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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

{Part XIII of Husband Pieter's Trip to East Asia - Hong Kong}

On April 2, 1987 the People to People Citizen Ambassador Program team arrived by train in Hong Kong! 
Husband Pieter enjoyed this train ride so much! 
Not the greatest weather but still.
View from Pieter's hotel room in Hong Kong's Central Business District.
As Pieter wrote: 'So far Hotel Furuma Inter-Continental was the most luxurious on this trip!'
Too bad, they only stayed for 2 nights...
This is a post card from the FURUMA Inter-Continental
A sad fact is that the hotel is HISTORY... 
After 28 years of service this 517-room hotel with its 30th floor La Ronda Revolving Restaurant had to make place for a leading global insurance company's office tower by the end of November, 2001
Farewell, Furama Hotel Hong Kong! ←just click the hyperlink.
In the first photo at the top, you saw the Hilton hotel...
In the spring of 1993, there were four big hotels in the island's Central Business District: the Hilton (now demolished), the Furama (now demolished), the Ritz-Carlton (demolished, now relocated across the harbour in Kowloon) and, to give it the full name on one ever uses, the Mandarin Oriental.
The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong turns 50 ←click hyperlink for reading the afore mentioned... Sad in fact!
In the afternoon, after arrival, the team got a guided cultural orientation of Hong Kong, including a visit to Victoria Peak from where Pieter took this photo.
As mentioned already during the train trip, the weather was not suitable for photos...
This was a better deal, buying post cards that show vistas from the Peak!
Pieter wrote to me in his letter that Hong Kong Island is so vast and so beautifully build around the bay and those sky scrapers nestled against the slopes of the mountain. There are no words to describe it; you have to see it with your own eyes!
Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak (post card)
Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak... different view (post card)
Hong Kong and Kowloon from the Peak (post card)
The Peak Tram Hong Kong with its funicular railway, carrying both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island (post card)
They also got to visit the fishing village of Aberdeen. Here you see the Floating Restaurant of Aberdeen (post card).
This belfry at Tsim Sha Tsui, which has a long history, is a symbol of Hong Kong (post card)
A very typical view for Hong Kong is such a Chinese junk (post card)
Don't you love the exotic sight of these Chinese junks? (post card)
On the second day, the team had a lovely evening sunset cruise through Hong Kong Harbor, followed by dinner at the famous 240 meter high Revolving 66 Restaurant that sits already on a hill.
Imagine the breathtaking view!
The restaurant is seen at the left and Pieter's hotel to the right... (just click to enlarge and see the bubble where I wrote the info).
Also seen is the ferry, by which Pieter went to the other side for a morning meeting with a Campbell Soup business person in Hong Kong.
He skipped the shopping and exploration for that morning.
The team all met in the afternoon with Dr. S.T. Chang of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Pieter is a co-author with him and both of us do know him from different International Congresses and from his visits to the Practical Training College for Mushroom Growing that my husband founded and headed as the Principal and Active Teacher.
YES, they all could say: 'We've been to Revolving 66', the topmost restaurant in Southeast Asia...
Another post card of the Revolving 66 Restaurant by night...
Magical looking city!
Next day they would be taking off for Taipei, Taiwan after only 2 nights in beautiful Hong Kong!
This is a post card showing the runway as seen from Lung Tseung Road.
And yes, I too have been to Hong Kong some six years later but never had such excellent guided cultural orientation of course. 
Just attending a Mushroom Science Congress with very limited time off!
Do you have any idea how SMALL Hong Kong is?
Here it is laid out over the area where I live, near our city of Dublin, Georgia...

See you for next Part in Taiwan...

10 comments:

  1. Liebe Mariette,

    dein schöner Post beeindruckt mich.
    Alles Liebe
    Elisabeth

    ReplyDelete
  2. Liebe Mariette,
    gewaltig die Grösse dieser Stadt. Imposant auch Moderne mit Traditon.
    Ich als Landei würde mich in einer Stadt nie wirklich wohl fühlen. Geschweige denn in einer solchen wie Hong Kong.
    Ich drücke dem Spooky ganz fest die Daumen, dass er sich gut erholt. Oh ja wenn unsere Tiere sich nicht wohlfühlen macht man sich Sorgen wie bei Kindern. Sie sind irgendwie unsere Kinder.

    Alles Gute euch und euren felligen "Kindern".
    Herzlichst
    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Mariette,
    Hong-Kong is very beautiful and modern city! Thank you for sharing. Pieter still keeps many postcards of Hong-Kong. Happy week!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Um belo trabalho, gostei dos postais.
    Um abraço e uma óptima Terça-Feira.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Nice memories, I have been on Victoria Peak too.

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  6. Hong Kong is such a beautiful city! Those post cards show such great sceneries. I'd love to ride that peak tram and enjoy the view from up there. The Chinese junks are very lovely. They look like butterfly on the ocean :-) The view from the revolving restaurant must be unforgettable! It makes sense to build tall buildings considering how small the city is. I'd love to visit there some day!

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  7. Mariette,
    nachwievor gehört Hongkong für mich zu den faszinierendsten Städten/Stadtstaaten.
    Als ich im Jahr 1996 dort war, wohnten wir auch in diesem herrlichen Hotel.
    Einen angenehmen Restabend wünscht Dir
    Irmi

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  8. Dearest Mariette,
    Wonderful views of this beautiful city! Lovely with the mountains in the backdrop and all the buildings along the water. The junk boats are wonderful to see. It must be amazing to sit in the revolving restaurant and have a 360 degree view. I have been in two revolving restaurants - one in San Francisco and of course, our own Space Needle where I sat against the window. I put my purse down on the floor next to me and away it revolved without my realizing it.....When I went to look for it after dinner it was gone. Luckily, the waiter found it undisturbed :)
    It is amazing how small Hong Kong is. We take for granted how large America is. Most countries could fit in one of our small states. It is wonderful that Pieter had the chance to visit all of these beautiful places in the world. Such an exciting life, but also, I know, it is lonely to travel for business, sometimes. So nice that he had you to come home to :) I love your new blog header and want to say that I hope your little cat is recovering. One of my cats went through the same urinary blockage and he fully recovered. I am hoping this for yours, too. Sending hugs
    xo Karen

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  9. Dearest Mariette,
    Luxurious on this trip company's office tower and of November 2001 Hotel Furama Hong kong.
    Including a visit Victoria peak. from Pieter's took photo but the weather was not suitable for photos. No words to describe it But different post see it my own eyes. the fishing village in the floating restaurant of A berdeen famous 240 high revolving 66 restaurant.
    Have a lots of love both!
    Michiko

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  10. Beautiful views of Hong-Kong!!! I like the way Pieter and you have kept all those souvenirs from the places you have visited. It is just the way I have been doing for many years! I hope I will be able to scan and show you my albums, where I have the brochures and postcards of the hotels, the tickets to various places and venues, I have always been doing this, ha ha ha!!!!

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Thanks for your visit and comment.

Mariette...