Willem's Planet

The short connection in Seoul went well and the gate security was the usual hand search of our carry-ons, no more.  The pictures are from Saturday morning.  From the top: crossing the suspension bridges from Hong Kong mainland to Lantau Island (the airport’s location);  walking to Gate 24 to board; looking out the window at the Korean Airlines Airbus A380 getting pushed out to the runway;  I wondered for a moment how the dinner appetizer should be eaten (mushroom, mozzarella and cherry tomato with mint leaf garnish); then stuffed it all in my mouth :0).

These artifacts are from a display in Hong Kong airport.  Monday is Moon Cake Festival Day in China (those are moon cakes in the picture).   Carambola, or starfruit, is really native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – but I have seen trees here with the fruit.  Now I have to run for the gate!    I have a short connection in Seoul, then on to Seattle.

It is finally cooling down somewhat from the August highs here in South East Asia, and in Japan.   The TV screen shot is from the Japanese channel NHK World.  It says ‘Forecast Lowest Temperature’ 予想最低気温 at the top* and the 22 ºC (72 ºF) is for Tokyo.   It still goes up to 30 ºC (86 ºF) some days there, but the Japanese government’s campaign to urge businesses to consume less electricity this summer was a resounding success.    Average electricity use in peak hours on weekdays in Tepco’s service area fell 20.4 percent in July and 21.9 percent in August from 2010, exceeding the targeted 15 percent cut.    Check out the manga character with the sad eyes.   And I like the pointer with the black blob that the meteorologist is using.   Somewhat different from the way our TV stations present the weather, no?

*the successful outcome of a guessing game I played in Google Translate,  plugging English phrases into its English-Japanese translator

Two colleagues new to the project and I took a taxi to Shenzhen’s electronics market on Huaqiang North Road.   The beautiful gazebo is close by and so is a large watch store that sells any watch one can imagine.    The ‘Rolexes’, ‘Omegas’ and ‘Cartiers’ are fake (prices are negotiable, between US$50 and US$200), but there is a very large selection of cheap and colorful quartz watches with Mickey Mouse, Batman, Astroboy and Snow White.    Then we hopped onto the one of the Shenzhen Metro’s brand spanking new lines, the She Kou line.  No Scottish Terriers/pets  :  ), no begging, no vendors, no littering and NO balloons!*.    The trains are very clean with animated displays that show the whole line and connecting stations.   At this moment we had arrived at Grand Theater station and are directed to use the open doors on the other side to exit.

*Because they pop and scare people?  More likely because the trains are typically crowded and the balloon or string gets stuck in the doorway on the way out!

A big coach bus takes us to work and back every day from Da Mei Sha.   This a snap shot of a road side scene in Da Peng, which is some 40 minutes to the east by road.   Da Peng is the community just outside the Daya Bay nuclear power plant.   The street vendors are selling a type of lychee native to South China, as well as a kind of flat bread.   In the background, a building has been demolished to make way for a new one.  (Yes, there is not a lot of space between the bus and the pedestrians !  We are definitely used to much wider vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-people berths in the USA! ) 

These pictures are from Saturday night.   The first picture is at dusk; I’m sitting upstairs in a street car (tram) from the hotel to the Sheung Wan station.    The nearest metro station is too far to walk to from the hotel.   All the other pictures were taken around the Sogo department store at Causeway Bay metro station, four stops east from Sheung Wan.

I took a bus from bus operator China Transportation Services to Hong Kong.   We changed from a 16 seater minibus into a full-size coach bus at the newly renovated (for the Universiade Games) Huanggang border crossing.   I was a little annoyed by this sticker – stuck on my shirt when we left by the ticket lady without my permission – but believe me, it certainly saved me from being stranded at the border crossing (there are no trains, and no taxis).   I was waiting for the minibus for 30 mins+ outside in sweltering heat when a little guy ran up to me and shooed me onto the big bus.     And here I am in the Marriott Courtyard, my comfy and customary hotel on Hong Kong island (view from the room I have on the 25th floor on Sat morning).

The 2011 University Games is over (website http://www.sz2011.org/Universiade/), so soon, it seems.   Tuesday night saw the closing ceremony, fittingly held at the Windows of the World theme park in Shenzhen, where just about every country in the world is represented with an iconic building or scene.    The first picture is from the website, the other two are screen shots from the TV broadcast.  The flowery floor is a giant LED screen.   Must be something to get used to, to dance on one!

China hauled in the most medals (145), followed by Russia (132) and Korea(79).  The USA got 50.  But of course the event was great for public relations and for athletes to meet their peers from other countries.