Another sail into a MAGNIFICENT harbor. Crew and passengers who have traveled here previously tried to prepare us for the EXTREMELY high density skyscrapers we would encounter. However, we still weren't prepared for the massive number of buildings poured into such a small area. As we sailed into the bay we were struck by the contrast between the modern, towering, sleek buildings setting directly behind extremely fragile, tiny shacks built on stilts to keep the water out. Just amazing to behold the very old way of life practically engulfed by the towering buildings that surround them. Our wonderful onboard destination consultant gave a narrative as we sailed in, pointing out the most important buildings as well a significant geographical landmarks of Hong Kong. He pointed out the waterfront developments, and said the owners could not be assured of continued waterfront footage because the bay continues to be dredged and filled in with land, so someone else will come along soon, fill in the land and build a property directly in front of you!!!! Evidently, the Hong Kong bay used to be twice the size it is now, but they just keep extending the land into the bay!! Maybe that's how Bob and I can get our waterfront home in Manhattan Beach!! At this moment the tallest building in Hong Kong is 118 stories. However, it is only the third tallest building in the world. The tallest building is now in Dubai, but China is currently building another skyscraper which will, once again, be the tallest building!
I had not realized that Hong Kong was so mountainous. There is only a very small area of flat, buildable land. The bay is enormous. I have never seen so many small boats, large container ships, and cruise ships in one place! Cranes to unload the container ships were everywhere. It made L.A. Harbor look like a miniature village. Yet, there seemed to be enough space for everyone. Of course, when a large vessel needs to make a turn inside the harbor they must be VERY careful not to crash into another ship. Pilot boats in this harbor are extremely busy. We remained outside on top deck until we reached our dock, trying to make visual sense of the chaos around us.
Once we docked Bob and I were off on our first adventure in this exotic port. Once again the weather was great, with sunshine and only a few scattered clouds. Temperatures were hovering in the high 70's - perfect for an adventure! We hurried off the ship to our waiting bus and we were off for Aberdeen, a floating settlement located deep inside the Hong Kong harbor. We disembarked the bus and boarded a sampan, which was a little scary to board since the small boat did not provide a very stable platform for boarding. Luckily, all of us boarded without anyone falling into the water. As we sailed we passed an enormous floating seafood restaurant, where the boat can drop you off at the entrance. Then, as we sailed deeper into the city's oldest harbor we passed numerous very old, small fishing boats - much like a dinghy. Many of them were tied next to a slightly larger boat which served as the family's living quarters. Incredible that an entire family can live, sleep, and cook in these tiny, tiny spaces with boats constantly motoring past their "houses". We also passed MANY ENORMOUS yachts parked in the harbor. Some of the biggest, most luxurious yachts I've ever seen. Our guide told us that they are bought by the super rich residents of the city (of which there are many as evidenced by the streets lined with high end stores which outdo Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills! She also told us these owners never take out their yachts because they are just for show. Amazing!!! The huge harbor is an absolutely incredible sight with its TREMENDOUS gap in wealth. Its organized chaos that works perfectly for its tenants. After our tour we returned to the dock and carefully stepped off the sampan quickly reaching for steady ground. We re-boarded the bus and headed for the famous Stanley Market. Evidently, this area was once a fishing village but over time has earned a reputation as being a paradise for bargain hunters.
