Every tourist’s view from the Peak.

Totally by accident, I booked myself a 15-hour layover in Hong Kong. Not surprisingly, it’s been a fascinating start to the trip.

None of my revelations will be news to those who’ve visited this former British colony in the last few years. But while Hong Kong carries elements of other cities, like Cape Town and New York, this has a degree of intensity I’ve never seen before. So for the sake of the uninitiated, an outsider’s take:

Let’s start with the density, because it manifests everywhere you look.

• There are cars everywhere, but no surface parking lots, and I doubt underground ones; they’re all in  relatively well-disguised garage structures.
• The residential towers on the hillside are impossibly tall and thin! I have no idea how these rock ledges support that much weight without crumbling.  Read More

Seattle shows well.

Blog for a living long enough, and you start to need the format to process the world. Thus, this two-month employment hiatus will be chronicled, to the extent that I can find wireless internet wandering around India (precise itinerary still TBD).

I’m still in base camp Seattle for a couple days, but should have an honest-to-god update by early next week.