Hong Kong! Sector 4 begins
If you like the inexpensive, and pride yourself on not being ripped off you would have loved today as much as us, the normally hyper-frugal ones! Looking and smelling fantastic, and with a familiarity that gave us the confidence to return to walk the streets of Kowloon, travel Wan Chai via water taxi (equivalent of 20p a trip!) and to enjoy bus and tram travel to our various choices, yes, Hong Kong made us feel really good. Of course there’s always a tendency to try to squeeze 7 days’ worth of sightseeing into two days, and by the end of the day our feet and legs really knew about it, but it only made us appreciate the comfy bed even more, but only after watching the light show from deck 9 first.
If you like the inexpensive, and pride yourself on not being ripped off you would have loved today as much as us, the normally hyper-frugal ones! Looking and smelling fantastic, and with a familiarity that gave us the confidence to return to walk the streets of Kowloon, travel Wan Chai via water taxi (equivalent of 20p a trip!) and to enjoy bus and tram travel to our various choices, yes, Hong Kong made us feel really good. Of course there’s always a tendency to try to squeeze 7 days’ worth of sightseeing into two days, and by the end of the day our feet and legs really knew about it, but it only made us appreciate the comfy bed even more, but only after watching the light show from deck 9 first.
As we are berthed in Kowloon, very close to the centre, we
decided to spend the morning here, just walking and taking it all in from
street level. Last time we saw Kowloon
from the open topped Big Bus, which was good, but we didn’t feel we needed to
do it again. Busy, busy, busy – lots of offers of hand made to measure suits,
handbags and watches as we walked. Some
big designer shops, some carts and market stalls, mixed accommodation and big
business buildings.
We came back to ship for lunch and then went straight back
out to the Star Ferry water taxi, to find me a massage in Wan chai. Success!
Just like the hairdresser’s that both delighted and amused me last year,
today’s “spa” was on the first floor above a row of shops, above a yoga studio J. A lovely young woman called Mimi introduced herself
and then did meridian magic on my aching muscles and joints. Heavenly.
The rest of our afternoon was lovely too. We were helped to find the right bus to the
Man Mo Temple by an especially charming older woman who saw that we were
looking puzzled with our navigation. She
even accompanied us to the right bus stop, showed us how to find the timetable
and then we were off on the number 26 to Hollywood Road with a bus stop right
opposite the temple! The Temple is
ancient and full of images of deities, fortune telling, incense burning and fascinating
history. Photographs were allowed.
In the same area like magnets we were drawn to a fine
looking craft and art market in a pedestrianized area. The civil engineer in Khachik managed to
locate a high rise block being renovated, with the traditional bamboo
scaffolding tied together with bamboo fibre.
It always looks as though it would be a bit too, well, flexible, but the
method has survived for many centuries, so it still intrigues.
We came back to the Star Ferry by tram and foot. By this time we were quite tired and ready
for our Cantonese dinner, followed by light show, and the highlight of the
evening – a mothers’ day Skype call from Middleton!
So that’s our first day in Hong Kong. Tomorrow is another Hong Kong Day. We have
made a list of things to do near to Kowloon.
There’s a park very close, there’s a cultural centre, museums and we
might revisit the Walk of Fame, which you can nearly see from the ship. We leave at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, and then there’s
a sea day down the south East China
coast to Sanya on Hainan Island, our final stop in china. Bye for now, back tomorrow.xx
