thericechronicles

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Concrete Jungle

Hello My Dear Great Ones,

A building is considered a skyscraper if it has 14 floors. Don't ask my why, I am just a messenger, and I have no patience to google the answer. When you compare all the cities in the world that have skyscrapers, Hong Kong is number 1 in terms of how many they have in its city limits. There are @ 8000 skyscrapers in Hong Kong, which is @ 4000 more than its closest competitor: New York City. The main reason for this is the lack of flat land and the resulting astronomical cost of real estate. So Hong Kongers are forced to build up and up and up.

From afar the Hong Kong skyline is dramatic, even beautiful, and world famous. Google it to see what I mean. Close up however it is a little different. It is overwhelming, like a jungle where plants are fighting for light and space. While Hong Kong has thousands of skyscrapers that are stylish glass and steel artistic declarations of grandeur, most Hong Kong skyscrapers are ugly, old, cement blocks, wedged into a space next to several other boxes fighting for space and light, like in a jungle. Except in this case a concrete jungle. Thankfully many of these old and boring skyscrapers have been painted pink (yuck) or orange to prevent human moods from going drab due to seeing too much drab. And at night some buildings, especially the new ones, become an incredible light show, which makes Hong Kong even more unnecessarily exciting and stimulating.

Thankfully Hong Kong is 70% nature (real jungle) to offset its man made craziness. Below are a few samples of Hong Kong's concrete jungle up close.

Have a great week.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Some Amazing Buildings

Dear Great Ones,

Asia truly has some amazing buildings. Here is a small sample of what I have seen over the last four years in my travels:

An apartment building in Hong Kong near the ICC building. The big hole in the middle is for the Feng Shui belief of allowing spirits free passage. Ah huh.

Lippo Building in Hong Kong. It is nicknamed the "Koala Tree," because people think it resembles koalas climbing a tree. Ha ha.

New Creation Church in Singapore. This is actually officially called the Star Preforming Arts Center. The church meets on Sunday, but during the week it has numerous concerts and performances. There are also lots of places to eat and shop at the "Star.". On Sunday there are three services, with over 5000 attending each one. Plus the church has other places where they meet, so over 30000 meet in various spots throughout Singapore. Truly amazing.

The Peak Observation Deck. Hong Kong. This building is supposed to resemble a rice bowl. Great views from here. Wow.

International Finance Center, Hong Kong. Became famous in a Batman movie.

Aspire Tower, Doha, Qatar. This is a hotel. The thing sticking out of the building about half way up is a swimming pool.

International Commerce Center, Hong Kong. World's seventh tallest building. 118 floors. The Ritz Carlton takes up floors 102-118. Observation floor is on the 100th.

CCTV Building. Beijing, China. Here is where China sends out its version of the news, "propaganda."

Beijing. The Water Cube. 2008 Olympic games had their aquatic events here.

Some downtown buildings in Doha. The building on the right changes different colours at night. It looks like a narwhale. Tried to find the names of these buildings, but too much work, so I gave up. Just ask Sven.

Grand Lisboa hotel in Macau. It also has a casino.

Beijing, China. The Birdsnest stadium, built for the 2008 summer Olympics. Sadly the stadium is barely used now and is falling apart.

The Museum of Islamic Art. Doha, Qatar. Very beautiful, interesting and the entrance fee is: 0. My kind of price.

The Louis Vuitton store in Singapore. Juts out into the bay.

Marina Sands Hotel in Singapore. Three buildings connected by a roof. On top of the roof are restaurants, a pool, shops, etc.

Have a great week everyone.

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Window Shopping Hong Kong Style

My Dear Great Ones,

I have raved on and on about amazing Hong Kong in this blog. This city/territory is truly an architectural, engineering, cultural, and natural wonder. It is also a world class shopping/fashion center, up there with New York, London, and Paris. In fact Hong Kong promotes itself as a shopping mecca and many fly in to shop. Shopping. Ugh. For me I would much rather get up at 6:00 am to bike 20 kilometers on a rainy, blustery day, followed by a swim in the ocean with senior citizens; watch the sunset from a mountain top; sweat profusely for two hours playing floor hockey; ride the waves on a body board then go shopping. Hate shopping. It is so boring.

Yet, despite my heavy handed cynicism , I have gained an awareness, due to a special someone, that fashion designer brands like Gucci, Coach, LV, Ralph Lauren are important to some people. And they greatly influence price. A lady's handbag that you can get at an open air market here for about 10 dollars Canadian suddenly jumps in price to about 3000 Canadian due to putting a label on it like Gucci, or Coach. Ok the quality of the bag is a bit better, but really is it that much better? I had to laugh the other day in Shenzhen. Went to a market there with Celia and she was offered a nice handbag for a "good price." Labels like Victoria Secret, Gucci, or Coach could also be put on the bag free of charge. Yeah, that about says it all for me when it comes to "branding."Brands prey on our egos. Sucker!

Yet, what I do find interesting here in Hong Kong is the psychological tricks that the clothing industry, in particular, use to lure customers into their stores. The competition for customers is so intense here that stores create interesting and I admit, at times very absurd, yet artistic, even dazzling displays to lure people/money in. Seriously, Hong Kong should consider providing tours to see the most elaborate displays. Here is a small sample of what I mean: