I had a dream last night that one of Jen’s friends was addicted to flight simulator and was obsessively landing at Kai Tak, the former international airport of Hong Kong. This airport was well known for it’s dramatic and challenging approach to Runway 13, necessary due to the nearby mountain range. This approach included a 47° turn to line up with the runway just moments before touchdown.
The dream reminded me of this amazing video on YouTube. It’s a ten minute montage of landing clips in tribute to Kai Tak, which closed in 1998. If you don’t watch the whole, the segment from 1:21 to 2:09 depicts that last turn very well. And be sure to watch 4:26 to 4:42…it’ll make your eyes bug out! That landing exhibits the strong crosswinds that often made this landing even more difficult. (Plus, the salsa music soundtrack will make a fan of anyone!)
Pretty cool, huh? Imagine living in Western Kowloon with those 747’s coming in just overhead all day long!
Anyway, in my dream, while Jen’s friend was landing planes in her simulator, I was actually there in Hong Kong floating around while the planes were landing overhead. And by floating, I mean hovering, levitating, flying…the kinds of dreams I have almost every night. Another favorite dream super power, I was passing through walls. I wish I could capture in pixels the incredible Chinese interior decor I witnessed in some fabulous old hotels. Astounding detail. Where does it all go when I wake up? Where does it come from?
Related Links
Kai Tak on Wikipedia
Kai Tak on Google Earth Explorer (Check out the surrounding terrain, too!)
2 Comments
Mirage.
Unfortunately, this video was removed. It’s too bad. It was the best video up there, and the soundtrack was awesome.