Day 161 Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

As promised, I went to Lantau Island (part of Hong Kong) today via Skyrail. This is a four mile stretch of cable cars going from the Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal, near the new airport to Ngong Ping Village. From the village it is about a 15 minute walk to the Po Lin Monastery and the Tian Tan Buddha Statue perched way up on the top of a hill (255 steps worth). There were only two issues with the tour…. First of all the government decided that today would be a great day to offer a free cable car ride to the Monastery & statue of Buddha for all senior citizens. I think they all came. When we arrive at the station it was crammed with people waiting to go on the Skyrail. We obviously had to wait quite a while before we boarded. The other issue which was much worse was the foggy conditions…. I signed up for the cable car ride and the return trip to the Tian Tan Buddha statue with photography on my mind. It is difficult, I find, to shoot photos through hazy, foggy weather conditions…. Oh well! I made the best of it…. Even had a garlic chicken wing snack while I was there which was a major highlight…. After returning to the ship to drop things off I went back out to explore the streets of Kowloon. This place is so colorful and vibrant at night…. Just amazing. I went back to the ship to see the laser show that is performed each night at 8:00 and to get a few night shots of Hong Kong…. lovely

Day 160 Hong Kong, People's Republic of China

Here I am back in Hong Kong once again. I love this city…. It is so alive and just amazing. We arrived bright and early by about 0700. Around 8:00, Allan, Sandra & I headed out for a day of shopping. First we went up Nathan Rd where we wanted to go to a camera shop & an optometrist. We hung around Nathan rd for a while and then headed off to Hong Kong Island to go to the Stanley Market. We shopped there for a while and had a fabulous lunch. We returned to the ship to drop stuff off and headed back out again. This time we headed first to the Mongkok area which is famous for its electronics stores. Next up was the Ladies Market (not sure why they call it that) and finally we ended up in the Night Market. That place is great! It is packed with people so the people watching is fabulous. There is tons of worthless merchandise that you just have to have. It’s never too early to stock up for that next garage sale. We had dinner at a place on the street in the market (street food). The fired chicken wings with garlic and hot chilies was a definite winner. Tomorrow I start back into sightseeing mode for a bit. I am taking a ship’s tour out to Lantau Island via cable cars… should be cool. Here is a description:
Lantau by Skyrail
Visit the stunning monastery on the nearby island of Lantau. You’ll travel to the top of the Ngong Ping 360 - Hong Kong’s newest attraction. This spectacular four-mile cable car journey brings you to the Big Buddha, where Chinese devoutly worship and visitors are amazed by the immense statue and vast views. Combine this visit with a stop at the exciting, themed village, to add a cultural and spiritual dimension to Hong Kong’s visitor offerings.

Day 159 At Sea

Well here we go again! Today was not exactly to my specifications…. Gale force winds and seas from 4-6 meters. I took the time to do file backups on my photos and general computer stuff. It was a very relaxing albeit uneventful day. Tomorrow at 0800 we are supposed to dock in Hong Kong, very exciting. I really love Hong Kong, it is so colorful, alive and vibrant. Tomorrow will be spent mostly shopping in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island. We will be there overnight so tomorrow night I will venture out to the night market. Should be fun….

Day 158 Manila, Luzon The Philippines

Today was a fabulous day. I have wanted to visit the Philippines for a long time and today was finally the day. I have met so many nice friends from the Philippines that I wanted a chance to see and experience their country. As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to go on a ship’s tour. We were a little delayed getting away this morning but around 0930 we were off. Our first stop was Rizal Park. Here Dr José Rizal, who was the Philippines equivalent to Ghandi in standing up against Spanish rule, is honored. The monument and park are lovely. One of the things that really caught my eye here were the Jeepneys. Their origins come from modified WWII U.S. Army jeeps. Boy are these babys colorful. Even our Executive Chef, Bernie Ruiz, has one. Notice the Holland America theme on his. Next stop was Fort Santiago in Intramuros. It took quite a beating during WWII but is still impressive. Our next stop was Casa Manila a reconstruction guided by Imelda Marcos to depict life during the Spanish period. Along the way I also got a chance to see San Augustin church and the Manila Cathedral, both impressive. We even went into some of the poorer sections including the markets under the Quiapo Bridge. After my tour I went out to the Mall of Asia, the largest in Southeast Asia. It is very, very large. I really enjoyed my day in the Philippines. The welcome they provided and the farewell prior to our departure was without a doubt the warmest we have had at any port, hands down. The people of the Philippines are a very warm, caring and genuine….. Great day!!!!