What an accumulation of patterns, textures, and colors! There are dozens and dozens of very small shops, side by side, selling souvenirs, clothing, jewelry - even suitcases, so you can carry all the items you just purchased. We found some beautiful red earrings which are in the shape of the Chinese character for good luck. I expected the merchants to be very aggressive sales people. Normally before we visit a local market the tour guide will caution us about aggressive sales tactics and lots of pressure to buy goods. I was prepared with my fiercest game face and body armor! I was determined not to get suckered in by a sad, pleading face. Now that I was finally prepared for battle, I walked into the market. Just one problem - not one person approached me to buy from them!!! We were able to walk through the rows of tiny outdoor shops with no sales pressure - from anyone!!! Well, now I was determined to find someone who would show some interest in selling something to me. We walked by a jewelry store with lovely Chinese earrings and a sales clerk nearby. I stopped to admire the earrings, holding them up, thinking that at some point the clerk would tell me how beautiful and special they were because of the good luck symbol. Darn if that girl didn't stand there until we told her we would like to purchase them. Then, she smiled brightly and immediately began to write up our sale!! About as aggressive as she got was to ask if there was anything else she could do for us. Where are those sleazeball, slimy sales people when you're ready for them!!!! Anyway, we're quite happy with our purchase, even if we had to remove the body armor with it being used.
After we left the market we drove up to the top of Victoria Peak, which is a major tourist attraction. Our guide told us that if you tell someone you have visited Hong Kong the first question they will ask is "Did you go to the top of Victoria Peak?" Well, we can now answer yes - so check that one off the list. It was a great view of an extremely crowded city. Skyscrapers absolutely crammed together in an extremely tight space. Our tour guide told us that most people in the city live in very very small apartments, due to the high price of property and rents. Evidently, rent for a 500 square feet apartment is about $1500/month, which is the average size for a family with two children. Our tour guide gold us that the buildings are so close together that in the morning she and her next door neighbor can meet for breakfast by simply opening the kitchen windows, which are directly across from each other. They can pass sugar, or other shared items back and forth through the windows!
Once we had a chance to take in the extraordinary views we took a funicular down the mountain back to the city. What a way to transition from the peaceful, quiet mountaintop to the bustling, chaotic city. Certainly a beautiful ride.
We then returned to the ship for a few minutes. We had just enough time to shower and change clothes to attend a dinner and gala at the Four Seasons Hotel, compliments of our wonderful cruise line. What a night!!!! First, we had elegant and delicious hor d' oeuvres, as well as champagne. Then, after our stomachs were nearly full, we entered the magnificent dining room, elaborately decorated specifically for our group. Lanterns, light, banners, statues - just beautiful. Once we were seated the staff brought out the first course, which was followed by SEVERAL more courses! After each course there was a short break for some entertainment, which included a Kung foo demonstration, elaborately dressed dances with beautiful fans who, in times past, would dance for the country's leaders. There were Chinese acrobats who balanced themselves on a tall stack of individual small blocks, rotating their bodies and balancing on one arm, and a dancer who twirled 50 decorated hula hoops at once (I don't think that's what they called them but that's what they were). They extended from her neck to her legs. It was an absolute exquisite evening and one that we won't forget. I felt like my granddaughter when she says "I'm a princess" :)
Now, the day was finally coming to an end and we were on our back back to the ship, where I think I was asleep even before my head hit the pillow. Tomorrow, it's up early again to enjoy another day in this incredible city.
Hong Kong, Day 2:
Today our tour was shorter in duration, however, it was absolutely delightful. We visited two local markets and a Buddhist Temple. The first market was the Bird Garden. Since Chinese live in such very small places most of them are not allowed to have pets such as dogs and cats. Soooo, birds, turtles and goldfish are the big sellers. Our guide told us a funny, but sad, story about owning pets. She said in some public housing (in which a lot of people live), there is a law about how many pets you can have. It was something like five goldfish. You are not allowed to have more than that. Since the neighbors' windows are so close they can see right into each other's windows and, in some cases, have turned their neighbors in for having more than five fish. The authorities make a visit to the house, give the owner's a warning to get rid of the extra fish. If, on their return visit, the owner has not complied with their request the authorities will slap him with a stiff fine. Guess I never thought about goldfish causing such a ruckus!! People become very attached to their birds here. In the Bird Garden that we visited they had beautiful birds for sale but there was also a large area for bird owners to bring their pets in a cage and socialize with the other birds. There were beautiful little bird cages lined up neatly again the sides of the walkways so they can spend time "chirping" with their friends while their owners sat nearby on benches, chatting and catching up with their friends. It's a delightful place for all involved. A beautiful park-like setting, meandering paths and lovely flowers to brighten the space. I have a feeling that this is a favorite activity for many elderly men. Interesting to note that we didn't see any women sitting around here. They must have been home doing their chores!
