March 27 2012

Our first full day in Hong Kong and we did what we always try to do on day one in a new city - took the tour bus. Actually, there are three routes (red route on the island and green and blue here in Kowloon)and we only managed to get through one today, so that leaves two more to do tomorrow. We'll also have some time on the last day, because we're not due at the airport until about 3pm on Thursday.

The Star Ferry terminal is right next to our hotel on the southern tip of Kowloon, and there's a tour bus depot there, so we started the tour by taking the ferry across to Hong Kong Island to join the red route.

The Star Ferry terminal (with two ferries in view) as seen from our room.

The high-rise skyline is impressive, and it was interesting to drive through at street level, although not everything is high-tech, as evidenced by the bamboo scaffolding we spotted on one building!

I guess it must work!

We got off the bus a couple of times - once to wander around some of the side streets, and once to jump on the Peak Tramway. The Tramway is a funicular railway with two carriages, built by a Scottish engineer in the nineteenth century to encourage people to build homes on the high part of the island. It travels up to the observation point at a disconcertingly steep angle, but the views are well worth it once you get to the top.

It was a bit hazy, but you get the idea.

As you would expect, the observation point at the top of the ride is actually a shopping mall built on about six or seven levels and you trundle up and up on banks of escalators to reach the viewing platform on the roof. After a coffee break, we took the tram back down and rejoined the bus to take us back to the ferry. On the way I spotted the Hong Kong equivalent of the Occupy protest camped under the headquarters building of HSBC. Nice to see that peaceful protest is tolerated here.

The tour bus commentary didn't mention this! You can just make out the tents under the building, and the sign on the black box-shaped structure on the left reads "Make Banks Pay"

This evening, I have a treat lined up for Jen (another Dave Sweet recommendation) so I won't say any more now in case she reads this! Full report tomorrow!