HONG KONG - where East meets West

2 months later, and you finally get to read about our unforgettable trip. This trip was  undertaken by the 2 'members' of GFP. As a business venture to purchase new equipment, and as a travel adventure, to explore and shoot images for ourselves and our new and progressing business.

Although we have put some of these images up in various places (facebook, flickr), what we have decided to do is showcase some of the more personal images from the most exciting 2 weeks in 2012 so far.

We had been planning this trip for 18 months, and with a 6 month delay, the time finally arrived. 15th March 2012, and we were off on the 17:00 SAA  flight to Hong Kong!

A flight is a flight is a flight, and with a fair amount of airmiles under our belts, we took it all in our stride, Rob sleeping most of the way, and Gen catching up on all the Twilight movies she had missed. See, flights are good for SOMETHING ;)

Land in Hong Kong, and you are in a different world. Harsh to say... but everything works, everything is clean and everything s pretty much automated... heck, even the toilets flush by themselves! A quick Burger King lunch ( not yet brave enough to try the Asian cuisine) and off we went. We were staying with a friend (Claire :)) who has lived in Hong Kong for a long time, and had to make way to Discovery Bay, wherever that was. "Following you!" would soon become a familiar phrase, as I had absolutely no idea which way was up and which way was down, so had to trust my ever patient tour guide... Tour Guide Rob :)

Arrive in Discovery Bay, and once again, you feel like you are in a completely different place, definitely not Hong Kong. Discovery Bay I would liken to some sort of Wisteria Lane, no cars allowed, only the public tansport buses, and  golf carts. Yip, thats right... the folk of Discovery Bay all drive golf carts. Interesting place indeed.

Our first weekend in Hong Kong was a bit of a whirlwind... dinner at the best Thai restaurant in DB, breakfast at the Jumbo floating restaurant, which lasted till 3pm, drinks and adventures at the Hong Kong cricket club... Stanley Market, Lunch at The Boat House, sundowners at The Boat House... ferries, taxis, buses and the MTR... this was most certainly going to be adventurous 2 weeks!

As I sit here today, the next 2 weeks I cant remember in the exact order that it all happened, but what I do remember, is that the Monday after the first hectic weekend, was CAMERA BUYING DAY! *happy dance*. This was the day we had waited for for quite a while. After making the 30 min ferry ride from DB to Central,  then catching the next baby ferry (two dollar!) across the harbour  to Kowloon side, walking the streets of Kowloon, with every second person asking if we wanted/needed a tailor... not too sure what this may have said about our choice of clothing... but we just 'politely' declined and carried on walking, only to be targeted by the next one. Relentless I tell you! Map in hand, its pretty easy to get around, and we eventually found the shop we were looking for, the camera we were looking for, and most importantly,  the price we were looking for. After signing my life away ( wink wink) I was the proud new owner of .. da da... a Canon 7D. *big smiles an handshakes all round* not really, but you know what I mean :)

Im not too sure what  happened after that, its all much of a blur really... I think it goes something like this... Rob buying a new baby camera, walking back down to Nathan Road, and snap snap snap away. The sound of the new camera is just so different to my baby one.. I could have snapped away all day.

Here a few of the 1st lot of snaps, hustle and bustle of Kowloon and Centrals streets.

Over the next 2 weeks, from more bus rides to eventful taxi drives, more walking and ferry catching to more MTR-ing and definitely more picture taking, we experienced this city for all it was worth. We took on viewing the Pink Dolphins, braved a few local bus rides up to the Tian Tan Buddah and across to Tia O Fishing village where you get to experience the more local and quiet part of Lantau Island. We strolled around for hours just taking in the life these folk have... so simple and uncomplicated is our perception of it all, however, they may look at us and think we have the best of lives... i dont think anyone is really and truely ever satisfied with what they have.

Anyway, the travels and adventures continued... The Hong Kong Botanical Gardens and Zoo - nothing like you have ever seen before... I mean a zoo in the middle of a concrete jungle??? A trip up the Peak Tram to see  the light show down below - but were sadly  greeted by nothing but a beautiful white sheet of cloud... lucky there was a Burger King up top which served as our dinner for the evening. Eventually the clouds did clear and we managed to see the view from the Peak - pretty darn stunning if you ask me!

Next up was what most people live for in Hong Kong.. the  Rugby 7's. We hadnt planned it that we were there at the same time, it just happened and we went along with fate, purchasing tickets *cough cough* in SA before we left then crossed all fingers, toes and eyelashes the 3 of us could muster  that we hadnt been duped and would in fact get these elusive tickets. Which, luckily we did, after walking Wan Chai for almost 2 days to meet the guy, we finally got them... and off we went.... to THE MOST debauturous party ever! What a fabulous time we had, and its definitely a MUST for anyone visiting Hong Kong at towards the end of March.

Off  to Kennedy Town where Claire works and off to meet the kiddies... the 'travellers' as we were branded would come and visit them and tell them about the journey they were on... and even coach a spot of hockey. Can never quite get away from it.. its in the blood!

Hong Kong at night is a very different place... the lights come on and the town dresses up for you. What a beauty. Temple Street Night Market with its very different and unique stalls, was followed by watching the lightshow from Kowloon side, which, incedently, would include a wonderful jumping shot taken by  the locals... we have yet to publish this little one ;)

Monastaries and Nunneries are also a definite must when visiting these parts of the world. They are so serene, so peaceful and so into another world, you almost forget that you are in the 21st century surrounded by concrete. We found these to be a wonderful place to soul search and and just be.

