Dave Sabol

I had no sooner checked into my room that I received a call from my colleague, Judy, asking if I wanted to go on the guided tour of Hong Kong that had been arranged for our group. Despite the unknown location and status of my luggage, the fact that I had been travelling for almost 2 days and hadn’t had a shower and didn’t have a change of clothes, I agreed. I guess from my perspective, I figured everyone who I’d be with would understand my situation and I knew that if I didn’t do it I would long regret it. Below are some pictures that one of my colleagues took during the tour. I did bring my camera but unfortunately, the extra battery and charger are in my luggage. Trailing the pictures is a bit of dialogue explaining what I saw.

Our tour guide, Grace, arranged a half-day tour that would give us all a good overview of Hong Kong. We started with a Sanpan (small motorized boat) tour of the Harbor particularly focused on the giant floating restaurant (Jumbo) and the boat people. The Jumbo is one of the major sites to see in Hong Kong and is supposed to be a fantastic restaurant. The boat people were called this because they were fishermen who had literally given up living on dry land and instead lived on a houseboat when they weren’t out to sea fishing.

After finishing our tour on the water we headed for dry land, and more importantly to the large public markets that are somewhat famous in Hong Kong. In these markets you can find anything from classic Chinese craft pieces to brand name, designer cast-offs. The prices here are also quite excellent and if you are feeling lucky, you can engage in some negotiation.

We spent approximiately an hour at the markets and I was able to pick up some staples to get me by until my luggage showed up and a few gifts for Laura, Andrew, my mom and dad. It was a lot of fun and my only complaint is that an hour was simply not enough time to spend in such a large place. Oh well, at least it is only a short taxi ride from our hotel, so I may sneak back later in the week.

From the markets our next destination was Victoria Peak. The Peak is one of the highest, if not the highest, locations on the island where you can get a breathtaking view of the business district and harbor. It was very much worth the windy ride up the mountain to reach it. Here is a website that gives you more information and the ability to see some panoramic views from the Peak: The Peak Hong Kong.

After spending some time there, we then took the funicular (cable car) from the top to the bottom. I have ridden funicular’s before but none that took on such an extreme mountain. At times I am certain we were at a 60° pitch. It was a lot of fun and a nice way to conclude our tour of the island.