Hong Kong March 26th

Sailing into Hong Kong harbor is an amazing sight. The beautiful skyline completely surrounds you, with Kowloon on one side and Hong Kong Island on the other. The balconies of the ship were lined with people as we docked at the new ocean terminal on the Kowloon side of the harbor, just yards away from the famed Star Ferry terminal. Once we were cleared to leave the ship, we walked to the Star Ferry, and rode over to the Hong Kong side, where we boarded a double decker city bus and headed for Stanley, a small community near Repulse Bay across the island from the main down town area. We sat on the top deck of the bus, directly up front, for which turned out to be a definite E Ticket ride. The road to Stanley was steep, narrow, and very curvy, sometimes with drop offs directly to the sea below. Branches of large trees overhung the roadway, and we found ourselves ducking several times. Occasionally, the bus would just brush against a limb as it passed by. The view from the mountain side of Repulse Bay was truly stunning, with small islands surrounded by the aqua waters, beautiful sand beaches. We spent about two hours in Stanley, walking through the streets, visiting the market place, and the nearby beach. We then boarded another bus for a ride to Aberdeen.

Aberdeen is the home of the famous Hong Kong floating restaurants, which the last time I was here were surrounded by fishing junks, old houseboats and sampans. When we got off the bus in Aberdeen, the floating restaurants were nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, a Chinese gentleman who was on the bus with us, came to our rescue, and gave us directions to the pier from which we would be shuttled to the restaurant. Unbelievably, the same restaurant that I had visited in 1969 was still there, although now it is surrounded by expensive sailboats, speed boats and yachts, with an occasional sampan thrown in. Lunch was dim sum, and very good.

Next, we boarded another city bus for what we thought would be a short ride back into Hong Kong Central. However it turned out to be a bus which would take us completely around the back side of the island. This actually turned out to be a pure stroke of luck, since the ride was very interesting with some fantastic views of the harbor from the side of the mountain. By the time we reached Central, we decided that the cable car to the top of Victoria Peak would have to wait until our next visit. We had a great day in Hong Kong, riding an extremely efficient public transit system, all for the sum of less than $6USD total for the two of us.

Back at the ship, we watched the famous Hong Kong nightly laser light show from our balcony before dinner. A great day in Hong Kong.