We were downstairs dutifully waiting for our bus tour of Hong Kong Island at 1:45 and we waited, waited, and waited. Around 2:20, a stressed tour guide came and said that because of traffic, the large bus couldn't make it to our neighborhood, so we ended up waiting until the guy rented a taxi and took us to another hotel where we got on our bus and our 4-hour tour began.
There were only 7 people on the tour, not counting 3 kids -- not much of a money maker for the huge bus, a driver, our guide, and another guy who made things run smoothly, especially since they also paid for our taxi ride to get to the hotel where we caught the bus.
Once on the bus, we saw several highlights of the Hong Kong Island. Here are a few of the segments.
We first stopped at the famed Victoria Peak, and captured what is called on the advertisements "one of the best views in the world." It truly was spectacular. You could see Hong Kong, Kowloon, the nearby islands, beaches, and water in a panoramic view. We didn't do the tram though -- the lines on weekends can be three-hours long.
Next we stopped at the Aberdeen Fishing Village. Our tour was aboard a traditional "sampan" boat and we saw the lively floating community, comprised of tons of rather ramshackle "house boats," some larger, some not so large, sitting next to yachts. Lots of little fishing boats too and a few trawlers. Trawling is now illegal around Hong Kong, but you can trawl if you go farther out. As a result, the fishermen go out around 3:30 am to get the best catch of fish. I asked what kind of fish, but the only American term our guide knew was "grouper."
Our third stop was at Repulse Bay -- lots of beautiful beaches and a majestic view of the South China Sea.
We also visited a jewelry factory. Beautiful stuff, and Julie ALMOST bought a ring at the factory sales store. Lots of beautiful jade, along with everything else one might image in a HUGE store. We didnt actually get to see the factory workers on the job because it was Saturday afternoon, and they work only half days on Saturdays. Bummer! But the factory guide did show us a pictorial description of the process from the hand drawn creation of the designs to the creating of the prototype, to making them en masses (although still done "by hand,"), and to the polishing of the final products.
Lastly, we went to the Stanley Market. This village was formerly a British military garrison headquarters, but now its one of Hong Kong's most popular opera-air markets. By this point, we were hot and exhausted (remember we were on the plane all last night). We almost bought a Chinese opera mask but didn't. Stay tuned though because we definitely will purchase something similar at some point.
The tour bus dropped us off at our hotel and we went directly to the bar for a pizza and glass of beer/wine before we went to our room and CRASHED! Bed, sweet bed.
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