Check off another of the 100 Places to Go Before You Die. We have now been to Hong Kong, and it was quite magical. Hectic, crowded beyond belief, noisy, frantic, and prosperous.
Victoria Harbour is known as one of the most beautiful harbours in the world, and we can believe that. It has a mesmerizing skyline and level of activity on the water. Ferries, cargo ships, sampans, motorboats, fishing vessels, junks, all jockey for space in a crazy water ballet. But get away from the water’s edge, and the concrete hides all vistas. At least in SF and Vancouver, other contenders for best harbour, you still get glimpses of the natural beauty around you. In Hong Kong, the hundreds and hundreds of 40 storey slender towers block the views.Our ship was too big for the inadequate docking facilities, so we anchored in Victoria Harbour and were transported to HK Island by 3 city ferries.
We took a Princess-organized Introduction to Hong Kong Island bus tour, which included stops at the famous Stanley Market (disappointing souvenir junk), 
Victoria Peak (the main mountain with awesome views and a steep tram, for which we spent more time lining up than visiting), and 
Aberdeen fishing village (around which we took a sampan boat ride that was excellent). On our own, later, we left the island by ferry to transfer to the mainland side of the harbour – the city of Kowloon – and dropped in at the famous Peninsula Hotel (akin to an upscale version of Toronto’s Royal York), and searched for fabric and tailors… of which there are many. 
After sunset, still on the Kowloon side, we met up with friends Sharon/Hugo and Steph/Peter to view the laser light show that nightly plays out to music against the skyscrapers of Hong Kong across the harbour. 
[This is a video. Click black arrow to experience the sights and sounds of Hong Kong harbour]
We ferried back to the ship at 9 pm, and squeezed in another quick meal and a fabulous 3 act folkloric show (Chinese musicians, dragon dancers, and a “face-changer” – an advanced art from the Beijing Opera where the performer changes masks at lightning speed) before retiring.
Day 2 in Hong Kong was on our own, and a group of us took a
subway (sleek, clean and efficient) under the harbour to Kowloon’s Ladies’ Market, another multi-block souvenir site, it turned out, but with some nuggets. We prowled other dense, dense streets, then subwayed back to Hong Kong to ride the longest outdoor escalator in the world. 
Hong Kong has some hills akin to San Francisco’s, but in lieu of a cable car, a covered escalator ascends some 10-12 city blocks to ease the commute for mountainside city dwellers past narrow crowded streets where there is no bus service.Hong Kong buzzes and teems: population 10M.
In 2001, Hong Kong, Kowloon and the adjacent New Territories, reverted back to the People’s Republic of China, after Britain’s 99 year lease expired. Very little (by a further 50 year agreement) has changed; this beacon of capitalism still thrives in the new China.
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