Our last evening saw us having a little spoil... well, Rob actually spoilt Gen, but we both had a magnificent time. Up on the ICC, looking down over Kowloon and Central, watching yet another light show and sipping cocktails... what more could a girl want?! Such a treat that will be remembered forEVER!

 

So, thats about it in a nutshell.. what an incredible time and cant wait for the next one! There are, I have no doubt, some bits that have been left out.. either intentionally *wink wink* or unintentionally... lets meet for a cuppa....... :)
Thank you thank you to our beautiful friend Claire... most amazing person ever and thanks for having us 'round'. :)

Live...Love...Remember

Week 14 : Excitement

Right, here we are, a marathon day today with most of the catching up on the outstanding themes.

Week 14 brought along with it the theme of excitement. Long, hard thinking was done and much um-ing and ah-ing made to try and figure out what we were going to shoot for this theme.

Chocolates, sweets, cakes, champagne, babies, weddings, engagements and even jumping came to mind, but the right image and feel just wouldn't come to mind.

THEN.... yes, you got it.... my child slave was summons and off to the park we went. The park you say? Well, isn't the park fun and exciting for kids? Most kids? Once again, the shoot followed the same pattern... an apprehensive yes to come to the park, then fun and joy when we got to the park, but that was short lived when he couldn't just do his own thing... listening to Aunty Gen sometimes isn't that much fun or exciting!

After having to contend with other kiddies raining on our parade (naturally as this is a free and open park) trying to get themselves in the pictures - no can do... model release issues, dodging the dogs running around and doing our level best to make it look like we were the only ones there, and lets not forget the ever popular cries of "You're killing me!", we finally manged to get some shots that we are able to use. All in a days work for 52 Project!

Week 14 ; Excitement

Thanks to our ever patient sister, brother-in-law and nephew... promise... you going to thank us one day!

Live...Love...Remember

Week 13 : Fools

This theme was by far the one I was most looking forward to... :)

As soon as we saw 'FOOLS', checked the calendar and saw that this theme fell on the same weekend as THE most debaucherous weekend in Hong Kong, we knew it was going to be a goodie.

Week 13's theme is fools, and oh my, what an array and assortment to choose from at the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. This is considered the premier tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens. This is traditionally one of, if not, the biggest event on the Hong Kong sporting calendar.
For spectators though, particular emphasis is placed on the South Stand, this is the event where hoards of rugby fans dress up and dance for most of the day/night/weekend. Activities that particularly ensue on such a weekend include the throwing of (mostly) empty beer jugs, Mexican waves and streakers running across the pitch - alas, we weren't privy the the last activity...Forget about watching rugby, if you are in this stand, you're there for the party!

And this is where we found our fools... the South Stand, the stand that has officially been made accessible to over 18's only , due to its hyper and somewhat provocative atmosphere... but more on that in a later post.

In order to try and keep this theme as viewer friendly as possible, we have selected these images below for this post. ;)

Week 13 : Fools

Due to the nature of this event, we didn't want to risk taking the big 'professional' camera, so these were shot on the baby one, the quality is a little bit less, but that definitely does not detract from the subjects in the image.

Thanks to all involved on this day for some wonderful and perhaps not so wonderful memories! ;)

Thoughts and comments welcome :)

Live...Love...Remember

Week 10 : Underneath

Week 10, and the much anticipated theme this week was UNDERNEATH.
For this theme, I put the idea to some of my family members for extra input... I had one or two ideas in mind, but its never a bad thing to see how other people interpret the themes and what ideas they come up with.

What I will say, is that if I was able to find a cow in the near vicinity of my weekend travels, this post would most certainly have looked a little different.... watch this space Gav!

The idea for 'underneath' had, for some or other reason, always involved a bright multi-coloured umbrella, I just like the thought of all the colours, and the detail of the underside. My problem though, when this idea popped into mind was, "where will I find a multi-coloured umbrella?" Well then, unbeknown to mom,she came to the rescue when she arrived at our function on the weekend, with, surprise surprise, A MULTI-COLOURED UMBRELLA!

So with us having been a day behind in the project, we had to get shooting ASAP, and here is the result of yesterdays Underneath shooting.

Week 10: Underneath

Its definitely always a challenge to try and shoot these fantastic ideas that come to mind on my own, but good old persistence and a little luck every now and again goes a long way. :)

Thoughts and comments welcome.

Live...Love...Remember

Week 5 : Underwater

Week 5, and we are really starting to get the hang of this and thoroughly enjoying the project!

Obviously when we see the weekly theme and start thinking about what kind of images we can shoot for it, you have this wonderful idea and a vision in your head of how you would like the image to come out... that's exactly how we were.

So, we enlisted the services of our 9 year old model, and off to the swimming pool we went, with him stating he was now going to be famous! :)
The 1st 10-15min of the shoot went fantastically well, and then the bribery had to start as the novelty of this modelling thing wore off.
As with all types of photography, and especially when shooting with children, you have to adapt and change your plan as you go along, but luckily for us, I think the adjustments turned out pretty well...

This is what we got! Thank you monster for helping aunty out, and thanks to sis and bil, you guys ROCK!

Week 5 : Underwater

Comments and thoughts welcome!

Live...Love...Remember