9/8/06 ~ "Peak"-ing

On the Rio: Grateful Dead ~ Estimated Prophet, from the 6/4/2005 Sirius Jam On 17 One More Saturday Night with Bill Walton show (OK, can anyone rationally explain why the most entertaining show on Sirius was cancelled? I still laugh out loud listening to Bill rant and rave using the most superlatives in a sentance - even made up ones!)

This week was quite successful at work. We made our initial milestone goal. It was rough going, the team put in a lot of long hours, but now it's celebration time! I am very proud of my team and honored to have been a part of this project. But no rest for the weary, as we had our kick-off meeting for the next phase today, which will run through February.

So back to Hong Kong.

After the Man Mo Temple I walked through downtown to take the Tram to Victoria's Peak. I actually took several video shots of the ride up the Peak which turned out quite well. Here is one photo on the way up.

The tram was completed in 1888, it is a 12 minute ride, and there has never been an accident. This is the Peak Tower, a metallic, bowl-shaped landmark.


It's the most typical tourist hell anyone can imagine, and I rushed outside for some fresh air. I was rewarded with the most intersting 2.2 mile nature trail encircling Victoria Peak anlong Lugard Road through groves of ferns, stunted Chinese pines, rhodedenron, bamboo and hibiscus.

Take a walk with me...

These are Indian Rubber Trees.

Here is a view of Lamma island. This is the closest of the outlying islands. Despite the 2 visable smokestacke, reportedly this is a peaceful community of fisherman, farmers and Western expatriates who carry on a distinct rural ambiance, almost conjuring up a Mediterranean feel. Mmmm....only a 30 minute ferry ride...

The island of Macau, which now rivals Las Vegas as the casino capital of the world and home of the all night party, can be seen to the west. But what I really like about this picture is that I captured a dragonfly, after reading a sign about dragonflys and thinking to myself "oh, I can't just stand here getting mosquito bites, waiting for a dragonfly or butterfly". Boy, was I surprised when I looked at my pictures and actually had a dragonfly in one!

Oh, that's so funny. In this posting you probably can't see the dragonfly. It's the black smudge amonst the clouds.

After the 2 hiking trails, I was tired, and annoyed with the other tourists, who appeared to be walking around without even noticing the nature engulfing them. So I headed back down the tram and headed to the hotel.

The next day I decided to be 'on vacation' and hung out at the hotel swimming pool before it started raining, and then took and early flight back to Shanghai.

I'll leave you with a few other photos...