Few Pics from Hong Kong

[wtom]

Somewhere over Lake Ontario
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKa.jpg

My first pic within HK
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKb.jpg

HK Subway (MTR line); makes the TTC look like a joke
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKc.jpg

Within IFC mall
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKd.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKe.jpg

I believe in Tsim Sha Tsui, random pic of the \"normal\" number of people on the streets in evening/night
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKf.jpg

View of Kowloon-side from HK island
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKg.jpg

View of HK from atop Peak Mountain
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKh.jpg

Southbound view from atop Peak Mountain
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKi.jpg

Night view of HK from atop Peak Mountain
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKj.jpg

Photoshoot with Ayumi Hamasaki :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKk.jpg

Times Square mall - seven floors of shopping... wet dream come true for the American shop-a-holic muahahaha
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKl.jpg

Somewhere in Stanley
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKm.jpg

I swear this is a pic from HK despite the different cultures portrayed in the foreground. New Year\\\'s countdown in the streets somewhere in Tsim Sha Tsui.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKn.jpg

HK delicacy? \"Big Gate\" Crabs... *drool*
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKo.jpg

Trail hiking atop mountains in Sai Wan
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKp.jpg

Sunset in Ibiza... I mean Sai Wan...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKq.jpg

One of the top reasons I\'ll be returning to HK within two years!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKr.jpg

Every tourists destination within Macau :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKs.jpg

Partial view of Macau from atop the Macau Museum
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKt.jpg

Famous Macau tower and new bridge
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKu.jpg

[majic]

DAAAAYYYUMMMM!!! those are some awesome pix.. expecially .. umm ALL of them (but the night shot from the mountain ROCKS!)

[triplezoom]

Wow, very nice wtom. Lookin at these pics makes me want to go back to HK. :(

[mEtH]

Love the shots of the city, they turned out awesome. THUMBS UP!

[wtom]

Thanks guys! That\'s just twenty one out of 1400+ pics/vids I have from the 2.5 weeks hahaha

[billyfo]

as you didn\'t return to HK for how long, you\'d definitely take tons of pics:D .

hopefully I plan to back to HK at the yearend or mid-yr next yr.

[bluntman]

Were you wearing a down jacket? How cold did it get?

[dredd2099]

nice!

[Xenon]

Very Nice Warren. Glad to see that you had a safe and enjoyable trip!

[///M]

Nice pics!

I miss HK...maybe I\'ll go next summer if I don\'t do summer school again.

[black305]

Awesome pics! I haven\'t been back to HK for like 20 yrs. Anybody have a couple grand they can loan/give me for a return visit?? :p

[Spyder01]

No Mazda3 pictures from HK?? also, i saw a winning blue with hid, winter tires, tinted windows, torontomazda3 sticky on middlefield + steeles at 7:18pm tonight too...


*...that pic of the MTR...just looking at it reminds me of \"Please step back from the doors, do do do do do do do pshhhhhhh\"

[bubba1983]

night shot of the city atop the peak...HAWT!

[wtom]

I haven\'t been back to HK in the same amount of time as black305... I was born there but moved to Canada at age 3, and now, at 26 I\'m back for my first time. :)

HK reached its lowest in fourty years; 6*C (trust me, their 6*C is MUCH different from our 6*C... there\'s no central heating in the home!) That only lasted about half a week. When I arrived in Macau, I had to carry around the jacket for the rest of the day, it was at least 12*C in Macau on Jan 3rd.

Xenon, thanks! You too on your vacation to Florida (right?). :)

autoexe how long haven\'t you been back? My gf says it is a bit different compared to when she was there prior to summer 2002.

black305, same shoes as myself!

Spyder01, I walked into a Mazda dealership! Check here for a few pics; http://www.torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=1452
As for Middlefield and Steeles, that was me. I live in that area and I was returning home from work. Which car were you? I don\'t remember seeing another 3...

bubba1983 - night shots are awesome :)

EDIT: Spyder01 - I saw a total of two Mazda3 sedans and a bunch of Mazda6\'s in HK. I saw many more Skylines than the two cars sightings combined... however those were all \"out of the blue\" and I didn\'t have my camera ready.

[bluntman]

Are there many internet cafes in HK? I can\'t live without my broadband. :)

[wtom]

Originally posted by bluntman


Are there many internet cafes in HK? I can\'t live without my broadband. :)

There are quite a few cafes where the computer usage is free and SUGGESTED usage limit of 15 mins if ppl are waiting for a computer. Also suggested is purchasing of at least a drink from the cafe prior to using the computer. I know what you mean... I was begging for an Internet enabled PC by like day 3...

