SUNDAY IN HONG KONG

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KOWLOON SUNDAY Sunday in Hong Kong reminds me of the movie “Sunday in New York” which reminds me of “The World of Suzie Wong” starring Nancy Kwan. (The tour guide yesterday wanted to know if I was looking for Suzie Wong as we drove through the area where the movie was shot). Other well known movies of the 40s and 50s were shot on location here; “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing” and others I can’t remember now. I had another breakfast at the buffet and then walked to church, the Rosary Church. They have masses in English and in Chinese. Surprise, I went to the English one. It is a small, pretty church surrounded by tall buildings and the service was packed with people. On my walk back to the hotel I was again approached by three more tailors searching for business. It must be a successful marketing strategy for them, but I was surprised that they were out on Sunday morning. The competition must be fierce. I wish there was a rating available to assist the potential buyer (there might be, I didn’t take the time to check it out on the internet). On returning to the hotel I noticed an abundance of high priced cars in front; two Ferraris, a Lamborghini, a Bentley, a Maseratti, and some big Mercedes. All had Hong Kong license plates. Why? Then I realized it was Sunday and probably they were at one of the restaurants for their Sunday meal. After a short nap I decided to try one of the restaurants, the Chinese one. I wanted adventure and I found it. It was nearly full, but they got me a table with no waiting. As I looked through the menu I noticed that the American Chinese restaurants I am familiar with didn’t have many of the items I was seeing. I didn’t go for the chicken foot soup or some of the other exotic items, but I decided on an appetizer of barbequed eel and suckling pig. I finally bit the bullet and tried the eel, not bad. Then I had a soup but I’ve forgotten what it was. It had rice and small pieces of shrimp in a chicken stock, good. My main dish was a prawn preparation with steamed rice. (they were too big to be called shrimp). The waiter must have noticed my difficulty with the chop sticks, so he brought me a knife and fork. I need lessons on the use of them and on what to order. Everything worked out well, but I was stuffed, so I asked for the check. It came to about $110. US. Shock! Now I know why the cars out front were Bentleys, Ferraris, etc.

I wanted to go to the horse races this afternoon, but the tour there was sold out. Disappointed, but I would have probably lost anyway. The big event coming up here starting next week is what they call the Hong Kong Sevens. From what I’ve read, it is a drinking tournament where an occasional rugby game breaks out. Teams from many nations are here for the tournament, but no USA team. Apparently it is a big deal here and seats are all sold out. Party spots are advertised throughout the city to watch the matches on TV though.

I walked the waterfront and took in the view. Foggy again, but at least no rain. This is a vibrant city with lots of residents and lots of tourists. I have seen thousands of people here but I haven’t seen one obese person. Is it the diet, the life style or what? I have seen a lot of tourists (Japanese I think) that wore masks covering there nose and mouth. The guide said they were afraid of catching colds. I still wouldn’t rent a car here even though road signs are in both Chinese and English (e.g., IF YOU DRINK, DON’T DRIVE).

An evening boat ride on Victoria Harbor sounded like a good idea, so I signed up. The bus picked me up at my hotel. There were two other couples, one from Philadelphia, who were going on the cruise with me. Nice people and I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other during the cruise. We had the same tour guide but this time there were twelve in the group. Four spoke only Chinese so the guide had to speak in two languages. First stop was the Temple Street Night Market. Lots and lots of stalls and several hole in the wall types of restaurants that were crowded. We had an hour there and, except for the observation of crowds of people and seeing the range of items for sale, it was a waste of time. We then boarded the Bauhinia for the night time cruise and a buffet dinner. The boat had a live band and they were pretty good. Hong Kong has a beautiful skyline and the lights are especially pretty. They have a nightly laser show called Symphony of Lights with both sides of the harbor illuminated. Very nice, but the EPCOT laser show at Disney World is far superior. The food was not very good, but the objective for me was the harbor ride and the laser show. It was satisfactory but once is enough. I will pack tonight for my transfer to the ship around noon tomorrow.

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Photos

ROAD SIGN
CHINESE AND ENGLISH

NIGHT MARKET RESTAURANT
NOTE THE DUCKS HANGING

Comments

[Marcy]

Philadelphia
". . . one from Philadelphia, who were going on the cruise with me. Nice people and I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other." Tell them your next-door neighbors are from Bucks County (Holland, PA to be specific) and the wife grew up in Philly and went to Olney High.

[Shara & Edward]

Looks Like Fun!
We are enjoying seeing Hong Kong through your eyes. Trip over sounds like it was a loooonnnggg adventure, hope the jet lag isn't too bad. Sounds like lots more fun is to come...