Images From Downtown Calgary

Howdy Pardners,

Went on a tour of downtown Calgary a week after the flood.  Was incredible.  Looked like it had never happened.  Here are a view artsy views from downtown Calgary:

Family of man statue in front of The Bow

Amen

Egyptian protest in front of city hall.

Wonder what the ranking is now after the flood.

Tacky Canadian tourist trap.

Head in front of the Bow.

The Bow.

Alberta scene.  Picture at the Hyatt.

Cowboy scene.

Calgary Tower.

Artistic buildings.

A bucking bronco.

Images of Calgary (Flood disaster)

Hello Great Ones,

After an 18 hour ordeal I ended up in Calgary and was picked up at midnight by Helga and Alfred.  I was expecting a disaster area. However, much to my surprise Calgary looked fine, which is a great testimony of how great Calgarians can be.  Thousands had volunteered their time to the clean up.  Church communities were committing to help in the recovery long term with practical help and finances.  Yet there were still some signs that there had indeed been a massive flood. And the news is that it will take years and plenty of money to recover fully.  Your help and prayers for Calgary are greatly appreciated.

A massive bin of debris from wrecked homes.

A message of gratitude from a flood victim.

The brown Elbow.  Debris from the flood.

A massive water pump truck.

The remains of a very fun, swinging bridge that once spanned the Elbow.

A pile of debris.

Wrecked washing machines off to the dump.

Signs of destruction.

Alfred and Helga.  Eating with the mosquitoes.

2IFC and ICC

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

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Today I am going to introduce you to two very amazing buildings.  (The following are not my words:) 

Situated onHong Kong Island near the narrowest crossing of the Victoria Harbour, 2 IFC International Financial Center - as it has become known - is a stunning architectural accomplishment. Designed by Cesar Pelli, who is responsible for myriad other well-known buildings including those of the World Financial Center inNew York, this soaring tower reaches a height of 1,362 feet (415 meters).

Pelli gave the building a somewhat tapered look, with the floors at the top of the 88-story building being slightly smaller than the ones below. Covered in lightly reflective glass panels and pearl-colored mullions, the building is topped with a crown that reaches inward and upward.

The 490m International Commerce Centre, known locally as ICC, is the latest ‘super skyscraper’ to take the title of Hong Kong’s tallest building. Together with the city’s second-tallest building, Two IFC on the opposite shore, the imposing pair create the dramatic effect of a modern day Colossus of Rhodes at the western entrance of Victoria Harbour.

The building’s 118 floors are mostly devoted to office space, but there’s also a Ritz-Carlton hotel as well.  It is the world's fourth tallest building.  There is a public observation area on the 100th floor.  

Indeed the buildings are amazing.  Have a great week everyone.  I will be a little tardy next week with a blog update due to flying to Alberta next weekend.  Please note the new blog series coming your way:  "Sunshine visits Alberta."  Should be a dandy.

God bless you, 

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk

Ps: By the way click on this site and move your mouse up and down the mouse pad and watch the 2IFC change.  Amazing.

http://61226.com/share/hk.swf

ICC

2IFC

                        

The 2IFC is on the right, the ICC is across the harbour to the left.

Panorama of the buildings and surrounding city.  Hong Kong is in the front, Kowloon is across the water.

Looks spectacular at night.

Looks spectacular at dusk

Great views.

Swimming With The Old Timers

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

I start most of my Sunday mornings off by biking to a bridge near Ma On Shan and meeting my friend Gary there at 6:30 am.  We then pedal on till we get to an area by the ocean which has a small beach and pier.  This place has great views of mountains, ocean and dozens of old Chinese people bobbing in the water.  All of them are attired in various swim wear, many have bathing caps, some have face masks, not sure why, and a floatation device attached, via a string, to an ankle. Weather: rain, wind, cold (plus 20) does not deter these guys.  Apparently some are out every day and some are in the water for hours bobbing merrily along until they are minute dots in the ocean's horizon.

 Gary and I head to the pier where we park our bikes with several others.  The old people on the pier and in the water are very friendly, greeting us with a hearty Jo Sahn (good morning).  Some speak a little English, some speak to us in Cantonese like we are fluent and understand every word.  We just nod politely.  Gary and I are hearty Canadians and we forsake the bathing caps, body suits, and floatation devices and just hop into the very salty and very warm water.  The water is so salty you can literally go into a sitting position and never sink.  Both Gary and I experience great joy listening to the happy Cantonese spoken between the old timers, soaking in the great views, and riding the occasional swell that gently comes along.  It is a grand time and when the sun pokes through the clouds and lights up the water it gets even more grand. After about twenty minutes of this we head on out and bike back home.  By 7:30 most of the old timers are heading out too.  

There is a reason why Hong Kongers have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world.  Good weather allowing almost year round outdoor activities, a culture where it seems every senior citizen in Hong Kong exercises in the morning and, most important, happy relationships with family and friends.  Also the diet tends to be healthier here than in North America.

Have a great week everyone.

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk

Bridge at Ma On Shan.

Gary.

Some Characters seen on the Pier:

Mr. Muscle

Aquaman.

Silver hair

Miss Nutcase

The Pier.

On the pier.  The white thing way in the distance across the water on the right is a statue of a giant buddha.  

Chinese old timers.

The water by the way is relatively clean.

Going off the pier.

Beautiful view off the pier.

The Loop

My Dear Most Excellent Ones,

As you know I have moved to Tai Wai, which is part of the area called Shatin, partly to be closer to work,  but mainly to be closer to some bike trails.  And I have not been disappointed.  There are some great trails.  One of them I call The Loop and it is a beauty.  Let me guide you through:

Start of the loop begins here, just in front of my complex, Festival City, which I sometimes call the fortress.  A kilometer long parkade topped by 12 towers it is pretty incredible.

I bike along this path.  On one side is a park, the other high rises.

After about a kilometer of flat I have to get up Keng Hau Road.  Its a gut wrenching, lung exploding, heart pounding, physically devastating steep climb of a hill.   Terrible.   

I then alight on Tai Po Road and follow the relatively flat road for a good while and savour the views.

A view of the water works and Lion Rock Mountain in the back.

The path is rather hairy due to exceptionally long drop offs into the jungle below.

Total fluke getting a picture with only red vehicles.  Wow.

One of several tunnels bored into the mountains throughout the Hong Kong territory.  This one takes you to Kowloon.

The ride beside the traffic of Tai Po road is offset by the views, but when you get to the overpass it is a welcome sight cause now you are close to getting into the jungle.

The trail is beside a "catchwater," that winds along the middle of a small mountain range.

Have to be careful not to fly into the catchwater.  Jungle views, sounds, and smells makes the bike trip interesting.

Monkeys frequent the trail...

…and the catchwater.

Great view points are the norm.  This is the "suburb" of Hong Kong called Shatin, which is made of "small," communities connected to each other.

Serene, beautiful, great, magnificent, etc

Hard to believe you are in Hong Kong.

Self portrait in a traffic mirror.

The trail goes on and on for at least ten kilometers.

Waterfalls are here and there along the trail.

Another great view.

The loop ends with a march down several million stairs.  Here you have to lug your bike.  At least its downhill.  You end up on a main road which thankfully has a side walk and you are back to the Fortress in no time.

Have a great week everyone!

Love adios and peng on!

Dirk