[Spyder01]

hehe i live in that area too wtom...but im just a jealous protege owner wanting a 3 ;) ... Sales person at the dealership was so nice that he wouldn\'t let me trade in for a 3, said my 02 protege was too new to be traded in...they said top of the line 3 would cost about $13000 and i had to pay in full since the trade in value is about 50% of the 3 value, plus they had too many new protege on the lot so he wouldn\'t sell to me...:(...so im just hanging around here until the summer and probably pick up a 3 from another dealership...lol sryz, im just a weird fan of the mazda3...


$160,000hkd for a 1.5 m3...thats actually a pretty good price considering that the 04 323 sedan was around $130,000...Note the HK-M3 has traction control, also on the Axela, but not on the Canadian 3.

[bluntman]

How about the tap water, is it drinkable or should you still buy bottled water? I guess the language isn\'t a real problem (unlike Japan).

[Newlook]

Originally posted by bluntman


How about the tap water, is it drinkable or should you still buy bottled water? I guess the language isn\'t a real problem (unlike Japan).

Nobody drinks tap water there.... Even if you trust the government\'s water filtration system, don\'t forget the pipes from the building you\'re living in.... And if you live higher than 9th floor, they store water in a huge water tank on the roof for everyone living 10th floor and above. In the building I used to live, they wash the tank once every three months or something (and during that few hours water supply stops), so you got an idea of how clean your tap water actually is.

Bottle water is not necessary... just boil your tap water and they\'re good to drink.

Language... haven\'t you watched the Russell Peters show? Everybody knows English there :D

EDIT: typo

[Newlook]

Originally posted by wtom

autoexe how long haven\'t you been back? My gf says it is a bit different compared to when she was there prior to summer 2002.



Definitely good pictures... anymore?

That place changes so fast... I\'m sure I need a map or else I would probably lost. When I was there last time in 1998, the new Tseung Kwan O line (purple) wasn\'t even on the drawing board. Now it has already been built and in service. How long did it take for our Sheppard Stubway to get built?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/HKc.jpg

The buildings there get built so fast as well. Did you find yourself walking faster over there? :D

[firstmazda]

Great pics! and welcome back!
I\'m with Bubba, LOVE that night shot of the city! you got one great camera.

as for the subway route map, that\'s nothing!!!
imagine how I felt when I walked into a Tokyo subway/train station and finding THIS!!! (\"http://www.bento.com/subtop5.html\")

[///M]

Originally posted by wtom
autoexe how long haven\'t you been back? My gf says it is a bit different compared to when she was there prior to summer 2002.


Actually not that long...last time was May 04...just before I got my 3! lol

But it does change fast...since then, from what I\'ve heard:

- TST KCR station has opened
- Park N Shop has changed to \"Taste\"

any more?

[majic]

Originally posted by firstmazda

imagine how I felt when I walked into a Tokyo subway/train station and finding THIS!!! (\"http://www.bento.com/subtop5.html\")

WTF? wow.. we\'re sooooo behind..

[Newlook]

Originally posted by majic



Originally posted by firstmazda

imagine how I felt when I walked into a Tokyo subway/train station and finding THIS!!! (\"http://www.bento.com/subtop5.html\")

WTF? wow.. we\'re sooooo behind..

Or THIS (http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm)

Yet our population density and travel pattern (as well as funding) could not support such an intensive subway system.

[firstmazda]

Originally posted by Newlook


Or THIS (http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm)

Yet our population density and travel pattern (as well as funding) could not support such an intensive subway system.

I know! i remember riding New York trains too, tracks running parallel above your train,
the train stations were like 3 - 4 floors deep, each floor with like 2 or trhee routes.
or you look out the window see another train running along side you going the same way,
then it veers off to the left or something. Not like here you\'re either going East, or West, or North or South.

Nothing like our system!

The most incredible part about Japan\'s train system was everything was on time TO THE SECOND.
Trains were never late. I rode one with no driver! it was automated

anyways, enough about subways, sorry to threadjack W!!!
(This is where we need arthur\'s map with the topic going off course)

[majic]

i don\'t see him on, so...

http://ca.geocities.com/alegardo@rogers.com/offtopic.gif

:D

[wtom]

Originally posted by Newlook
Nobody drinks tap water there....
Bottle water is not necessary... just boil your tap water and they\'re good to drink.


I didn\'t try drinking the tap water. There was one day when I flushed the toilet and suddenly out came brown dirty water! I took one guess they were cleaning the tanks (11th floor home). I\'m spoiled by the bottled water here that I kept buying bottled water there. Even it\'s cheaper than here! Not by much tho... maybe $2 for two 1L bottles? Can\'t remember exactly.


