HONG KONG - A clear day and no rain

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HONG KONG - 29th March
A big turnaround of passengers and crew today which would lead to utter chaos in the afternoon.

Passengers were also transferring from Queen Mary (berthed further out) onto Queen Victoria to complete their world voyages.

We have been here a few times, so a little retail therapy was in order.

Hong Kong is undoubtedly one of the most exciting destinations, an impressive skyline outlines the harbour which is full of sampans, junks, ferries and cruise ships. We docked on Kowloon side and I think for the first time there was little pollution and clouds.

We were able to see the Victoria Peak quite clearly throughout the whole day. We were not leaving till quite late so there were trips to be taken around the harbour to see the lights. There is a laser light show (to music) in the evening which is good twitch from the ship.



There are plenty of things to see and do, even in a single day.

Hop on Hop off buses operate on the island and you catch the iconic green Star Ferry service to get there.

Or you can get the funicular Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, which has great views of the city.

Further afield is the Po Lin monastery, a major Buddhist centre reached by one of the longest cable cars we've ever been on ton see the Big Buddha (220 tonnes and 26 metres high).And then the other side of Hong Kong island there are Aberdeen harbour, Repulse Bay and the famous Stanley market.

We had a walk through the shopping centre at TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) and out to Nathan Road, a well known area for shopping. Unfortunately both the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Space Museum were closed for renovation.

Back towards the ship we were meeting a friend for lunch and he'd picked a local eatery called The Jade Crystal.

Dave is based here and lives on the Island, and we haven't seen him for quite a few years so it was great to catch up. The food was superb and I think we were the only Westerners in the place, by the time we left the place was heaving with the locals.

A great experience, thanks Dave and don't forget it's our shout when your next I the UK.

After a bit of retail therapy we headed back before the chaos of embarkation began to fray tempers.



It is not the best terminals to embark as they literally pen you in the shopping centre until you can get on the ship.



We slipped our lines quite late, and passed the lights on Kowloon side before heading off to Singapore.

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