Day 62 - Hong Kong, China (Day 3 of 3)

 

Date:  March 11, 2007

 

Location:  Hong Kong, China (Day 3 of 3)    

 

Next Port:  Chan May (Hue), Vietnam, March 13

 

Quick Summary:  Sunday didn’t begin any better, weather-wise. Low clouds and fog still filled the skies. We cancelled plans to try to take the tram up to Victoria Peak and see some of the sights on Hong Kong Island before our evening departure. Instead, we spent the day checking out some additional shopping areas and riding the Star Ferry.

 

Report:  Late Saturday evening, it looked like some of the fog was lifting. We could actually see some twinkling lights on the hills behind the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island.

 

But our hopes were dashed, when we awoke on Sunday to see the ceiling closing in even lower. Nevertheless, we headed out for a walk along the harbor wall on the Kowloon side...in front of the Cultural Center, the Intercontinental Hotel, along the Walk of Cinema Stars on the harbor promenade and into the city.

 

We stopped for Larry to get a Chinese haircut (the last was in Cape Town!). It’s pretty short!

 

We cruised through some of the neighborhood shops (including Granville Road) and then down Nathan Road, the main shopping drag. It’s like many large cities…very local mom and pop shops, interspaced with fancy international brand stores. Something for everyone.

 

It turned out that our favorite shop was the Chinese Arts & Crafts Store close to the Ocean Terminal. The quality (and prices) of some of the artwork (jade, vases, ceramics) on the ground floor were like museum pieces, with prices to match!  Things were more reasonable on the second floor – and included ladies fashions, accessories of all types and many handicrafts. We made a few purchases there.

 

We then walked over to the Star Ferry Terminal to catch a ride to Hong Kong Island. (For those readers who have been here before, the Star Ferry terminal on Hong Kong Island was moved last November to a brand new complex.) The entire harbor area in the Central district is being redeveloped and will be quite a showpiece. Eventually, there will be a covered, elevated walkway direct to the financial district. It looks like it’s just about complete. The rest of the parks, roads, entertainment and eating venues will take some time.

 

We walked over to the very, veryfancy mall at the base of the Financial Center, Hong Kong’s tallest building. Wow! It makes the indoor malls in Chicago look puny. It is amazing the wealth in this small special district of 7 million people. I believe we can say that about Shanghai also. Unless you’ve seen them, it’s hard to believe.

 

We returned to the ship via the Star Ferry and prepared for our 7:00 pm departure, In fact, the Captain had everyone on board a bit early and pushed off at 6:40. The clouds had lifted a bit so it was memorable being in the middle of the harbor watching all the lights.

 

Now we have a sea day to hopefully find some sun before docking in Vietnam.

 

Larry

 

 

Photos of our cruise are available at the web site:

 

picasaweb.google.com/larryworldcruise

 

Photos of our last day in and departure from Hong Kong have been added.