As Seen by TV

Made up of 51 separate photos stitched together, this image was taken from atop the Oriental Pearl Tower (see all the other goodies here) on the Pudong side of the Huangpu River.

Downtown Puxi can be seen far right (under the massive “TIMVAN.COM” stamp, with the iconic Bund on the riverfront.

Shame the weather was not in my favor, but then again, this is typical Shanghai weather; haze.

(click to enlarge)

Yup, that’s right… some more of Quezon Hill at night (déjà vu: 1, 2, 3).

Camp John Hay was built in 1903 as an American military base used for R&R.  It was turned over to the Philippines government in 1991 and is now a tourist attraction, housing Baguio City’s only 5 star hotel and a golf course among other things.  It was also the first place in the Philippines bombed by the Japanese during World War II.

Quezon Hill, Baguio City, Philippines… literally in the clouds.

These were taken some months ago in the maze of streets around my office building (mainly around Qinglian Street).  It marks the outer edge of “Old Shanghai” where there are intense amounts of construction going on (certainly nothing special in Shanghai).  I noticed the prospect of a good sky comin’ on, so I grabbed my camera/tripod and headed out to capture these (quite a shame that Shanghai doesn’t usually have these vespertine colors that I am drawn to).

The final night in the Philippines… walked around the majestic night skies of Quezon Hill/San Carlo Heights, Baguio once again (I can’t get enough of those colors!).  Sitting here in Shanghai now, and I can’t wait to see them again while breathing that fresh crisp air… good thing I’ll be there in less than a month.  See you soon Baguio!

That final photo is of the firework display (as seen from Quezon Hill) marking in the end of the Panagbenga, Baguio’s annual flower festival (see previous posts for photos).

On the drive from the coast up into the mountains around Baguio we stopped to get some lunch (pic #1), and right across the street is the Darf Cockpit Arena.  Check it.  We then drove further up the Naguillian Highway (yes, that 2 lane road is a highway!) and into Baguio… sweet drive if you ask me!

The bus(es) from Pagudpud [to Laoag] to Baguio were PACKED, due to the famous Flower Festival (“Panagbenga”) that was about to take place in Baguio City (also part of the reason we were there).  A week long celebration of music, food and street markets… not to mention parades, fireworks… oh and some flowers!  I can’t say I’m a flower-guy at all, but street vendors are always good (on this side of the world at least)!  The festival is something like a week long, and I didn’t take as many photos as I wanted, considering the crowds were a bit much for my taste… but it was still an amazing experience.

As you can see in some of the pictures, all students from schools in and around Baguio dress up in the traditional clothes of the countless tribes people of the Philippines.  Some were happier than others!