Saturday, February 2
The first thing you notice when you arrive in Hong Kong is the unbelievable density. The tall, skinny skyscrapers are so tightly packed together, it’s hard to not see them as a bundled group move than individual buildings. Overall though, the island is amazing in how much is still undeveloped, lush, green tropical forest. The first day, Mama and I take a bus to the south side of the island with our destination being Stanley Market. Our ship is docked on mainland HK across from the north side of the island where the Central neighborhood is. Think financial center, high-end flagship stores, luxury car dealerships and, once again, tons of really tall buildings. So as we leave the north and start to loop around the island towards the south, it changes quite dramatically. The south side has dramatic views out to the South China Sea with a winding road, Island Road, that hangs off the side of a cliff at times, meandering through the Repulse Bay and Stanley neighborhoods. This elite address is the home of some of the wealthiest HK residents with dramatic homes behind elaborate gates built into the side of the hill hovering over the water. It’s a pretty impressive sight.
Unfortunately, the weather on day 1 was overcast, cool, and windy. We were not dressed warm enough and nothing was very photogenic with the gray skies and white light. The highlight of my entire day (trip!) was to learn HK is a super dog-friendly town! It reminds me of San Francisco in that there are doggos everywhere! There were big friends, little friends (in their chilly-weather gear due to the “incliment weather”) and so many interesting friends of breeds you don’t see too often. That was a huge win for me! Stanley Market was small but had some interesting stalls. Mama really scored and found two long coat/shirt type of items that were handmade by the woman who owned the shop. She was very kind and helpful in offering many choices and negotiating a good deal for both pieces (“special deal for the Chinese New Year”). I didn’t get anything as I don’t need to be collecting more crap at this point. I bought enough goods in Vietnam!
We proceeded on to tour Aberdeen, a smaller neighborhood mostly knows for its sampan fishing boats. It was picturesque as the density was a bit less than the north side of the island with bridges and an inland waterway. We headed back to Central to get some lunch but hit a very strange time of day where a lot of restaurants were closed! Mama was desperate to use the bathroom and we were both starving so we settled for going to the restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Let’s just say my veggie burger was $30 and Mama’s regular burger was $42. HK prices are no joke.
We hit up one of the mega-malls, which are everywhere and ALL packed. I wanted to find a bookstore with a good English selection before we start sailing to China, Taiwan and Japan where I’m not sure how the pickins will be.
Interesting fact I didn’t know about HK, the official language is Chinese (Cantonese) and English, so it’s quite easy to get around. Classes at the University of HK are taught in English.
This was a long day and we covered a lot of ground, so we called it a day. Plus we have a whole additional day at this port tomorrow, which isn’t normal. About 1,000 people are getting off the boat today and there will be new people getting on for the next leg of the trip HK-Shanghai. This marks half way through the cruise!
Sunday, February 3
Weather is much prettier and warmer today! Much more conducive for photo opportunities. I took so few pictures the first day!
We head back to the north side of the island and do a bus tour that takes you extensively through the financial district, and some of the smaller and older neighborhoods of the city. Again, there are parts of the city that really remind me of San Francisco with the dramatic hills and narrow alleys of steep steps. The density of the buildings is incredible when you’re at the bottom looking up towards all the buildings hovering over you. The number of high-end shopping that is replicated time and time again around the city is mind-blowing as well. The guides were saying that the Gucci, Prada, YSL, etc stores will have lines to get in (not even on sales days) as people are so brand-obsessed.
But as I researched some facts of about HK after being there one day, the stats speak for themselves.
Citing this article: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-hong-kong-billionaires-live-money-mansions-restaurants-lifestyle-2018-12
1 in 7 people in HK is a millionaire, there are estimated 93 billionaires in HK, at least 10,000 people are worth at least $30 million, and there are 82 Michelin-star restaurants. It’s an interesting read full of fascinating facts, that after being in the city for only a day or two you can believe.
Next, we decided to explore the mainland part of HK, known as Kowloon and home of the famous Peninsula Hotel, an impressive Chinatown, and the tallest building in HK, the International Commerce Center, or ICC, in West Kowloon. The views looking back towards the island are gorgeous and the Star Ferry ride over the bay was much quicker than I expected. This area of HK is still dense but the height of the buildings isn’t as crazy as over on the north island.
One of the truly impressive parts of our time here was our departure. As we were pulling away from port, the sky illuminated gorgeous shades of pink and orange, highlighting the dramatic peaks of the island. On the mainland side was apartment density that was even more tightly packed than we had seen on the island. Everyone on the boat was mesmerized by the residential apartments that lined the coast as we made our way out to the South China Sea.
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