346: Word on the Street II

The Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts' Bethanie campus in Pokfulam is definitely not familiar territory to me.  I got the directions and bus routes but I needed a visual.  Launched in March 2010, Google Street View (Hong Kong) is fairly new so I had doubts whether it was accurate enough to be trusted.

Google Street View FTW!

First stop on the map: Caritas Building on Caine Street for the bus.  Finding the perfect bus stop was easier using Street View.  Van was at Derek's place in Upper Albert Road and from there, it was either the stop at Cotton Tree Road or Caine Street.  On the map it was a coin toss since both are of walking distance.  However, Street View revealed that the walk to Cotton Tree Road has more ups and downs.  Caine Street was just down the road.  A 2-D map cannot give you that kind of detail.

We got to the bust stop like we knew it was supposed to be there without looking like lost tourists.  My confidence was up.  The bus arrived and we sat just behind the driver and already I was experiencing déjà vu.  Block by block, turn by turn, it was the same scene from Street View as if I have been there before.  I knew we were going the right way.  It was different with Van though.  He didn't seem comfortable and he kept asking me if we were going the right way especially when the bustling Central faded behind us and the bus went further uphill.

Next stop: HKAPA.  It worked like a charm.  The bus stop was just across the venue as promised and as viewed.  A beautiful campus greeted us and had the trip been harder, I'd say it was worth the trip.  The whole building which was a former French sanitarium in 1875 stood almost on the edge of the hill.  Now, it's the breathtaking home to the HKAPA's School of Film and Television.

The HKAPA Bethanie Campus then and now.

Sir YK Pao Studio in HKAPA.

The studio was located at the roof deck.  It was the first of its kind I have seen because the side by side views were spectacular.  Greens on the left and a view of the harbour on the right.  And thanks to the glass roof, you get a lovely blue sky as well.  

Below the hill was the street.  Far up as we were, I could not trace the street back to where we started from.  We ignore it quite often but it's amazing how technology has made our lives easier.

Quick Question of the day: (Re-post) What's your favorite new technology? 

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