Victoria Harbour

This was Thibault's second visit to Hong Kong but my first. So he had done many of the tourist things already. And the poor chap had just spent 10 days with an old bloke tagging along, so today we went our separate ways, Thibault off doing young people's things - basically a day at the theme park (about which I was somewhat jealous in the end as I found out they had pandas amongst the attractions) while I pottered around Victoria Harbour.

Hong Kong is a curious place for many reasons. It is, of course, a thriving prosperous commercial place. It had a number of advantages to start with, and most importantly has overcome the disadvantages. Its two big advantages were being next to what should have been a prosperous country with a vast entrepreneurial population - China - but the big brother was horribly restrained by politics over a long period while Hong Kong was free to get on and be what it could be.

And Hong Kong settles around one of the world's great natural harbours - a big advantage for a maritime trading state. Victoria Harbour is just brilliant - one never tires of the view (although I have so many photos of it you may do so!). But the big disadvantage is that the great harbours are largely surrounded by steep mountains. The amount of flat land is strictly limited. Hence the need to build up and up. But also the temptation to reclaim land from the sea. So much so that they have even legislated to prevent further encroachment, or Victoria Harbour was in danger of becoming a small river.

So I chose to spend the day exploring the harbour area. We were staying on Hong Kong Island to the south - a little beyond Causeway Bay and so a bit out of the action. Which of course was ideal as we could stay in a very smart hotel without it being that costly, and we were about 100 metres away from the superb air-conditioned metro system. So this is the Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay...

One notable feature of high-rise Hong Kong is that you may not need to spend much of it at ground level. There are lots of walkways connecting various spots.

Rather left behind amongst all the brand new constructions, but a welcome remnant, is the Central Pier from which you get the Star Ferry across to Kowloon.

But before crossing over I ventured into the delightfully air-conditioned Maritime Museum for a bit of the history of the harbour.

This chap was in the mid-19th century the richest man in Hong Kong

So then to make the crossing. It costs about 20p. Possibly best value transport in the world, given the views thrown in.

The arts complex

The clock tower, the only remaining part of Kowloon Railway station. Great landmark for meeting at.

Although the Hong Kong Museum was closed, one could still enjoy the art outside.

Along the front one can enjoy a stroll along the equivalent of Hollywood Boulevard but for stars of the Hong Kong movie industry - the "Avenue of the Stars". Know any? Well no one here does....except for Bruce Lee of course. He gets a very popular statue, not just paw prints in concrete.

Bruce shares several characteristics with young Thibault - an interest in martial arts as well as ballroom dancing (the young Bruce Lee was apparently an entertainer on cruise ships where he was employed for his dance skills). Although perhaps Thibault isn't quite as well muscled. Nor quite as dead.

 

 

Then I cut inland a bit to visit the Jade Market. So after another dim sum lunch I marched up Nathan Road, in the sweltering heat, making a welcome detour into Kowloon Park. I almost missed Kowloon Park. Its not at street level, but sits on top of shops. Every inch of space is used here..

Kowloon Park is to the left here, on top of the shops you can see

My trip to the Jade Market was completed with purchase of a small piece of agate, sold to me with a huge amount of bullshit about how fine a piece it was and how another similar example had been sold to a Japanese professor, so then it was back into the heat and to the Harbour. You can get a boat which takes one out on an hourly cruise around the Harbour, so I took the late afternoon option, which would just be starting to see the Harbour light up at the end in twilight.

After nightfall I decided to go back up Victoria Peak (this time very definitely by cable-car), to capture the views from the Peak at night of the illuminated city down below. Well first, some quite attractive lit up skyscrapers to see just on the way to the station.

 I hope you are clocking the clever shot here - one illuminated skyscraper reflected in the glass walls on another.

But that all pales into insignificance from the top of the Peak, don't you agree?

But one has to suffer for one's art. What no one told me on the way up was how many people would all be trying to come down at the same time having taken their photos. The queue for the cable-car took an hour to get past.