Hong Kong Skyline

After a badly-needed shower and a short rest, we all met downstairs at the Goodrich Hotel for a Hong Kong specialty – Dim Sum. Of course, this meant having a bunch of different Chinese foods passed around on a turning plate as we all picked from them. Come to think of it, most of our group meals in China have been like this, but this was our first official “Dim Sum.” The best of the Dim Sum samplings were the dumplings – a barbequed pork dumpling that was not very spicy but was satisfying nonetheless, and a bean paste dumpling that was quite sweet.

After our late lunch, we went on a walking tour of Hong Kong. At least of the part of Hong Kong in which we were staying. I don’t know Hong Kong that well so I can’t tell you exactly where it was, but our guide told us that our neighborhood wasn’t in a particularly nice part of town and I know that we weren’t on Hong Kong Island. (I think we were in Kowloon. Is that a place? I think that’s right.) Anyway, we walked around for about 40-minutes, coming upon an area with really nice stores – Tiffany’s, Cartier, 7-11, etc. We ended at the harbor near the big clock tower that marks the end of the Eurasian continent. (I’ll look the name of it up and put it in here. KCR Clock Tower? Something like that. Anyway, I’ll let you know.) (Note: I looked it up. KCR Clock Tower is correct.) From this site we could get a really great view of the Hong Kong skyline from across the bay. It was quite impressive, though I still prefer the Shanghai skyline because of the uniqueness of many of the buildings in Shanghai.

Nearby to where we were at, we caught a ferry across the harbor to Hong Kong Island, as we were all determined to go to the top of Victoria Peak to get bird’s-eye views of the island. The ferry ride took about 15-minutes and was pretty enjoyable, giving us alternative views of the city. We arrived on the other side and negotiated our way to the tram station, where we caught a tram up Victoria Peak. This was one of the most interesting tram rides that I’ve ever been on as it went up the hill, towards the peak, at what seemed to be a 45-degree angle.

We got to the peak around quarter after five. It was a den of tourist-related capitalism, including a Burger King and a Starbucks, as well as dozens of over-priced souvenir shops. We walked around for a while trying to determine the best places from which to get views of the cities and pictures thereof. We found a little nook and stayed there for a little while and caught some great views of Hong Kong at dusk. At this point, we decided that it would be a shame to come to Victoria Peak and not get some night views of Hong Kong, especially since it was closing in on six p.m. and the sun sets here around 6:15. We found a little non-Starbucks coffee shop and hung out there. (I had milk tea. I’m falling in love with milk tea.)

As darkness approached, we ventured back towards our little sightseeing area to look at Hong Kong in the dark. The wait proved to be well worth it as the Hong Kong skyline, like every other skyline, I suppose, is much more impressive when the millions of lights therein are illuminated. (Sorry about the blurry photos, but I have better ones from across the bay for the next entry.) Other than the scenes, however, there wasn’t much else in which we were interested on the peak, and we wanted to catch the Hong Kong harbor light show, so we turned around and headed down the peak.

That seems like a good stopping place, doesn’t it? We’ll pick it up from there later.