Hong Kong!

We sailed from Hong Kong last night and passed through a harbor lined with illuminated buildings on both sides and for several miles.  I will try and put a picture, taken from our stateroom of just what we could see from the ship while it was still docked.  I also tried to do a video of the light show they present every night at 8.  I won’t try and attach that because it would take forever to download.

The sights of departure were well worth standing out on the aft deck in 50 degree weather. The cold arrived during the night before our arrival in Hong Kong, as we slept, and brought with it a fog and mist.  It was impossible to see anything from renowned Victoria’s Peak.  I got one photo from about half way up, but you will be able to see how poor the visibility was from there much less the top.

Carl, William and I went on a first day tour which gave me a better understanding of the geography of the place.  I had no idea HK was not just one island.  Every inch of HK island and the peninsula of Kowloon is saturated with tall apartment buildings.  They cling to the side of hills and as we drove past, on winding roads, we were no more than inches from stone outcroppings of immense size.  OF course Daddy/Carl hated having to get in and out of the bus three times, so he declined accompanying us on Tour Two the next day.  This took William and me out to what are called the New Territories.  This is a more recently developed area and the costs of living there are less.  Our guide told us the public transportation is excellent and so she lives out there and travels about an hour each way to work.

The pier terminal where the boat is docked is filled with VERY expensive stores and there is an entire side of one level devoted to shops for children such as BABY DIOR and counterparts from FENDI, BURBERRY, etc..  We also drove by everything from a TIFFANY’s to the famous PENINSULA HOTEL. 

All in all, it was a good visit for someone who had never been here before.  We got  a touch of the flavor of the city.  Now we are progressing to Shanghai, where we leave William and pick up Andrea.  We are trying to have a bit of an overlap and see if we can all go out to dinner together.  William is trying to train all the waiters etc., on the ship, to call Andrea, “William’s sister”.

The weather continues colder.  Today the sea is quite rough.
Love and kisses from a bouncing-around SILVER WHISPER… the pills are working and no one is seasick!