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Sunflowers are growing tall
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We had until 4pm before we had to be back onboard today, so we had to chart our day carefully. Breakfast began early in the dining room, since we are in port. What was different this morning was the first encounter with some new passengers that joined yesterday. Or near encounter, we should say, since two couples were sitting a couple of tables away from us. The four of them were not having the best day, because their order was not quite correct. Since we were sitting so close, we could not help but hear them putting our favorite waiter through the ringer. Their cereal was no good, the eggs were cooked wrong, and the bacon never arrived. One of the men got up four times to find the head waiter to complain. Then they had the nerve to demand espresso cups to drink their regular coffee. Now our waiter was having a bad start , because of these people. We sure hope that these folks chill out soon, or they will have a horrible cruise. And so will the staff.
Thinking that we would have to look into the progress with the tux jacket adjustments, we were surprised to find the garment bag hanging on our stateroom door. The work had been completed and it looked great. No charge either. We highly recommend the services provided by these tailors.
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| The Jade Market |
The weather today was even more dismal than yesterday. A heavy mist hung in the air, although we could not call it rain. OK for walking long distances. Beginning with a walk to the Jade Market, which is located near the Temple Street Night Market, we just thought we would walk through it. We always think that, and we always come out with something. That something was a pair of South Seas pearl earrings to match a double strand of pearls we purchased a few years ago on the ship. It's been impossible to find a pair at home, so we thought we'd try to look here in Hong Kong. Taking a chance that they would match, colorwise, we found a pair in a short time. The fun part was the bargaining, which we cannot do at home.
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| Jammed pack with jade and other jewelry |
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| Numerous stalls of jewelry artists |
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Found a pair of earrings here
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| Fish of all kinds |
Near to the Jade Market is the bustling veggie and live fish market. Well, most of the fish were alive in styrofoam boxes full of water. Not only fish, but eels, turtles, and brown frogs. Each narrow stall had a butcher who was fileting and scaling big groupers and tuna. Everything was so fresh, that there was barely a smell. By the end of the afternoon, we suspect all of the fish will be sold to mostly little elderly Asian ladies pulling shopping carts behind them. While we were busy taking photos of the produce and fish tables, these ladies continued pulling their carts over our feet as they went about their shopping. We noticed that most all the little kids were being watched by their grandmas or grandpas, while the parents were at work.
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| Fileting a fish |
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| Fish in tubs |
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| Most of the fish were kept alive |
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| Slithering eels |
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| Crabs |
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| Tuna steaks |
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| Spotted fish |
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| A good catch |
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| Shrimp |
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| Scaling a large fish |
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| Very fresh |
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Frogs
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More fish tanks
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Shellfish
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The veggie market
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Some of the narrow side streets were closed off to traffic, and a couple of blocks were dedicated to selling fresh produce off of tables covered with tents. Most of the fruit and veggies looked like the ones we have at home with a few exceptions. Durian was again for sale, however, we think we made a mistake with the pricing on the fruit while in Manila. Looks like it goes for 140HK a kilogram (one kilogram = 2.2046 pounds). Much of the excellent-looking apples and pears must be imported, because they do not grow here. And they were expensive.
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| Pork |
The side shops on the closed-off street were meat butcheries. Pork was the number shop, with all parts of the pig hanging from hooks in the open air. Hooves, heads, innards....you name it, you can buy it. As we have noticed in the past, there are few flies or insects bothering all the exposed meats. Some of the pork, like bacon, ham, and ribs were already cooked, as were the peking ducks, chicken, and smaller poultry. Every now and then, you would see some beef cuts, the fat being very yellow in color. That indicates to us that the cows were grain or corn fed before butchering. The poultry has the same shade of yellow as well.
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| Lots of fresh pork |
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| More pork |
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| Oink-oink |
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| Pigs feet |
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No flies around the meat
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| Lots of eggs |
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| Chickens alive |
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Chickens dressed
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| A happy kitty |
As we were winding around the stalls, we spotted several fat cats, content to curl up in a ball and watch the world go by. Two possible reasons came to mind about their healthy weight and coats. They are well fed with the readily available fish and meat or they are good ratters. We are leaning towards the "rat" patrol because everyone works here in Hong Kong......even the cats
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Produce by the kilogram
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| Outdoor veggie market |
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| Lots of food to feed lots of people |
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| Nice produce |
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| It sells quickly |
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| Small Thai peppers are the hot ones |
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| Local mystery fruit |
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| Citrus of some kind |
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Lady shoppers
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| All of the scaffolding is made with bamboo, tied together with plastic |
After taking a million colorful photos, we began our walk back towards the pier and the waterfront stroll from the busy Star Ferry Terminal, the Clock Tower, Cultural Center, Space Museum, and the Avenue of the Stars. So much of this walkway was cordoned off, due to ongoing maintenance, that we had to be careful where we walked.
