Hong Kong

Hong Kong can be overwhelming—too many skyscrapers, too many people, too much shopping and too many neon lights. For example, there are 1223 skyscrapers (2012 number)—more than any other city on earth. New York City ranks second with 564. Its 7 million people make it one of the most densely populated places on earth. It’s a shopper’s paradise, but no bargains. And walk down Nathan Street in Kowloon at night and the lights are so bright that they hurt your eyes.

At the end of the Opium Wars in the 19^th century, Britain gained control of Hong Kong. Needing a food source for the growing population of HK, Britain leased the New Territories for 99 years. In 1997, Britain returned control of Hong Kong to China, who immediately guaranteed everyone that nothing would change for 50 years, including giving HK the right to self-government. I asked our guide how that was working. She said that everyone was happy until very recently, when a critical government official was murdered and a prominent news reporter was fired. Now people are beginning to wonder….

Our weather was cold and gloomy—some weather and some pollution. We sailed in shortly after sunrise. Picture 1 shows our view of HK Island Central—the main financial center with the Star Ferry terminals in the foreground. Picture 2 shows the Kowloon side, with our berth at the Harbor City Ocean Terminal. A new cruise ship terminal has been located where the old airport used to be, but smaller ships still get to park right in the heart of Kowloon.

We have both been to HK for business several times and visited for pleasure in 2001. A lot has changed. A lot of land is being reclaimed from the harbor for new development. The Peninsula and Mandarin Oriental hotels used to be harbor-side and are now a block in. One wonders how much more can be built.

We decided to spend our time exploring outside the “city”. The first day we explored the New Territories via private guide. While this was once farming territory, today we saw only skyscrapers, until you get close to the Chinese border. 

Our first stop was at the Sam Tung Uk Museum, which gave us a chance to experience what the area used to be like. This is a restored walled village, which is shown in Picture 3. You’ll notice that today it is surrounded by skyscrapers. When it was built in 1786 to house the Chan family, it was set among fields. Picture 4 shows what it looked like in the 1970s, when the compound was surrounded by traditional housing. The walled village contained an apartment for each Chan family—identical in size and design. They were packed so tightly that you could not get a good picture.

We then traveled to the Chi Lin Nunnery (Buddhist), where a modern temple has been built in the style of older structures (Picture 5). It was a lovely wooden building, surrounded by the most amazing bonsai. Picture 6 shows a bonsai that is 500 years old. The temple also has a beautiful garden (Picture 7).

On our second day, we took an organized tour to the island of Lantau. Everyone who travels to HK visits Lantau—it’s where the new airport is located. But it shouldn’t be overlooked for its scenic sites. There’s even a beach!

Our first stop was at Tai O, a small village of fishermen, where their houses are built on stilts. Pictures 8 and 9 show two of the “streets”. We also wandered through the market seeing lots of fresh crabs, lobster and fish, as well as dried fish and seafood. The most predominant thing for sale, however, is the local delicacy: fish bladder. Picture 10 shows some of the dried bladders for sale. It’s thought to provide great health benefits and they’ve even found ways to serve it for dessert. No, we didn’t try it!

Then it was on to the Po Lin Monastery to see the Tian Tan Buddha and have a vegetarian lunch, which is all that is served at the monastery. The Buddha (Picture 11) has been there for 19 years and was created as a composite of several other famous Buddha statues. A 268-step climb (Picture 12) gets you to the mountaintop (yes, we climbed it), where in addition to beautiful views, we saw the Buddha relic—crystals from his body when he achieved nirvana and left the earth.

Picture 13 shows the Temple compound from the top of the mountain. The large building is the Temple of the Ancestors, where visitors can pray to their ancestors for advice. Picture 14 shows the interior of the Temple.

From the Temple compound we boarded a cable car for a 5.6 km ride (over 3 miles). Picture 15 is a view of the Buddha from the cable car. Picture 16 is a view from the cable car as we approached the end. On a clear day we would have been able to see Hong Kong. 8 towers were built to support the cables and, to protect the environment, mules from Canada were used to transport the equipment up the mountains. It’s an engineering marvel and a great ride!

Can’t say we spent much time on HK Island or in Kowloon, but we certainly enjoyed the “outer regions”.

On to Viet Nam!