Thursday, November 23/23
Today is a day at sea. We sleep in, have coffee in the room and then go for breakfast. At 9:15 we head to the theatre to hear about our next stop, Hong Kong. We then have to finalize what tours we are taking as they are selling out fast. We decide on one for Hong Kong, one for Vietnam and in Singapore we will walk off and do our own thing. We watch a movie at 2 pm (Seven Days in Tibet) and then dinner. We finish the evening in the theatre with a group called Sons of Soul which were quite good.
Friday, November 24/23
Today we are on a tour of Hong Kong. It’s a beautiful day out. Clear skies, 24 degrees and a light breeze. Hong Kong has many people. An average “home” is between 300-400 sq.ft. And this would be for three or four people! We get on our bus and the traffic is bumper to bumper. Narrow streets. I don’t know how the buses manoeuvre around. The cruise ship is docked in an area called Kowloon. Our tour guide Patrick is a riot.
So funny but very knowledgeable. He definitely made the tour fun.
The first stop is the oldest temple on Hong Kong Island called Man Mo Temple dating back from 1847.
It is a tribute to the God of Literature (Man) and the God of War (Mo). You pray for good health and good education or knowledge here. A lot of incense is burned here so you really can’t stay inside for long.
We then visit what they call the Happy House (the public toilets). Clean but squat toilets. At least these had grab bars which really saved my quads!
We then board the bus and head to Peak Tower. There are so many skyscrapers! We arrive at Peak Tower and take the vehicular to the top.
It is windy at the top as Patrick explains there is a dry typhoon blowing from the north hence slightly cooler temperatures. Here we have fantastic views of Victoria Harbour.
An original tram.
We then proceed back to our bus and go to a restaurant for Dim Sum lunch which is quite tasty.
After this we are back on the bus and headed to tour a “fishing village” by Sampan in an area called Aberdeen. This was just a short cruise around the harbour looking at some houseboats as well as lots of luxury boats.
We then go back to the bus. We pass by some construction where I notice some scaffolding which is bamboo.
They use bamboo because it is flexible, strong and recyclable. Great idea.
We arrive at Repulse Bay which is the largest beach in Hong Kong. It is man made. Makes me really appreciate all the beaches at home. There is a shark prevention net at this beach for safe swimming.
Architecture is amazing. There is a building above Repulse Bay called the Lily due to its shape. The building beside it has a couple of holes in it for the Feng Shui.
We then head to Stanley Beach for shopping.
This is a real disappointment as it’s nothing more than a bunch of stalls with typical cheap souvenirs from China.
Back on the bus to head back to the ship. Friday afternoon traffic is horrendous. We pass a cemetery which is so packed I don’t think you could find a blade of grass.
We have had two accidents in our bus which relieved some of the monotony. Our driver tried to turn the bus around after missing a turn off and backed into a stone wall. Then later on he switched lanes at the last moment and took out a sign post. Somehow this supports my opinion of Asian drivers.
Back at the ship we go to the dining room for dinner. I decide to splurge and have a lobster tail. It’s an extra charge of $20 US but it was delicious.
Then off to the theatre where we see this rock violinist from Australia (Katei). He is so energetic and very good. He is classically trained and then decided to apply that to rock music.
And then off to bed.
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