HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO ALL!!!
The day began much like yesterday as far as the weather was concerned. That heavy smog-like haze remained over the entire city, although it was not cold. At 7am, the temperature was in the low 70's and there was some humidity in the air. At least we are not getting a shock every time we touch something metal. That was occurring ever since we arrived to Tianjin, China. We tolerate the chilly weather, but really prefer mild, warm, and sunny. That will come in time…..and more.
During breakfast, Suzanne shared some photos of her walk around the terminal yesterday. She had not been able to spot a sidewalk that led to the streets to downtown Kowloon, but did discover the garden part of the cruise terminal located on the roof. We had already decided not to return to the APM Mall, since all aboard was 3pm. After the delays we experienced yesterday, as well as hearing more stories much like ours, we knew we could not trust that we would get back to the ship on time. We do not recall ever leaving Hong Kong so early on day two. Many times we have sailed out of this magnificent harbor in the dark, which is a real treat seeing the city lit up.
So around 11am, we ventured off of the ship after completing yesterday's photos and report, keeping us up to date. We had been under the impression that there was no way to walk out of this terminal due to the construction going on. Even the information fellow down by the exit said if we wanted to take a walk, we could go up to the garden on the roof, or walk outside a little way. Their final suggestion is to take a taxi somewhere, one thing we did not want to do. Anyway, we picked up the map of the MTR Stations and noticed there was a list of buses that came to this terminal that went to different areas. Bus numbers, times, duration of the ride, and the price was posted on one side. Some buses came back to the terminal, some did not. Then we noticed that this flyer was dated for today, and also had the times for the free coach to the APM Mall, the one we took yesterday. Today, the shuttles ran every hour, not ½ hour as was printed on the newsletter.
There was a window where we could buy Hong Kong dollars or turn in other currencies like yen we still had. And just a note to ourselves…..we did exchange yen for US dollars, but it had to be converted to HK dollars first, then US dollars. Since it was a small amount, the fee was negligible. But it is better to do the exchange in the same country of the money. Better yet…..spend it all.
This was the same place to buy those bus passes and even purchase an Octopus Card for seniors. This is something to remember if we ever come back here. We could ride the MTR for two days for a very small amount and not worry about taxis. It sure works for us in Singapore and we hope that has not changed since we were there last.
Making our way the same street the bus took yesterday, we found the entrance to the Kai Tak Skypark. Lucky for us, we had run into another couple we see often on world and longer voyages, and they said they had made their way back to the terminal from the Mall yesterday, mostly because he could not lift his wheelchair-bound wife into the coach. They did indeed find the right street and sidewalks all the way back from town.
It was not easy to see at first, but there was a fountain with stairs going up to a wide elevated garden walk. This was perfect, and even more so because they were few people up here. Mostly local joggers and a few dog walkers were here. Forbidden on this garden wall are bikes, roller skates, and skate boards. Much better for people that are hiking like us. It was extremely well-maintained and clean as could be. And the view of both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon was spectacular. One thing we did not anticipate was how warm it became as the day advanced. The haze had thinned to a point that it actually got too warm. Many benches were placed in between plantings of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Grasses and ground covers filled every planted area. We even saw some birds in these trees today as well as one lone kite or hawk. There were many stairways as well as elevators to access this garden walk. What a wonderful discovery.
There were many signs describing how this area came about. This long finger of a peninsula was actually the old airport runway. Once it was relocated to Lantau Island, this Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was built. Long and narrow, it takes up the far end of the old runway. Then the Skypark Garden begins where the terminal ends. It is built above the old runway and runs the full length of it. The walk continued all the way to the old airport we believe. It had to be about a mile or more from end to end.
In a few areas of the walkway, there were small wind turbines that charge batteries that supply the LED lighting along the pathway and also in the floor. Hard to believe it takes so little of these windmills to create the energy needed.
New towers of apartment complexes are going up on both sides of the Skypark. They are massive and modern with fountains and swimming pools to die for. We could not help but notice that the scaffolding is made from bamboo. When they are completed, this Skypark Garden will be much appreciated for exercise and the views. Of course, on the way back, we tested the nice benches along the way. Especially the ones that were in some shade. Had we known there were drink vending machines up here, we would not have cashed out our HK dollars. After taking hundreds of pictures, we got back to the terminal with enough time to check out the roof.
Locating an elevator, we went there to find another rooftop garden with three sets of escalators, none of which were operating. Only two sets of elevators took the folks to either A or B terminals. And by the way, another ship had arrived this morning and docked behind us. It was called Resorts World One, an Asian-owned ship registered in the Bahamas. It was about the same size as the Zuiderdam with up to 1856 passengers and built in 1999. The gross tonnage was 75,000 and there were 13 decks. Checking it out later online, the rooms looked very Asian-decorated with a mix of insides, outsides, and many verandas. Today was their turn-around day, and eventually they left after 3pm. We did see a good-sized group of mostly Asian ladies running from a bus to board the ship shortly before it left.
Back to the roof, we found there was a large venue for private parties. Last night there was a wedding reception, so that explains the lights we saw from deck 10 on the ship. On the opposite end was an origami café for kids. It appears it is rented for groups and not open to the public. We had built up a mighty thirst, so we headed back down and did the security checkpoints. They asked to see our passport copies twice, comparing it to the name on our room cards. The xray was done in the terminal, which saved time onboard. We had a surprise when we jumped in the elevator. It went up almost to deck six, stopped, buzzed and dropped back down to the third deck. It almost felt like a free-fall at first. The doors opened and we jumped out. The security officer said they had shut down all of the elevators for a quick test. They did resume working in 5 minutes, but that was not a good feeling thinking we might be stuck. It did happen to our friends not that long ago…an experience they will never forget.
All aboard was 3pm and around 10 minutes later, our new Captain Friso welcomed us as he is taking over now. He did mention that Hong Kong is one of his favorite harbors, and we had hoped we could sail further up to see the area where we usually docked. However, it was not be since we were already facing the way out. Besides more cranes for new construction on the Kowloon side, we also spotted an area that was being leveled, like a mountain being tiered and the sand taken away. We will have to research this, even though Captain Friso mentioned it as we passed by. The haze became heavier the further away we got from the harbor, the horn had to be blasted every two minutes. There was a lot of traffic with small boats and we had to announce our presence. Even a few miles away, we could not see the city anymore.
Tonight was everything St. Paddy's Day. Green lights decorated the dining room and the menu matched with appropriate Irish items. Both of us had the smoked chicken appetizer….most delicious. One salad ordered was nicoise (tuna) which always had flaked tuna in it. Now they put a chunk of ahi tuna on the plate, so I asked for no tuna. Our entrees were a choice between corned beef and cabbage, not our favorite, or an Irish stew. We chose the stew and were surprised it came like a soup. It was tasty, but we missed the gravy that usually holds it together. There was a bar hop that began at 8pm and it was in full swing when we left the dining room. The Ocean Bar had to be the fourth stop. We believe that many people got their money's worth ($25).
There was a movie in the World Stage, so the bar hop must have been more appealing.
And the clocks went back one hour tonight , giving us all a 25 hour day at sea tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
