Once we were in the sky after leaving Hong Kong, I just had to capture this photo of those huge GE engines and the wide span of wing on "my" side of the aircraft.....engines that would run consistently and one of two wings (I *think* there was one on the other side of the plane!) that would remain flexible (turbulence!) yet stretched outward (smooth sailing) for twelve hours straight, taking us back to our beloved country, the United States of America!

Engines, wing, clouds, sky......it's all beautiful to me!

On a 3-class aircraft, a map is viewable at all times on individual video screens, showing the progress of the flight. Above photo: we were still near China.

a

After waking up Wednesday morning on *this* side the globe (after flying ten hours with about two hours left before landing at SFO), one final photo of a muted, opaque view of the atmosphere that extended eight miles beneath us.

Phil and I arrived at SFO yesterday (Wednesday) morning, May 27th, and are once again happily resettled at the downtown San Jose Marriott. Above: the view from our room, facing directly north.

Lovely park, Hong Kong

Phil and I will be leaving Hong Kong tomorrow (Wednesday), May 27th. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the photos I took in 2004 of places and sights we saw when we were here then, as most of them were taken when (Lo! and behold!) the sun was shining. We have not seen the sun whatsoever while here on this trip.....but we've still enjoyed our time here immensely.

I'm especially thankful for the relaxation Phil has enjoyed this trip...especially the chance to play Sudoku as much as he wants (he loves that puzzle!). He also feels that he's been very productive with some work projects....he's been able to work without ANY interruptions, which is not the case when he's at his work place on engagements. :-)

(World renowned) Jumbo Floating Restaurant by day...and before we had dinner there. I ordered fried shrimp there...but much to my dismay, the shrimp on my plate had *eyes* and I felt they were looking at me! Phil "saved the day," and had my dinner while letting me eat his!

Leaving Jumbo at night after dinner

Street sign, Kowloon

Apartment building, Kowloon

Building with bamboo scaffolding

Dramatic contrasts

Street of Kowloon

Double-decker buses, Hong Kong

More double-decker buses

Marriott where we stayed in 2004

Tailor where Phil had a custom suit, sports jacket with two pairs of pants, as well as a shirt made...all done in two days' time.

First floor, Central Plaza, Hong Kong

You will recall that in my previous blog post yesterday, I indicated that it is raining here in Hong Kong....as a matter of fact (and according to all the weather reports), the skies will have been filled with brooding, moisture-laden clouds our entire stay. (BTW....we leave this coming Wednesday at 11:45 AM, fly 13.5 hours, and land in San Francisco the same day @ 8:50 AM!!)

In contrast, it was sunny most of the time during our September 2004 visit. We really don't mind the fact that it's cloudy because we've thoroughly enjoyed relaxing in our hotel room; also, as long as the sun isn't shining and is hidden by clouds as it has been since we arrived, it's not nearly as hot outside. It's still humid........but not nearly as hot. :-)

Yesterday, I mentioned the covered, above-ground walkways (they're all about at the 2nd floor level) that link buildings together and provide protection from the rain. You can see Phil in the photo above on one just such walkway. We decided to get out yesterday and snoop about in some stores and, as always, I took my small Olympus camera with me.

So many of the buildings are magnificent marble structures, and the walkways are also marble. We were standing on one walkway, and I took a picture of another walkway which can be seen in the center above.

I thought the flamingo-colored building above was so pretty...but if you enlarge the photo (by clicking on it), you'll see behind it and in the very center of the photo a typical apartment building. It's amazing to see the mixture of buildings here...a glorious marble office building right next to a sad-of-state apartment building. To quote our taxi driver, everybody in Hong Kong "but the rich people" lives in an apartment. As a matter of fact, he volunteered that he and his wife and two children live in 200 square feet.

Many of the huge buildings in Hong Kong are beautifully lit at night; as a matter of fact, the structure with a green top in the above photo is a very large building on which the colors change and migrate all night long. Another example of Myrna playing with her camera!

View from our hotel window -- some very British reminders to look before walking (for those of us who live in a country where we drive on the "right" side of the road). :-)

Streets of Hong Kong (taken from a covered walkway over the street).

Another Hong Kong street scene, taken from another covered walkway.

When we were here in 2004, we were amazed at the way bamboo is used for all the scaffolding around buildings instead of steel structures. You can see that the building in the photo above is surrounded by bamboo scaffolding. In the photo below, there is a supply of bamboo lying in huge bundles on the concrete, ready to be used.

Bamboo scaffolding...apartment building

Our hotel this visit: Marriott's Renaissance Harbor View

When I left Chicago on Wednesday, May 20th, in order to join Phil in San Francisco, I decided to take the above picture of the neon lights that "travel" back and forth above the "people mover" that one uses to get back and forth between United Concourses B & C.

Remember to click on each photo, if you desire, for enlarging and easier viewing. Then just click on the "back" arrow at the very top left side of your computer screen, and you'll return to the blog.

Phil and I spent Wednesday evening at a hotel near the San Francisco Airport. The next day, Thursday, May 21st, we left San Francisco for Hong Kong. While waiting in the SFO international terminal for Phil (he had dropped me off with the luggage before returning the Hertz rental car he had been using since Monday when he flew to SFO), I decided to take the above photo.

You all *know* how much Phil and I love airplanes. I couldn't resist taking a photo of this beautiful United 747 that would transport us to Hong Kong....and we were blessed to receive complimentary upgrades to business class (because of the amount of flying we do)!

Our flight to Hong Kong from San Francisco was 13.5 hours in length. We left SFO at 1:30 PM on Thursday, 5/21, and arrived at 6:45 PM Friday, 5/22. (Hong Kong is 15 hours *ahead* of San Francisco.) After immigration, customs, and baggage retrieval at HKG, we rode in a very comfortable, air-conditioned (it's hot and humid here!) SUV car service to our hotel, the Marriott Renaissance Harbor View (with a view of Victoria Harbor). Above: photo of our lovely sleeping area. We have a large "junior" suite with couch, etc.

It was dark when we got settled in our room at the Renaissance Friday evening, but I couldn't help but get a quick picture of the boats moving about in Victoria Harbor with the lights of Kowloon in the background....and as you know, I love to "play" with the camera when getting night shots/lights. :-) (By the way, Kowloon is directly north of and across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong Island where we're staying.)

Yesterday (Saturday) was dark and rainy all day, and it appears that today will be the same. The heavy, moisture laden clouds move quickly across the Hong Kong area. There are lots of very tall buildings such as the one in the above photo.....

.....and the top of the tall buildings are often wrapped in clouds.

Another view....another very tall building....and at the bottom of the photo can be seen a huge construction area. (You may remember the photos I sent a year ago when we were in Singapore...lots and lots of construction. The same is going on here in Hong Kong.)

Another view from our room in Hong Kong, this one looking directly east. This was taken mid-day Saturday when there was no rain falling.

A little later in the day on Saturday, heavy rain fall.

Night view, same direction... looking eastward.

I think this is beautiful. While dark, there's just a certain beauty with the layering of clouds over the harbor and buildings in the background.