education department and a Whales and Dolphins Fund.

Overall ocean park has so much to do and definately seems like a fun, entertaining place. I think the best part about it is the chance to go to a big city but also see lots of wild animals you wouldnt normally come across.

island of lost souls.

Lantau Island, based on the old local name of Lantau Peak , is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River

Lantau Island has a very attractive mountain scenery (the highest mountain is Lantau Peak with 934 meters) and an impressive rocky coastline with pretty white beaches.
Po Lin Monastery is located at 450 meters altitude on the Ngong Ping Plateau. Po Lin is not a historical site; it was opened in 1970.
The main hall has two floors and is covered with an elaborately decorated roof and hosts three big, golden Buddha statues.
The main attraction of Po Lin, however, is the 34 m high giant Buddha statue outside. It weighs 250 tons and is said to be the biggest Buddha statue in Asia (quite believable). You have to climb a lot of stairs to reach the platform but it is worth the effort because you enjoy a wonderful view of the Lantau, of the little islands that surround it, and of the blue South China Sea.
Also located on Ngong Ping Plateau is a tea plantation; the only one in the territory of Hong Kong. You can try its products in the associated tea garden.

dusk til dawn

Temple street market is a very busy, chaotic area of Hong Kong but also the perfect place to pick up some good bargains. When researching and reading i have often noticed how people just love the shopping in Hong Kong.

The market starts at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, but is lively at dusk daily.
Traffic is closed on the street at that time, and visitors swarm into the street.
There are more than a hundred stalls with colourful lights in the market.
Temple Street is awash with rows of brightly lit stalls hawking an astonishing variety of clothing, pens, watches, CDs, cassettes, electronic gadgets, hardware and luggage.
The busy food stalls offer a range of delicacies including fresh seafood and hotpot dishes to tempt your appetite.
Fortune-tellers cluster at the Yau Ma Tei end of the street, and so do Chinese opera enthusiasts seeking kindred spirits for impromptu performances.
Like many other street markets prices can always be negotiated by bargaining and haggling with the stall owner.
When buying merchandise in Temple Street, it is recommended to hunt for shops hidden in streets behind the stalls rather than looking in the stall themselves. This is one of the uniqueness of Temple Street Night Market.

seven seas of rhye.

Victoria Harbour at night

Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.

The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its sucessful development as a trading centre.
Long famous for its spectacular views, the harbour is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong. Lying in the middle of the territory's dense urban region, the harbour is the site of annual fireworks displays and its promenades are popular gathering places for tourists and residents.
The Victoria Harbour is world-famous for its stunning panoramic night view and skyline, particularly in the direction towards Hong Kong Island where the skyline of skyscrapers is superimposed over the ridges behind.
Among the best places to view the Harbour is at the Peak Tower on the Victoria Peak, or from the piazza at the Culture Centre or the promenade of Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon side.
As the natural centre of the territory, the harbour has played host to many major public shows and to add to the popularity of the harbour as a sightseeing location the government introduced a show dubbed 'A Symphony of Lights'.
Also recently opened, was the Avenue of Stars, built along the promenade outside the New World Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui. Modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it honours the most distinguished people the Hong Kong film industry has produced over the past decades.
There is no bridge crossing the harbour, but there are three cross-harbour tunnels: Cross Harbour Tunnel, Eastern Harbour Crossing, and Western Harbour Crossing. They connect Hong Kong Island and theKowloon Peninsula across Victoria Harbour.

Victoria Harbour during the day

I have picked out Victoria Harbour as one of my favourite places in Hong Kong so far. I think it is a beautiful place with a lot of history and lots to do and enjoy around it.

But i'm sure its even more amazing at night with 'The Symphony of Lights'.