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| Food items and clothing |
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| Necessary stuff |
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| Festive-looking |
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Outdoor eating
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| Setting traps |
What was fascinating was the sampan that was bobbing near the dock. An elderly couple were checking existing traps for fish and crabs we assume. Gosh they were working hard to lift the cages with a makeshift pulley system. Keep in mind, ferries, tankers, junks, and modern boats were sailing by as they fished the old way. The traps were full of small jumping fish, which the woman dumped in 5 gallon buckets in their ancient-style boat. Like we said, everyone works here no matter what their age.
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Fishing from the boat
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| BLT Burger |
Lunch was starting to sound good about now, so we headed back to Harbour City Mall and the BLT Burger restaurant. We knew they served excellent burgers and skinny fries, which we each ordered. Adding beers to the order did boost the bill to almost $50. US, but they sure tasted good. They specialize in milkshakes with names like Yin & Yang, Mocha Mudslide, and Grandma's Treat made with a touch of bourbon. They start from $68HK and go to $78HK for a spiked one ($10. US).
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| Draft beers |
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BTL Combo
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| Going to the muster drill..the third one for us |
Since all aboard was 4pm with a mandatory muster drill, we had to leave. But not without one last stop at Toys R Us, where we spent the last of our coin collection on M&M's peanuts. Many other folks were doing the same thing. The rest of the remaining passengers and crew members were dialed into the free wifi near the pier entrance.
Shortly afterwards, the muster drill was held. So far we have not recognized any familiar faces of the newbies. Following that, was the Asian Night Market Sailaway held in the Lido Pool area. Along with finger foods and drinks? (not free), were stands of souveniers, crafts, and things for sale. It was printed that we could watch the city lights fade away into the night as we sailed towards our next destination of Singapore.
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| Very dismal at 5pm |
There were two things wrong with that description.......nightfall would not happen until well after 6:30pm, and the city and harbor lights were not visible once we were 100 yards away from the pier. The weather was terrible for a scenic sailaway. The fog was low and eventually it began to rain lightly. The only way to see the harbor exit was from the aft deck, so we moved for a while to deck seven aft.
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| Famous skyline |
By 6pm, we had passed most of the tall buildings that house the throngs of people and were exiting Causeway Bay. Knowing that Hong Kong is not on the itinerary next year, we were already sad to be leaving.
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| Tug getting ready to assist |
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| The pilot boat |
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| A fishing bird |
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| Old style ferry boat |
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| Newer high speed boat |
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| Leaving the pier |
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| Cranes in flight |
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| Tug towing a barge |
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| Older boat a bit rusty |
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| Harbor traffic |
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| Blue ferry |
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| A sampan |
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| Star Cruises - a gambling vessel we believe |
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| Harbor ferries |
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| The Clocktower |
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| The Star House |
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| Fancy Chinese dinner boat |
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| Hong Kong Convention and exhibition Centres |
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| Chinese junk |
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| Ferry to somewhere |
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| Highrises of Hong Kong Island |
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| Starting to light up for the evening |
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| The tugboat followed us |
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| Cannot read that one up high |
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| Shangri-La di-da |
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| The China Star |
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| Looked like the old Radisson Diamond |
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| Perhaps a gambling ship |
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| Permanently anchored |
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| Housing for thousands |
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| More ferries |
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| May be a gambling ship also |
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| The green ferry |
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| And the pink one |
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| New cruise terminal |
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| New cruise terminal |
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| Another parked ship |
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| Ferry |
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| More highrise housing |
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| Shanty town |
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| Leaving Hong Kong Harbour |
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| Housing has to go up due to lack of space |
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| Outskirts of the city |
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It was raining outside
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| Lido Party |
Today being Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, there was a party held in the Crows Nest at 9pm. Well that pretty much excludes the late seating dinner guests. Wonder who makes up these times and events?
