Sunday 17th March
We arrived in Hong Kong yesterday and our berth is on Kowloon. The view in the picture was taken from our balcony looking across the harbour to Hong Kong Island. In the picture you can see a Star Ferry that takes you across the harbour very cheaply. We went on a tour yesterday morning. We went to the tramway to go up to The Peak - the highest part of Hong Kong Island. The tramway is a funicular railway that pulls you up the very steep slope. The tall buildings of Hong Kong look very strange from the tram - they look as if they are sloping backwards even though you know they can't be! The day was very misty so the view was not very clear. Our guide told us that misty weather was very normal in the spring. Even though it was misty throughout our two days it was still warm.
After leaving The Peak we drove to Aberdeen harbour on the south of the island and had a ride on a sampan. We saw some of the houseboats that are berthed in the harbour that are still inhabited. We drove around the island and visited the Man Mo temple where there are hanging coils of incense to the Taoist gods of literature (Man)and war (Mo).
Last night we had wonderful views of the city all lit up,from our ship and there was also a short laser show. Late last night we went for a walk along the prom in Kowloon which was very busy and it is dedicated to Chinese film stars. They have stars on the floor with some of the hand prints of the actors. The most popular was Jackie Chan- he was the only one we had heard of!
Today we took the Star ferry to Hong Kong Island and decided to go back up to The Peaks on the tram so we could spend more time there. It was just as misty today but we enjoyed the ride up and back . The Star Ferry was good, they are very frequent and only take a short while to cross the harbour. You pay more to go on the top deck and more at the weekend but it still only cost the equivalent of35p!
It is the beginning of a new sector today so we have just been to yet another emergency drill, our fourth. We certainly know how to put on a life jacket! Our departure has been delayed, hopefully only an hour, but we will have another chance to watch Hong Kong light up this evening before we go.