Whenever I visit a new place, I try to get a sense of what life is like there by observing the people and the activities of their daily lives. Life in Malaysia seemed much slower and more relaxed than it is in Hong Kong or the United States. People went about their days similarly to others places I have lived or visited, but they didn't appear to be as rushed or stressed as people I encounter here in Hong Kong or back home in California. It's difficult to put into words the way the people of Malaysia approach life, so here are a few images I captured that can hopefully depict the sense of calm I observed in the people I came across during my visit.

One of my favorite things about traveling to major cities is the unique skyline of each individual place. While in Malaysia last week, I was struck by the combination of new and old structures seen in the skylines of Kuala Lumpur and Malacca. A place with so much culture and history offset by modern skyscrapers gave the cities a very different look.

Overcast skies are the norm this time of year in Hong Kong. From time to time, the cloud cover breaks allowing for some nice scenic images of the city. Here are few photographs from my time here thus far. I'm off to Malaysia and Singapore for a few days so will be offline for awhile. I hope to have some shots of my trip to share when I return later this week, talk to you all then. 

With space a premium in Hong Kong, most homes are small with kitchens to match. This means the refrigerators and pantries here have less space than most kitchens in the States. As a result, families here shop almost daily at one of the street markets for fresh meats, fruits, and vegetables. The markets can get loud and crowded like much of Hong Kong, but they are a lot of fun to walk through if you don't mind fighting the crowds.

Escalators are quite common in Hong Kong, but the Central - Mid-Levels Escalators were a sight even for me. The system is the longest covered elevator system in the world, spans over 800 meters and covers an elevation gain of approximately 135 meters. Construction of the escalators was completed in 1993 and now transports up to 50,000 people each day between the Mid-Levels and Central areas of Hong Kong. Another interesting fact about the escalator system is that it runs downhill between 6am and 10am and runs uphill between 10:30am and midnight. Here are a few pictures I took while making my way up and down the 800 meters of covered escalators.