HONG KONG, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Hong Kong consists of a mainland portion located on the country’s southeastern coast and about 235 islands. Hong Kong city is an island. Hong Kong was a British dependency from the 1840's until 1997 when it passed to Chinese sovereignty.

The climate is mild, no colder than 40 degrees. There are about 10% Christian, 50% Buddist among the 6.9 million people. The city is very clean, we were told there is a $1,500.00 fine for littering.

We have a sensational view of the skyline from the ship. Our veranda is looking out at the colorful harbor and the famous green and white Star Ferry. The ferry runs every 10 minutes to the Hong Kong island and is free for seniors.

Our tour on the first day was a bus that took us over to the island using the underground tunnel which was 1 and 1/4 mile long. This was a walking tour so after we got off the bus, we started from the Man Mo Temple in Shung Wan. We then strolled down Hollywood Road, famous for its curio and antique shops. Not far from Hollywood Road was SoHo a modern and trendy dining area. We were supposed to take the outdoor escalator down to Stanley Street where there were shops selling nick nacks, leather goods and casual clothes. Our guide said they had changed the time when we could go so we walked which was great exercise. The streets are very steep and we walked up and down hundreds of steps. In the afternoon, we walked to the Night Market which is open from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. This was further than we thought, a good 40 minute walk through crowded streets. They tell us that there are 100,000 people to each square mile, or 7 million total and we believe we saw many of them on the streets.

Our tour on the second day was a market walking tour, but it was not as much walking as the first day. We visited the Bird Market where there was an amazing array of bamboo bird cages on display and the “warbling” competitions must be heard to be believed. We were told that more people have birds as pets because they live in the high rise apartment and cannot have other pets. The Bird Market is both wholesale and retail. We have included a picture of grasshoppers that are fed to the birds. We then walked along Flower Market Street, row upon row of shops and stalls selling cut flowers and plants from all over the world. We have posted one picture, but have many others of the flowers. The next stop was the jade market which was a great place to browse and pick up souvenirs. To the Chinese, jade is said to have great spiritual value and to represent wealth, good fortune and power.

Each night at 8:00 Hong Kong island presents a symphony light laser show which can be seen from our balcony. When the gangway was raised the last night and we sailed away we viewed a lighted dragon and lion. This was the highlight of a party which began at 10:30 p.m., we enjoyed even though it was past our bed time.