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2012年1月26日 星期四

Where Dreams Begin

For many, the airport is the place where their samples or finished products are taken to their customers, where they send their children abroad for studies or where they welcome their customers or clients or the return of their family BA's. BSC's, MA's, MBA's or PhD's . For me, it's the place where I could briefly leave behind all my files and all my worries at the office and start thinking again about my family overseas and about renewing old friendship abroad. But it can also be a place where I can meet new acquaintances and the starting point where dreams of magnificent snow-capped mountains, silvery lakes, green or red forests, exotic buildings, quaint customs may take wings along with the rumble of the jet engines. In the past week, when Hong Kong shivered in one of the chilliest  Chinese New Years for decades, I also shivered in my down jacket in Yunnan.



This is where my dream began



Another view of the link or break between work and fun.



I was not alone.



There were people everywhere,



including people who can hardly walk.


There were interesting shadows everywhere on the ground



beside the elevator



in front of shop windows,



 on the polished surface of the floor tiles. Some of them are more regular than others.



The floor tiles can tell us who is walking around.



what the roof above them may look like.



But some of such shadows are quite faint, especially where the surface of the floor tiles are dented or damaged or simply dirty.



I am always fascinated by what I find on the surfaces of the window panes.  In their own ways, they are perfect for reflecting what is around them. They can become the site of an endless combination of the most surprising patterns.



They can superimpose the reflection of one part of the building on to those of another,



what is inside the building with what is outside..



What is inside, what is outside and what is a reflection of what's outside may often create very very complex patterns.



They can also reflect the shape of the buildings around them,



the trees and other equipment on the surrounding buildings, albeit in very distorted forms.



It is the same with the windows on the outside. But there one can see what is inside, what is outside as well as the reflection of what is outside.



The sun also plays a part in creating shadows.



A huge arrow created by the sun



Another arrow



A complex pattern of lines, triangles, trapezia and circles.



There are variations in shape, size, pattern and contrasts in brightness and shadows.




There can also be complex patterns between the structural members of various parts of the airport



The canopy of the airport itself is a source of many geometric patterns with progressively darker hues.




The roof of the passenger alighting area outside the airport



Even there, one finds reflections



But there can also be many patterns in the interior decorations of some of the shops or restaurants inside the airport too.



The changing shapes of shadows created by the sun may also add to the existing patterns.



A complex play of both internal and external lighting.



Some of the patterns are completely artificial but no less interesting.




But there is simply nothing to match the beauty of Nature.



The complexity of its patterns.



The delicacy of its surfaces



Or the contrast in both its shape and color. Is that why they placed such flowers inside the airport?



8 則留言:

  1. Have a great trip ;)
    [版主回覆01/27/2012 08:38:55]Thank you. I did !

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  2. Wow, Yunnan, how interesting! Did you visit Lijiang? Thanks for the photos and look forward to reading more about your trip.
    [版主回覆01/27/2012 09:59:08]Yunnan is special. Yeah, Lijiang is wonderful but now a bit too commercial. But there are still out of the way spots where you can still exercise a little bit of your historical imagination.

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  3. The orchids in the airport are beautiful.
    Just wonder why they don't plant other species?
    [版主回覆01/27/2012 10:21:40]Thank you.
    Good question!

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  4. Lijiang is wonderful! Yes it is now too commercial , but I still enjoy the trip, esp in the farmland of yellow flowers which I posted in my blog before! People overthere is also nice!
    [版主回覆01/27/2012 11:46:03]The people there are very direct. They won't go out of the way to hide how they truly feel.

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  5. You are happy and busy in the airport.^一^
    [版主回覆01/28/2012 06:21:34]<那還是國內同胞未習慣排隊的年代>. I don't think we've entered a different era as far as queuing is concerned! They seem to have no idea of respecting law and order and privacy. Whilst waiting to get on to a cable car, a youngish lady behind me on my right kept wedging herself in front of me and when I told her not to, she told me I was being "ridiculous" and another fat middle aged lady was literally pressing her chest upon my back and every time I moved forward a little to avoid her touching me, she would press on again as if it was the right thing to do and when I turned around to give her a look of displeasure, it was as if she did not see me!
    [亞執回覆01/28/2012 02:04:58]這裡香港機場喎, 英雄無用武之地啦.^一^
    [三枝筆回覆01/28/2012 00:35:38]記得那還是國內同胞未習慣排隊的年代,當我在雲南昆明機場打算離開的時候,遇到幾位外國遊客,都是白人,他們真有意思,各人來自不同的地方:歐洲,南非,加拿大 …,他們每年相約一起旅遊。這次同遊中國,一行八人,遊罷麗江,分乘兩輛小車趕往昆明機場,打算當天晚上飛成都,繼續餘下的成都—北京之旅。但其中一輛車到了,另一輛車未見踪影,時間緊逼,機場櫃台又混亂(沒有排隊),更要命的是櫃台裏不見有說英語的職員 …,結果,我就成了他們的一根稻草!這算是人生常常遇到的小插曲吧!相比之下,今天昆明機場的情況已有很大的攺善了。
    [版主回覆01/27/2012 16:59:25]I am always happy so long as it is not work! I got nothing to do after checking in for my flight. So I thought I might just as well take out my camera and do some practice shots.

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  6. Is Yunnan 雲南, a province peopled by ethnic minorities? I know their customs are strange!
    [版主回覆01/27/2012 16:42:08]Yes, about a third of its population are ethnic minorities but the rest are Han people. But it has living within its borders 53 of the 56 ethnic minorities in China. The major ethnic minorities are tribes belonging to Yi ( which itself is a combination of three former ethnic groups) about 11%, Bai about 4 %, Zhuang, about 2.7%, Dai (Thai) about 2.7%, Miao about 2.5%, Hui about 1.5%, Tibetan, less than 0.5 %, De'ang(Ta'ang) less than 0.2%. Some of them are matriarchies, like the Bai tribes.

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  7. 剛從雲南回來?! 喜歡麗江古城、 白水寨和雲杉坪! 很美麗的地方! ~~~~~~ 期待看你接著下來的遊記!
    [版主回覆01/28/2012 06:01:47]Right. Just got back. It was a trip full of pleasant surprises. It'll probably take a while to download and select the photos before I put them out on the blog. But....

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  8. .( =';'= ).明日 有 7千萬 希 望 呀 Elzorro
    [版主回覆01/28/2012 06:02:37]Yeah. Maybe I should go take a chance, however remote.

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