Hong Kong’s Symphony of Lights, again

Weather was not cooperative. It was raining early in the evening of our 1-night Hong Kong stopover on our way from Surabaya to Cebu so the entire party had to move indoors. Our reservations at the swanky Rice Paper Vietnamese restaurant on the 3rd floor of the Gateway Arcade in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon originally was al fresco, on a wide balcony facing the River Ferry Terminal and overlooking a wide stretch of the Victoria Harbor. The vantage point was perfect for the Symphony of Lights.




Nevertheless, I was in the company of friends and family. Dinner was animated. Conversations and jokes flowed. Food was not bad at all. Expensive but tasty.




When the clock turned 8PM, it time for the light show and we all gathered at the balcony. The sky actually cleared and beams of colors gradually filled the sky.




Clearly, recession has hit Hong Kong and the Symphony of Light show was not spared. Part scrimping and part defaulting, there was less light drama this time than when I saw it last year (check out the Symphony of Light part 1 and part 2).




Not that the downscaling mattered to our daughter. Cacing had the time of her life, dancing with the flashing beams and bouncing happily with the music.




With all our baby stuffs, I chose not to bring my tripod. I checked it with the rest of my luggage. This doesn’t happen a lot but I managed as these photographs hopefully would show.

the Cacing Diaries #36

Cacing in Hong Kong

Hong Kong was our stopover in our trip to Indonesia early this May. We really could not do a lot.


Cacing in her white “flight” getup


On our way to Surabaya, we arrived at Hong Kong almost midnight and left promptly in the afternoon. In the morning, we squeezed a short visit to the Victoria Peak, taking the famous tramway. Unfortunately, midway in the funicular ride, Cacing fell asleep as late morning is always naptime for her. We didn’t have the heart to wake her up so we took turns carrying our sleepyhead.


Hong Kong was chilly during our visit so Cacing had to be all bundled up


It was the reverse on the way home. We arrived late in the afternoon and we had the evening to ourselves before our flight early the next morning. Cacing, who already had her nap in the plane, was full of energy. It showed in the pictures here.


group picture at the Marco Polo Kowloon Gateway

Hurrah to beauty sleep!


strolling with her mom at the lobby of Marco Polo Kowloon Gateway


posing with family and friends at the Gateway with the Hong Kong skyline in the background

Kowloon’s the Gateway

The Victoria harbor views from the banks of Kowloon are impressive, if not legendary. Hong Kong lies before you and the urban sprawl brags skyscraper gems such as the Citibank and the IFC buildings. Add to the mix, some Chinese junks (they are for tourists nowadays) and the cruise ships, and the urban dreamscape becomes complete.


the instantly recognizable Bank of China building


the IFC, tallest building of Hong Kong and once, of the world


the Ocean Terminal at the Gateway


In Kowloon, a renowned kick-ass vantage point is the Gateway in Tsim Sha Tsui. Part of Harbour City, the Gateway has hotels, the Ocean Terminal, office buildings and a classy shopping mall. Located in the west side of Canton Road, it makes you realize that Hong Kong, without a doubt, is a class of its own.


a view to the Hong Kong skyline


a stained glass ceiling centerpiece at the Gateway


the atrium of the shopping arcade

Hong Kong’s Symphony of Lights- part 2

I can imagine the electric bills just to maintain Hong Kong’s Symphony of Light. The 44 or so buildings from both side of the Victoria Harbor illuminating the skies with lasers, foglights and blinking lights must have deep budgets to sustain a nightly fourteen minute performance.

It certainly places Hong Kong in the map. The Guinness World Records lists the Symphony of Lights as the world's largest permanent light and sound show. I’m trying to think who Hong Kong’s competition is. Disney theme parks must have nightly shows. Maybe the casinos in Las Vegas, even Macau’s. Regardless, one cannot leave Hong Kong unimpressed.

So nightly, weather permitting, at various points in Kowloon or Hong Kong, tourists and locals would eagerly wait for 8 PM to strike. When the orchestra music begins, one can only learn to settle in and enjoy the razzle-dazzle of the lights. Or in my case, shoot photographs.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/2s, f/5.6, 55mm, ISO 800, +1.0EV
phototip: A higher ISO allows you to use a relatively faster shutter speed to relatively freeze a moving boat. There would be a some noise though.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 2.5s, f/8.0, 37mm, ISO 100, +1EV



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 2.5s, f/4.5, 34mm, ISO 100
Cacing is most photogenic when she flashes her wide smile.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 6.0s, f/9.0, 35mm, ISO 100, +1/3EV

Hong Kong’s Symphony of Lights

June 18 and I found myself in Kowloon once more. I missed my family and wanted to go home straight from Indonesia but I could not get a same-day connection from Surabaya to Cebu. I had to stay overnight in Hong Kong.

