Imperial China Day 24
Imperial China
OAT Day 2-20 - Tuesday, April 29, 2008 - Hong Kong City Tour-Hong Kong by Night & Asian Cuisine Optional Tour - Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong was as busy at 6:45 AM as it was at 11:45 last night when we went to bed. We had a great variety of choices for breakfast and then met Randy for our city tour at 8:30.
Ninety-five percent of the people here in this Special Administrative Region are Chinese and most of them speak Cantonese. All students learn Mandarin in school; the official language of the Chinese Mainland and many people here also speak English.
As we drove along the crowded streets, we noticed that the cars tend to stay in their own designated lanes. There are wide pedestrian walkways but we saw very few bicycles or scooters.
There are thousands of red and silver taxis and many large double-decker city buses as well as trolleys. The cars here seem to be very large, new, clean, and expensive. We have seen several Porches and a Ferrari but Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs are the norm.
We drove through the Financial District where we saw all of the international banking houses and the Stock Exchange Building. No wonder Hong Kong is such a wealthy area!
Our first stop was the Taoist religious center, the Man Mo Temple. Buddhism and Taoism are the two main religions here in Hong Kong.
Randy explained the rituals of burning incense to please the gods and for the well being of the ancestors. There were also fruits and vegetables brought here as offerings.
The temple was very smoky with all of the spiral incense burning overhead. Photos were permitted inside the temple but ours were distorted by the haze.
We got off of the bus on Hollywood Street and then took the moving sidewalk down to the lower area of the city. This was a great opportunity to see the local people rushing to work and to shop in the markets.
This Mid Levels Escalator, the world's longest covered outdoor escalator is about 500 meters long. It goes downhill in the morning and uphill in the afternoon when the people want to get back home from working downtown.
After about 20 minutes we got off at the central market. Although this area will no longer be a working market and slaughter house, there were still many blocks of active vendors.
We walked through the Graham Street Market of fruits and veggies, as well as meats and fish. We met our bus at 10:00 and continued through the city tour by way of the Aberdeen Tunnel.
Hong Kong is a dichotomy of wealth, affluence and poverty. There are shanty towns and cheap government housing right next to lavish apartment homes.
We left the bus and got into two small San Pans for a river view of the Aberdeen Channel. Our 20 minute ride gave us an opportunity to see fishing boats and a few remaining house boats on this narrow strip of the South China Sea.
Our next stop was the Aberdeen Jewelry Factory, another OAT shopping opportunity. Even though Don tried very hard to buy pearls for his wife, he could not. The high pressure sales staff was truly overwhelming to most of us!
Back at our hotel, we took 15 minutes to go up to our rooms. We had agreed to meet Jim, Mary Ann and Marvin at 12:15 in the lobby. We went out to explore on our own and see if we could find some “Big Boy Toy Shops” - the electronics that Hong Kong is noted for!
We walked through Victoria Park and then headed to the huge Sogo Department Store recommended by Randy. We went to the 10th floor but were disappointed in the selections and prices here. Prices in the USA are still cheaper and your purchases are guaranteed with a return policy and warranty!
Marvin left us after our light lunch in the café to ride the trolley. The four of us walked back to the hotel. We took time to look at our morning’s photos and start the journal as we had a busy night ahead of us.
We met Matt at 4:30 to pay for our Optional Activities and to have more of a discussion about Taiwan, Hong Kong, and his thoughts and experiences as a Chinese National.
At 5:30 we took part in the optional Hong Kong by Night & Asian Cuisine tour. We started our evening with a fantastic Thai dinner at Sawadee Thai restaurant.
Our first adventure of the evening was a stop at the Temple Street night market. We saw the merchants selling everything from inexpensive clothing, to jewelry, luggage, phones, wallets, and novelty items.
We then took the Star Ferry across the harbor to Central Pier, and met our bus again. Our driver managed to negotiate the switchbacks all the way up to Victoria Peak. From there we could see the amazing night views of the city below!
Back at Causeway Bay, we hopped on a streetcar or trolley and rode through Wan Chai, the famous red light district where Suzie Wong was filmed. The US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk was in port so we saw some of America’s finest enjoying their evening on the streets and in the bars!
We arrived back to our hotel at 10:45, glad to have spent such an interesting day here in Hong Kong!
Accommodations: L'Hotel Causeway Bay Harbour View - - - Meal: B,
Video - Hong Kong Night Trolley Ride - 45 seconds
Picture 1 - Man Mo Temple
Picture 2 - Mid Levels Escalator
Picture 3 - San Pan on Aberdeen Channel
Picture 4 - Temple Street Night Market
Picture 5 - Victoria Peak Overlook on Hong Kong
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Night Trolley Ride in Hong Kong (0:45)
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