March 20
After reaching the entrance to the Kowloon and Hong Kong harbor we navigated past many anchorages before arriving at the China Merchant Wharf where we will dock. Princess was scheduled to dock on the Kowloon side at the better dockage but apparently bumped to this dock because we are the smallest ship. During the sail-in we passed many shanties on the water, with modern high rises in the background; what a contrast in living conditions. The weather is warmer and the forecast is for 74 degrees with a chance of rain.
Shanties and High rises on sail in.
Our plan for the day was to go to the Stanley Market on the other side of Hong Kong Island. (For those of you who are not familiar with Hong Kong, it is set on two different islands – Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Island. The two sides are connected by tunnels and ferries.) We took the free shuttle to Central pier, then the walkway to the Central Exchange Bus Station that was next to the IFC mall and on ground level. The last time we were here, there was no walkway and no mall. The walkway connects much of downtown on the Hong Kong side which makes getting around much easier. There was an Apple store that spanned the highway underneath, we had to go in and check out the latest I Pad. It was very crowded, just how much does Apple sell in a day? We made our way to the bus terminal and caught the bus to Stanley. After a 1/2 hour bus ride up and down the hills and thru many curves we arrived at the market. We drove thru Repulse Bay where Hong Kong’s most beautiful beaches are. Many resorts are in this area. Stanley Market was somewhat of a disappointment as it didn’t have the same merchandise or the same vibe as the last time we were here. They did not want to bargain and the prices were much higher. This was not a bad thing as it kept us from buying things we did not need. After walking the market we decided to re-live a memory and headed to the Pickled Pelican for lunch. In 2008 we had a few Guinness's with Mike & Val from Las Vegas. I drank a few beers in their honor.
Entrance to Stanley Market
Pickled Pelican
We then boarded the bus back to the Central Pier. We were tired but I talked Betty into going over to Kowloon to the Temple Street Night Market. We boarded the Star Ferry to Kowloon, it is a short ride and cost approximately 30 cents US. This harbor is always filled with ferry boats going in every direction. Once across we could not figure out how to take a bus to the market so we decided to walk, heading in the general direction and making a few adjustments along the way. We walked down Nathan Street which is filled with every high end store in the world. There were Rolls Royce's, Porches, Maserati's and Ferrari's and the like on the streets, totally amazing. (This is Communist Capitalism at its finest!) Seemed like we walked a couple miles up this street, made a few turns towards Temple Street and finally ended up at the night market. This was the China we wanted to see, with the signs hanging over the street, the vendors cooking on the sidewalks, laundry hanging from all the balconies. After walking through the market we went back on the sidewalks behind the vendors. This is where it got interesting. Apparently there was nothing you couldn’t buy here, prostitution was prevalent. You have have to be crazy to go up or down these stairwells. After leaving the market we decided to head back to the Star Ferry terminal, stopping at McDonald’s for something to drink. We ordered a Brewed Ice Tea, we got ice tea with a white substance in the bottom we think was cream, and a container of liquid sugar. With sugar it was barely drinkable. This McDonald’s was packed with people, we are slowly killing them with our American food!
Back on Nathan Street we fought our way through hordes of people, we managed to hit rush hour. We spotted a bus that took us to the Star Ferry terminal so we jumped aboard, saving ourselves from another two mile walk to the pier. It was getting foggy again so we skipped the laser show and took the ferry back to Central Pier and the shuttle bus back to the ship. (Hong Kong at night is amazing, they put on a laser and light show in the evening when the weather is clear. Both sides, Hong Kong and Kowloon, are lit up and it is just beautiful.)
It was an interesting day, and also a very long day. Back onboard we had some pizza and headed to the folkloric show “The Hebei Acrobatic and Magic Show. Then off to our cabin as we have another full day in Hong Kong tomorrow.
