Kader's Travel Blog: 2013

This blog was started one year after my trip to the Far East! So there is no day to day stories about the trip but I do have a separate journal for the trip that has that information. My trip to the Far East was motivated by a conference in Hong Kong on the subject of fluid-structure-sound interaction, which I have been working on since my days at NASA!! However the conference served as a spark to my desire to see the world so instead of just going to Hong Kong and back I added China and Japan to the mix and boy was it a good mix!!!!! The pictures below are just few of the thousand pictures I took during this trip.... WELCOME to the land of the 21st century!!!!!

HONG KONG: THE BUSINESS CAPITAL OF ASIA (May 19-24 2013)

Hong Kong used to be a British outpost in Asia until 1999, after that it became part of China. Hong Kong is a thriving city and is really comparable to New York City in many ways. The Chinese government influence in Hong Kong is not as apparent as one might think and it has kept its economic vibrancy and autonomy in many ways. Hong Kong has virtually no land to build on and that is why the many high rise buildings everywhere. Some of the areas around Hong Kong are reclaimed either from the sea or these very steep mountainous hills around Hong Kong. My hotel for example was located on a newly reclaimed land called Shatin and the new Hong Kong international airport was built on a reclaimed land from the sea. Hong Kong is an amazing city to visit!!!

Hong Kong skyline from across the harbor

City hall in the midst of high rises

A view of downtown Hong Kong from across the harbor

On a ferry in the Hong Kong harbor

Hong Kong from the summit

CHINA: THE GIANT OF THE FAR EAST (May 24-26 2013)

China is a vast country with beautiful scenery everywhere, whether it is its desert or mountains or shoreline not to forget its vibrant cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and many others. A lightening trip like mine will not allow me to see a lot but none the less give me start somewhere. In order to add Beijing to my trip, I used a new rule the Chinese government introduced in January 2013. The rule says that if a tourist is transiting through Beijing , he/she can spend up to 72 hours without a visa!!! That was awesome news for me since I fit exactly in this rule, going from Hong Kong to Tokyo stopping in Beijing for 72 hours!!! I had to be very efficient in using the 72 hours so I woke up very early the first day and went straight to the front desk to ask about tours to the Great Wall! to my biggest disappointment, the bus going to the Great Wall had already left so I asked what was the next option I had? Well, private tour was the answer, but they told me it was expensive so I asked how much? The answer was $200 for the whole day, which included an English speaking guide, a driver and a nice car! In addition, the stops included the Great Wall, the Summer Palace and the Jade Museum and a free lunch!!! I said to myself wow! and that is expensive, so I immediately said YES let's do that!!! I signed a contract, paid the tourist company and before you know it, I was heading to the Great Wall of China!!! The day was packed so we could not spend too much time at any one place so we had to keep moving!!

The next day was no different, I woke up very early again and was heading to Tiananmen square by 7:00 AM. My hotel in Beijing was in the center of the old city so I was within walking distance from everywhere. Here are few pictures.....

Olympic village in Beijing

China's Great Wall

Olympic village in Beijing

View from the Great Wall

I am now a "hero" according to chairman Mao, I visited the Great Wall, that is all it takes!!!

Sun Yat-Sen "Zhongshan" park

Tiananmen Square

Forbidden City (Mao in the back)

Summer Palace across the lake

JAPAN: THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN (26-31 2013)

Everyone knows that Japan is a technological powerhouse just like the US! The land of Sony, Toshiba, Honda and Toyota to name few so it was no surprise to me to find everything was automated in this place! From the time I landed at Narita airport to the time I took off, I was living in a magic land of high speed trains, a truly three-dimensional city and 21st century technology! Taxis in Japan had credit card machines so no need for cash! Tokyo is big, very big! I loved Kyoto, just the kind of city I like full of cafes, museums and good restaurants! off course I did not have a clue what to eat but, that was OK!

Here are few pictures from both Tokyo and Kyoto....