The start of our Asian Adventure--Hong Kong

Just about 2 years ago, I received an email from a cruising friend inviting us to join her and a few friends on a cruise to the Far East.  She referred us to the package deal from Online Vacation Center that included a 14-day cruise plus 2 nights pre-trip in Hong Kong and 2 nights post-trip in Shanghai, airfare, etc.

This area of the world would be all new to us and on our "Bucket List" so we ran it by our cruising neighbor, Bob, who agreed it would be a great trip so we booked it....and so did Bob and his girlfriend Paulette.  What a great way to get a taste of Asia.

Months of planning went into the trip and soon it was time to embark on our Asian adventure.

We flew Delta from Denver to Seattle, and then Seattle to Hong Kong for a total of 18 hours flying time.

So come along with us as I write about what we experienced...after this post, there are a total of 10 more posts for this trip.

In Seattle ready to fly to Hong Kong

By the time we reached the hotel in Hong Kong, we had been awake about 24 hours.  It was night there so we crashed.  We would meet our group of travelers at breakfast in the morning.

Our group of 10 included 3 we have previously cruised with and 4 more were to become new friends for us.  We are from California, Colorado, Tennesee, and Texas.

Online Vacation Center offered a full-day tour of Hong Kong for everyone booking through them.  We filled 2 buses.  Our first stop was the top of Victoria Peak, which overlooks the Hong Kong skyline and Victoria Harbor.  It was really foggy and overcast, thereby making the usual sweeping views invisible.

On a sunny day, without smog, this would be the view....

Internet photo

This is the spot of many postcard image photographs of Hong Kong.  There are nearly 5,000 years of Chinese history and traditions there, overlaid with 150 years of British colonial influence.  Ceded back to China by the British in 1997, the city remains a "free-market zone" within the communist Chinese system. A visa is not needed for Hong Kong, but it is required for mainland China.

The city is also one of the most vibrant commercial centers in the world.  Hong Kong is the most important deep-water harbor in Asia, with hundreds of cargo vessels carrying manufactured goods to the rest of the world.  

Next on our tour was a visit to Aberdeen Bay, where we split into groups of 10 for a Sampan ride around the quaint Aberdeen Fishing Village.  It is right in the heart of Hong Kong but seems like light-years away from it all.

Aerial view of Aberdeen Fishing Village--photo from internet

Here you see rows and rows of the old-fashioned junks and sampans, and some house boats where the fishermen and their families still live.

Our Sampan boat for the harbor tour

Junks and a yacht

A house boat on which fishing families live

Old-fashioned junks 

Our lifejackets on the sampan!  Lucky we didn't need them!

The high-rise buildings framing the harbor and the modern yachts moored not far away show the contrast between old traditions and modern life.

Aberdeen Harbor has the honor of being the first place where the British set foot when arriving in Hong Kong.  Back then, Aberdeen was the center of the incense trade; this is how Hong Kong got its name--it literally means "Fragrant Harbor".  

Now it smells of fish!  Aberdeen is a very busy fishing port, accounting for one-third of the total catch in Hong Kong.

Our sampan ride ended at the Jumbo, the largest floating restaurant in the world.  They can seat 3,000 people and are very good at handling large groups.

Here we had the first of many Dim Sum lunches.  Dim Sum is a style of Chinese cuisine served small plate style and accompanied by tea.  It was traditionally served to travelers along the Silk road and gave rise to the tea houses that were built along that famous trade route.  We usually had about 7 different dishes to taste.  

Mosaic inside the restaurant depicting Hong Kong life of long ago.

Close up of the mosaic tile

Outside the Jumbo restaurant

One thing about large bus tours...a shopping stop seems to be the rule and this tour was no exception.  We stopped at a jewelry center where we were shown craftsmen working on pieces of jewelry.

And we were shown a large piece of jade, which if touched brings good luck or riches, or something.....

It actually brought us into the store of the jewelry center, where a salesperson immediately attached herself to each of us and put on the heavy sell until we could find the exit!

The last stop of the tour was to the famous Stanley Market.  There are little shops selling silk garments, sportswear, art, Chinese costume jewelry and souvenirs.  It is a typical street market and one is expected to bargain with the shop owners.

We then returned to the hotel.  Traffic is a total nightmare in Hong Kong so it was slow going.  But we did enjoy a closeup view of the magnificent high rise buildings.  Hong Kong's population is about 7.4 million, meaning there are about 7,000 people per square kilometer!

The varied architecture of the buildings is fascinating.

That evening we had the option of going on a harbor cruise for dinner to see the famous laser light show.  Six of our group bought the tickets for it; Bob, Paulette, and  Terry and I thought we would just walk the few blocks down to the harbor from the hotel and view it from there.

The Hong Kong Symphony of Lights is billed as:  "Colored lights, laser beams and searchlights perform an incredible spectacle synchronized to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong.

Well, there wasn't much of a show.  The buildings were lit but most of the laser beams, etc. were cancelled due to poor visibility.

So that ends our visit to Hong Kong.  The weather wasn't the greatest but we did see a few of the sites of Hong Kong.  Tomorrow we board the ship and start our cruise.

To continue reading, scroll up towards the top of this page and click in the right-hand column the entry entitled:  Our first port is Taiwan.