Hong Kong

We were in Viet Nam and Cambodia over Xmas and New Years 2016/17. We liked it a lot. The people were friendly, the sceneries were beautiful, the beer and food were good.

We decided to see a bit more of the far east this spring. It was Terri's idea mostly.

So how to do it? Obviously we weren't going to rent a car and drive around so we looked through the Seabourn catalog (we do like sailing on Seabourn) and picked a 21 day cruise originating in Hong Kong and ending in Kobe, Japan with many stops along the way.

We had been in Japan the previous year but just for the morning and part of the afternoon at the end of our cruise from Alaska across the Bering Straight. We landed in a port in Northern Hokaido and then a bus ride to Sapporo and then a flight to Narita Airport outside of Tokyo and then a flight back to Los Angeles. So we really couldn't say we'd seen much of Japan. Interestingly the day we were there was the day the North Korean nut-bar Kim something-or-other shot a missile over the island of Hokaido. We didn't know anything about it until later in the day when we go to Tokyo.

Here's the link to that Alaska to Japan cruise.

So on April 19th we flew from Kelowna to Calgary and then from Calgary to Hong Kong

We got really daring on this trip and booked the flight to Hong Kong and the return flight from Tokyo on Air Canada using air miles. We've been collecting them for years and just about every time in the past when we tried to use them for a long trip we were unable to do so. But this time we got first class tix to Hong Kong and also return from Japan. It burned up about half our air miles though. This was risky because if anyone is going to get kicked off the plane because Air Canada has overbooked the flight it's going to be the people traveling on air miles. We took the chance anyway and it paid off.

Part of the problem with living in Kelowna (where we live now) is, to go just about anyway at all, you always have to connect through a larger airport. In our case it was Calgary - our old home town. And to get there we had to fly on a "puddle jumper". I'm not a nervous flyer but I really don't like these little planes. I alway think its the younger, inexperienced pilots who fly them. Anyway, we got to Calgary safe and sound.

A shot from the "executive" lounge. We're in Air Canada territory!

And a shot of the interior of the lounge. Pretty nice lounge. Pretty much deserted. I couldn't get a beer because it wasn't 11:00 AM yet. Christ! what a country this is. Who makes up these stupid rules?

So we finally got on board our plane to Hong Kong and we got the funky lay-down seats again. This is the only way to fly on long trips like this.

A pretty decent dinner was served along with this fantastic appetizer. I think Air Canada may have finally figured it out.

Here's a wee video that shows our flight path. We flew right over some of the places we visited last August on our Alaska - Japan cruise.

And Terri just after waking up as we get close to Hong Kong.

HONG KONG

The flight to Hong Kong was about 12 hours. There is a 14 hour time difference between Kelowna and Hong Kong so we lost an entire day. Left on a Thursday and arrived on a Saturday. Luckily we get the day back when we return.

We stayed at the Langham Hotel in Hong Kong for three days before the start of our cruise. A pretty decent place. We thought there would be jet lag and there was. We had no real early starts and no late nights so we were ok after a couple days.

Hong Kong, while physically attached to China (see the squiggly line that runs between the two pink arrows) is an autonomous territory and is supposed to remain so until 2047 - 50 years after the British returned control of Hong Kong to the Chinese. Our guide, Mandy, who we had for three full days told us that the Chinese government is already meddling in Hong Kong politics and elections and she is quite worried what the future holds.

The map above shows the extent of Hong Kong but our activities were mainly on Hong Kong Island, in the city of Kowloon - shown below

and Lantau Island - to the left of Hong Kong Island.

We visited one area each day with Mandy. That's her below.

Day one in Hong Kong

Our first day in Hong Kong we spent mostly on Hong Kong Island. This is where all the rich people lived in the past and still do today. The easiest way to get there is to take a water bus. They run all day and all night long. The cost is next to nothing. There are car tunnels and subways that run under the water - the water bus is just easier for foot traffic.

see more of day 1 here

Day two in Hong Kong

When we visit far away places we like to see how the "real" people live. The thing about Hong Kong is - it isn't real! Everyone you see there has loads of money, most of the people on the streets are Chinese from the mainland trying to spend their new-found wealth.

The people lined up outside the Cartier shop shown below are not the real people of Hong Kong. We saw this time after time - people lined up outside various high-end jewelery and clothing shops.

On day 2 we asked our guide to show us where the real people are.

...more of day 2 here

Day three in Hong Kong ...coming soon