Hong Kong: People, Neon and Excitement!

Its difficult to describe Hong Kong. Its foreign and exotic. And huge and tiny all in the same sentence.

This is a tiny part of this island. Its incredible to see that where there is such a lack of space, there is no lack of space to the sky. And that's just what Hong Kong has done. Build to the sky. The tallest building you can see in this picture is International Finance Centre (Tower Two). Its a stunning 1,362 feet tall, with 88 stories. It is easily the tallest building in Hong Kong, and is the 6th tallest building in the world.

Continuing with the lay of the land (Hong Kong)

Hong Kong is a contrast in cultures. Pedestrians, cars, tunnels, bridges...you name it, Hong Kong has it.

New drug stores, ancient Chinese herbalists. Rickshaws, buses and a subway system.

Remnants of colonisation, all nestled in a back drop of the most modern skyscrapers in the world.

We love neon! (Hong Kong)

If you can believe it...we are standing on a bridge over the street that leads to the subway station. Here's the kicker...its air conditioned! Amazing!

This is Hong Kong's version of Times Square in New York! Its even called Times Square. The funny thing is with so much neon throughout the city, its hard to make this Times Square stand out!

Escalator Heaven (Hong Kong)

The people in Hong Kong are obsessed with convenience! So much so that there are escalators and air conditioning everywhere. In fact, the people of Hong Kong couldn't be bothered to develop a road around the island to the other side, so instead, they blew a hole through the mountain and put the road straight through!

This is an escalator that allows commuters to travel to work. Hailed as the longest escalator in the world, it is actually a series of escalators. The Central-Mid-Levels escalator is the world's longest outdoor escalator system, at a total length of 800 m. It goes only one way at a time; the direction reverses depending on rush hour traffic direction.

Subways, Subways... (Hong Kong)

C'mon...how can you resist this? Look at this advert! A local specialty!

(Jason hates when I make him take these pictures!) As you can tell, we are at the stop for Times Square!

Can you tell where we are heading? (I'll tell you a little secret...it switches back and forth from English!)

What else do you expect to see in China? (Hong Kong)

PANDAS!!!

These aren't my best work...but c'mon, they're pandas!

A little bit of Buddhism (Hong Kong)

Jason is standing at the base of Tian Tan, the "world's tallest, outdoor, seated bronze Buddha." The statue is located near Po Lin Monastery and symbolizes the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion.

The Buddha is 34 metres high and there are 268 steps to the top!I'm standing in front of the Po Lin Monastery. It is major centre of Buddhism just outside of Hong Kong.

268 Stairs? (Hong Kong)

Here we are starting the journey to the top!

Jason at the top! Regretting that he is in jeans!

One last bit of Susperstition (Hong Kong)

This lion is one of a pair that guards the entrance to the HSBC building in Hong Kong. The lions were carefully relocated from the old headquarters of the bank as the bank and its employees believe that the lions are the guardians of the bank's fortune. It is also said that good fortune will come to those who rub the lion's paws! Being very interested in good fortune, Jason and I rubbed all the paws on both lions!

Off to a new land...Lisbon

Lisbon, Portugal. By far, our favourite European city. It is vibrant, interesting, a bit of the old world, a bit of the new...everything you could ask for in one city.

How to rebuild a city! (Lisbon)

Our first day. We had no idea what to expect. What we discovered was that Lisbon, for all of her hills, trams, cable cars and subways, is a city to be explored on foot. What's interesting about Lisbon is that it was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake on 1 November 1755. This earthquake allowed the government of Portugal to completely rebuild the city. Consequently, they stole all the greatest ideas from European cities and rolled them into one! Thus, I am looking up Lisbon's version of the Champs Eleyeses. A beautiful treee lined street with cobblestone sidewalks in distinct patterns. In fact, look closely, and you can see the patterns in this picture!

See the trees, behind the man?

An Elevator to the Stars...(Lisbon)

Lisbon is filled with unique ways to travel. This is an elevator built to take you to the top of the nearby hill. Its not a tourist trap though. It was designed to bring "commuters" up and down the hill...from one neighbourhood to another. Its a cheap ride to the top and once there, you exit to gorgeous view of the city, and well, a totally different neighbourhood. (And again, my rotation skills are lacking...so refer to our Pisa post for instructions on how to view my sideways pictures!)

At the top of the elevator. Not only are you rewarded with breathtaking views of the city, you turn around and there is this burned out cathedral. It is gothic and mysical.

Stolen Monuments...(Lisbon)

Look familiar? Can't figure out why? This bridge is often referred to as the Golden Gate of Lisbon. Its the 25th of April Bridge. Only it doesn't cross a Bay, but a River -- The Tagus. Although Jason would like me to point out that it doesn't look or act like a river. In fact, it has tides and swells. And is wide and long almost seemingly unending. Notice something else familiar?