Originally posted by Newlook
Definitely good pictures... anymore?
The buildings there get built so fast as well. Did you find yourself walking faster over there? :D

I\'m uploading 1300+ pics today... will make them public once I ensure everything is right (five different albums with 200 to 300 pics each); http://www.imagestation.com/members/wtom88

I am one to walk fast normally, even here in TO. Of course the ratio of fast walkers there exceeds the number here. But there were times I seriously wanted to run over some people cuz they walked so damn slow or they just suddenly stop in front of me (just like how some drivers are on the streets eh?).


Originally posted by firstmazda
as for the subway route map, that\'s nothing!!!
imagine how I felt when I walked into a Tokyo subway/train station and finding THIS!!! (\"http://www.bento.com/subtop5.html\")

Hahahahaha I\'ve seen those kinda subway maps (Korea)... Japan and New York are killer! I\'ll probably be so lost... transferring from one train to another, to another, and a few more, only to end up back on the first train LOL... that is insane! But it\'s all good though.

What I find, and it\'s not to put Canadians down or anything, but people in HK/Japan/New York are more often quicker witted than us. We\'re too relaxed here. People in those places continually work their mind... just look at the subway maps! Their mind is always being worked thus they are quick thinkers and can get out of jams easier (not all, of course). Whereas being raised here in Canadian society, I find myself often slower than them (in HK). Meh...


Originally posted by autoexe
But it does change fast...since then, from what I\'ve heard:

- TST KCR station has opened
- Park N Shop has changed to \"Taste\"

any more?

I still saw some Park N Shops tho... maybe not all? No idea what else changed but like Newlook stated, things there in HK move so much more fast paced... and like I said, once again, Canada is too relaxed. ie. it takes two weeks to process some government crap... over there it takes two business days.

[Kager]

very nice pix~ HK is amazing!! i love the night view of HK...just incredible!!

[wtom]

Thanks, Kager! More to see, somewhere within the five albums...

I\'ve posted all 1300+ pics from my holidays;

http://www.imagestation.com/members/wtom88

[billyfo]

$36 for a instant noodle combo that\'s $6CAD which is cost more than TO.

[wtom]

Originally posted by billyfo


$36 for a instant noodle combo that\'s $6CAD which is cost more than TO.

Yeah, not EVERYTHING is cheaper than here. But the taste of those dishes in HK is so much better than here (comparing apples to apples). They just can\'t replicate the flavours here for some reason! Ever try the smelly tofu here? It is no where as good as in HK (if you like smelly tofu, otherwise, ignore this comment). :D

[majic]

you lik\'em asian ladies in skirts and high boots :D ;) :D :p :D

man, i went through 2 albums and my finger got tired from clicking :p

[wtom]

Originally posted by majic


you lik\'em asian ladies in skirts and high boots :D ;) :D :p :D

man, i went through 2 albums and my finger got tired from clicking :p

Yeah something about short skirts and knee-high boots... most guys will agree. :D

There\'s a slideshow feature, no?

[majic]

Originally posted by wtom

Yeah something about short skirts and knee-high boots... most guys will agree. :D

There\'s a slideshow feature, no?

lol.. i know.. it was just funny when your gf wasn\'t around (or looking elsewhere) *snap snap snap* :D

yeha but who wants to see 320x240 pix ;) i saw most in full size ;) (thankfully tabs in ffox helped :) any reason you did some at 1600x1200? memory card space limitation? i mean you did take a crapload of pix :D

[wtom]

Originally posted by majic

lol.. i know.. it was just funny when your gf wasn\'t around (or looking elsewhere) *snap snap snap* :D

yeha but who wants to see 320x240 pix ;) i saw most in full size ;) (thankfully tabs in ffox helped :) any reason you did some at 1600x1200? memory card space limitation? i mean you did take a crapload of pix :D

Oh hehe she knows I have those pics. She even tried to take me to those mini red-light districts but we failed to find any \"populated\" streets. Only saw like three total (ladies). Now, if I had actually requested services... it will be a totally different story with my gf. :D

I thought all of my pics were at least 1600x1200? I know a few I intentionally took at the next higher resolution but that was the max I\'d go (no point to have a 4 or 5 megapixel photo at all).

