02-15 At Sea, Saturday: We are sailing in Chinese waters today. We have no internet and we are told NOT to take photos in this area or we might be prosecuted. The fog horn blew all through the night and we see very little out there. There are a few scattered boats and yesterday one of our friends saw a drone. Speedy boats seem to go around us from time to time. We slept in due to turning the clock ahead last night and lack of sleep from the ship’s fog horn blowing all night. We made it to Lido for lunch and then to Mexican Train. The afternoon we played cards and prepped for dinner this evening. Sharon had a lamb shank that was delicious. The appetizers were spectacular tonight and Stuart had 3 of those.
02-16 Hong Kong, China, Sunday: We booked a HAL shore excursion today. Hong Kong is a new stop for Sharon, Stuart has been here, and Mainland China, several times. The excursion didn’t do exactly what was described below: Approximately 5¼ Hours Adult $99.95. Depart the pier for Hong Kong Island and cross under Victoria Harbour by tunnel. At Aberdeen, learn how fishermen and their families live aboard the thousands of junks and sampans crammed into the harbor. Enjoy a short sampan ride here. (We did not see a fisherman’s village at all or learn about it. We did have a short sampan ride).
Continue to the small village of Stanley and the legendary Stanley Market, famous for its clothes, furniture, souvenirs and great, inexpensive knock-offs of pricey designer goods. (Close to half the shops were closed due to our early arrival time.) I did find a postcard but they were out of stamps.
You'll drive past Repulse Bay to the southern side of the island, with panoramic views of one of Hong Kong's most popular and beautiful beaches. The beautiful hotel you'll see has long been a landmark here. Head up to Victoria Peak by funicular tram for a breathtaking view of the harbor and Kowloon. (Instead, we drove up to Victoria Peak and took the funicular tram down, which was fine) Here we had 30 minutes to find something quick to eat and get back to the meeting place. There was supposed to be a Burger King on one level, but we got there and there were no restaurants to be found. We went back up a floor and got some dumplings and spring rolls. It held us over until dinner.
Pause briefly at one of the city's jewelry showrooms to see the wonderful craftsmanship on display. (We were told we would be going to an outlet that had many things for sale. It was all pearl jewelry, nothing else)
Overall,
it was okay. The island is very smoggy. At first, we thought it was clouds or
fog but our eyes started burning so we surmised it was smog.
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