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| Amsterdam docked at Ocean Terminal |
The Amsterdam sailed quietly into Victoria Harbour sometime around 6:30am this morning. Barbara H gave an informative narration on the outside decks, as well as on our
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| The view out of our window |
stateroom TVs. Having been here many, many times over the years, we slept in. The weather was dismally foggy and cool, so getting up early to go outside was not the way we needed to start a long day. By the time we made it to the dining room, we were docked (starboard pierside), and we had a good table to watch the local harbor traffic while we dined. What a city of contrasts. A modern ferry was sailing into the nearby slip with the help of two tugs, while a small sampan went by with an elderly couple fishing from its bow as the boat rocked back and forth in the choppy waters.
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| Hotels along Canton Road |
Hong Kong is home to over seven million people. We think we encountered at least half of them as we walked up Nathan Road today. The city is a world class financial trading and business center mixed with quiet parks, green spaces, and mountaintop views. There are skyscrapers, temples, and shopping malls like you have never seen before. As for the history of Hong Kong, we won't get into the details other than it began as a fishing village, had a shady past, and has evolved into the fascinating, vibrant city that we see today.
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| Int. Finance Centre - the tallest building in Hong Kong |
We stayed on the Kowloon side, since most of the places we like to visit are here. Before we left the ship, we had a few jobs to do first. Getting local money, Hong Kong dollars was first on the list. We find it much easier to do this on the ship. Years ago, we got foreign money at the bank at home before we left. It was a good thing that we did not do this for Hong Kong, because recently there has been an alert for conterfeit $1000 bills especially those dated 2003. And they will not be accepted anywhere in town. That is the only time we have ever run into this problem.
Then we had to turn in a slip for lost internet minutes. No, the internet is still not working properly, and we have little hope it will be anytime too soon.
Lastly, we dropped off a white tuxedo jacket that we had made by the onboard tailors a few years ago. We felt the sleeves were too short, and the tailor agreed. So he said to bring it to him when they got here to Hong Kong, and he would fix it for free. Excellent service.
Finally we were ready to go on our hike. To say it was a long walk, is a gross under estimation. It was at least 4000 miles for sure.
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| Stairway to the Bird Market |
The Bird Market was the furthest destination, a very interesting place for us, since it makes us feel right at home. Besides the big variety of songbirds, they have traditional bamboo cages for sale. We actually own a couple of them already. What is neat here, are the many locals, mostly elderly, that bring their songbirds in the bamboo cages to learn to sing from the other caged birds. There are cement benches and single chairs where they sit with their cages in the trees. Sometimes these men visit with each other while their pets warble away the morning. Funny thing, we have never seen any women doing this.
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| The Bird Market |
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| Small singing caged birds |
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| All young ones learning to sing |
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| Bird garden for sitting |
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| Bill resting |
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| OK, Mary Ann resting too |
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| Beautiful songbirds |
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| Tiny frogs are fed to the larger birds |
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| Gardens of the Bird Market |
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| Amazon parrot |
Right before we left, we decided to buy one more butterfly decoration for potted plants that they sell here. With a small amount of Hong Kong change, we did not have quite enough to buy it. Oh well, we said OK, but the elderly vendor said come back. She held out her hands, and we dumped the coins in them. She counted the change, and said OK, here it is, even though we were short. Nice people work here.
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| Every color of the rainbow |
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| Gorgeous orchids |
Then we were off to the Flower Market right next door.. We always find some very nice flowers to take back to our room. Todays best buy were two bunches of pinks, small carnations, with at least a total of three hundred blooms. All this for under $20 US dollars. This 2 block area is loaded with small shops, all getting early morning deliveries from, of all places, Holland. Of course, these flowers would not be grown here at this time of year or in this climate. Some of the orchids do come from here, and the prices are incredibly inexpensive. If they were not so delicate, we would have purchased some for our room. But carrying them back 4000 miles to the ship would be impossible. Funny story. A few years back, we had been on a tour that stopped here. One lady was so impressed with the size and price of the orchids, she brought a huge one back in the bus. As we hit every bump in the road, the branches began to snap, and when we arrived at the pier, only one branch was left. We all knew that could happen, but she did not even consider that. Live and learn.
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| Oh, the flowers are lovely |
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| The Ladies Market |
The Ladies Market was across the road, so we made our way across the street. One good thing about long traffic lights, is that you have a few minutes to catch your breath to continue onwards. Got to the point where you pray for a red light to stop. Then once it turns green, it is like the charge of the light brigade...heads down, zigzagging, weaving through the crowds. Just like living and working in downtown San Francisco years ago. In fact, we could have been at home, walking down Market Street or making our way up to Union Square. And with the misty fog in the air today, well it brought back many memories.
There was no problem finding what we needed at the Ladies Market. They sell good quality umbrellas, as well as clothing for the entire family. Practical housewares are abundant, as are the small pouches for carrying groceries. We have a collection of those foldable bags, and wanted to pick up five more. At $10 Honk Kong (a little over one dollar), they are a bargain. And they last forever. There was no such luck trying to find the crocheted lace top that we searched for in the Haymarket in Sydney.
It was getting past lunchtime, so we knew to head back to the shopping mall at the pier, unload our purchases on the ship, and head for Pizza Express on the lower level. It was heavenly to be able to sit, relax, and enjoy every bite of margherita pizza and sips of Peroni beers. Right across from this restaurant was the Seabourn Legend, a much smaller vessel than the Amsterdam, we are certain sailing on her is a 5 star experience.
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| Pizza Express Restaurant |
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| Two large Peronis please |
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| Part of the margherita pizza |
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| Here we are at the Night Market |
Shortly after 4pm, we went back out for a jaunt to the Night Market, which begins their set-up around then. The food stalls would not be ready until after dark, but we do not go there for the food. With an allergy to shellfish, one of us cannot take a single chance that everything or anything could have some type of sauce or flavoring with a shellfish base. That could ruin a week's worth of sailing for sure. No, we like to bargain for treasures there, and even though we were not specifically looking for anything, we always find a good deal. If you go early, you can get the "earlybird" special by being the first customer of the evening. That worked for two Mulberry clutch purses, and one whimsical chicken. Yes, we said chicken......one that sings Yankee Doodle and squawks while dancing in place. So, so funny, we know our room stewards will get a laugh with him. We nicknamed him Foghorn Leghorn, of course.
