This consists of a mainland and about 235 islands located on the South China Sea. Kowloon is part of the main land and Hong Kong is an island. They are separated by a small body of water called Victoria Harbour. and there are ferries that cross every few minutes. It only takes a couple of minutes to get over. Because of their small areas, they are skyscraper cities – very beautiful and clean. When the British colonized Hong Kong, it was just a barren island with hardly a house on it. It remained a British colony for 156 years , until it was returned to China in 1997.
To keep it clean, very high fines are imposed – for example if one throws a cigarette butt on the pavement, there is a fine of $1500. If one smokes in forbidden areas, the fine is $5,000. I didn’t see any graffiti anywhere. Besides the imposing high buildings one is amazed at the number of people on the streets. One of my table companions made the following comment last evening, “ Doesn’t anyone work here? At 2 in the afternoon, the sidewalks are crowded with pedestrians.”
People are very friendly and helpful. If you are stopped on the sidewalk looking at your map, invariably someone will stop and offer assistance.
I spent my 2 days here in the good company of Mary and Jim. Jim knows his way around the city because before he retired he occasionally had to travel here on business, so we had no problems finding our way, wherever we wanted to go. He and Mary had sight seeing on their agenda, and my agenda was to get a pair of eyeglasses made and if possible, find a shoe store that sold dancing shoes. The latter proved impossible. The ship dance instructors had given us a couple of addresses they found on the internet, but one of them was a dance studio that was not open and the other, we never found. I had better luck with the eyeglasses. An acquaintance of Mary’s had the address of a place she had used a couple of years ago. We went there with the prescription my optometrist had given me and in 24 hours, I had my new glasses – cost for a new frame and lenses --$200. Not too bad I say ! ! ! In the past, I’ve been wearing frameless glasses. They are delicate and I’m hard on them, so I decided to be sensible and purchase a pair with half frames. That and a couple of inexpensive tops I bought will be my souvenirs of Hong Kong.
Now to the sight seeing part of the sojourn in Hong Kong. In the afternoon of March 7th, we took a ferry across from Kowloon to Hong Kong. They we took a ride on the excellent subway system to get to the funicular which would take us up to the top of Victoria Peak – the highest point in the city and a great lookout point. What a beautiful view it was ! ! ! Fortunately for us the weather was great and although a bit misty, we were still able to get some fairly good pictures. Around 2 p.m. we went into one of the restaurants there to have a late lunch, and then we were off to the next adventure.
The point of interest that Mary most wanted to see, was Lantau Island with its Buddhist Monastery and the giant Buddha, both at the top of a high mountain. After leaving Victoria Peak, we took a one hour ferry ride to Lantau, arriving there at 5 p.m. only to be told that the sight we wanted to visit closed at 5, so back home we went. It was beginning to get cool by then, so we decided to call it a day. At 8 p.m. every evening there is a laser light show coming from the buildings along the shore line of Kowloon and Hong Kong and we decided to come aboard the ship to watch that. In this laser show, coloured lights are flashing into the sky from various buildings across the water. Also the buildings are all lit up in flashing , moving lights. This is accompanied by music. Unfortunately, the ship was too far away from the source for us to hear the music, so we had the lights but not the sound. It was interesting to see, but according to other people who had seen it before, it wasn’t as spectacular as it used to be. I guess everyone is cutting back on expenses.
On the morning of March 8th, I met Mary and Jim at 7:45 and off we went again to Lantau to see the Buddha. We arrived on the island around 9 a.m. The first bus up to the monastery was due at 10:00, so we decided to take a cab. There was only one cab at the stop and he was hired by a group of local people who were waiting ahead of us. Waiting in line for a taxi, ahead of us was a woman who is originally from Sweden. We got into a conversation with her and it was quite interesting. She is married to an Australian, both of them are pilots, working and living here at present. She had brought her car in for some repairs, had done a bit of grocery shopping and now with her little dog, was patiently waiting for a cab to get home. She used her cell phone to call an acquaintance who was able to get a taxi to come. All 3 of us and the dog were happy to be on our way. We dropped her off half way to the monastery, which must have been at least a half hour drive—uphill all the way. It was well worth it. The Buddha statue is huge and it sits at the highest point of that area. We had to climb over 200 steps to reach it. At the top beneath the statue was a beautiful building which housed a museum that explained the history of Buddhism and also gave the history of what we were seeing. Jim is very knowledgeable and he gave me an overview of the Buddhist way of life, so all this meant a lot more to me than it would have otherwise.
The Temple was beautiful and filled with the most gorgeous flowers.
The ticket that we purchased to go up to the Buddha entitled us to tea, dim sum and a plateful of noodles fried with vegetables. By then it was noon, so that was our delicious lunch. We next wandered around the monastery grounds admiring the beautiful statues, gardens and flowers. Of course we browsed the souvenir and gift shops. By mid afternoon, we found our way to the cable car depot, climbed aboard and began a 5 mile air trip back to the city. What a spectacular view it would have been from the cable car if it hadn’t been such a cloudy day.
After picking up my eyeglasses, Mary and Jim and I went separate ways. I browsed some of the shops along the way and by dusk returned to the ship, tired but satisfied. Hong Kong is a lovely city and I would happily return if the occasion presented itself.
That evening in the Crow’s Nest, there was a Mardi Gras party. The place was beautifully decorated and those who brought masks and costumes wore them. The music was lively and a lot of people showed up to dance. A good time was had by all until midnight.
The day after we left Hong Kong we had our 11th Formal Evening. I again wore the beautiful red dress which was purchased in Mexico and got all kinds of compliments. I really feel elegant in that dress. Here I am with Howard, the dance host who came aboard in Sydney. He is just a little guy, but he sure dances well and he has a great personality.
I can’t resist sending a picture taken with my favourite dance host, Paul. His dance steps are full of dips and twirls and it’s a lot of fun dancing with him
Life on board ship is so luxurious. No shopping to do, no meals to prepare, no house cleaning to do. All day on sea days, we do nothing but pamper ourselves and go to participate in the activities that we enjoy. I wonder how it will feel to return to reality at the end of the cruise. I’m certain that I will have withdrawal symptoms ! ! ! ! !
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