March 26, 2013 Hong Kong

 We slept in a bit since the first HOHO didn’t start until 9:30. It was warmer out today, but still cool and rainy. We put on the rain jackets and walked to the Star ferry across to Hong Kong to take the Red Route. We sat on top in the partially covered area to keep dry and warm.

Here is the description of the Red Route: The RED ROUTE on Hong Kong Island starts at Central Pier 7 (Star Ferry Pier) in Central and takes in Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay with stops at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Causeway Bay SOGO, Park Lane Hotel, Wan Chai Computer City, Lower Peak Tram Terminus, Mid-Levels Escalator, Man Mo Temple and Hotel LKF at Lan Kwai Fong.

We planned to stay on until we got to the Victoria Peak stop. We knew with the fog and clouds there would be no visibility at the top, but the funicular ride was interesting and we enjoyed the stop.

The Peak Tramway is a funicular railway, which carries tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island.. The Tramway runs from the Central district of Hong Kong Island to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels.  

The Tramway was opened for public service in May 1888, covering a distance of 1.4 kilometres with four intermediate stations. More than 4 million people ride the Peak Tram annually; an average of 11,000 each day, making it one of the most popular things to do in Hong Kong. The journey offers superb views over Victoria Harbour and the city’s many skyscrapers. 

If it had been clear we would have seen magnificent panoramic views over Hong Kong, a variety of mountain-top walks, shopping opportunities, cafes and restaurants.

 

 escalators to the top

 

We then caught the ferry back to the Kowloon side and went to find a restaurant called Jade Garden that our tour guide had recommended. It was kind of hard to find, but we finally did find it on the 4^th floor in the building next to the big shopping mall by the cruise terminal. Glad we persisted to find it as it turned out to be some of the best Chinese food we had on the trip. Very nice atmosphere and wonderful dim sum. Highly recommend Jade Garden. We had BBQ Pork steamed buns, shrimp dim sum and pork dim sum (like pot stickers), spring rolls, shrimp won tons and ribs. YUM! 

 

 

Then we walked to the bus stop to take the BLUE ROUTE around Kowloon which starts at Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade near the Avenue of Stars and takes in Tsim Sha Tsui and Tsim Sha Tsui East, Nathan Road and Mong Kok with stops at Langham Place, Temple Street, Peking Road and Mody Road. We had planned to get off at the Ladies Market as I wanted to buy a China doll. (which I should have bought the day before at the Stanley Market since it was more of a street market than the higher end shops)By this time it was raining pretty good and I said let's just finish the bus ride and shop close to the ship. We found a little shop that had a pretty China Doll in a lovely red dress holding a fan. It’s just a cheap tourist one, but I really like it. 

We counted up what Hong Kong cash we had left and set out to spend the last of it (equal to about $10). We went to the large shopping mall and found a place for a nice dessert. We had enough to split a molten lava cake with ice cream. Then, we were off to board the ship before sail away at 5:00. It was pouring down rain for a while but it cleared a bit and it was the brightest we had seen in 2 days. We actually could see some of the peaks and tops of buildings. 

 

 

We got ready for dinner and the show. Everyone at the table got caught up on what each other had been doing for the past 5 days. The show tonight was a comedian named Glenn Hirsch and a preview of the new troupe of Princess singers and dancers for the last half of our voyage. Glenn was hilarious!

Unfortunately, there is only 1 sea day before our next port of Cai Lan in Vietnam. It is the gateway to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. Not much time to catch our breath!