Persongalleriet #718: Hong Kong, Tuesday

March 21st, 2017.
This was my bonus day! It started with me getting up early, at 5:20 a.m. and going out to the airport. Only to find out that my flight was delayed by 24 hours. Some practicalities and four hours later, I checked into my third HK hotel in as many weeks, in Tsim Sha Tsui. Couldn't have the room for another 5 hours, so naturally I went out streeting! It was a bright, sunny day with blue skies after all!

After a ferry trip to Hong Kong Island and some walking I found myself at the bottom of the Central-Mid-Levels escalator. Of course, I decided to go all the way up! This offered some opportunities for some different photographic perspectives.

Up there, I found mostly posh, residential high-rises and found a cab to get me down to sea level again. I took a walk from Central west towards Sheung Wan.

The Diamond.

Mentos.

Empty Lorry.

Youth.

Dog in a Dress.

Taxi Smiles.

A Sack of Chilies.

Dr Reborn.

Thanks, Scandinavian Airlines, for this bonus day, the 21st of this trip!

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #717: Hong Kong, Monday

March 20th, 2017.
The plan was to meet with my new found friend, Chan Chun Ming, at 1 p.m. This gave me some time for a morning walk as well. The sun was out properly, with a clear blue sky! For the first time on this three week trip! I walked the shopping streets of Tsim Sha Tsui with fresh inspiration, looking for patterns created by sun and shadow. And also just reacting to what I found out there.

I took time for a quick lunch and some rest before meeting Chan in the lobby of my hotel. He took me on a well planned tour of some very interesting Kowloon neighborhoods, with a focus on different market streets. From tourist markets to a wholesale fruit market. But first, the subway to get there!

Here's Chan!

Chan in action!

Fruit Market Runner.

At Temple Street Market.

Chan walked me back to my hotel where we wrapped it up at around 7 p.m.
A great day for me with a good eight hours on the streets! Thanks again Chan, for showing me Hong Kong!

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #716: Hong Kong, Sunday

March 19th, 2017.
A bit tired, after the tough day yesterday. On top of that it was raining quite hard. Tried to wait it out, but gave up eventually. Opted for the D800 for the first time on this trip, since I was worried my NX500 would not be able to take the heavy rain.

Notice the rain theme?  :-)

As I approached the southernmost part of Kowloon, I came to the museum complex housing the HK Space Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of Art. It's spectacular architecture and I was much inspired to base my street photography on the geometry and lines I could find in this environment for a while.

I'll get back to these photos in a future blog post.

The skyline viewed from this point is maybe the main tourist attraction in HK.

After drying up in my room for a couple of hours, I headed out for some supper. Being Sunday night, that intensity I experienced on the previous night was mellowed down. I took some time to try and incorporate reflections of neon signs and other more planned shots. The rain had stopped and I was back to the Samsung NX500.

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #715: Hong Kong, Saturday

March 18th, 2017.
This Saturday sure was intense!
I travelled from Hanoi to HK in the morning. In the early afternoon I went out to find lunch and some street. The hotel has a fitness centre and I squeezed in a session.
I had talked to fellow Fotosidan.se streetie Marcus Johansson about meeting in the evening, since we had realized we happened to be in HK at the same time. The plan of a quiet bar crawl changed into a house party on the 38th floor high up on the hills of Central. Some of Marcus' HK friends celebrated their new apartment, and I was invited!

Here are some b&w's fresh from the Hong Kong streets:

Be well, everybody!

Niklas

Persongalleriet #714: Hanoi, Thursday

March 16th, 2017.
When returning from my walk the day before, I had noticed there was another stretch of railroad tracks with houses on either side, just south of the main train station. This is where I started my day and after I walked that pretty short stretch, I walked another set of alleys a little further south from where I've walked before.

The guy behind the door in this photo, turned out to speak good English. We talked about the impracticality of living right on the railroad and went on to talk about Hanoi's traffic situation. He told me there were plans for a subway and also an elevated railway and that in 10 years, Hanoi might have a much better traffic situation. Now it's a city of 7-8 million with no other public transport than a few bus lines. That explains that there's a LOT of motorbikes! And actually quite a lot of cars also. I have met quite a few Vietnamese people on the streets who complain to me about all these bikes.

Be well, everybody!

Niklas