(For the View From Your Window contest, the results below exceed the content limit for Substack’s email service, so to ensure that you see the full results, click the headline above.)
Just when we thought the mystery of the dolphin from contest #396 was solved, the super-sleuth in College Park finally clears things up:
Our friend in Berkeley — who is a better sleuth than I will ever be — is, alas, not right about the jumpy dolphin in my VFYW photo. Below is the dolphin again, in a photo I took today, from room 411 — exactly one floor above 311, from which I took the Nags Head photo. I used my best lens to reveal the trash can on which the dolphin resides:
(The logo, SS, is for the Sand Spur Motel.)
Berkeley’s guess of a windshield shade was persuasive at first glance:
Our previous winner in San Mateo submits a photo for the contest:
I was in Washington DC a couple of weeks ago staying in the iconic Grand Hyatt Hotel. Looking out of my room’s window into the hotel’s atrium, I noticed a sign on the glass:
I think the photo is interesting in itself, but I tried to compose the shot so that the floor and room (1115) can probably be identified.
Really clever concept, but I doubt the contest results would be as rich as they usually are. On to this week’s view, here’s a VFYW first-timer:
I spent about six months living very near San Cristóbal, the hill in this picture, in the Bellas Artes neighborhood of Santiago, Chile. I would go for walks in the Parque Forestal, a nearby park, which is littered with dog houses for the city’s strays, and thus I find it amusing and appropriate that a cartoon beagle is hiding a clue.
Santiago has always lived under the shadow of both its country’s many other well-known charms (the vineyards and beaches of the Zona Central are world-class, as are the lakes and volcanoes to the south, the Atacama desert to the north, and of course Torre del Paine) and under the shadow of its rival to the east, Buenos Aires. But San Cristóbal is a massive and beautiful urban park smack dab in the middle of the city, which is one of the reasons Santiago is quite livable. I was there from January to May, so I also had the enviable warmer months for those traveling from the Northern Hemisphere (I had been living in New York and was grateful for the respite from winter).
I have never had an inkling about a photo before, and have never written in, but I knew where this was instantly. It’s a place I adore and is special to my heart and I’m happy it was featured!
Another newbie picked the same city:
I don’t have the stamina of a super-sleuth to find the window, or even to check my guess, so this is all I got: Santiago, Chile.
Another gets to the right continent with, “Bukit Timah Hill in Singapore?” Another entry:
Seoul, Korea — a lovely day on the River Han. Or not. Are there a lot of motorcycles in Korea? Sure. Just a guess.
Happy Thanksgiving, Chris!
Another asks, “Which small ski town in New Hampshire did you visit over Thanksgiving?” North Conway, and if I wasn’t so exhausted by an all-nighter I pulled for the Dish last night, I’d write more about that super charming town in Mt. Washington Valley where my girlfriend grew up. But here’s a glimpse of Diana’s Baths, a series of small waterfalls in the backyard of Rae’s childhood home:
From the super-sleuth in Chattanooga:
Ugh. Not going to find the window this week. I’m looking for a Christian-leaning country (that’s a cross atop that spire, right?) on an Asian island. But I can’t make the topography match anywhere, so I’m tossing in a guess for the sake of proximity: Iloilo City, Philippines?
A recent winner gets closer:
Ampang Jaya, Malaysia? Not gonna try to get the window. And I’ve never been to SE Asia, so no stories.
The VFYW book arrived and it’s charming! Smaller than I expected (in width and height), but somehow it’s even more charming because of that. Keep up the good work!
Chini keeps up his never-ending streak:
He gets meta:
So you want a clue? Well, not to be all catty about it, but I just don’t feel like answering your query this week …
Bah! From a newbie:
Hello! This is my first time emailing for one of these contests. I’ve long admired the persistence and attention to detail that your other readers have long demonstrated week after week. Those aren’t skills I possess to the same level, so I’ve always just waited until the following week to check out the many paths that folks have followed to arrive at their guesses. My best chance to get one in the past would have been when you posted a view not only from my town (Kalamazoo), but the actual campus that I work at (Western Michigan University). Of course, as it turns out, that week I didn’t get around to checking out the VFYW until the answer email. Oh well!
This week’s contest made me immediately think of Hong Kong. My wife and I traveled there in the fall (Thanksgiving) of 2018 to visit some family who were working there for a time. On one of our last days of the trip, we took a bus down to the south part of the island to visit the bayside town of Stanley. Stanley Market was this phenomenal open-air market, and the whole area felt incredibly removed from the big city hustle and bustle that is usually associated with Hong Kong. We even found an English-style pub near the waterfront called The Pickled Pelican, which entertained us to no end.
On our bus rides down and back from Stanley, we wound through a picturesque little beach town called Repulse Bay, which is immediately what your VFYW called to mind. The waterfront setting, the steep hills, the vertical building styles ... all of it reminded me of Hong Kong, specifically Repulse Bay. As for which building, this is where the lack of diligence and attention to detail comes in. I have no idea. I'll go with the second floor of the Riviera Apartments (4 S Bay Rd, Repulse Bay, Hong Kong). Seems as good a guess as any, I suppose.
As always, thanks so much for the thoughtful articles and VFYW distractions!
Thanks for the wonderful first entry! A previous winner gets to the right country:
My first thought was Vietnam or Thailand, but southern China, Indonesian, and the Philippines are possible too. My second thought was Ali Wong’s stand-up bit about northern vs. southern Asia, but I won’t quote from it, for fear of being cancelled:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Weekly Dish to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.
