Hong Kong

It seems to be the rule, instead of the exception, that international flights will be delayed. Our Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong made an unexpected stop in Osaka, Japan, because the flight crew needed to be replaced and it was short one pilot due to illness. Yikes! This added another 4 hours to our 16 hour flight (7260 miles). After picking up our luggage and going through customs, we crammed all four of us into a taxi, checked into our hotel and crashed. What a long day.

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We stayed on Hong Kong Island. Colonized by Britain in 1847, Hong Kong was returned to the Chinese in 1997. As part of the U.K. / China agreement, “One Country, Two Systems,” the city has been allowed to maintain its capitalist system and way of life for a period of 50 years. The city is an amazing corner-stone of commerce. The sheer scope of the merchandise for  sale is eye opening. Because so many products today are made in China, people here have more to choose from than we do. We walked past places selling a wide array of  doors, flooring and countertops and could not believe the seemingly endless choices. Anything you desire is for sale here. The economy appears to be thriving. No wonder Hong Kong holds the most expensive real estate in the world.

We had no trouble navigating the city. With the metro App “Moveit” and our Octopus cards, we used the subway, buses, trollies and ferries. We could reload our cards at any 7-Eleven store. There seems to be one on every block. The Hong Kong dollar is worth 13 U.S. cents.  Two days of transportation per person cost us around 60 HK dollars (roughly $10).  One benefit of using public transportation is that you meet the locals. The people of Hong Kong are  friendly, helpful and personable. Even those who do not speak English tried to help us with directions via the language of exaggerated hand gestures.  On our first day, we hopped on the subway and then transferred to a bus to visit a couple of the beach resorts on the island, Stanley and Repulse Bay.

In the early evening we took the Star Ferry over to Kowloon. It is amazing the expanse of upscale stores here and the crowds of shoppers – on a Sunday evening no less. There seems to be a Cartier shop on every other block. Looks like power shopping is a national pastime here.

We opted, however, to visit the old part of town to check out the craftwork. The Temple Street Night Market in old town opens around four. Dana and Gay have definitely mastered the art of negotiating price. We then toured the flower district, which is preparing for Chinese New Years, the year of the rooster.  Fortune tellers lined the streets. Flower giving around New Years is a Hong Kong custom.  Certain flowers are supposed to bring good luck: kumquats for prosperity (“Kum” in Cantonese means “gold”), peach blossoms for romance & longevity, chrysanthemum for long life.  Returning on the ferry, we gazed at the Hong Kong skyline in all its glory.  Vegas Strip meets Times Square – that is Hong Kong at night.  You get the picture.  We were so exhausted that we all called it a night around ten.  Fade to black.

The next day we took the tram up to Victoria Peak to get an unobstructed view of the city. The weather has been in the low seventies, highly conducive to walking, so we decided to explore Hong Kong Park area, too.

In the afternoon we cleaned ourselves up and had high tea, a Hong Kong tradition, at the opulent Shangdi-La Island Hotel.  What a spread.  We soon cancelled our Chinese feast plans because we were so full.  Alas, we wish we had more time to spend in the city.  Our next stop tomorrow: Hanoi, Vietnam.