Hong Kong

We docked in Hong Kong at 7:00 AM, so our approach to the city was largely in the dark. Since our departure time had been moved up to 4:00 PM some months ago we knew we did not have a lot of time to explore the city. We got up early and were lined up at the gangway as soon as we saw it was in place. We skipped breakfast, figuring we’d do grab-and-go through the day.

The first order of business was to get on the ferry going across to Hong Kong Island. There were few people at this early hour and we were on board quickly. The ferries are great; they just keep running back and forth between the endpoints. They seem to show up about every 5-8 minutes.

Once ashore on the island we headed toward the outdoor escalators. These seemed like a cool thing to see, and we figured we could use them to get at least partway up the hill and then walk over to the tram station to go up to Victoria Peak. Along the way we popped into a 7-11 (a theme for the day) for some snacks. It was only when we got to the escalators that we realized that they only run one way. Our plan to ride them up the hill was foiled by the fact that in the morning the serve the commuters coming down. Just for the sake of riding them we climbed the stairs for a bit then turned around and rode down.

From there it was about a twenty minute walk to the tram station. We loved the curving streets and surprising stairways that popped up. And there was a lot of greenery – we passed by a couple of parks and saw a couple of (non-native) cockatoos fly by. When we arrived at the tram station we saw that we were still ahead of the crowds. There was one group from a Viking ship that was in port, but otherwise the entrance was pretty empty.

We took the tram up to the top, then rode multiple escalators up to the viewing platform. Despite a somewhat hazy morning, the views were incredible. We spent a bit of time gazing around, then went back down to hike the peak trail. What we wound up doing was walking clear to the peak. This gave us a different view, looking out across the opposite side of the island. It was also a nice workout to get up there.

We walked back down, grabbed a snack, and got back on the tram for the ride down. We happened to sit right next to Nick and Hope from the ship, so we caught up with them for a bit. Down at the base station we saw a huge line of people queued up for the tram, making us very happy that we’d gotten an early start.

From the tram station we walked back to the ferry pier. Once again we really enjoyed walking through Hong Kong. The city is very pedestrian friendly, with lots of overpasses that get you across the busier streets without having to deal with the traffic. It’s an interesting combination of an old city with winding streets and alleyways and a modern city that works well for the people who live there.

We took the ferry back to the mainland and walked up to Kowloon Park. It was now early afternoon and things were bustling a lot more than they were in the morning. The park was great. We wandered around, found a couple playgrounds, and went through the hedge maze. At that point it was time to head back to Insignia for the 3:30 all-aboard time.

There is an enormous mall that connects to the cruise port. Thomas has been fascinated by the styles of 7-11 stores in Asia, and seeing that there was a 7-11 in the mall we headed off to find it. As mentioned, this mall is enormous, so it took a bit of walking, but we did find it. And it had a slurpee machine, so victory was declared. We bought some gifts for people back home (not in the 7-11, mind you!) and then back to the ship. We went up to deck 10 where a number of folks were gathered to watch us sail out. I think a lot of people wanted more time in Hong Kong. It’s a city that deserved an overnight rather than an 8-hour stay.Read more