Landmark: Hong Kong Walk of Fame

     The Avenue of Stars (星光大道) is a waterfront walkway modeled after Hollywood Walk of Fame. Located along Victoria  Bay  it offers splendid views of Hong Kong skyline. At night, it is a popular viewing place for the Symphony of Lights display (a spectacular light and laser show synchronized to music happening daily at 8pm that lasts up to 15 minutes).

  HISTORY 

In 1982, New World Group built a promenade along the waterfront around the New World Centre in East Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.  And in 2003, this company announced it would spend HK$40 million to build the Avenue of Stars, a project which was supported by  the Hong Kong government.

      The avenue was opened to the general public on April 28, 2004. Although privately-funded, it was handed over to the HK government as public property during its opening ceremony. 
   Initially, 73 media personalities where inducted, chosen by the HK Film Awards and readers of a local magazine.

FEATURES   

   A 4.5 meter-tall replica of the statuette  given to winners at the HK Film Awards greets visitors at the entrance.  Along the 440-meter promenade, history of HK’s cinema is told through inscriptions printed on nine red pillars. 

     The promenade has handprints and autographs of stars in cement (Jackie Chan's  -成龙 - star is one of the most popular!), but most of them only contain celebrities’ names as they are now deceased. 

     There are benches, souvenir shops, cinema-themed sculpture and a few alfresco coffee shops to better serve  visiting tourists and locals.

     Latest addition to the avenue is a large replica of the 2008 Beijing Olympics torch. 

     
Avenue of the Stars is created to pay tribute to outstanding professionals of the local film industry, to promote tourism, and to consolidate Hong Kong’s position as Asia’s World City.

 It gives awesome views of the harbor, passing boats, skyscrapers, and the Hong Kong Island itself. 

Best time to visit? Late September to early October (when the weather is still fair).

By the way, there is no admission fee ... so next time you plan to take a trip to HK - do not hesitate to pay it a visit.

from: chinahighlights.com and wikipedia.com

Diaspora

     May kakilala ka bang nagta-trabaho sa ibang bansa? Marahil ang isang kapitbahay, kamag-anak o dili kaya’y isang miyembro ng iyong pamilya.

Isa kong kaibigan noong kolehiyo ay nasa Switzerland, nakapangasawa siya ng isang Filipino immigrant.

Yung isa namang kaibigan noong high school  ay nasa Dubai. At mula sa kanya ay napag-alaman kong marami-rami palang schoolmate namin  ang naroroon.

Isa ko namang dating kaklase, ang buong pamilya ay nasa Amerika na. Hindi na nga niya natapos ang high school kasi noong 3^rd year kami kinailangan na niyang lumipad.

Sa pamilya ng tiyahin ko (kapatid ni tatay) dalawang anak niya ay nasa Middle East samantalang  dalawang apo naman ang nasa Canada.

Pabalik nang muli ang isa kong kasamahan sa iglesya sa  Singapore, tapos na kasi ang kanyang 13-araw na bakasyon. 

At kaya pala hindi ko nakita noong linggo ang asawa ni Ate Sol ay dahil nakaalis na ito patunggong Ivory Coast.

         

     Kung isa-isahin ko ang mga taong kakilala ko sa ibang bansa, marahil magiging napakahaba ng blog na ito. 

    Ayon sa isang pag-aaral, may 8-11 milyong Overseas Filipino  Workers (OFW) ang nasa labas ng bansa. Halos sampung porsento ito ng ating kabuang populasyon.

     Noong nakaraang taon, nakapag-ambag ng $ 17.3 bilyon sa ekonomiya ng  bansa ang padala ng mga OFW (hindi pa kasama rito ang mga ipinadala sa tao at ang mga balik-bayan boxes!), iyan ay ayon sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). 

    Kahanga-hangang talaga ang kontribusyon ng mga tinaguriang bagong bayani!

     Kapuri-puri ang mga mangagawang (nagiging ambassador of goodwill) nagpapakita ng kasipagan, katigaan at kagalingan ng mga Filipino sa iba't ibang larangan sa bawat sulok ng mundo.

