Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong from Guangzhou the day after Typhoon Vicente had gone through. Flag 10 had been hoisted for the first time since 1999. The only evidence we saw was a few fallen trees on the way over to Stanley and in Macau a few days later. Buildings under construction had had their protective wrappings stripped in some cases but these were being rapidly replaced.

No trip is complete to Hong Kong without a trip across on the Star Ferry (and The Peak Tram)



The present Star Ferry fleet dates back to 1962

The trend to paint airliners in special colour schemes has now caught on to The Star Ferries. Somehow it doesn't quite look right.


Star Ferry staff on rope duty

One good thing about the recent typhoon was that it cleared the sky so that some good photos could be taken of the harbour. Unfortunately the “pollaze” (my invention of a new word to describe – skies full of humidity haze and pollution from industry and coal burning power stations with the resultant decrease in visibility.) returned the day we went up The Peak Tram.



Hong Kong from the Kowloon Star Ferry terminal



Idyllic harbour scene on a clear day

Our first trip across on the ferry took us to the Apple store. Quite an amazingly busy place.



Hong Kong Apple store.
You can't miss it when going across the walkway from the ferry terminal on the island.

The empoyees in their blue shirts were busy demonstrating iPads and iPhones as well Macbooks etc., whilst a steady stream of supplies from the store room looked like thousands of these amazing machines were sold every day here alone. Other Apple stores in Shanghai and Beijing were equally busy.

We were lucky to be accompanied by Shaun the sheep on our holiday this year. (We last saw him in Oman.) He took every opportunity to get in front of the camera. He appeared again in other parts of China too.



Where is Shaun the sheep?

 To get there you have to go up in a tram.



Hong Kong's famous Peak Tram

One of the world’s best views is spoilt by the pollaze.



The view from the Peak on 31st July 2012.

When we passed through Hong Kong a year ago on our way into China we stayed up at The Peak to watch day turn to night and to catch the light show.  However, not much of it could been from The Peak. This time we viewed the light show from the waterfront on the Kowloon side.

These photos would have been a bit sharper if I had a tripod. However, hand held, my new image stabilised lens (EF-S 15-85mm, f/3.6-5.6) performed better than the non-image stabilised EF-50mm f/1.4 lens.



Kowloon street



Street signs, back street on Hong Kong Island

Street signs like these are vulnerable during typhoons and going flying. They are often the cause of the city being closed down when a powerful one strikes. Flag 8 needs to up before the signs let loose, I believe!



Kowloon street



Busy Kowloon street

Worth a visit is the Hong Kong History Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui.



Steps at the Hong Kong History Museum.



Sampan in the History Museum.



Sampan in the History Museum.



Sedan chairs and rickshaws were poplar as a mode of transport in the past.

Hong Kong Disneyland is a good day out and east to get to on the MRT.

More photos of Disneyland can be found here.

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Main Street



The parade begins

Mr M Mouse

More photos of Disneyland can be found here.

After a week in Hong Kong our next stop was Guilin in the south of China and the Longjie rice terraces. Then it was on to Xi'an to see some warriors and Beijing for a magnificent fine clear day on the Great Wall.