Korea: my life, my story: August 2015

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Hong Kong - Day 2

Session Break Vacation to Hong Kong #2
2015.05.30 @ Hong Kong

On day two of our trip to Hong Kong, Ellen & Wyatt showed up nice and early to join in on the fun. We did some more exploring in Mong Kok, ate some dim sum, rode the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor, and saw the Festival of Lights.

Mong Kok

We started our morning with Hong Kong's signature egg tarts. Then, we had dim sum.

( Street Vendor )

( We found Tristan on this overpass. )

( He had been exploring and found this fruit smoothie vendor. )

( He and this lady could make any combination of fruit juices. )

( The crew on day two )

( Ben, Ellen & Wyatt at the dim sum restaurant )

( Ellen, Wyatt & Tristan )

Admiralty

Back over on Hong Kong Island, we went to Admiralty. We managed to find an Ichiran (a great Japanese ramen chain).

( Some people enjoying a little restaurant )

( Some exploring )

( A fun little sign )

( Some construction in Admiralty )

( An alleyway )

( On the other side of the secret kitchen of Ichiran )

Star Ferry & the Festival of Lights

Next, we had a little ride on a trolly out to the Star Ferry terminal. We rode the ferry to the north side of Victoria Harbor to watch the Festival of Lights. Fortunately, it only rained for eighteen minutes that whole time we were in Hong Kong. UNfortunately, those eighteen minutes were during the exact eighteen minutes of the light show.

( Walking to the ferry terminal, we got a nice view of the Hong Kong ferris wheel. )

( Another shot )

( Wyatt, Ellen, Ben & Evelynn waiting for the Star Ferry )

( A shot from the ferry )

( The crew on the ferry )

( Another shot from the ferry )

( On the observation deck for the Festival of Lights )

( A long exposure of the skyline )

( Another one )

( Wyatt, Ellen & Ben )

( Me )

( One more shot of the city )

Lan Kwai Fong

After the festival of lights, we too the ferry back down to Hong Kong Island and headed to Lan Kwai Fong for some food and nightlife. We had great Mediterranean food and played video games at an arcade. We didn't last long though, because we were all exhausted. That's also why there are no photos from this portion of the evening.

( A shot heading the other way on the ferry )

( This is a video of our trip to Hong Kong. Check out my other videos on YouTube. )

Bangkok, Thailand Hanoi, Vietnam Siem Reap, Cambodia Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

For more on my life in Korea, check out my tumblr account: Public Intox in Korea

Feel free to comment or email me with questions or comments: spenser.r.ford@gmail.com

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Hong Kong - Day 1

Session Break Vacation to Hong Kong #1
2015.05.29 @ Hong Kong

We had a three-day session break at the end of our spring term at Lykeion, so Ben, Tristan, Evelynn & I headed over to Hong Kong for a little vacation. We managed to find ourselves a nice air bnb location in Mong Kok, which has a bunch of markets and is conveniently located in the middle of lots of fun stuff.

Hong Kong Island

We came here straight from the airport, because we arrived very early in the morning and couldn't check into the air bnb until 10 am.

( Tristan on the airport train )

( Tristan, Ben & Evelynn on our walk towards Victoria Peak )

( We all drank lots of coffee that morning, because we hadn't slept the night before. We left work, ate dinner, packed up, and headed out to the airport. )

( This area of Hong Kong was the financial district. All of the buildings were really nice. )

( Evelynn, striking a pose )

( One more, but this time in the sun )

( Ben in a park )

( A tall building )

( Ben )

( One more of Ben )

Victoria Peak

After a bit of a walk, we found the tram station. I can't remember how much it cost, but it was less than expect, quite reasonable. It was a short, but beautiful ride to the top of the mountain. We didn't actually pay to go to the very top floor of the observatory, but it was still a great view just being on top of the mountain.

( Ben and Tristan on the tram to the top of Victoria Peak )

( A view from the top of Victoria Peak )

( This is what the tram looks like )

( One of the observation decks )

( Tristan & Ben )

( Tristan was in photographer mode. )

( Tristan doing things he probably shouldn't have )

( Tristan was nice enough to let me try on his 16~35mm lens. Check out his photos on his blog. )

( I really want this lens for my camera. )

( A selfie shot with Tristan's lens )

( Tristan doing more things that probably should have )

( We took a little nature hike down the side of the mountain. )

( Tristan )

( Tristan doing even more things that he probably shouldn't have )

( I think this was the last time I photographed Tristan making "poor" choices. )

( Ben & I hung out up top and were content with watch Tristan get his shots. )

( The four of us headed back up to catch the tram. )

( Even though we were all super tired, we still had a ton of fun. )

( Ben )

( Some buildings on the mountain. )

( The tram driver on the way back down )

( Tristan )

( Evelynn )

( Ben )

(The island had lots of double-decker trollies. )

Mong Kok

After Victoria Peak, we took the subway to the north side of Victoria Harbor where our accommodation was located. Mong Kok was completely different than than Hong Kong Island. It was a lot older, but also a lot more interesting. I used to think that Korea was wild with all the signage, but Hong Kong has Korea beat by far.