 Distribusyon ng OFW

United States	2,802,586
Saudi Arabia	1,066,401
UAE	529,114
Canada	462,935
Australia	270,347
Malaysia	244,967
United Kingdom	203,035
Japan	202,557
Qatar	195,558
Singapore	156,466
Kuwait	139,802
Hong Kong	130,537
Italy	120,192
South Korea	80,715
Taiwan	74,010
Germany	54,336
France	47,075
Bahrain	44,703
Spain	41,780
Israel	36,880
Austria	30,000
Greece	29,344
Lebanon	25,818
Macau	23,348
New Zealand	23,023
Guam	22,567
Norway	20,035
Netherlands	19,163
Sweden	18,435
Ireland	16,832
Papua New Guinea	12,932

    Subalit, may ilang bagay na kaakibat  ng exodus ng mga Pinoy.

   Gaano karaming propesyonal na doktor, nars, guro, inhenyero, at iba pang manggagawa, na dapat sana'y direktang nag-aambag ng kani-kanilang kakayahan sa pagpapaunlad ng Pilipinas ang na-iinganyo ng ibang bansa upang linangin ang kanilang populasyon?

     Ilang ina ang pikit-matang iniiwan ang sariling anak upang mag-alaga ng anak ng iba?

     Ilang ama na sa kanyang pagbabalik sa bansa ay halos estranghero ang trato ng mga anak nito sa kanya?

     Ilang Pasko, kaarawan o pagtatapos sa elementarya, high school o kolehiyo ang hindi nasaksihan ng isang tatay o nanay?

     Ilang kabiyak ang natukso dahil sa pangungulila sa kanyang minamahal na sa ibayong dagat?

     Ilang anak na lumaking walang ama o ina  ang napariwa ang buhay?

    

     Bilang isang dating OFW, masasabi kong sapat o di kaya'y higit pa sa hinihingi ng Pinas ang naitutulong namin. Nawa'y matumbasan ng ating gobyerno ang mga sakripisyo ng bawat  Filipinong piniling maakat mula sa nakagisnan patungo sa isang lupaing banyaga.

    

* distribution of OFW as of 2007 --- from wikipedia.com

Landmark: Remnant of the Old Railway

       Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower (尖沙咀鐘樓) is officially known as the Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower (前九廣鐵路鐘樓).  It is the last surviving structure of the old terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui. Thanks to the petition of Heritage Society and other advocacy groups, the tower was spared from demolition when the old station was moved to the present-day Hung Hom Station in 1975.

       It stands at 44 m high (excluding the seven meter lightning rod) at the foot of Salisbury Road.

     Built out of red bricks and granite, I can’t help but be reminded of Manila City Hall Clock Tower when I first saw it.

Souvenir from China: Matryoshka - Russian Doll

Aren't they cute? I bought some for my mom and  female friends.

          Matryoshka (俄罗斯套娃) is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other.  

         The outer layer is a woman dressed in a Russian folk costume called sarafan while the innermost doll is typically a baby lathed from a single piece of wood, hence it cannot be opened. Traditionally the number of nested figures is five. 

    
 The name Matryoshka might have originated from the Russian first name Matryona, usually associated with a robust rustic Russian woman.  It is also known as Russian nestling doll (матрёшка) or babushka doll. 

 Vasily Zvyozdochkin  (in 1890) carved the first set which was designed by Sergey Malyutin.

 Modern artists create many new styles of nesting dolls such as portraits or caricatures of famous politicians, musicians and popular actors.     

 
Matryoshka is a  testimony of cultural exchange between Russia and China. Ironically, China, not  the former, has the world’s largest babushka doll  located in its northeastern city of Manzhouli (Inner Mongolia).  It measures 30 meters or 98.4 feet high.

 

(sources: wikipedia, goarticles.com, and russianmatryoshka.blogspot.com)

Start of the Journey

      Paglalakbay. Journey. 旅行. 

      My name is Eliezer, I am a returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) and I'd like to share some of my life's journey here.

 

The journey begins. Taken when I processed my working visa!

    Souvenir from China, Reflection, Ang Pagbabalik (The Return - a novel), An Entry from my Journal, and Postcard would be some of the sections of this blog. 

  

      I hope that I'll be able to post two to three entries during normal weeks. And at least one during hectic ones.

     Enjoy!