Arriving at the hotel close to 4PM, I could have gone outside and shoot some street markets. However, the spirit was willing but the body was not. It was not until it was 5:30 PM that I decided to venture outside.

The lighting condition was not only dark but the weather was damp. Rain was beginning to fetter. I decided that my best opportunity left for any photoshoot would be the famous Symphony of Lights of Victoria Harbour. I have read in the highly informative discoverhongkong.com website that Kowloon’s best vantage point would be the viewing deck at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. I have never been there so I ventured southward, following Nathan Road. Just like a dress rehearsal, I timed the distance that I need to walk (I am so OC, I know). From the hotel, I found out that the waterfront is about 30 minutes by brisk walking, passing by 2 MRT (subway) stations of Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui. Although I can competitively sprint-walk as fast as the next Hong Kong guy, I figured that later– the show would start only at 8PM – I could always save time by using the train.

There are other photographic features at Nathan Road and in the Waterfront but overcast light made the landscape and scenery dull and colorless. I walked back to the hotel with only a few photos and prayed that the light rain would ease down for the laser spectacle.

Unfortunately, a little after 7PM, the heavens opened up. Rain poured down heavily. I tried a couple of blocks and gave up. Frustrated, I backtracked. Across the hotel was a small hole-in-the-wall Chinese eatery and if I were to miss the light show, then I might as well eat local Cantonese food. Dinner was divine.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/80s, f/2.8, 100mm, ISO 1600, +1/3EV


When I got out at 7:40, rain was intermittent between light and heavy so I risked it. I raced to the waterfront. I took the Jordan to Tsim Sha Tsui line and used the underground walkways to keep myself dry. I was praying that I would not get lost and luckily, I found myself in the promenade in front of the Hong Kong Theatre. Racing to the covered viewing deck, I found myself panting but exactly just in time for the 8PM show. Thevoice-over already started when I searched for a space I can squeeze in my tripod. I later found out that I got fine timing as I visited on a Wednesday when English would be used, just as in every Mon and Fri, but not on Tue-Thur-Sat (Mandarin) or Sun (Cantonese).

As explained by the taped narration boomed over the waterfront, the Symphony of Lights is a synchronised laser display by at least 44 buildings, both at the Hong Kong and Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour. Accompanied by symphonic music, the 14-minute show is listed by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest permanent light and sound show. Obviously, that night was still considered as “good weather” for the show was not canceled. Again, fortune was on my side as the disastrous Fengshen storm would only strike Southeast Asia several days later.

When the show began, rain already was light but the dark clouds were too thick to allow us the full spectacle of multi-colored laser and searchlights. Not much laser beams, yes, but the hovering cloud of wet haze and foreboding darkness provided the drama and difference that meant a lot photographically.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 6.0s, f/5.6, 18mm, ISO 100
phototip: Use fill-in flash to get a more detailed exposure.



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 5.0s, f/5.6, 18mm, ISO 100, +2/3EV



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 2.5s, f/5.6, 55mm, ISO 100

Hong Kong in Half a Day

So I was in Hong Kong again. I subscribe to Cathay Pacific for business trips, so I always transit by the Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok airport. Somehow, flight schedules between Cebu and Surabaya or Bali are misaligned so I have no choice but to sleep overnight at Hong Kong. Not bad. It has been more than 2 years since I entered Hong Kong! Counting those 2 years as my entire flickr lifetime, I realize there begs the opportunity to take pictures of life in Hong Kong.

Having arrived almost midnight in my hotel at Kowloon last November 5, I decided to hit the sack promptly. I only have a good half day for a mini photographic tour the next morning. Getting up early is never my problem and to my utter surprise, at almost 6:40, while I was having a (cellphone) text exchange with my wife, the sun suddenly shot up behind the Kowloon cityscape. My room window is directly facing east after all! The unplanned sunrise shots then became my first official photos in Hong Kong for the day.


phototip: For the unordained sunchaser: be quick. The sun rises so fast from the horizon that you would have little time with camera adjustments and composition. But ha! Note my too high an ISO below.
f/5.6, 0.002s, 300mm, ISO 400, +1/3eV
Kowloon, Hong Kong


But where should I go? The street markets? Hong Kong Central perhaps? There’s always that cable car thing somewhere- I’ve never tried that. The decision was made a day before the trip actually. When I googled Hong Kong, I was led to this nifty website discoverhongkong.com. I followed the Attractions link and clicked Hong Kong walks and voila, there it is, a cultural walk tour around 2 temples and an old walled city.

