Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.
Has an extremely drunk captain parked his ship in-between these buildings? Nope, this is actually The Whampoa, a ship-shaped (haha!) shopping arcade in Hong Kong.
According to their website, the Jusco Whampoa Store offers:
one-stop-shopping facilities to customers, including fashion, footwear, handbags, household items, electrical appliances, cosmetics and food.
No boats then? Huh.
Thanks to Fabien Cornu and Kam Tsang.
This form will auto-link URLs or you can use simple HTML, <a href="http://googlesightseeing.com">Like this</a>.
Link to specific places either as a Google Maps page or a decimal latitude and longitude written like this: lat/lng:55.949400,-3.200000.
If you've found an unrelated sight that you think should be posted in its own entry then use the suggestion form!
The picture must have been taken early in the morning - there are virtually no cars on the surrounding rounds and from what the little i know about Hong Kong it isnt famous for its uncongested streets.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=22.313982,114.198010&spn=0.007006,0.010131&t=k&hl=en Whats this strange colletion of boats to the north?
Looks like barges to me. maybe they are sitting there ready to take the spoil from the disused hong kong airport (just north of these barges)
The new aiport has been built further out from the city (i am sure there is a link in sightseeing somewhere)
There’s another group of them over here:
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
Could they be those fishing villages of junk boats that you see on movies like Enter the Dragon
http://www.southern.ohiou.edu/folknography/hong_kong/kaleidoscope85s.jpg
Just to the north is a tunnel entrance. There appears to be cars coming out of it. Does anyone know where this goes? I can’t find the other end…
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
thats not a tunnel entrance, its a gas station..
I see that now. Thanks Caguamon. In my defense, my eyeglass prescription is due for an update….. 8-(
yea, we discussed this one on the Hong Kong convention post:
http://googlesightseeing.com/2005/06/29/hong-kong-convention-and-exhibition-centre/
Dammit! Thanks pooms, I knew I’d seen that boat somewhere before…! Mind you, I know that not everyone reads the comments, so I’m sure this is new to lots of people.
Glad someone’s following what’s going on though!
Caguamon
Its not that i dont believe you but….!
Why does a petrol (gas) station have its own intersection, a bridge over a river, what appear to be toll booths and it is at the end of a rather elaborate dead end?
I could think of better places to build a petrol station.
Also once again a spooky lack of cars on surrounding roads.
Actually, on closer inspection it is obvious what it is. It is the entrance lodge to the old airport. The ‘toll booths’ are probably big blocks of concrete blocking entry to the site. You probably had to go underground when you entered the airport to cross runways etc. Anyone been to the old Hong Kong airport or are there any Hong Kong people out there? (what do you call people from Hong Kong by the way?)
To satellite lover: Hong Kong people are often called Hong Kong People.
It is a vehicle tunnel, the exit is here:
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
The tunnel has turned 90 deg south so its exit is not directly opposite the entrance. It use to be quite congested when the old airport was still operational.
If you ever watch Jackie Chan’s Police Story 2 , he ran out from the lower exits after he disconnected his radio controlled bomb vest.
It’s rather tacky and dull inside, and the food they serve in the basement isn’t great. It’s also apparently where a lot of the HK mafia hang out - in the amusement arcades inside!