To your right as you approach the bridge, is the statue 'Cristo Rei' (literally: 'Christ King' - often translated as 'Christ in Majesty') which stands on a huge pillar and overlooks the mouth of the mighty Tagus river ('Rio Tejo'). This is a smaller replica of the even more impressive 'Cristo Redentor' ('Christ the Redeemer') statue which is situated on the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

An ancient fortress (for the little people)...(Lisbon)

Torre de Belem...a Fortress in the water. Accessible only by a footbridge a over the river.

However beautiful, its apparently only for very little people. Jason is only able to stand upright in the armory by standing under the sky light.

Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos (Lisbon)

Did you think we were going somewhere in Europe and you weren't going to see a beautiful church? Ha! You thought wrong! (Or right!) This is Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos.

I need a break! And frankly, the view from the cheap seats is pretty darn good. The grass in the cloisters is reserved for clergy. However, I enjoyed the cool bench and a little time to reflect.

This is what I am looking at from the second level.

Let's get back to the good stuff...(Lisbon)

Us! You may recognise the sights behind me! Depending on what city you live in!

Jason is testing my fear of heights by balancing precariously over the edge of the castle. Again, quick photo, and then "Jason, please get down!!!"

I admit. There was another couple at the castle who took this exact picture. I liked it so much, that much to Jason's horror, I asked him to go down and repeat the pose. He did. And aren't you glad? Its such a great picture! (Mental note: Steal cute photo ideas from others.)

More of the good stuff...(Lisbon)

(I have to admit -- even though we were smitten with the view, we contemplated the idea of rolling down the slope to the bottom. Apparently others have been similarly tempted as there are fences periodically crossing the slope -- preventing any fun!)

Fancy a Drink of Water? (Bath)

The Roman Baths. They are Britain's only hot spring. The Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that still flows with natural hot water. There are extensive ruins and treasures from the spring that are beautifully preserved. When you are there you are immediately taken to a different world. One where men and women wore togas, and life moved much slower. Throughout the centuries Britians have thought that the water had special healing properties. Thus, people from all over the country travel their to drink the water.

By the way, the water is for sale in the cafe on the site. Straight from the spring. Lets be honest. It may or may not be healing, but its gross. Tastes as you would imagine, like sulfur. Yuck. And the slightly odd smell and its strange warmth out did any healing feelings for me. As my companions (Jason and his dad) didn't finish their glasses, I am guessing they felt the same.

In this picture Jason is standing above the baths looking out towards Bath Abbey. (Bath is also the city name!) The Abbey is wonderful, however, I am being to suspect you may be tiring of all these big, European churches. So for now, the outside will have to do!

It was all smiles before we drank the water! (Bath)

They can't all just pictures of murky, green hot water! (Jason's dad was kind enough to pose so you could see not only the water, but more Roman rocks and ruins!)

We so rarely travel with others! How nice it is to have a picture of us together!

The Royal Crescent (Bath)

The Royal Crescent was built to the designs of John Wood the Younger between 1767 and 1774. It is justly considered one of the finest achievements of urban 18th century architecture and represents the highest point of palladian architecture in Bath.

Not the best picture, but there is Jason crossing the street, its the only photo I have where you can see the Crescent. In the middle of the Crescent is a giant park. The grass is so lovely and sprawling...the perfect picnic spot!

Aren't they cute?
The park is not only next to us, but it goes down the hill past the trees for as far as the eye can see. Simply brilliant!

And a cheesy train ride home...(Bath)

(For the record, Jason wanted to kill me for taking this picture. He thought it was terribly embarrassing on the train. Now? He thinks its one of the best ever pictures of he and his dad. Ha!)

Let's Chat...(Canterbury)

When you go to a Catholic college and live in dorms named after religious icons, archbishops and other religious figures, you tend to forget that there is a meaning and a story behind the name. I had come to associate names like Becket and Augustine with parties, dorm life and geography, but certainly not religious life or history. Or maybe that's just me. Jason certainly pays more attention than I, so was not as blown away by Canterbury as I was. Notwithstanding, we were both incredibly smitten. Maybe it was the sunny day, our thoughtful nature, a beautiful train ride through Kent...whatever it was, we were hooked. In 1904, Virginia Woolf said, "there is no lovelier place in the world...and I have seen Venice too." Maybe, maybe not. But there's just something about Canterbury. Apparently Geoffrey Chaucer thought so as well. He wrote a book about the place you might have heard of -- The Canterbury Tales.

And so the love affair begins. (Canterbury)

Just a plain side street in Canterbury. Brilliant. Even the nothing streets were lovely!

The Cathedral...(Canterbury)

The Cathedral is so massive that it is nearly impossible to get in one photograph with our little camera. So instead...I took a picture of Jason!

The door to the Cathedral. The Archbishop of Canterbury remains the highest religious position in England.

Inside the Cathedral. By now, however, you already likely know what the inside looks like. Big, beautiful, ornate and full of interesting monuments and things to look at!