Thursday 2nd March

The last full day of our holiday!

We had to “enjoy” an early breakfast as our tour bus picked us up at 8.00am.  Our guide, Danny Boy, told us that we had two more hotel pick ups so “sit back and relax”.

When all the passengers had been picked up, we were told that the Peak Tram was not running as it was out of commission for 5 days for maintenance.  Just our luck!

We drove through the tunnel onto Hong Kong Island and our first stop was at Aberdeen, a fishing village that was nothing like Aberdeen in Scotland.  We were given the opportunity to have an entertaining voyage on a Sampan. 

The skipper spoke very limited English, with a very heavy accent and shouted at us to try to make us understand what he was saying.  He pointed out a luxury cruiser that he said belonged to Jackie Chan, who are we to disbelieve him?  He took us around houseboats, the largest floating restaurant in the world,

small fishing boats and very large fishing boats.  It was an extremely busy little harbour.

Our next stop was at a jewellery factory where we were told that we would see how the jewellery was made and be instructed in all aspects from design right through to quality control.  We did have a three minute talk from a young lady, whose accent was very heavy and difficult to understand.  She didn’t go into any details and spent most of the time talking about the Chinese horoscopes and asking what sign we were.  It was not very enthralling.  Then we were shown into the workshop where three people were sitting at work benches not doing a lot.  We weren’t very thrilled with their quality control!  Then into the show room where we were encouraged to buy!  Well, what else had we been taken there for.  Actually, we did get a drink and it was a useful bathroom stop!

Then it was on to Stanley Market, the place that everyone associates with Hong Kong.  It was a fairly bustling market but we quickly walked through it and out onto the water’s edge.  We followed the signs for a Temple and found ourselves inside a modern complex that was being built.  Oops, not quite what we were looking for.  Although some people we know do make a religion out of shopping!!  We found our way to the temple and went inside.  It was very ornate and had statues of many deities.  In front of all of the statues were bowls of fruit.  Linda couldn’t stay in it for very long as they were burning so many joss sticks that it was making her feel ill.

After walking back through the market we met up with Danny Boy at the coach.  He told us that he had had a message from the office to say that the Peak Tram was due to reopen at 1.00pm so we would be able to make a one way journey.  We drove up to the Peak and Danny pointed out many of the buildings that could be seen through the haze (according to him there is no smog in Hong Kong, only haze).

The sun had started to shine by this time although photographs were proving difficult because of the light quality.

While we were at the Peak we went out onto the famous Green Terrace where they are proud to show that they are helping the environment by collecting rain water and using solar panels!  The Green Terrace afforded us a view over Hong Kong Island both to the north and to the south. 

On Hong Kong Island we passed through areas once occupied by senior British military personnel and now owned by millionaires.

On the journey back we went through many of the areas of Kowloon that we had walked through yesterday.

Back at the hotel it was chance for a lunch stop and a much needed cup of tea.  Then it was out to sample the delights of the different markets.  The flower market was beautiful and the aromas were gorgeous.  We had never seen so many flowers and plants in one place before.  We could have bought so many, including orchids for $20 (less than £2). 

We went to the bird market which Linda found a little disturbing as there were hundreds of “wild birds” in cages, waiting to be sold.  They looked in good condition and they were singing but it felt very wrong.

We found an indoor market selling the freshest fish, well it was still alive! 

We also saw live chickens waiting to be butchered and sold.

A stroll back through the Ladies Market, which was full of  “designer” bags, very glittery ornaments and clothes, brought us back to the hotel.

We asked about getting down to the waterside and were told that there was a free courtesy coach from the hotel to take us there.  After a very quick wash and change we were down stairs for the coach. The traffic was horrendous and it took us 45 minutes to get to the waterside.  The journey took through the very bustling city centre where everything was lit up so much that it hurt our eyes.  At the waterside we experienced a spectacular light show that is put on every night.  The buildings on Hong Kong Island are lit up; some have laser lights on their roofs, and the lights change in time to the music being played on Kowloon. The light show was spectacular but very much at odds with all of the signs around the city telling us how green they were and how to save our resources!

The courtesy bus then took us back to the hotel and as the traffic had cleared the driver did the journey in 8 minutes. 

We were able to go to the hotel restaurant to indulge in the buffet meal.  We were faced with a fantastic selection of Chinese dishes, including ostrich.  Ian sampled virtually all the fish dishes on offer including some spider crab.  The waitress brought him some nutcrackers and special scissors to use and a bowl of lemon water to rinse fingers after.

Then it was back to the room to pack and try to get some sleep before the wake up call at 4.10 am!  Our flight is at 8.15am so we are booked on the limousine shuttle service out to the airport. 

You will have to view our final photos when we get back to UK