[majic]

Originally posted by wtom

Oh hehe she knows I have those pics. She even tried to take me to those mini red-light districts but we failed to find any \"populated\" streets. Only saw like three total (ladies). Now, if I had actually requested services... it will be a totally different story with my gf. :D

I thought all of my pics were at least 1600x1200? I know a few I intentionally took at the next higher resolution but that was the max I\'d go (no point to have a 4 or 5 megapixel photo at all).

hahahaha.. \'populated\' lol :D

au contraire mon ami!! i have a 4mpix cam and i ONLY take 4mpix pics, what\'s the point of using a lower res when you already paid for magnificent 4mp shots? also, it matters if you want to print or not. granted a 2mp cam is ok for 4x6 but if you wnat a nice 8x10 or 11x14 you need those higher resolutions.

anyway.. back to the pictures *2 thumbs up* makes me REALLY want to go there but i\'m kinda scared ;) u know.. LHD, the skirts with boots :D crazy subway, me speako no china :D (i know i know.. english is good there too) but i think i\'d be lost without a guide and i\'d need more like a month there heh..

[wtom]

Originally posted by majic
au contraire mon ami!! i have a 4mpix cam and i ONLY take 4mpix pics, what\'s the point of using a lower res when you already paid for magnificent 4mp shots? also, it matters if you want to print or not. granted a 2mp cam is ok for 4x6 but if you wnat a nice 8x10 or 11x14 you need those higher resolutions.

anyway.. back to the pictures *2 thumbs up* makes me REALLY want to go there but i\'m kinda scared ;) u know.. LHD, the skirts with boots :D crazy subway, me speako no china :D (i know i know.. english is good there too) but i think i\'d be lost without a guide and i\'d need more like a month there heh..

I use 1600x1200 because it\'s the perfect size for both viewing on a PC monitor and for printing out if I need to. Majority of my photos taken in digital format are taken at 1600x1200 and I have no problems printing the images out onto 8.5\" x 11\" photo paper on your average inkjet printer (check out the two pics I took below, from my cubicle just now showing the pics of my gf and me).

As for HK... there are quite a bit of tourists there (non orientals) including other orientals (Korean, Japanese, etc.) Go with your GF and join a tour group if anything. You\'ll definitely have tons of fun in HK.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/cubiclephotos1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/wtom/cubiclephotos2.jpg

[billyfo]

yeah, I like those smelly Tofu, too. but I tasted the one which not place on a fixed store (mobile one and was illegal to sell on street:D ). I only had one selling at Taiwanese cafe in Markham.

but I think you and your gf quite crazy:p , everyone around you wearing long sleeve, but you both only have t-shirt:D , but for sure when I have chance to get back to HK, I\'ll do the same.

[keving]

Hey wtom,

I gotta say, thats a LOTTA pics. I\'m just going through your album, and the one with you choking bush elicited a burst of laughter from me, haha. But by far the funniest picture is the one where you \"took\" a picture of your gf and also managed to fit 3 other girls in the picture, hahaha. Did you get your girlfriend to sit beside those 3 girls just so you could take a picture of them?? HAHAHA! That\'s awesome, man. Anyways, nice to know you\'re back and you had a fun trip. Now that got me thinking of going back once I graduate, and have a gf haha! Or maybe it\'s better going back without having a gf, what do you think? :hoho

-Kev

[wtom]

billyfo, you mean you had smelly tofu during that asian night in Metro Square parking lot during the Fall of 2004? We could wear the t-shirt during the warmer temperatures like 18*C and above but those cooler days, i had to throw on the \"bubble\" jacket... hehe

LOL @ keving --> http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid154/p9dfdd960ef31b7dab5f79a8d06f8bbee/f5795146.jpg.orig.jpg (copy and paste pls)

As for going back with or without gf? ... depends on what kinda fun you want to have! :D

[david3]

Warren, Did you happen to up by Collingwood ~ Dec 27thish? I swear I saw you and your girlfriend as I was driving home!

[billyfo]

Warren, in HK I tried to have smelly tofu where they were available:D , but in TO, I only tasted once at the Taiwanese shop, never the HK style, so I don\'t know the different. But for sure, we can\'t have better taste here than in HK, cause not everyone can stand for the smell;)

[wtom]

david3 you dink... Dec 27th I was in Hong Kong hahaha :p

billyfo, that is true, the smell is kinda rotten and very weird especially to a foreigner. heck even i thought it was bad the first time i smelt it but it\'s true; after you eat the tofu, with the sweet and spicy sauces, YUMMY!!!!!!! :)

I think Taiwanese smelly tofu is even more bad smell?

[david3]

Originally posted by wtom
david3 you dink... Dec 27th I was in Hong Kong hahaha :p


I don\'t follow everything post by post, so I didn\'t know when you left :)

[wtom]

Originally posted by david3



Originally posted by wtom
david3 you dink... Dec 27th I was in Hong Kong hahaha :p


I don\'t follow everything post by post, so I didn\'t know when you left :)

Hehehe no worries I was just kidding around. :)

The club feels different without the monthly meets. :(