Excited that I was, breakfast melted into an afterthought of 2 hot buns from a corner deli. I even dug into it subterfuge, in the subway rides from the Jordan station to Wong Tai Sin. (I am not sure if Hong Kong, is anally hung as Singapore where eating in subway trains means a sizeable fine so I was discreet).

Wong Tai Sin, a fairly new temple built in 1973, is nestled on hilly ground. Definitely a popular destination, it already was crawling with tourists who come in by busloads. Brightly painted, heavily tiled and ornately decorated, it is visually attractive. There is also no paucity of chances if you are into incense shots. I must have smelled rank with sandalwood and camphor, having lingered there for almost 30 minutes. The only minus was the constant badgering of the volunteers (?) cum maintenance crew who continuously chase people who overstayed in the central court. Necessary for easy traffic I guess. But they cut down on my photo ops.



phototips: If you have a telephoto lens, shoot at the side of the main temple offering table to be less intrusive. Wait for the smoke to get thick and for a color-worthy subject, say this lady in red.
f/8.0, 0.005s, 180mm, ISO 100, -1/3eV
Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Next, the website suggested a subway ride to the adjacent station in Lok Fu. Niggardly, and always wanting for exercise, I decided to take a hike. Problem was the map was not drawn to scale and street names are missing. After almost getting lost in a semicircle – Hong Kong highways are blocked from pedestrian crossings and skywalks are sparse in this part of the City– I found the main street Tung Tau Tsuen Road. The walk took me almost 30 minutes. I was a bit disappointed that there is not much to photograph along the way, the street scenes were too sterile and concrete for me, but at least finding the Hau Wong temple was easy, exactly at a corner junction, as illustrated in the map.

Surprise, surprise, this is no crowded temple. No one was there save for some caretakers. Strangely, I was too unnerved to go inside. Being NOT a Buddhist, I felt that I would be intruding into a holy space. I contented myself to photographing artifacts outside like the weapons and staff flanking the entranceway of the temple and the red cauldron with burning incense. Honestly, while this temple is reputed to date back to the 18th century, this can be skipped unless you are interested in photographing calligraphy and plaques. Unlike me, you would have to venture inside. Probably the caretakers would not mind some photography if you asked politely enough.



phototip: For vibrant shots, choose a subject in red. Always a headturner!
f/5.6, 0.017s, 55mm, ISO 400, -1/3eV
Hau Wong, Kowloon, Hong Kong


To cap the cultural journey, the Kowloon Walled City Park is just across the temple. To trivia buffs, the old Kowloon Walled City is an enclave in the heart of Kowloon that remained under Chinese rule during British occupation. Therefore, it was infamous for lawlessness, grime and eventually, decay. In 1994, it was razed down by the government and turned into a park showcasing the original walls, gates and the Yamen courtyard. For photography, watch out for the traditional gardens and the circular moon gates. The Park is also a popular hangout place for retirees and senior citizens who chose to relax in the gardens, swap talks, play music (one old man was playing the flute fabulously!) and perform the tai chi (calisthenics). I was all agog though in capturing the Lung Nam pavilion set amidst a lagoon and a manmade falls.



phototipTo create a dreamlike scene, try long exposure mid-day. Stack on your filters (the polarizer, UV, ND most particularly) and use the narrowest aperture. Wait for a breeze to capture the blur of the thrashing greens.
f/29, 4.0s, 25mm, ISO 100, +2/3eV
the Lung Nam Pavilion, the Kowloon Walled City Park, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China

Time was already catching up with me. Since I only need to check in for my flight to Surabaya before 1PM, I have to check out of the hotel before 12 noon. Actually made it back by 11AM. I didn’t mind spending some more time in the airport. Work, after all cannot wait, and Hong Kong is just corollary to my final destination: Indonesia.

And oh, I will be back in Kowloon on Nov 11, this time, only for the night. Nightime Kowloon in 2 hours? Now that is another challenge.