Archive for July, 2009

Ngong Ping 360

Posted on July 31st, 2009

One of the highlights on my previous weekend in Hong Kong was taking the Ngong Ping 360 cable car up Lantau Island (from Tung Chung). It nearly didn’t happen due to a thunderstorm which shut things down for about half an hour but on the plus side did shorten the queues considerably! The 5.7km journey takes about 25 minues offering spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and airport (which was built on reclaimed land). It’s a bit pricy, starting at 96 HKD for a standard cabin and 157 HKD for a crystal cabin (one with a glass floor) – even more on “special days”. We choose the latter, primarily because the queue was much shorter and we were on a tight schedule. Don’t look…

More Hong Kong Moments

Posted on July 28th, 2009

An old friend from uni was in town last weekend so I popped over the border to Hong Kong to act as tour guide for a couple of days. I always enjoy exploring the city with its endless nooks and crannies to discover amidst the hovering neon signs all vying for attention at the bottom of the canyons created between towering buildings. There is something intoxicating about the endless spiral of growth and decay here where the old coexists in relative harmony with the new in as much a vibrant mix as the inhabitants themselves. Here are a few more Hong Kong Moments from my wanders: The lack of space in HK can lead to some unusual hortological endeavours. Check out the woman perched on the ledge above the shop…

Augmented Reality is Here

Posted on July 20th, 2009

If you like cool technology that looks like it could have come from the future then this is for you. Augmented Reality (AR) uses the combination of real-world and computer-generated data to blend computer graphic objects into real-time footage. The best way to understand this is to take a look at a few examples: New York Nearest Subway The acrossair iPhone app overlays directions to the nearest subway station on live video using GPS and compass data to guide you. Forget boring 2D tube maps but just be careful you don’t trip down the escalator while using this! There’s also a version availiable for the London Underground. AR Business Card This ingenious concept shows how a business card has been designed with a symbol…

Typhoon Molave Approaching Shenzhen

Posted on July 18th, 2009

Right now Typhoon Molave (category 1) is making its merry way towards where I’m sitting in Shenzhen and by the looks of this satellite graphic we could be in for quite a show. It’s expected to make landfall tonight (in the next few hours) and should bring with it wind speeds in excess of 100 km per hour (force 9). Right now we’re experiencing the calm before the storm and the streets are eerily quiet – time to batten down the hatches. Something tells me I’ll be spending tomorrow at home watching safely from my balcony window! Thanks to Asian Ramblings for first spotting this.

London Calling

Posted on July 13th, 2009

I spent the weekend in the fine capital city of London, once my home for three years, catching up with old friends and family. Whilst bouncing between Waterloo, Esher, High Street Kensington, Bank and Canary Wharf I came across this rather intriguing poster. While the slogan is rather appropriate for the current economic crisis the poster actually originates from 1939 and was commissioned by the British Governments Ministry of Information during the Second World War (but never used publicly). Since its rediscovery in an obscure bookshop it’s become somewhat of an icon spawning many derivatives online (as well as opportunists ready to flog you a copy). I’ve created an iPhone wallpaper version here. It reminded me of these concept poster designs for the London 2012…

Reverse Culture Shock

Posted on July 6th, 2009

Last Thursday I arrived back in the green and pleasant land I call home on my private Fokker 50 turboprop plane weary from the flight and the previous four hours spent stuck in Schiphol airport. Nevertheless it was good to be back on British soil and as my driver pulled up on the runway tarmac to greet us I reflected on how much I had personally changed in the past year since leaving the UK. It was fast becoming clear that you don’t realise what you’ve got until you loose it… Back on my country estate I had a dull feeling like something was missing and after about half an hour of wandering around aimlessly it hit me: where had all the people gone? No longer was I…

Reflections on 10 Months in Shenzhen

Posted on July 1st, 2009

Tonight I will be returning to the UK for a short break from China but fear not I’ll be retuning in two weeks time. My flight goes from Hong Kong via Amsterdam meaning it’ll be a rather long journey (17 hours) which I never look forward to but hopefully should lessen the jet lag as I basically fly through the night of 8 time zones. It’s been 10 months since I moved to Shenzhen and so far it’s been a great experience. Although I have developed somewhat of a love-hate relationship with the country it continues to fascinate me and I’ve managed to see and learn a lot more since my previous shorter trips as well as met some interesting people. Shenzhen might not be the…

随线放矢 Randomwire

Exploring asian culture, travel and technology