'A Symphony of Lights' is a synchronised building exterior decorative light and laser multimedia display, featuring 44 buildings on both sides of the Victoria Harbour accompanied by music.
The show is organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and displayed every night with good weather at 8pm Hong Kong Time. An orchestration of music, decoration lights, laser light displays, and pyrotechnic fireworks, the multimedia light and sound show lasts for about 14 minutes.
The Show comprises five major themes, taking spectators on a unique journey celebrating the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong:
The first scene "Awakening" begins with flashes of laser lights that give life to a nucleus of light-energy which gradually illuminates participating buildings using an array of dancing lights and rainbow colour. This scene symbolises the genesis and powerful growth of Hong Kong.
The second scene "Energy" is represented by the display of rising colour patterns and the sweeping of the lasers and searchlights energetically across the night sky, signifying the vibrant energy of Hong Kong.
In the third scene "Heritage", traditional lucky red and gold colours are displayed across buildings on both sides of the Harbour, complemented by the introduction of music using Chinese musical instruments, symbolising Hong Kong's colourful heritage and rich cultural traditions.
The fourth scene "Partnership" features a display of laser beams and sweeping searchlights scanning across the Harbour, representing an illuminated connection with the opposite side. Beams reach out to symbolically connect the two sides of the Harbour into one greater and unified partnership.
The finale "Celebration" brings out a powerful rhythmic display of swirling, kaleidoscopic patterns of lights and beams dancing lively across the Harbour. The exciting final scene signifies the celebration of the close partnership between the two sides of the Harbour and represents an even brighter future for Asia's world city - Hong Kong.

running up that hill.

Hong Kong Island is dominated by steep, hilly terrain, which makes it the home of some rather unusual methods of transport up and down the slopes.
I'm amazed that outdoor escalators even exist!

In the Central and Western district, there is a huge system of free escalators and moving pavements.
The Mid-levels Escalator is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world
it operates downhill until 10 am for commuters going to work, and then operates uphill until midnight.
The Mid-levels Escalator consists of 20 escalators and 3 moving pavements.
It is 800 metres long, and climbs 135 vertical metres.
travel time is approximately 25 minutes, but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten the travel time.
Due to its vertical climb, the same distance is equivalent to several miles of zigzagging roads if travelled by car.
35,000 people use it everyday! thats equivalent to half the population.

the man who sold the world.

there is a light that never goes out

I really love Hong Kong at night!

It's so vibrant, busy and exciting, i just love all the colours and shapes

I think a city that has so much going for it after dark and is even more beautiful would be a lovely place to be.

mexican seafood.

Having just eaten a lovely chinese noodle stir fry i thought it would be relevant to make my next post about the food in Hong Kong!

Hong Kong actually has quite a diverse selection of food available, sourcing inspiration from traditional Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese and Western world cuisine.

With Chinese ethnicity making up 98% of the resident population, Chinese cuisine is naturally served at home. Home ingredients are picked up from local grocery stores and independent produce shops, although supermarkets have become progressively more popular.

Hong Kong homes and kitchens tend to be small due to a high population density, and traditional Chinese cuisine often requires the freshest possible ingredients, so food shopping is undertaken frequently and in smaller quantities than is now usual in the West. Take-out and dining out is also very common, since people are often too busy to cook with an average 47-hour work week.

Rice is predominantly the main staple for home meals certainly in southern areas of China like Hong Kong.
Noodles are symbolic of long life and good health according to Chinese tradition and they come dry or fresh in many varieties often served in soups and fried as toppings.
Tofu is another popular product often used as a meat or cheese substitute.
Dim Sum is a Cantonese term for small snacks and is designed so that one person may taste a variety of different dishes.
Some of these may include rice rolls, lotus leaf rice, turnip cakes, buns, shui jiao style dumplings, stir-fried green vegetables, congee porridge, soups, etc.
Yum cha literally means ‘drink tea’ and many chinese drink their tea with snacks such as nuts, plums, dried fruit, small sweets, melon seeds, and waxberry.
China was the earliest country to cultivate and drink tea.
Traditional Chinese cuisine is also based on opposites, whereby hot balances cold, pickled balances fresh and spicy balances mild.
In most dishes in Chinese cuisine, food is prepared in bite-sized pieces, ready for direct picking up and eating. In traditional Chinese cultures, chopsticks are used at the table.

After our noodles tonight we had some fortune cookies too!

this was my fortune for today.....

'follow your aim, self conciousness will show you how'