CATCHING UP - HONG KONG

Oh dear, I’m  dreadfully behind in my blog. – That   sounds vaguely indecent doesn’t it?  No, it’s just that Shanghai followed hot on Japan, which was followed even hotter by Hong Kong, and I had barely transferred all my China photos and sent my Shanghai disc, when we were in Viet Nam – Ho Chi Min City as Saigon is now called.  You will probably have gathered by now that working on the computer is really only feasible during days at sea. As soon as we're in port,  it’s off the ship to see the sights. But now we are on the first day of quite a goodly time at sea. Today is March 3rd and we don’t get to INDIA till the 11th. It should be calm, so I’m hoping to get caught up with all my computer stuff.

So here’s to Hong Kong.  In a way it’s nice going back and reminding myself of all the exciting things I did. So on day one we awoke to find ourselves docked in front of a line of skyscrapers.  Huge, powerful, imposing.  The success of capitalism writ large along the sky-line?  But no, for beyond the skyscrapers I could see the peak – the treecovered steep slopes and the real skyline of the old Hong Kong, still visible as a backdrop to the new  Hong Kong!!

So one of the very first things we did on our first day was to take the tram up to the top of the Peak.  This was where I was born and lived for the first three months of my life.  So it is obviously VERY IMPORTANT.  Right?  It is also great fun.  The tram runs on rails and  is pulled by cables up a very, VERY, steep slope.                                     

You can see all the people waiting along the platform –luckily there is a railed barrier – poised ready to RUSH onto the car.  The ride up takes about 10/15 minutes.  At the top the view over the city is fabulous – ‘panoramic’ as my dear mother would say. A Kind stranger took a picture of Audrey and I at the edge.  It was a bit misty over the city, but we certainly appreciated the view.

We went and had lunch in a small Thai restaurant, and we were just cominmg out of the washroom, no less, luckily already having paid,  when we heard drumming.  We rushed outside to find a dragon dance just beginning in the courtyard.  WOW – WHAT LUCK.  We had seen a movie clip of one of these on the ship.  They are soo clever and beautiful.  Men under the ‘dragon’ move it about, and more men are under two ‘tigers’ who perform acrobatics on poles.  It is wonderful.  Well, Audrey and I forgot our ‘western’ diffidence, (Audrey was even better than I) and pushed and wriggled with the best of the Chinese and finished up right in the front, where we could even touch the tigers for good luck and fortune for the coming year. We felt lucky already!

We spent the second day doing the official city tour offered from the ship.  We went up to the Peak again but this time by bus.  What a ride, -  oh those twists and turns, those hair-pin bends.  Great fun.  We were taken through the downtown park.  It was wonderful to see the use of such small spaces to create such beauty. Water was a dominant feature.

We were also taken through some of the downtown streets and even through the largest bank.  Oh those impeccably well-dressed Chinese young men in the black suits, collars and ties. I felt sad. I hope the beauty of the ancient places and culture isn’t going to be lost in the name of capitalism and ever growing profits. Our tour ended with a visit down river where we had a ride on a boat. My faith was restored!!

 

Day three we went away from Hong Kong Island, through Kowloon and into the New Territories.  The highlight of that day was a stop by a beautiful sandy beach on the shores of the South China sea, a visit to a fishing village.  There we had another ride on a small boat to see the houses on stilts over the water, and then a little further out to see a fishing boat at work.  On the way out we caught just a glimpse of some pink dolphins.  We didn’t see much more that their fins, but that was exciting enough.  On leaving the village, we drove first to a temple and statue of a great buddah on a hill, and then to a cable car which took us high over the hills before we met the bus to be driven back to the ship.  It was such an enjoyable day.

Good-bye H0ng Kong.  I felt sad to leave.  It was good-bye to my past and I took a last photo of the receding lights.  But I feel so lucky to have been back – Shanghai – Hong Kong. I  never thought I’d see either of them again.

And now a final word to those of you who have been adding comments to this blog.  I never found them till now.  The original computer clutz!!  So now a very big, if belated, thank you to David,  Jo, Jamie, and Randy and Elizabeth. Please keep sending them – I KNOW HOW TO FIND THEM NOW!!  Congratulations Randy on the job.  Audrey cried with happiness when I told her the news.

So ever onward over the seas.  Now, mercifully,  it is truly smooth sailing!

Lots of love to you ALL,  Liz, Mum, Granny