We are docked at the Ocean Terminal in Kowloon which is across the crowded waters of Victoria Harbor from the center of Hong Kong.
In Old Chinese, Hong Kong means “fragrant harbor.” I don’t know about fragrant but it sure is busy with a melee of tugs, barges, commuter boats and the Star Ferry.
Both Sharon and I once again took a “Highlights” tour of Hong Kong. We first went to Aberdeen where fisherman & their families live on 100’s of junks and sampans. We took a short sampan ride which passed the Jumbo floating restaurant which is popular with tourists.
Then to a Jewelry workshop where we saw the craftsmen at work and as usual were ushered into an exclusive shop where we were served tea and attended to by very attentive and polite sales people. I knew that I could get the jewelry that I was looking for at a less expensive market, so I just listened and gain some knowledge about the gems.
My shopping was then done at the Stanley Market which is famous for it’s clothes, furniture, souvenirs and inexpensive jewelry.
Our male guide was o.k., I still resent being lectured to in a non-stop manner but I’m sure I’m learning more than I was expecting to learn!!
The drive was lovely though, especially when we were driving along the coast. Repulse Bay was very nice. The beach was beautiful but a little alarming to see the rather extensive yellow shark netting that surrounded the entire swimming area. The funicular train ride down from 1,805 foot Victoria Peak was definitely all that they promised. The view from the top was amazing if you like looking at a wide range of skyscrapers and condo’s built on reclaimed land. But yes it is marvelous to look out at the world’s busiest harbor and some of the 235 outer islands dotting the South China Sea. This is definitely the “Manhattan of Asia”.
On the second day in town, I got up early to join my Tai Chi class at 5:45 am to walk to Kowloon Park to do Tai Chi with the locals. It was interesting on many levels. I was expecting that we would be in a field or at least on a grassy area but instead we were in what I can only describe as an open ended mall. We were between a McDonald’s and a public swimming pool.
I could see the park but we weren’t in it. Nevertheless, we were led through 40 minutes of Tai Chi movements by a Chinese woman in her 60’s in fantastic shape.
You really had to focus because it certainly wasn’t a serene environment. Where I first stood a Chinese man right next to me kept up a continuous conversation with his female friend who was doing Tai Chi. One of the highlights was when 3 wild big parrots from the nearby aviary flew in and squawked at us. The Asian participants had a peaceful and calm demeanor about them. They broke into smiles when we arrived and at the end of our joint practice. I walked quickly by the aviary on my way out and saw a flock of pink Flamingos and a pair of black-necked swans.
These past days have left me extremely tired and depleted so I laid low for most of the remainder of the day except when I went out to take a ride on the Star Ferry.
Since 1898 the two-tiered green and white, double-ended ferries have been transporting visitors and commuters from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and back. It is an unforgettable ten-minute ferry ride, not only for the drama of the round-the-clock aquatic rush hour, but to view Hong Kong’s granite forest of skyscraping banks and trading companies, also great people watching. I was impressed with the endless chores of the ferry workers.
I returned energized so decided to go to the mall’s Wi-Fi area and try to get online with my new computer. It’s cost effective for me to publish my blog entries on land where it doesn’t cost me anything. A cyper café is also another great people watching area. In fact, a group of young Asian female students approached me to do a marketing type of survey. Now this was fun. Answering questions from a cute shy girl regarding my likes and dislikes concerning Starbucks versus their leading competitor in this area “Pacific Coffee” which we’ve seen since New Zealand. They had to take my picture to prove that they did actually talk to someone. I asked them to email me the picture. We’ll see..
Our show tonight was presented to us by the Hong Kong Cultural Institute. It was fantastic; a dragon dance, a ribbon dance and then an unbelievable performance from a master “mask changer” for lack of a better title. He was all attired in an elaborate Chinese opera custom. He very dramatically pranced on the stage with strong athletically motions while he magically (unseen by his audience) switched the mask he was wearing numerous times. I’m hoping that the ship’s photographers got a picture of this because I didn’t and I so want to share it with you.
At eight o’clock every evening, laser beams, white, blue and green erupt from buildings, further brightening the skyline of ever changing display of patterns and advertising icons. We sailed away about 10 PM and it was an astounding sight of endless, modern, lighted buildings on both sides of Victoria harbor. It seemed to go on forever. We then sailed through the Tathong Channel. Once out of the busy shipping lanes, we altered course to the south and entered the South China Sea on our way to Phu My, Vietnam. A country which loomed large for my generation.
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