Our Travel Homepage Our 2007 Cruise Around the World on the QE2

Hong Kong Mar 13, 2007

We were on our own today. After breakfast, Bob went in search of a tailor to get some alterations done. We then walked to the Star Ferry Building immediately adjacent to the ship and crossed over to the Hong Kong side (a 5 minute scenic trip). Our ultimate destination was Stanley Market but needed to take a bus to complete our travel. Buses are very plentiful here with many bus stops. But finding the right bus stop proved to be a minor ordeal and we had to walk a fair way, made worse by Gretchen's bum leg. We finally got on our way and enjoyed a 30 minute ride through the Aberdeen Tunnel and along the beautiful Repulse Bay Road into the market. After shopping for a while, we stopped for a nice lunch and much needed rest. We did more shopping and boarded a bus for the return trip, which included another ferry ride. Once back in Kowloon, Bob picked up his pants from the tailor and Gretchen hobbled back to the ship. We went on deck just before 8 pm to see the daily laser show of the skyline - many of the buildings are lined in neon lights and others have lasers or flood lights on the top. It was nice even if the evening was still foggy. We were told that fog is not unusual in this area. Interestingly, it seems to clear at least partially at night. We then had dinner at the Lido and took long hot showers. Gretchen's knee was aggravated today with all the walking and she has resolved to stay in the room and rest tomorrow since we will be at sea on the way to Cambodia and Viet Nam. Many passengers (especially Aussies) disembarked in Hong Kong today and there was a massive crew change (about 1/3 of the 1,200 crew). Hong Kong was an impressive city, more interesting than Tokyo, but not as amazing as Shanghai. The bay, harbor, beaches and mountains make Hong Kong visually pleasing and it has less of a frenetic feeling than Shanghai. We are sorry that even if overnight here, we didn't have enough time (or energy) to visit their museums...another time!

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