Tuesday March 29, 2016 – In the Port of Hong Kong (HK), Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China. This is the official title, which in practice means – an autonomous region, “One Country, Two Systems”, or put another way, it is part of China, but not subject to its laws, it is subject to British law, free speech, freedom of religion etc, for 50 years from the handover by Britain to China occurring at midnight on June 30 / July 1, 1996 (Macau was handed over in 1999). The ship docked at the new Kai Tak Cruise terminal in Kowloon, built where the old airport used to be after that was moved to a safer location as it was one of the 10 most dangerous airports for ‘planes to land, in the world. It now makes for a very large modern cruise terminal with a nice roof garden running the full length, which was fun to walk through. An interesting aside was the Braille flooring along the floors of the building – raised lines (6 inches long) plus small and larger dots in the flooring permitted visually impaired users of the terminal to move straight on the strips, a corner or turn at the small dots in 2 X 2 foot squares and stop (door) with larger dots (each about 1 inch diameter) running the majority of the width of the door and 2 foot wide.
Hong Kong (population 7.2 Million) is divided into three principal sectors – Hong Kong island (population 1.5 MM and the second largest of the 200+ islands making up HK, the largest has Disney-world HK) where most of the banking and trade business takes place in an area called Central with restaurants / shopping in Causeway Bay as well as Victoria Peak etc. I have spent most of my various prior visits on HK Island as that is where the banks (both Citibank and Chase) were located and where my favourite hotel – The Mandarin Oriental – is located. This visit was much the same with most of the day being on HK Island. The second sector of HK is Kowloon, where the ship docked, has a lot of tall residential buildings, the famed Nathan Road shopping and “Golden Mile” area and also home to the famed Penninsula Hotel. The third sector, Northern Territories borders Canton, China mainland and is the most sparsely populated. Thus Cantonese is the preferred Chinese language although most residents are completely fluent in English. Trade between China and Britain began in 1700 operating from Portuguese colony of Macau and by 1841 Charles Elliot established HK as a base for British trade. Opium trade was flourishing much to the dismay of the Chinese Emperor and eventually had 20,000 chests of opium destroyed. William Jardine and James Matheson who were the most successful of the opium traders (their company still exists – see my prior posing) persuaded the British Government to battle for the restitution. This was eventually done, spearheaded by Lord Palmerston. Eventually Hong Kong Island and Kowloon became British territories in perpetuity, with Northern Territories being leased for 99 years. A series of some 45 Governors, appointed by the British Monarch were to lead HK, culminating in Chris Patton who presided over the handover, taking place in a special building built for that purpose and now the Convention Center, with its iconic wavy roof on the HK Island harbour. Thus when the handover took place in 1997, only the Northern Territories was subject to handover, however, all three were eventually turned over by the British to China.
It was to be a full day (9 hour tour) covering all the principal sights of Hong Kong with an excellent guide calling himself Steve, who indicated that the best time to visit HK (due to reduced airfare and hotel prices) was from mid November to early December – something to keep in mind if and when we return!!! Our first stop was at the Ma Tau Kok Public Pier where we boarded a (modern) Junk and cruised for about an hour from Kowloon through the Hong Kong harbour (actually Victoria Harbour), ending up in Central on Hong Kong Island, close to the local equivalent of The London Eye and the Mandarin Hotel. A nice day with a little haze, but a terrific and in my opinion, one of the best ways of getting to see HK in all its splendour. Breathtaking views, fabulous maritime traffic – all shapes and sizes as well as views while we sailed past our ship as well as our sister ship – Queen Victoria, which was also in port, was the order of the day. We were offered drinks and an open air covered roof on the top deck afforded great views all around. The coach picked us up and took us past the Happy Valley Horse Racing / (Royal) Hong Kong Jockey Club, which still has racing every Wednesday evening during the season, to Victoria Peak. Here a half bowl shaped building serves both as a shopping Center as well as viewing platform for one of the most spectacular harbour views in the world. A 360 degree view of the harbour between HK Island and Kowloon as well as other hills and harbours, with their sandy beaches, can be seen and on a clear day, one can see mainland China. In my experience, there are four of these harbour views – Hong Kong, Rio de Janiero, Vancouver and Sydney, each rivalling the other for splendour and affecting the sense of excitement and wonder within. It was a reasonably clear day, although some haze continued, so we had a terrific view of the buildings, harbour traffic and HK in all its glory.
Lunch in the World Trade Center building at the Dragon King restaurant, overlooking the harbour was next on the agenda, where a delicious Dim Sum lunch was enjoyed by all. Throughout the day, the coach passed many buildings and neighbourhoods which allowed us to get a glimpse into not only the wealthy, but also how the middle and working classes live. Particularly fascinating, was the amount of construction, all with bamboo scaffolding all over the city. In the opinion of most, the next stop in Aberdeen, was the most spectacular. “Old Hong Kong” in which the people of lower socioeconomic means, would live, entails old junks and sea vessels of all types, tied up together with extended families living aboard the cramped quarters of the often ramshackle vessel. Aberdeen harbour (an area on HK Island), home to the famed “Jumbo Floating Restaurant” retains this local flavour, although now multi-million dollar yachts have replaced the old junks near the Jumbo restaurant, with the colourful poorer residents moved to the back side of the restaurant, but still there. This has always been a long standing memory of the times I have been to HK in the past and a really colourful side to the city. Having dinner at the Jumbo, which I have only done once, was an amazing experience and to be repeated, unfortunately not this time! We boarded a small 12 person Sampan, captained by an old tough looking Chinese lady, and took a 20 minute cruise of this harbour. It was amazing to see some of the bright colourful splendour of the restaurant, contrasted with the vessels that one wonders how they still float, given their state of disrepair. We weaved through the various junks, sampans and other broken down pieces of maritime wreckage, intermingled with modern yachts, gaining a good insight into the life of the “aquatic” residents. Our final stop was over to Stanley area and to the famed Stanley Market, known for its numerous shops, great for tourists, selling all types of wares. Want an “original” Rolex watch for $20 or a “genuine” Louis Vuiton handbag for $40, they have it all, plus some nice stuff, silk, Jade, Jewlery, clothing etc. Our time there (1 hour) was all too brief before returning to Causeway Bay and through the original (of the 4) tunnels under the harbour to the Port.
We dropped our purchases in the cabin, then got off the ship and wandered around the gorgeous terminal, particularly the roof garden, looking at the sunset over the harbour and the lights on the buildings, many decorated with lights that appeared to have movement (much like the marquee of a Cinema / Movie theatre). The day ended with a somewhat disappointing show of “Chinese Acrobats” from the shore that performed on the ship. I say disappointing as there was no gymnastics, as there was in Shanghai, but rather a couple of girls dancing, another lady with hoola hoops and some men moving a paper dragon around the stage. Most of the shows that the ship has contracted with local companies in port (Shanghai, Rio, Polynesia etc) have been exciting and brilliant, so our expectations were high. A full and exciting day, and we were sad to leave HK, vowing to return. The amazing skyline of skyscrapers and harbour filled with junks, sampans, ferries and busy maritime traffic make it an exciting port at any time of day.
Roger & Anne Travels 