OMG, OMG, OMFG! (Moving to CHI 138)

Saturday 10:30 am. I am flying back to Vancouver tomorrow at 5 pm.  I just came back from the Airport Express MTR station

(on Hong Kong Island, far far from the actual airport), where I completed check-in with Cathay Pacific and also left my stuffed new backpack/suitcase hermaphrodite piece of luggage.  I already have my boarding pass and my seat is 59A. Yes, that is the window seat at the emergency exit where nothing but 2 meters of air space will separate me from the steward/ess facing my way on their tiny seats during take-off and landing.  LEGROOM!

On my way back I dropped by my cell phone provider store (Of Philippine origin, of course) in a mall that feels like its halls are populated by 90% Philippinas (more likely 95%) to pick up some more cell top up cards, when I saw this store with T-shirts (Remember, this is HK and 10 HK$s are worth C$ 1.30!). This department-store-shaped mall contains probably 256 different Western Unions and other money-sending institutions and they all have line-ups. In the Philippines, family is the ONLY important thing, and EVERY penny you can save gets sent home.



Then I decided to walk by CHI residences and managed properties, which is managing the harbour-view suite, in which I will be staying tonight, my last Hong Kong night. I found out that getting there won't be a problem, since it is only half a block from my present hotel ;-)  This is the front of the building:






Bridging the 2 hour gap between my 12 noon check-out and their check in time of 2 pm should also not create any hurdles in my day, although I decided that taking the Duk Ling junk cruise again to bridge that gap would be excessive. Speaking of Junk: On my way running a Karma errand to the Watch Aficionado in the postcard shop, I not only see this guy installing new motherboards in his pavement shop,





but I also see the Duk Ling, this time dressed up with flaggies commemorating the birthday of Buddha and Tam Kung (I forget who he was, but I remember that the Duk Ling sails through Victoria Harbour and that the Tam Kung Temple in Victoria is the earliest Chinese temple in Canada; I blame the British for all this confusion!)

After my most likely last but last but one (pen-penultimate?) trip on the Star Ferry,














I arrive at Chi Residences 138 at 2:30 pm. I haven't been able to close my mouth for about one hour now!  And it's not the harbour view from the 28th floor that is the cause, although that is very nice too ;-)


It is the design of the place.  A 1 meter wide window sill with pillows:














 The view from that pillowed window sill:





















Now add the bed:

This place is fiendishly complicated to photograph. Too much contrast. But this one does the feeling justice when one stands in it:

Desk, living lounge, and kitchen are right behind the sliding screens behind the headboard.












 

The view out of the 28th floor bathroom window requires some getting used to (and maybe a major safety harness?)

If you are experiencing a very slight feeling of VERTIGO right now while reading this sentence you might want to skip the post titled "Rooftop Sundeck"