The Glow of the Metropolis

Looking down on the metropolis of Hong Kong as it glows in the night sky. 

Raining In the City

A "rainy day" in Hong Kong isn't necessarily a bad thing (helps that you can walk almost everywhere underground or on a covered walkway)... the rain cleans the air, cools things down, and makes for great "photo ops". I love the reflections of the neon lights... it illuminates the city even more. These are a few photos I took while walking walking around Tsim Sha Tsui (in Kowloon) post-rain storm.

Kenting Market - "Massage Time"

Wherever I go in Asia, there seems to be an extraordinary amount of massage parlors (feet, back, neck, etc). Kenting was no exception. One of the creepier things I saw is featured in the top photo. There were several older guys (down a dark alley) sitting next to Hello Kitty chairs... and apparently waiting for customers to come by for a massage. I have no idea what the sign above them means... but I definitely did not want whatever it was that they were selling!

Guangzhou... the Los Angeles of China

Over the last ten years, I've gone on many trips to Guangzhou. At first, I didn't much care for the city... there's bad air pollution, it's over crowded, I heard stories of people getting robbed, not many people speak English, it can be difficult to navigate (cab drivers like to drive foreigners in circles so the fare is higher), and the "western restaurants" are not so good (had the pleasure of getting food poisoning from one). It can be an intimidating place to be. However, once you accept all of that and make a few local friends, it can actually be rather pleasant. You will appreciate the city even more if you like Chinese Food... which is amazing there.

People back in the US often ask me to describe what the city is like. At first I struggled to give a proper explanation... but I've come to the conclusion that Guangzhou is China's version of Los Angeles (without the hamburgers and movie stars). There is a sprawl of freeways, giant shopping malls, smog, traffic jams, diverse ethnic population, relatively high crime rate, lots of entertainment options, international trading hub, world class galleries, extreme wealth, extreme poverty, many different types of neighborhoods/districts, massive sky scrapers, exhibition places, city parks, etc... Guangzhou is also one of the most liberal and cosmopolitan cities in China. Yes, you will still see people spitting on the ground... but you can also enjoy a nice glass of wine or cocktail at a gourmet restaurant overlooking the Pearl River.

These are a few photos I took when walking around the city one night. If you ever spend some time in Guangzhou, I would encourage you to get out of the hotel room and explore it (it's a lot safer than many large western cities).

Vertical Space and Neon Lights

One very interesting thing about shopping in Hong Kong is you'll notice that retail space is vertical. Since Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, there is not much unused real estate. Therefore, if the stores want to expand, it needs to go "up"... and as you can imagine, if you don't know where you're going, it's very easy to get confused (I've had many of those "lost in translation" moments). Also, you have to love the neon lights!

Miami Nights

Some "bubbly" in plastic champagne flutes! Why doesn't any bar in South Beach use real glass?

Cruising the Ocean Dr. strip on a warm Saturday night in South Beach... lots of neon lights, palm trees, and interesting people in the streets. These are a few photos I took while there.

The start of Ocean Dr... beginning of the "deco walk"

One of the annoying things about shopping in South Beach, is that most clothing stores don't put price tags on the items. Although, I guess most people shopping in those stores don't need to ask what the price is.

April 14, 2011

View from the lovely (and brand new) Pearl Hotel in Zhaoqing, China.

The entire city is basically brand new. Everything you see below did not exist 1 year ago (including the hotel room I stayed in). It's amazing how fast cities are built in China. Now over 4 million people call Zhaoqing home... and it's expected to grow even larger within the next few years. You can't see it in this picture, but there is construction everywhere... which is creating a layer of dust that covers everything not moving.

I liked this picture because it represented the hustle and bustle of the new city: bright neon lights, cars/motorbikes cruising the streets, people walking around the common area. It seemed to fit the mood quite well.

February 9, 2011

The neon glow of Tokyo.

I decided to take a little walk around Shibuya on Saturday night. The massive amount of people and the glow from the neon lights made for some beautiful scenes.

More pictures from Tokyo here: Tokyo- February 2011