… without much of an itinerary – except to find some jewelry making or bead stores. It worked out well; we took the Star Ferry from the ship’s shuttle bus drop off point to the other part of Hong Kong – and then realized that the address we needed was actually back across the water. So we hopped on arguably the best subway in the world using our newly-acquired Octopus cards. We rode to a stop recommended by a fellow passenger – and found ourselves in an outdoor flea market worthy of Pennsylvania! New and old stuff happily comingled – and there were several bead stores on the street as well, which had the needed things. The sidewalk butcher shops were a surprise – especially one where the hog was being butchered right behind the counter, a foot away from the customers. No matter what part of the pig you wanted, it was available! There were long lines at most of these shops, with meat hanging on the sidewalk.
A large crowd had gathered at one place and we eagerly squeezed in for a peek; surprisingly, it was just a few turtles in a small plastic tub!
Back at the ship, we had a quick hamburger by the pool before an excursion to see Hong Kong by night. We rode the Hong Kong double decker tram, the only double decker trams in the world, through the heart of downtown. It was a blast! We sat up top and enjoyed every minute of the unique perspective, sorry when it was over. Hong Kong is tied with Mumbai for the highest population density; however, its population is crowded into a mere 1100 square kilometers. Because 75% of that land is designated greenland, people are squeezed even tighter, most living in high rises. There’s always something interesting to see – a golden dragon at a busy intersection, or one of Hong Kong’s famous night markets !
From the double decker tram we took the tour bus through “No More Excuses” tunnel, so called because the ferry stoppage for the night used to be a convenient excuse for businessmen not returning home at the end of the day. Then we rode the extremely crowded Victoria Peak incline to the top. It was an exceptionally clear night, leading to big crowds eager for a view of the city skyline, ranked #1 in the world. Transcendent!
Fortunately we took the tour bus down – after the crush going up, none of us relished the thought of the crowd going down.
We overnighted in Hong Kong in an unusual arrangement – the ship was berthed in one location the first day, then moved that night about 11 pm to a new and much preferred berth for day two. We watched the move from our balcony as glittering Hong Kong glided past.
An excellent day in one of the world’s coolest cities!
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