Anset2000 Blog

Y esterday in Hong Kong I saw this very nice Mercedes E 500 AMG Coupé

This is one of the two office towers bearing the name of AIA insurance company in Hong   Kong. It is located in the   Central District towards Admiralty   underground station.  The design is work of   Skidmore, Owings and Merrill   from the United States. This  is one of the largest architectural firms in the world. This was the first  that led the way to the widespread use of the modern  or "glass box" skyscraper. Skidmore,   Owings   and Merrill  are the same architects who designed the  Terminal 2  of   Hong   Kong International Airport.  The  AIA  tower is quite nice, better looking that other dull rectangles like the one just built on its left size. However, just as Airport Terminal 2 lacks the emotional attraction of the older  Terminal 1  designed by Norman Foster, this tower lacks the "wow factor" and the emotional attraction of other buildings designed by  Renzo  Piano, for example, or by Norman Foster or by  I.M. Pei  like the Bank o

In the streets of Hong Kong anywhere you look you see a restaurant. There are tens of thousands of them, from the small stalls in the corners to the extremely expensive.  Here are some photos taken one evening walking in the streets and alleys of Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon. They serve almost only fish and seafood and in the bets Cantonese tradition, the fish is kept alive right before cooking it. The restaurants are kind of pictoresue, and funny to watch and to photograph Here are some videos of Hong Kong street food restaurants : http://youtu.be/GUBI3FVh5Ek http://youtu.be/2mAiRKG6NBQ http://youtu.be/8O3EhR-bCBI http://youtu.be/L0vrXOANHXQ http://youtu.be/jCmIQ1k-Oa8 http://youtu.be/H8LKaSd2h5A http://youtu.be/D6lQXmU4zUo http://youtu.be/RdmwUj2dllE http://youtu.be/qtzjzt-QHpk http://youtu.be/2Z78Eu3ZU2Q http://youtu.be/NxaR8Lw6bPg http://youtu.be/s-5Pl0vrJX0 http://youtu.be/jPSAS5DfYRQ Please see my collection of videos on my YouTube channel:  http://w

I had a walk in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong and saw some immigrants from Nepal selling these strange masks.  They reminded me of the description of Nepali temples in the books of Giuseppe Tucci. he wrote that those temples are full of "montruous" representations of deities. Please see my collection of videos on my YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/settime2588/videos

In   some small streets   in Kowloon, Hong Kong, in the districts of Jordan and Yau   Ma Tei   you can see at night all sorts of "psychics" seeing their customers in tents. Some resembles Obi-Wan Kenoby ,   others look a bit like the old images of Confucius . They are nice to look at, and nice to photograph. This happy fellow above smiled and put   his best face when I   photographed him.   I really cannot understand why people are paying for their services, but they seem to have a thriving business. Each of them seems to be specialized in some branch of the art, there are tarot readers, card readers, those claiming to be able to bring back your lost love, and all sort of other things. In many tents you can see a sign saying "English Speaking" and I saw several Europeans looking to know their fate. Here is a video about other "magic rituals" performed in the streets of Hong Kong: http://youtu.be/o-79FcyZP_g   Please

I just flew again to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. I was upgraded to first class. here is how the airline treat its passengers.   The plane was full up to the last seat, including all the first class compartment. I had the impression that all passengers in first class were upgraded, they did not pay ticket for that seat. The service was excellent and the seat very large.   Welcome drink with Krug Champagne. Appetiser with caviar and salmon.  Chicken with polenta crespelle.   Breakfast. Tea and yogurt.  Breakfast. Egg boiled two minutes and an half, toasts. Breakfast. Cold cuts plate.

This photos have been shot in the main shopping street of Turin, Italy, near Via Roma and S. Carlo Square.  Until two years ago these shops were rented at ever increasing prices and tenants were fighting bidding wars to take them. N ow you see only "for rent" advertisements everywhere and nobody seems interested. If this is not an economic depression, then I do not know what it is. A video shot in the same area is here:  http://youtu.be/71rP-T9EfDo Please see my collection of videos on my YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/user/settime2588/videos