Sydney's Opera House

On our final morning in Sydney, Bob, Ingrid and I took one last stroll around Sydney's Famous Opera House. It was a beautiful summer day in downtown Sydney and we were joined by many other tourists out to photograph the iconic image we have all seen so many times in school text books, travel magazines, and Olympic memorabilia.

Bob and I strolled around the building and talked back and forth about what we knew of the Architect and the challenging circumstances that surrounded the construction of the project. But mostly we were there to take pictures of our 14 month old daughter next to one of the world's most distinctive modern structures. The design came from the imagination of Jorn Utzon a Danish architect and engineer who's concept was chosen in 1957 from 233 entries and 32 countries. It amazes me to think about this building being built fifty years ago because it is so eye catching and challenging to build that it would seem to be a cutting edge piece of new construction even today. I really like it, and as a Danish descendant myself, I guess that means Great Danes think alike!

The buildings "shells" are made up of a series of 2400 precast ribs and 4000 roof panels that are then covered by a million plus glossy white and matte cream tiles in a chevron pattern. Construction went way over budget and took way longer than planned. Years were added to the timeline in order to redesign a more economic way the roof structure could be built and tens of millions of dollar were added to the budget. Enemies were made in the building process and from what I have read Utzon was greatly mistreated by the city governing powers and ultimately forced out of the project. The interior was then completed but not to the architect's original design. Seven years later in 1973 the Opera House was formally opened with crowds of millions in attendance. The architect Jorn Utzon was neither invited nor mentioned.

It is shocking to think that an architect that designed a building said to be "as representative of Australia as the pyramids are of Egypt and the Colosseum of Rome" did not receive credit many years ago. It is even more shocking to think that as we were exploring his master piece the 90 year old himself had never returned to Sydney to soak in the finished product. And so it goes that on Saturday morning November 29th, 2008 we were on the steps of the Sydney Opera House enjoying the magnitude of Jorn Utzon's great imagination only later to learn that Jorn Utzon passed away in his sleep early that same morning in Denmark.

It has been said by Louis Kahn a world-renowned architect that "the sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building." On that summer morning as little Ingrid danced around in front of this miraculous piece of architect the suns reflection off the roof tiles brightened her white dress to an almost spiritual glow. And as she pranced around the Opera House steps glowing, smiling and confident we couldn't have agreed with Mr. Kahn more. In a serendipitous way the three of us shared something with Jorn Utzon that morning.

"Slip, Slop, Slap"

Slip on a T-Shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat...that is how it works (and what they say) here in Sydney. Ingrid and I (Lizzie) won the whitest skin at the beach contest as we dipped our feet in the Tasman Sea.

Taz

The notorious Tasmanian Devil. I'd expected so much more. A menace to society. A whirling, slobbering, savage beast speaking only in tongues. None of that applied. Instead, there it was asleep. But I didn't dare knock on the glass to wake it...

Taronga Zoo

Here are some photos from our visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo. It is beautifully located a short ferry ride across the harbor and its residents have some of the best views I've seen. Ingrid warmed right up to the animals...see for yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving from Down Under!

Ingrid spent her Thanksgiving being attacked by oversized mosquitos and by crazy aboriginal didgeridoo players, but all in all we are having a blast here in Australia!

Auntie Loson

This week Ingrid has been united for the first of oh-so-many-visits with her Auntie Lo. It was fun and weird to introduce my little one to her Auntie who I have known and loved since 5th grade. Lori lives in Sydney so we took advantage and spent as much time as we could with her.

Off to Australia

I've got a business trip to Australia and I'm packing Ingrid and Lizzie in my luggage. We'll be back in a week!

Taxi Crab

It's November which means it's Hairy Crab season here in Hong Kong. Yes, the name is unfortunate, but these little buggers rank alongside shark's fin and bird's nest soup as top delicacies in Chinese cuisine.

True hairy crabs, so named because their claws actually have mossy, muddy looking hair growing from them, originally hail from Yang Cheng Lake outside of Shanghai. But huge demand for the crabs outstrips the lake's supply so now they are farmed across China in less esteemed waters, and often they are passed off in markets and restaurants as Yang Cheng Lake crabs to unsuspecting buyers at huge premiums. But the Yang Cheng Lake crabbers have gotten wise and now protect their franchise by imprinting each crabshell from their lake with a distinct laser scan and serial number. They take it seriously here.

This time of year you see large plastic crabs atop selected local taxi cabs to herald the hairy crab season. I took my first taxi crab this morning. I had that giddy feeling I first had when flying aboard a Southwest Airlines Shamu plane on the way to San Diego.

The taste? They are pretty good, albeit undersized compared to the dungeness I'm used to. True connoisseurs eat them for the roe, not the meat, and who knows what medicinal effect they are looking to achieve. In my book, the tedious shell cracking labor and the risk of a splattered work shirt outweighs the benefit of the actual crab. But then the ones I've had were impostors and not the real deal laser scanned Yang Cheng Lake variety.

HK Economy

I'm sitting at desk gritting my teeth over my eroding 401K, something we're all doing. But I can't help but think of the sweaty palms that local real estate developers must have right now. Check out this picture that I just took from my camera phone out the window of my office. Not a great photo, but illustrative nonetheless.
Foreground: The stubby little building with the cranes on it is the old Ritz Carlton. That building is not being built, its being taken apart floor by floor bit by bit. It used to be 3x the size. And by 'old' I mean that it was built in 1993, just 15 years ago, and its already being taken down! Had the developers a crystal ball in 2005 when deciding to domo this building, I can't imagine they'd choose the same path given this global economy. And taking it down has been boring to watch. It's not like Vegas where they rig a casino with explosive charges and raffle off a ticket to some lucky person who gets to push the plunger. No, they are too worried about collateral damage here.....but wait a minute, is that the tragically ironic new AIG building right next to it?!! Wouldn't want to break a couple of windows of that building!
Midground: You can't see it very well in this picture, but just beyond the old Ritz there is a large dirt area. This is landfill being prepped for more skyrise buildings, more commercial office space. For the past 2 years flatbottom boats have been shuttling in and out of Victoria Harbor full of rocks and dirt from somewhere in the South China Sea to fill in this land. Again, a lot of expectation being built in here.
Background: The unfinished building in the far background is the International Commerce Center. When finished it will be 118 stories tall, and the new Ritz-Carlton will occupy the top 15 floors of the tower! I'm sure rooms will command $700 and higher and a martini will be 25 bucks, but who is going to pay that in this economy? Real estate development is a long-term game and someday these properties will be minting money again, but in the meantime these developers must need heavy drugs to sleep at night.

I am a bit of a doomsayer, but I think this city is in for a serious economic caning in the year(s) ahead. It's audible to some while others choose to ignore it, but there is a giant sucking sound that can be heard throughout HK right now. Its the sound of a giant vaccuum sucking in people's jobs, property and land values, office space availability, small business, the beloved luxury goods market, expatriate perks, social club memberships, corporate expense accounts, $25 martinis, really any discretionary expense. This city is going to pay for the largesse its enjoyed for the past bunch of years.

Ingrid and Friends

Ingrid has met many friends both here in HK and on her travels in the region. We've done our best to photograph the cute little kids who've either approached Ingrid out of their own interest or thru their a curious parent. Here's a random selection of those pics from over the past 6 months.