Hong Kong 1996: Gallery

Packing, Flying and Arriving

The following are a series of images that were taken with the DC-40 Digital Camera that was loaned to the author between December and April 1996. They are of the packing of our household, the flight to Hong Kong, our arrival at Kai Tak airport and of our empty apartment

Packing 1941 East 19th

A task that required the last ditch efforts of good friends. It was all stuffed into crates, boxes and bags. Some shipped, some stored and some carried.

Cathay Pacific

Boarding a Jumbo jet is always a bit of a pain. It takes forever. Gazing out the window in the waiting area, one ponders the feasibility of the mass of gleaming steel and polished paint really defying gravity. It is not only feasible, but probable. The flight was smooth and long; very long. VERY long. The designers of jetcraft should take a few rides on European trains to learn about the benefits of being able to be horizontal when trying to sleep. One saving grace is the introduction of personal screens that offer a variety of movies for viewing pleasure. One can only hope that the out of focus projected movies will soon be a thing of the past.

Arrival

This is one of the most surreal experiences that one can make. As the Cathay pilot told me, sixteen hours of boredom for two minutes of perfect flying. Four autopilots guide the machine across the oceans and one pilot lands in Hong Kong. The hurling hunk must decend 400 feet and turn 143 degrees within seconds. Heart in throat, one can read the shirt labels of laundry hanging out the apartment towers as one rockets by. Terror and fascination battle for what seems like an eternity. Dropping in like a stone thrown onto a puddle is one of the most appropriate introductions to Hong Kong.

The Apartment

The apartment has more floor area than our housein Eugene. It is a real treat to have so much space in a city that is known for "packing" people into every nook and cranny. The furniture is vinal covered and ugly. The floors wood parkett and wall painted white. We discovered that the buildings department likes to save money by using very cheap paint that rubs off on anything that brushes against it. Especially dark silk blouses. The walls are solid brick and the windows metal sash single-pane industrial style. Heat and wind lmove through all probable and improbable openings. Considering that the temperature ranges from 0 to 40, this can often be a problem. One radiant heater in the living room provides the heat and osmall air-conditioner the cooling for the 1200sq. ft. apartment. Two dehumidifiers battle the humidity; each one produces about three liters of condensation a day.