Last Full Day In Hong Kong

Another day at the college, now joined by Prakash who arrived from the UK last night. The skies opened this lunchtime - rain like stair-rods, big thunder and brilliant flashes of lightning. Very exciting!

The rain softened the shrouded tower blocks even more. 

Then, as soon as it had begun, the rain was gone. 

After my morning stint of teaching, I sat in for the first hour of Prakash's teaching and then left him to finish off while I went on an extensive tour of the MTR rail network, stopping briefly at Mong Kok again. It must be time to leave when I don't see these scenes as particularly busy! 

Getting off the train on Hong Kong island at Chai Wan, I was surprised to see a poster for this bunch I've seen a couple of times! 

Walking up the hill from the MTR station on a mission (all will be revealed in the fullness of time), I was taken by the light catching these tower blocks.

I was interested to watch these workers moving large sheets of mirrored glass. 

Even in Hong Kong, there are felt tip artists! 

A good advert for a glass wholesaler to have giant fish tanks as your windows! 

Even better if you can provide bullet proof glass next door! 

Banyan trees in a small public park down the hill. 

A sign of the prohibited activities for the park - I guess this must mean that somebody did once hand clothes out to dry there (and maybe somebody fell asleep there?)

This evening Prakash and I went over to Chungking Mansions on the Nathan Road for a very tasty vegetarian Indian meal. This has been my last full day in Hong Kong - I teach a session tomorrow morning and then catch a plane to Rhodes via Beijing and Athens, aiming to land on Symi on Saturday evening - no doubt completely exhausted and with no idea what time it is or what planet I'm on! So Su will be handling blog duties for the next couple of days - I look forward to seeing what she posts.

This day a year ago, the mist was rising in the morning sun over the Charlcombe valley.

Stepping up!

Poor Marcus has fallen prey to some bug or other so he's asked me to do the blog today. 

Yesterday I took loads of pics of the flowers in our garden.  Am so pleased as this plot faces north and the sun only reaches the lower half of it at this time of year.  Hope you enjoy them as much as we do.......

Dinner, Cranes and Hong Kong in the Sunshine

Went across to Hong Kong island again last night to meet up with other folk teaching from UWE on a new degree at the Design Institute. On the way to meet them at their hotel saw this confluence of sign and image - meat counter?!

It was very busy with traffic… 

Ah, the mother ship of our favourite Bristol Chinese restaurant?

After a pleasant evening walked back to the train station over the same stretch of road, now much quieter. 

In the station, saw this Community Art notice board complete with painted paper plates.

Waiting for the train, a big version of this poster. I've been holding the handrail on escalators and nobody's given me a statuette!

Also in the train station something about fun and quite large sums of money. Mind boggled… 

Today has been lovely with blue skies and hot but not overly humid - just the day to spend inside teaching 120 students… 

I liked the view across past these flats to the cranes at the container port  

In the front of the college, you can have any colour car you like - as long as it's silver. 

The wrapped tower blocks looked good in the sunshine.

Pretty flower. 

Looking across to the container port from another angle through the trees around the basketball court by the flats.

A clearer view with the bridge to Lantau visible as well. 

More decorations by the bus stop. 

Fountain, with one dolphin not quite on target… 

Back near the hotel, looking under the walkway across toward Hong Kong island basking in the afternoon sunshine.

Panoramic view from my room as the sun caught the tops of buildings on this side of the water. 

 This day a year ago, we drove into Bristol and admired this most unusual vapout trail.

Sunrise, Shopping and Shoes

Awake about 5 am this morning after crashing out really early last night - quite spectacular skies over the harbour.

Big clouds behind the shiny red building. The morning was very cloudy, which suited me as I had some preparation to do for tomorrow's two subject, six hour bout of teaching Hong Kong students two tricky subjects.

The day brightened up, I finished my work and so I did what any tourist s meant to do in Hong Kong - I went shopping! I went over to Mong Kok, a very busy area (mind you, most places in Hong Kong are busy!).

That's the way to see Hong Kong - on the top of a open topped bus in a traffic jam in 30º+C temperatures. At least it wasn't quite so humid as yesterday.

I went to a street known as "Sports Shoe Street", for reasons that became apparent. The web posting I read said that there must be 50 such shops there and it wasn't exaggerating!

In one stretch, it seemed that every shop had an Adidas flash or logo

I had lunch down the behind the back of street market stalls in a little Indian restaurant called Miss India - nice mango lassi to cool me down and tasty tarka daal.

Sitar over the serving area

Back at the hotel, I wondered what the name of this car's owner might be…

This day a year ago, we had a spectacular sunset after a lovely day when Su picked grapes and made her first ever grape jelly.