Hong Kong

My expectation of Hong Kong was from 40 years ago during a visit while in the Navy. During the cruise I had been told that it had changed so much I would hardly recognize it. I found that not to be true. There are two very different Hong Kongs, however. The one from years ago still exists although you may need to get off the tourist path. Then there is other more updated version of the one I visited in 1968.

The view as you enter Victoria Harbor is still as breathtaking as ever with the wooden boats sailing past the ship and Victoria Peak standing high above the modern skyscrapers. Add to this, the old Star Ferries moving millions from the Kowloon mainland to Hong Island and anxiety builds to get off the ship and begin exploring.

Although a half day sightseeing tour is an great way to get your bearings(we did this) the best way to see the city is by walking and using the public transportation. We did just that, using a mixture of the old double decker trams crisscrossing the city, buses, the modern subway, taxis (very inexpensive) and our feet. We liked the Trams and our feet the best.

Hong Kong (including Kowloon on the mainland) is actually an island that had previously been ceded to the British after the Opium wars for 99 years. In 1997 it was given back to the Chinese who now run it as an administrative region. Although it is now part of the Peoples Republic of China Hong Kong has its own currency(Hong Kong dollars) and still uses much of the British legal system.

Once you get away from the central section of the city with its modern skyscrapers Hong Kong looks and feels like it did in 1968 and probably at the turn of the century. The markets, temples and people come together in an exciting panorama of senses. At the markets we were able to buy $3 watches (which we did) and dried Gecko (which we did not). Over two days we were able to sample lots of food including wonderful Cantonese Dim Sum, which consists of various types of food that you pick off of carts being pushed past and Sea Food which is alive in tanks next to your outside table ( we opted to have it cooked).
The markets are so much fun and we spent lots of time visiting as many as possible. Among these were:
· Stanley Market on Hong Kong Island where we purchased some high quality gifts and clothing at a fraction of the US price
· The night market in Kowloon where you buy the knockoffs and inexpensive jewelry, clothes, watches etc. It opens at 7 PM and goes all night.
· The Ladies market where you can purchase women’s and men’s clothing
· The exotic and goldfish market where there are all types of fish for sale stacked in plastic bags. These exotic fish are probably not legal to sell but in Hong Kong no one really seems to care.
· The Bird Market and garden. This is both a market which sells dozens of types of birds and is also a park where the Chinese bring their birds for a day of socializing.
· The Flower Market which not only has a wonderful aroma but sells flowers of all types and in all kinds of arrangements.
· The Antique Market on Hollywood Street where you can buy a $10,000 desk or a piece of junk. Let the buyer beware.

The weather was not cooperating and we were caught without umbrellas high on Hong Kong’s mid level section. This is a pretty good hike up several hundred impossibly high steps to some of the local neighborhoods. We found the Man Mo Temple by accident and took refuge for a few minutes. This is Hong Kong’s oldest temple and I took some pictures since no one said I couldn’t. The rain would not let up so we taxied back the Star Ferry which took us to the ship across the harbor in Kowloon.

Java & Borobudor

After leaving Komodo, the ship entered the Java Sea and, after a day of cruising, we moored alongside the pier in Central Java. The crew is made up mostly of Philippinos and Indonesians. The Indonesian crew has been looking forward to visits by many of their families upon arrival in Java. Most of them are Javanese and the families were able to come aboard and spend the day with the crew members. Some family members had travelled 9 hours, or more, from Jakarta for the short visit.
Marie and I, like most of the passengers, would spend the day travelling to Borobudur. This is a monumental temple complex in the central highlands of Java that is a phenomenal architectural achievement. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site and only Angor Wat in Cambodia comes close to it in terms of mass. Borobudur is the world’s largest Buddhist temple but you can’t really appreciate it until you examine the ingenious design and detail of its reliefs. It rises to seven terraces, each smaller than the one below it. The walls are sculpted in reliefs extending over a total of 3 ½ miles and has 3 miles of corridors inside. It was built in the 8th and 9th centuries and according to records, tens of thousands of workers (more than 5 generations) were involved. It was buried in the Jungle for almost one thousand years until Sir Thomas Raffles (sort of the 18th century Waldo Sexton on a grander scale) discovered it and began excavation. Renovation was completed in 1983.
The trip took 9 hours, with stops, and included a one way mountain passage on an antique steam train. Along the way we were able to see some spectacular views of the central Java highlands and meet some of the local people. Jakarta is the capital of Java and its largest city. The island has a population of 124 million and is the largest island in Indonesia. As the name “Java” implies, coffee is an important export and the island is the 4th largest coffee producer in the world.
We’ve really enjoyed our visits to the Indonesian ports but its time to move on to our next port, Hong Kong, a 4 day passage through the South China Sea.