"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 63 Hong Kong, People's Republic of China March 3,2016 Thursday Partly sunny & 65 degrees Part #1 of 2 81 Pictures

Sent: Thursday, March 3, 2016 2:11:26 PM
Subject: Report # 63 Hong Kong, People's Republic of China March 3,2016 Thursday Partly sunny & 65 degrees Part #1 of 2 81 Pictures

Report # 63 Hong Kong, People's Republic of China March 3, 2016 Thursday Partly sunny & 65 degrees Part # 1 of 2 81 Pictures

Day two in Hong Kong began with the nicest weather we have seen here. Bet it got in the 70's today, with a pleasant breeze. Since today was going to be another walking one, we started off with a good breakfast as usual. Since few customers were in the dining room, we always get the chance to visit with Pande, Oscar, and Presti, three of the best head waiters. They keep us up to date with the crew news. Apparently some of the crew have left the ship, possibly not happy with their jobs. It is not always easy to replace them, as most are into their ten month contracts on other ships. So they do pick up new workers along the way, as they become available. We also learned that the singers and dancers left yesterday, replaced with a whole new group.

We left the ship at 10:30am, and took the same path we went yesterday. Out of the shopping mall, we turned left on Canton Road, across the street to Austin, and up the hill. Our destination was the Jade Market, accessed by Kansu Street. It is located a few short blocks from Nathan. You would never associate the one story old building as a jewelry stop. Inside this market, we found stall after stall of tables full of jade items…..necklaces, bracelets, earrings, figurines, etc. Each vendor is busy creating different designs, using a variety of colors that jade comes in. Not always green, you can find pink, gold, and minty green. Another popular type of jewelry they sell here is pearls. Not the kind they sold in the South Pacific, but regular white, creamy, pink, and silver pearls. We were looking for baroque pearls in silver. These are more of a teardrop shape, and covered in nacre that is uneven, and unusual shapes. We easily located a necklace with matching earrings, and discovered the vendor was quite happy to bargain deeply. We used Hong Kong dollars, with a one dollar US bill for good luck, or so she said.

Checking out some other stalls, we came across a matching necklace that could be used as a double-stranded bracelet. Once again, the vendor was happy to make a sale, taking US dollars. As always, they say they are making a good deal since you are the first customer of the day. Supposedly good luck. Whatever, we were happy with the purchases. Best to leave before we found something else we could not live without.

Right across the street from the Jade Market was a street market for mostly food. The street was closed off to traffic, and was full of tables of fresh produce. Locals buy food for the day, because we are not sure that everyone here owns refrigerators. Items are sold separately, like onions for instance. We saw some 30 pound bags of yellow onions and had to check where they came from. Guess what? They were imported from Oregon. We suppose that would be true for apples, cherries, or grapes.

Clothing was another popular choice for the street stalls. Since the sizes are small to smaller, we usually don't even bother to look. Most all of the side shops sell household items and hardware-type stores.

The meats sold here are primarily pork, chicken, duck, and fish. Lots of fish. We went through the building that houses the largest fish and produce market. It was crowded with locals buying the fish. Watching the butchers cleaning and fileting the largest fish was interesting. They tend to use a mallet and a hatchet to make the slices in the big fish. Red ceiling lights seem to make the fish colors even more pink. Maybe it helps sell it. One vendor seemed to have the most customers. We guessed he had lowered his prices to get rid of his catch for the day.

The next stop for us was at Kowloon Park. Entering the park from Austin Road is the easiest, since there is a walkway (no stairs) that takes you to the swimming pool and sports area. Listening to the sounds of birds, we found our way to the aviary up high. This elaborate cage houses a variety of pigeons, parrots, hornbills, pheasants, and some unusual birds you would never see in the wild. Benches are placed around this aviary, as well as all around the park, making it a nice place to relax. Many folks were reading or visiti with friends up here. There was even a film being made here with an actor and an actress. Small production, but definitely a film.

Going up to the highest point, we took photos of the surrounding skyscrapers. Hard to believe we were in the middle of such a nice, peaceful park, but located in the hustle and bustle of such a vibrant huge city. It has to be one of our favorite spots in a big city, much like Golden Gate Park is to us in San Francisco.

We continued to walk down to the waterfall and ponds below. They were full of ducks, geese, herons, koi carp, and the best….flamingos, both the lesser and the great. Peacocks were here somewhere, because we heard them. Reminded us of home. Very near to the pond was a bridge that led out of the park. That is when we found that a footbridge led us to the end of the Harbour City complex, connecting to the Gateway complex and the Prince Hotel. A rooftop garden was there with a terrific view of the Victoria Harbour below. Ferries use this area to load passengers to go to Macau and mainland China.

Now the good thing about this exit from the park, was that we did not have to cross the streets on Canton Road, We simply took the elevator at the Prince Hotel to Canton Road, then enter the doors a few steps away at the Harbour City mall.

We went directly to lunch, once again, at the Pizza Express. Our waitress remembered us from yesterday, and repeated our order exactly. The pizza was every bit as good too.

Back on the ship, we took a rest while downloading pictures for an hour. Then off we went to the Night Market at 5:30pm. It did not seem as far this time, because we took a side street to access Jordan Road. We came out right across the street from the Temple Street Market, marked with a Chinese portal. And lots of neon signs, all beginning to come on now that the sun was going down. We are not really that big on shopping, but we did find a few bargains with handbags. They pack easily and are useful. At least for one of us.

We got back to the ship shortly before dinner, not wanting to be late, since we had new guests arriving. We were on time at 8pm, but no one was there yet. Our new additions, Leslie and Handler, arrived within minutes. It was sure great to see them again. Seems like almost like yesterday when we said good bye last year at the end of the 2015 world cruise. Bonnie and Paul arrived a bit later, because they had gone to deck nine to watch the Light Show. Then much to our surprise, friends Greg and Heo from Sydney came to say hello. They also boarded today, and we instantly asked them to join us. Martha was missing, and Barb had gone to the Night Market at the last minute.

It happened to be Paul's birthday today, so they has pre-ordered a Snickers cake. Topped with fluffy whipped cream, it was decadent, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. It was great fun when many waiters came to singHappy Birthday to him. So it turned out to be a wonderful evening after all. But then, all of the days and nights are good when you are on a ship.

Bonnie pointed out that today was "hump" day…..half of the cruise is over. Where did that time go?

Bill & Mary Ann

Peace Park