Next, we spent some time wandering around the fabulous flower market. I absolutely loved it!!! I'm a huge fan of fresh flowers so this market was quite a treat for me. It was interesting to see the tremendous array of flowers available. When we asked our guide about the local growing area she told us that all of the flowers are imported due to the poor nature of soil in Hong Kong. They receive a majority of their flowers from Holland but also from mainland China, Philippines, etc. The lily's were huge, much larger than the ones we normally see in Hawaii. The selection of orchids was remarkable. The tulips were absolutely fabulous. Prices were much more reasonable than we would pay in the U.S. If I could buy flowers at home for these prices my house would look like a nursery!!! Just beautiful as well as fragrant. The market covered an area of two square blocks and we looked at every store until time forced us to leave. Such a fun time.
Finally, we visited the Wong Tai Sin Temple. This was a Buddhist temple dedicated to Wong Tai Sin, a shepherd who supposedly earned immortality through his good deeds. It's a beautiful sight with huge red pillars, a golden ceiling and ornate lattice-work. The temple was extremely crowded with tourists, many of whom were on their knees using their "lucky sticks". Our guide explained to us the significance of the sticks. They were quite interesting, although I might question their accurateness. There are 100 sticks, each about 8" long. Each stick was coded with an individual number. They are kept in a round box without a lid. When someone is confused and needs an answer to a burning questions they come to the temple bearing gifts of oranges, apples or other fruits. They kneel down on a pillow, with the fruit stacked neatly beside them, shake the box of lucky sticks on a 45 degree angle, bow their heads and wait for one stick to fall out as they pray for an answer to their question. If more than one stick falls out they have to put it back in the box and continue to shake and pray. Once a single stick falls out they look at the number on the stick and refer to a book which has the answer for that stick. Don't think I would be satisfied with putting my faith in a stick, but it was a fascinating experience. There were also a number of fortune tellers around the outside of the temple. However, our tour guide told us that they made their money off the tourists. Locals don't go to them because "they are not very good". I didn't realize that the Chinese are such a superstitious people. Feng Shui seems to be a big part of their lives. The purpose of Feng Shui is to balance the energy in a space to assure health and good fortune to the inhabitants. Such an interesting culture. Loved learning about their customs and beliefs. It's so very different than most of our beliefs in the U.S.
Our tour for today is over and now we're headed back to the ship where we will do another quick change and get ready for a night out at dinner with friends from the ship. One of our friends is from Hong Kong so she has made some restaurant recommendations for us. Should be fun.
Later that night......
Just returned from dinner. Whew!!! We certainly do NOT go to bed hungry on this trip!!! The restaurant was amazing. It was called Peking Gardens and the food was incredible. Luckily, one of the people in our group of six has been to Hong Kong many times so she was able to help us through the menu, which was probably 12 pages long! The men in our group wanted Peking duck so we ordered an entire duck (yuck) along with vegetable dumplings spring rolls, rice, soup, noodles, and some sort of a fruit dumpling for dessert. What a feast!! Before they served the duck they brought the entire roasted duck to the table to show us - gross!! I did take small bite, but just couldn't eat it. I stuck with the vegetables which were beyond delicious. Now, time to walk back to the ship, jump into bed and get ready for another full day of adventure tomorrow.
