16 Hours Later

The flight from Chicago to Hong Kong is an astounding 16 hours.  We tried to get an upgrade to Business Class via my accumulated flyer miles, but failed due to  a packed flight.  So we were fortunate enough to grab two Economy Plus seats on United Airlines that provided a few extra inches of leg room.  Around the eighth hour that clearly made our choice a wise one.  My wife, Ann, has joined me on this trip for her first visit to Asia.  I'm anxious to get her reaction to what she will see and experience on our journey.

That's all of Hong Kong in back of me

Ann in front of tram used during centennial celebration

We landed in good order and grabbed a taxi into town.  This year we stayed on Hong Kong Island across the Harbor from Kowloon and the peninsula attached to the mainland of China.

We were on our own the first day which allowed us to some time to get over our jet lag.  We took advantage of the time to tour the Island via the Big Red Bus tour.  Off we went with a stop that included a trip to the top of Victoria Peak via the Peak Tram.  This tram climbs at a
ridiculous angle to the top where you can see all of Hong Kong.  By the way, they have been using a tram to get up the peak since 1888.  This is also where the Allied Forces (English, Canadian, Hong Kongers, Indians, and other troops) fought it out with the invading Japanese finally surrender on Christmas Day 1941.

We grabbed lunch at the peak, toured the shops and headed back down to the rest of Hong Kong.

Once off the peak, we were in a large crowd.  We were trying to find our tour bus and jumped on the wrong bus.  What good fortune since it took us to the south side of the Island for a beautiful tour of beaches and homesites.  The sun was out and there was a warm breeze blowing while we sat on top of the open air upper deck of the bus.

Once we found our way back to the right bus, we headed to the Star Ferry terminal for a ferry ride across the Harbor to the Kowloon peninsula on the other side.  One of the website's devoted to telling you what to do recommended a ferry ride as a must do when in Hong Kong.  It indeed was a treat.

Ann at harbor's edge just before taking ferry back to Island

These ferries appear to have been in service forever.  They were old and creaky, but plowed ahead with their old diesel engine pumping and singing away.

When you get off the ferry you are immediately solicited for everything and anything from the large number of hawkers waiting for you when you get off the boat.  The crowd of people in this area is so dense it is very difficult to walk easily to where you want to go.

We found our way, or sort of followed the crowd, into the largest shopping mall devoted to every type of high end luxury type of clothing, jewelry, and perfume you can imagine.  When Ann gets back she will explain it and put it into a perspective.  It was truly awesome.

By now, we were running out of gas and headed back to the ferry for a return to Hong Kong Island and our hotel for a good night of rest.