Friday, May 16, 2008

Hong Kong, China - April 2008


The very famous skyline of Hong Kong. Across the strait is Kowloon

For the architecture buffs:

The Bank of China Tower. Pretty much my favourite building in Hong Kong. Designed by I.M. Pei, who also designed the Louvre Pyramid


The also very famous Star Ferry transporting people from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon


Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Double-decker trams and buses!


Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Tributes to a colonial past


Kowloon. Streetscene with a gazillion neon signs


Not everyone is so rich in Hong Kong...


Woman selling roasted chestnuts on the street


Man Mo Temple. Incense hanging from the ceiling


Wong Tai Sin Temple. Woman offering incense


Tai O. Old fishing village on Lantau Island where many houses are built on stilts in the water


I love Tai O. It's like going back in time. Lots of memories from my childhood. Here, people are drying salted fish and egg yolks...


... and here people are making shrimp paste blocks...



... and here Dad and I are catching crabs. For fun, not to eat :)

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Macau, China - April 2008


Rua da Felicidade. Besides casinos, Macau has some really nice old streets


People in Hong Kong also like to do this: gather with friends for the gezelligheid while listening to their birds sing


Little old ladies in front of Igreja de S. Domingos


Making traditional cookies

For all you architecture buffs:

RuĂ­nas de S. Paulo. Facade of the early 17th century church


Igreja de S. Domingos


One of the casinos

Wuyishan (Mt. Wuyi), Fujian Province, China - April 2008


It was raining like mad and my shoes turned into swimming pools, but the view was worth it! For anyone who's ever seen a Chinese painting with mountains and rivers and "seas of clouds," Wuyishan looked exactly like that that day


Another view with the bamboo rafts going down the river...


... and Dad and I got to ride in such a bamboo raft down the river!


Bamboo


Tea plants (the ones on the mountain, not the tall tree)



A local market. How much for a chicken?

For the industrial design engineers:

Furniture and baby carriage made of bamboo

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Dali, Yunnan province, China - April 2008


Ancient (8th century?) capital of the Bai people



Passersby



Vegetable seller (left) brings veggies directly to your door!

Lijiang, Yunnan province, China - April 2008


Lijiang, an ancient city of the Naxi people
(For all the people in NL and/or urban planners: There are canals in Lijiang! And also a big square for a "markt"!)


A typical Chinese garden near Lijiang



Old women in traditional Naxi clothing on the street and in traditional dances


The Naxi use the last remaining written pictographical language in the world

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Brugge, Belgium - March 2008


Begijnhof

Egypt - Dec 2007


Giza


Streetscene, Cairo


Islamic Cairo. Interior of a mosque


Islamic Cairo. Those furry things on the ground are not carpets...


Ramses Station, Cairo. The local way of getting from one train platform to another


Near the Citadel, Cairo


Near the Citadel, Cairo