Hong Kong, Day 3:
Our enchanted adventures continue. Today's tour of Lantau Island was packed with lots and lots of walking, uphill, downhill, and many steps to climb (250 of them at one stop). Lantau Island is Hong Kong's largest outlying Island is just as hilly/mountainous as the rest of the Island. My poor old legs are absolutely exhausted but we had a wonderful time and it was certainly worth the pain. I just kept popping Advil and drinking water! The bus picked us up and transported us to the Tsing Ma Bridge Lookout, where we had a panoramic view of the famous bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge. The bridge is 2160 meters long and carries both automobile and rail traffic. It is both majestic and important, in that it links the new international airport on Lantau Island with the Kowloon Peninsula. Shortly after we left the lookout we had to change buses. It seems that the small, winding roads up the mountain on which we would be traveling could not accommodate our large bus. It's a bit challenging to adjust to the mountain roads throughout different parts of the world. In the U.S. we are comforted by steel rails protecting the sides of road when we are driving next to steep mountain cliffs, or any potentially dangerous situation. Here, as in many other places, there are absolutely NO barriers to stop a vehicle from running off the road and down the mountainside, or to stop the huge bus from running off the VERY narrow roads on the pier and into the sea when we return to the ship.
Once we transferred to a smaller vehicle, we headed deeper into the country to Tai O, a beautiful and very old fishing village. This village is renowned for the stilt houses built over the river's edge, ad for being the transitional center of Hong Kong's salt mining industry for 100 years. We spent quite a while walking around his quaint, peaceful village with our guide, whose uncle continues to live in the village. Although it looks like a very poor village, it is extremely quaint and charming. We walked through the narrow streets and saw the main products for sale - dried everything, particularly fish. It was hanging on drying racks in front of many of the shops. Probably the next most popular items was dried fruit. Although we did see some fresh fruit, most of what we saw was dried.
The lifestyle in this little village is completely opposite of life in Hong Kong. Here, no one sees the importance in frantically hurrying through the day. Our guide told us that the older villagers are always asking him why everyone who visits is in such a hurry all the time. They seem to savor every experience each and every day. The villagers seemed to be so peaceful and relaxed. It was quite a joy and honor to spend time with them.
Our final stop for the day was a visit to the Po Lin Monastery. On the way there, we drove through beautiful mountain scenery, with narrow winding roads. There are no huge trees her - just small ones with lots of scrub brush beneath them. Still, it's open land in Hong Kong so it's a beautiful change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the towering business district of Hong Kong. This monastery is the principle center of Buddhism in Hong Kong. On its grounds is the tallest seated bronze Buddha statue in the world. It's over 100 feet high and weighs over 250 tons - very imposing. Our bus drove us to the base of the statue, which was GREAT because we only had to walk DOWN the steps!!! YAY!!! It was hard enough getting down that many steps. The temple was quite impressive and, once again, there were many people praying, presenting oranges, and lighting incense. There were small cumquat trees everywhere decorating the temple.
We had a delicious vegetarian lunch at the monastery. When they announced that lunch would be vegetarian, including no egg or dairy products, some people moaned loudly and rolled their eyes. However, the food was sooooo yummy I think even the most manly of men were satisfied.
After spending a bit more time walking around the grounds of the monastery and taking numerous photos of the big Buddha we headed for our ride back to the ship - a lovely, peaceful ride in a cable car down the mountain. As we floated by the new airport built on Lantau Island we were at eye level with some of the aircraft taking off and landing (although we were at a very safe distance). The ride was quite lengthly at 3.5 miles and a beautiful way to get down the mountain quickly. People in Hong Kong have been quite creative in developing varied ways of getting around the Island when it is so mountainous. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain the bus picked us up and transported us the short distance back to the ship. That evening we watched a laser light show from the upper deck of the ship that takes place across the harbor radiating from the top of 32 buildings on the waterfront. Not Las Vegas but interesting for a few minutes.
We have reached the end of our visit to Hong Kong. It has been an incredibly busy, whirlwind time, but one we remember forever. We have learned A LOT about the culture, people and land. We've also learned about how the people of Hong Kong see themselves as very different from the people in mainland China. Next, we're off to to Shanghai for a few days. We'll have a couple of sea days in between to rest in preparation for the busy days we have planned in Shanghai. I may sleep through the next two days :)
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