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Published: June 11th 2022
Tour Group at Kai-Tak Airport
I'm the seventh from left.
HK005Hong Kong was the third stop on the 1963 Around-The-World trip. Arrival from Taipei was at the old Kai-Tak Airport via Civil Air Transport's Mandarin Jet.
The hotel was a fairly modern one in in Kowloon. I confess I made the mistake of ordering a hamburger for lunch. It was on the restaurant menu, but of course was nothing like an American hamburger. It was simply a meat patty in a bun. I recall a there was a terrific rainstorm on the second night.
The first day consisted of Hong Kong sightseeing in Kowloon and Hong Kong island. We took a ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. We rode the Peak Tram funicular to Victoria Peak for the scenic view over Hong Kong and Kowloon. Quite a panoramic view it was! There was the classic view of Hong Kong Harbour and Kowloon in one direction. Repulse Bay and the western side of Hong Kong Island were in the other. We visited the Tiger Balm Gardens. The tour bus also drove by the Aberdeen fishing village.
The second day was a drive out to the New Territories, close to the border with the People's Republic of China. In
1963, the border was guarded by British troops. We could observe the PRC from a British lookout point. (Americans could not travel to the PRC in 1963.) A stop was also made a at traditional Walled Village. Once common on Southern China, they are attractions in the New Territories.
The extra day enabled men and women tour members time to visit a Hong Kong tailor to have a suit or dress made. A Raw Silk casual shirt was made for me. I thought it was a pretty cool item to have at 12 and wore it for a long time.
Our farewell to Hong Kong dinner took place at the Tai Pak floating restaurant at Aberdeen. We went out on a sampan to the restaurant. The dinner was Cantonese cuisine, but I don't recall the menu. (Hunan/Szechuan cuisine was not introduced in the US until the 1970s.) There was a soup, shrimp chips and steamed rice, of course. Probably a seafood dish. I learned how to use chopsticks at that dinner, a skill I have never forgotten.
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