Day 6 - Hong Kong

---

We began today with a trip to Aberdeen over on the far side of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen has a fishing port with lots of traditional Chinese boats including smaller sampans. In order to get there, we used the subway from Kowloon to cross under the harbour and then caught a bus from Central to reach Aberdeen. The bus uses the cross-island tunnel thru the mountain to reach the other side. If you took away the small harbour, Aberdeen was just like anywhere else, congestion, people and high rise apartment buildings. Anyway, the harbour was right on the street and was very pretty. It is an oblong shape maybe 400m wide and is a virtual parking lot for various boats. Sampan hawkers soon besieged us and we got an hour’s ride for the four of us for HK$200. Sampans are about 2 1/2 m wide by about 5m long and are oblong shaped above the water line with a square front and high upward raking square rear end. They are made strong and have no creaks but inside look a bit rudimentary. I do not think the life jackets had seen human hands for a few years and the tarpaulin that covered us as a roof was tied down by cord to steel upright poles. Even the gear stick used by the "captain" had PVC tape on it. We meandered around the harbour taking in the sights of other boats, drying fish hanging here and there on other boats, watching the never ceaselessly gliding sea eagles overhead all over the beautiful green water with an occasional bit of flotsam. Many of the 50 storey apartment buildings come right down to the water line so you are almost enclosed in. Later in the day we returned to Kowloon and did some more shopping for various things.

---

Photos

The "Voyagers" in Aberdeen, HK Island
On our sampan for the 1 hour harbour trip

Jumbo Floating Restaurant
They all flock to this every night with its colourful lights (but they could go out back and look at the other side)

Our Hosts
Mum doing the driving and Dad making sure its all going OK