Video by Antonio
Blog by Esiason
Eye opening is just one phrase that could describe this amazing day. To begin our day we first had to fuel ourselves with a variety of foods, my choice of breakfast was a delicious sweet freshly baked bun at the local bakery. Once we were all filled up we began our journey by taking a bus to a private ferry where we were greeted by a very enthusiastic tour guide, this wasn't just any tour guide he was one who actually had hands on experience with the island & its electricity production. As we boarded this ferry we all felt very anxious to see what was to come, from afar all we can see is these huge towers called “smoke stacks” that would release various emissions during the energy production process. As we stepped off of the fairy it didn't feel like we were in the right place, it felt much cooler than what we have become used to back on Hong Kong Island. After arriving on the island we took a very short bus ride to this spectacular facility that was surrounded by machinery. Once we entered the facility our tour guide began to show us these very intricate models of the different buildings on the island and he described to us what the functions of the buildings were. After showing us the different buildings he took us to a model of a single wind mill on top of the island he told us many facts about the single wind turbine that were very eye opening. There was only one windmill on this island because of the topography of the island and to produce a wind farm wouldn't be anywhere near as efficient as burning coal would be. We then took a nice stroll to the windmill itself on the highest part of the island & this hike was amazing ; we were surrounded by beautiful trees and plants it felt like we were walking through a tropical rain forest. As we looked around at the beautiful scenery we saw these HUGE black and yellow spiders that creeped us out to the point where we would begin to run.
Once we reached the top, our spectacular tour guide showed us how the turbine worked and showed us models of the gear box inside of it. To be so close to a windmill was amazing hearing the blades cut through the wind and just looking up at the 46 meter tower was stunning. Once we finished viewing the windmill we rushed down through a few villages to finally arrive at this very nice seafood restaurant on the water where we were served very tasteful dishes, but we were late on schedule so it was a very quick lunch. Once we finished our meal we headed back to Hong Kong Island to view a “LEED Platinum Certified” building called Hysan Place. This building was “LEED Platinum certified” due to its incorporation of sustainable practices. As a group we sat in this very nice board room to view short videos about what we were about to see. Once we got done the marketing manager of Hysan Place gave us a very exclusive tour of the building, showing us everything from the rooftop gardens to innovative architecture of the building. Our tour guide was a marketing manager and not an environmental scientist or anything so we really weren't able to get in depth like we usually would. After finishing our tour some of us stood and shopped around Hysan Place and others went back to our hotel to get ready to head out the Stanley square. Stanley square is this awesome part of Hong Kong Island which is about 20 minutes away from where we are staying. The bus ride there was very nice , but it became scary once we reached the very thin 2 way bridge, but luckily our bus driver safely got us all to our destination.
Once arriving at Stanley square we were able to walk around and look at different gift shops, and some of us even had a chance to take a dip in the beach. After drying up we went to eat dinner at this very American restaurant where we received a great deal, $100 per person, our meal included everything from our drinks all the way to our very tasteful desserts, but don't worry it was $100 in Hong Kong dollars which is equivalent to about $13 in american money. This meal reminded me of home , this was the first time I used a fork in Hong Kong so far and you won't believe what I got to eat for $20 …. A steak!! MMMM Mmm MMmm it was good along with some fries and some tea, maybe even better than we do it in the states… sike. Once we got done we headed back to our wonderful beds where I am currently typing this, so excited to go to bed. I can not wait to see what is ahead of us, and to whoever is reading this don't miss us too much we will be back soon, and just know we are all having the time of our lives.
Blog by Esiason
Eye opening is just one phrase that could describe this amazing day. To begin our day we first had to fuel ourselves with a variety of foods, my choice of breakfast was a delicious sweet freshly baked bun at the local bakery. Once we were all filled up we began our journey by taking a bus to a private ferry where we were greeted by a very enthusiastic tour guide, this wasn't just any tour guide he was one who actually had hands on experience with the island & its electricity production. As we boarded this ferry we all felt very anxious to see what was to come, from afar all we can see is these huge towers called “smoke stacks” that would release various emissions during the energy production process. As we stepped off of the fairy it didn't feel like we were in the right place, it felt much cooler than what we have become used to back on Hong Kong Island. After arriving on the island we took a very short bus ride to this spectacular facility that was surrounded by machinery. Once we entered the facility our tour guide began to show us these very intricate models of the different buildings on the island and he described to us what the functions of the buildings were. After showing us the different buildings he took us to a model of a single wind mill on top of the island he told us many facts about the single wind turbine that were very eye opening. There was only one windmill on this island because of the topography of the island and to produce a wind farm wouldn't be anywhere near as efficient as burning coal would be. We then took a nice stroll to the windmill itself on the highest part of the island & this hike was amazing ; we were surrounded by beautiful trees and plants it felt like we were walking through a tropical rain forest. As we looked around at the beautiful scenery we saw these HUGE black and yellow spiders that creeped us out to the point where we would begin to run.
Once we reached the top, our spectacular tour guide showed us how the turbine worked and showed us models of the gear box inside of it. To be so close to a windmill was amazing hearing the blades cut through the wind and just looking up at the 46 meter tower was stunning. Once we finished viewing the windmill we rushed down through a few villages to finally arrive at this very nice seafood restaurant on the water where we were served very tasteful dishes, but we were late on schedule so it was a very quick lunch. Once we finished our meal we headed back to Hong Kong Island to view a “LEED Platinum Certified” building called Hysan Place. This building was “LEED Platinum certified” due to its incorporation of sustainable practices. As a group we sat in this very nice board room to view short videos about what we were about to see. Once we got done the marketing manager of Hysan Place gave us a very exclusive tour of the building, showing us everything from the rooftop gardens to innovative architecture of the building. Our tour guide was a marketing manager and not an environmental scientist or anything so we really weren't able to get in depth like we usually would. After finishing our tour some of us stood and shopped around Hysan Place and others went back to our hotel to get ready to head out the Stanley square. Stanley square is this awesome part of Hong Kong Island which is about 20 minutes away from where we are staying. The bus ride there was very nice , but it became scary once we reached the very thin 2 way bridge, but luckily our bus driver safely got us all to our destination.
Once arriving at Stanley square we were able to walk around and look at different gift shops, and some of us even had a chance to take a dip in the beach. After drying up we went to eat dinner at this very American restaurant where we received a great deal, $100 per person, our meal included everything from our drinks all the way to our very tasteful desserts, but don't worry it was $100 in Hong Kong dollars which is equivalent to about $13 in american money. This meal reminded me of home , this was the first time I used a fork in Hong Kong so far and you won't believe what I got to eat for $20 …. A steak!! MMMM Mmm MMmm it was good along with some fries and some tea, maybe even better than we do it in the states… sike. Once we got done we headed back to our wonderful beds where I am currently typing this, so excited to go to bed. I can not wait to see what is ahead of us, and to whoever is reading this don't miss us too much we will be back soon, and just know we are all having the time of our lives.
Additional Day 4 photos by Nate Ivy: