Hong Kong: Mid-Levels Escalator

One of the many things I'll miss about Hong Kong is riding the escalator up and down.

When I worked, I used to take the escalator down the mountain to the ferry pier to work. The escalators only run down the hill during the morning commute hours before 10AM. All other times until it closes at Midnight, it runs up the hill. We usually end our ride on Caine Rd or on Mosque St but the escalators will actually take you all the way up to Conduit Rd before you're faced with the mountain side of Victoria's peak.

Its tracks start on Queen's Rd and Shelley St, right in the middle of the Central district. We've often hopped on the escalator after getting off the Hong Kong tram (also known familiarly as the "ding ding"), the MTR (Hong Kong's extremely punctual, clean and speedy subway system), and the ferry. In addition to being an extremely convenient, time-saving and sweat-saving thing, you can also enjoy some great people watching and window shopping while on it.

Below is a clip of a time-lapse video (taken every 7s) of our 15-minute ride up the mid-levels escalator to Mosque St.





Other fond memories of the escalator that I'll have are:

* Stumbling up its steps after midnight trying to get home after having too much fun in Lan Kwai Fong

* Getting a sense of how great the escalators are when a section is in repairs and we had to take the steps up on a hot humid Hong Kong summer

* Following the escalator etiquette of "Stand on the right or get mowed down by those rushing past on the lef't." We started as one of those tourists that would dilly dally up the escalator into one of the locals that'll mow down those tourists :-)

* Rolling our eyes and mad-mouthing at the tourists that'll stop right at the exit of one of the escalators to... a) ponder about where to go, b) to take pictures, c) take in the scene, and d) all of the above

* The people handing out fliers by the entrances and exits of the escalators. These tend to be for massages, property rental/sale listings, or restaurants


It's been great to have this great convenience here in Hong Kong and it will definitely be dearly missed.

Happy 2010!

We wrapped up 2009 with a great trip back to the US. The itinerary was crazy:

Dec 11 to Dec 16: Los Angeles

- Started with a great happy hour get-together with lots of friends from Fox

- The weather started out rainy and I had to deal with driving in rainy Los Angeles but the weather got nicer on the 3rd day.

- Got to meet up with lots of people for breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and evening drinks and whatever other meals I could squeeze in.

- Thanks to Phil and Viv for letting us stay with them!

Dec 16 to Dec 21: Seattle

- Wrapped up some holiday shopping, got to go bowling and dancing, and had a great Christmas party with friends in Seattle.

- Wrapped up the trip with a movie outing to see Avatar (unfortunately not the 3D version... will still have to do that soon)

- Thanks to Lani and Jerome for hosting us!

Dec 21 to Dec 26: San Francisco

- Spent a great time with Kevin, Daniel and Hugo. Had a wonderful homemade lamb shank dinner and great wines. Thanks Kevin and Daniel for a great stay!

- Met up with Bruce for Irish coffee at Twin Peaks (Larry's favorite spot), followed by cupcakes from my friend Chih at Republic of Cake, and dinner with TAS friends at Shelby's.

- We then got away for a quickie get-away to Napa for 18 hours. Got to try some wines at Goosecross and Round Pond, followed by lunch at Rutherford Grill

- Then off to Christmas Eve and Christmas with my brother, sister-in-law and my two nephews, Vincent and Christopher.

Dec 26 to Dec 31: Drive from San Francisco to San Diego

- Had a great drive down with a stop over in Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Ostrich Farm in Buellton.

- We got to go to Legoland for the first time. It was surprising how big that place was. Not quite the right place for my 4yr and 2yr old nephews... but will be perfect in a couple of years.

- Next day we went to Sea World. Vincent really enjoys seeing all the animals but it's funny to see how much they both just enjoyed just seeing Elmo.

Dec 31 to Jan 1: Los Angeles

- Had a great New Year's Eve at Boulevard 3 and woke up early to go to the Rose Bowl. What a great show!

- Big thanks to Sonya and Matt !!

So... the big question now is what's next???

We're back in Hong Kong and need to move out of our apartment by next Thursday. We're now planning our move. The only question is that we don't know where to yet. :-) For those who know, I have turned down a job opportunity in Hong Kong and in Sydney and will be deciding between heading back to LA or SF.

Staying in Hong Kong or going to Sydney would have been awesome but there are too many personal reasons for me to head back to the U.S. To name a few... my parents' green card got approved so they'll be visiting the US more often, my baby nephews are both growing up way too fast, and property in LA that I need to deal with...

Whatever the next steps are, I'm looking forward to my next chapter of adventures in 2010!!!