Subject: Report # 61 Sailing Towards Hong Kong March 1, 2016 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 82 degrees
Report # 61 Sailing Towards Hong Kong March 1, 2016 Tuesday Partly cloudy & 82 degrees
The daily forecast and the current temperature that is written on the "On Location Today" newsletter has to be printed prior to the cruise. It seldom matches what is really going on. Today, for instance, it has been extremely cloudy, raining at times, and no way near 82 degrees. In fact, it has gotten almost chilly, especially if you are sitting on the outside deck with hopes of 82 degree weather. The winds increased to gale force 8 or 9 during the day, at times with waves so severe, they crashed against the bow of the ship with explosive force. If you were looking out the window on deck five or higher, you may think it was OK, not too rough. But once on an outside deck, you had to hang on to the railing at times. Exciting is what we find the spray from the pounding waves that sent water over and above the deck. A complete white-out.
A flock of birds has decided to entertain us with their high-diving skills, as the ship's wake must be full of small fish. It is something to watch them dive and fight over the catch. At first we thought they were boobys, but at closer inspection, we believe they are gannets. They are not shy, as they will fly eye-to-eye with us when we watch from the lower promenade deck. We suspect we are sailing somewhere close to land, or else we would not be courting these flocks of birds. At least we don't feel so all alone out here.
Since we are getting nearer to Hong Kong, here is a little of information about this fabulous city. The area of Hong Kong is relatively small at 426 square miles. But the population is big…..7,055,071 people that speak mostly Cantonese and/or English. According to Lonely Planet, Hong Kong was a former British colony that they describe as being the "Asian tiger with the biggest teeth". Little has changed under the Chinese rule.
Modern day Hong Kong has a vibrant stock exchange, skyscrapers, and extravagant hotels. In the mix, you will also find much older areas that time has changed little, such as shopping districts with fish and meat markets, fresh veggie and fruit stands, street food, clothing, shoes, souvenirs, and a night market. The flower, bird, ladies, and jade markets have bargains unmatched anywhere. With three full days in port, we intend to hit each and every one of these. And not to be missed is the million dollar blast of nightly lights across Victoria Harbour, costing a cool million every single night we read.
The harbor traffic is always interesting to watch as the ferry traffic is constant. It is not unusual to see a Chinese junk or two bobbing in between the ferries with the old folks fishing from them. Taking one of these ferries can take you to nearby Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, where we will be docked.
The best time to visit Hong Kong is from October to December because there is less rain. If the Captain is right, he said there would be sunny days during our stay there. Hope he is right. We have seen and heard thunder and lightning hit with flooding monsoonal rains that followed in seconds.
Things to see in Hong Kong are numerous to say the least. Taking the tram up to Victoria Peak is a must. The views are stunning, if you have a good day to see it. Many times it is smoggy on the way up, or foggy at the top. Hope for a wind that keeps that view clear. A trip to Lantau Island is the place to visit the Po Lin Monastery to see the largest bronze Buddha in the world. We have done a lunch tour there, where we were served tofu made to taste like everything it was not. Close your eyes, and you are eating chicken, potatoes, bread, and even desserts…..all made with tofu, a bean curd. The monks from the monastery are vegetarians, so the tofu works for them.
Not to be missed is a dim sum feast in Kowloon. Dim sum are steamed dumplings with various fillings. Anything you like can be in them, and taste delicious with a soy-based dip. The local drink is green tea called "yum cha".
Trademarks are skyscrapers, double-decker buses, shopping sprees, the famous skyline, the Peak Tram, Jackie Chen, the actor, and Chinese New Year. Too bad we missed that celebration, because when you are in Asia, it would be a daily activity to see the dragon (many men in costumes) weaving its way through the local streets and hotels.
Here is a random fact we have learned: In Hong Kong, wives are legally allowed to kill adulterous husbands, so long as they only use their bare hands. Cannot make this stuff up. Honest.
Some folks will undoubtedly take advantage of the two overland excursions that have been offered from the ship. One is a flight to Beijing and the Great Wall of China for 3 days and 2 nights. It is round trip Hong Kong, and will set you back $2300 per person. The other overland, also round trip Hong Kong, is to Xi'an and the Terra Cotta Warriors. That is a bit more affordable for 3 days and 2 nights for $2000 per person.
An example of private cars for two is $200 per person for 4 hours, or perhaps a minibus for 18 people for 8 hours for $78 per person.
Back to today, Barbara H gave a talk on Da Nang and Phu My. Both are in Vietnam, and finally, one is a new port for us. This will be the first time we stop at Da Nang, so we booked tours on both days we will be docked there. Actually, we had been given some generous credit from our travel agency to use on their excursions, which are separate from the HAL ones onboard.
The final lectures with Dr. Kam and Andrew Johnson took place at 11am and 2pm. Buddhism history and culture was discussed with the differences pointed out from Chinese folk religion and real Buddhism. A talk about festivals was the subject for Mr. Johnson. He talked about the dragon boat racing, bog snorkeling, and kite flying and baby jumping. Wish we could have listened to these talks on our room TV. Still cannot figure out why these lectures are not televised anymore.
Since 200 passengers will be disembarking soon, there was a farewell party for them in the Queens Lounge. It was not advertised because only those who are leaving were invited. Gene, our CD, sort of let it slip out about a cocktail party sometime today, or else we would not have known.
There was supposed to be a pool games contest outside by the pool, but due to the extremely windy weather, it was cancelled. Some kind of substitute game was held in the atrium on deck three instead. In fact, it was so windy that none of the pool lounges were out to use. They were all stacked and lashed to the railings. Bet tht ticked off some people, who go back to deck eight every single day, windy or not. We have been absent from that scene for the most part too. Now that the weather has cooled down so much, we doubt we will be back to the pool for a week or so.
It was a lunch with Barb, and an afternoon of movies for us. We did take two breaks, walking outside, but fighting the wind was too hard. One side of the deck (port) was so wet from the wave spray, it might as well have been raining. The starboard side was so blustery, you could blow overboard. Even half of the birds took a hike. So did all but four or six passengers.
We had 8 o'clock reservations in the Pinnacle Grill. Many other folks had the same idea, we guess, as the restaurant was crowded. Sometimes when the dining room menu is not too exciting, people make reservations here instead. We ordered appetizers of crab cakes and prawns with red cocktail sauce. We shared a Caesar salad, always excellent in here as it is made tableside according to our instructions. For our entrees, we ordered lamb chops and a New York strip steak. Both were really tasty. Dessert was Baked Alaska and one order of vanilla ice cream. Fancy chocolate candies topped off our ample meal. If that wasn't enough, for some reason, our waitress brought us even more candies. Guess she was being sweet.
The entertainment this evening was Opera Interludes once again. It was great for those who love the music of Rossini, Bizet, Offenbach, Johana Strauss, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Lehar.
Tomorrow, we should arrive to Victoria Harbour around 7:30am with a slow sail to the StarFerry pier and our slip nearby. We are glad we are not scheduled to dock in the new terminal, which is far away from everything.
The other good thing about coming into Hong Kong, are the Star Ferry rolls that will be served on the outside decks, and hopefully, in the dining room. Yes, they are the same as the Panama rolls that we love.
Bill & Mary Ann
