I am sooo glad that Ron has the job he has and that he earns a magnificent trip most years. I was never rewarded like this as a Nurse. We were on our way to Hong Kong and to experience a place a culture we anticipated to be very different from what we knew. It was. We had a great flight meeting up with many of the others who had also worked hard and earned the trip. That is always a huge part of these trips. To meet up with people from all over the country that we see once a year. To catch up with what their lives have been like since our last time together.
The name "Hong Kong", which literally translates to mean "fragrant harbor", is derived from the area around present-day Aberdeen on Hong Kong Island. This is an area where fragrant wood products and fragrant incense were once traded. The narrow body of water which separates Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon Peninsula is known as Victoria Harbor and is one of the deepest natural maritime in the world. It was the most interesting and busy harbor I have ever seen and our room overlooked the harbor so we were able to see the amazing flow of boat traffic 24 hrs a day coming in and out, Boats from the size of enormous container ships to tiny little Chinese junks which bobbed away in the choppy waters stirred by the enormous ships passing by.
The buildings are quite amazing. They are all thin, tall and a huge variety of architecture. Most of them also follow the principles of Fung Shui which was interesting to see. One of the long buildings close to the hill had a large opening in the middle to allow the Dragon to come down form the mountain and pass thru it to the sea. The area of Greater Hong Kong is 426 sq miles with a population of over 6 million. And they mostly seem to live in the hundreds of tall buildings hugging the Victoria Peak hillside. The commercial center is quite amazing with many huge buildings reaching to the sky. We were staying at the Four Seasons which is 55 floors high and right next to the International Finance Center or IFC 1 and 2. Then all of the buildings in the area are connected by elevated walk ways so there is little or no pedestrian traffic on the streets. An amazing arrangement and looks like something out of a city of the future.(It is)
Hong Kong Island is dominated by steep, hilly terrain, which required the development of unusual methods of transport up and down the slopes. In Central and western district there is an extensive system of free escalators and moving pavements. Mid Levels escalator is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world, operating downhill until 10 am for commuters going to work, and then operating uphill until midnight.
The Mid-levels Escalator consists of 20 escalators and 3 moving pavements. It is 800 meters long, and climbs 135 vertical meters. Total travel time is 20 minutes, but most people walk while the escalator moves to shorten the travel time. Due to its vertical climb, the same distance is equivalent to several miles of zigzagging roads if traveled by car. Daily traffic exceeds 35,000 people. It has been operating since 1993and cost HK$240 million (USD$30 million) to build.. One busy and bustling arrangement. Ron and I did a long walk all over that area and rode the escalator for about 15 mins back to the hotel which was at the bottom end. How convenient and clever. That walk was most interesting. We came across the area where many stores sold natural Chinese medicines. There was an array of the most interesting “stuff” most of which I couldn’t decide what it was. I chatted to a few of the store owners or workers to find they were Birds Nests and antelope hooves. Jars and jars dried nests which they told me was particularly used for pulmonary problems. Should have got some for Ron’s eternal cough. There were wonderful open air markets bustling with vendors shouting their wares, shoppers jostling along carrying their shopping baskets, the most interesting array of fruits, fish and meats. Many of which I could not identify but came to the conclusion that the Chinese do not waste one iota of any part of anything they catch, farm, find for sale. What a delight for all the senses as we walked along. We also went to a few of the main markets. Stanley St Market and the Ladies market. Amazing array of everything you could wish to buy that we can get at home for more and all “made in China “ Duh.!!! Needless to say everyone did their best to stimulate the economy in good American style.
We were most interested in the little marble stamps called Chops. Many older Chinese could not write so their “signature “was etched into the base of the marble bottom and they used this to sign. Quite a tourist novelty and interesting to watch them carve them. We brought one home for each of the boys.
We also had a day trip and then a dinner trip up to Victoria’s Peak. The incredible panoramic view from the top overlooking the entire Hong Kong area was fantastic. Both the day and night view.
The company dinners and awards evening were, as usual excellent. Treated like kings. The food has been very interesting and there is always a selection for the gastronomically faint hearted. We went for anything that was weird and different. Yum yum. There is always great entertainment too and seeing dancing dragons, Chinese musicians and fortune tellers and local craftsmen is always a bonus. We had a boat trip on the Bauhinia along the shoreline of the city and the light show on all the buildings at 8pm This spectacular multimedia display, already named the “World’s Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show” by Guinness World Records, has been further expanded to include 44 buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbor.
The show creates an all-round vision of colored lights, laser beams and searchlights performing a stunning, unforgettable spectacle synchronized to music and narration that celebrates the energy, spirit and diversity of Hong Kong. There are five main themes — Awakening, Energy, Heritage, Partnership and the finale, Celebration. It is amazing to see all the buildings lighting up with laser lights dancing in the sky. We did not have the music part on the boat perhaps that is just piped in to the land viewing spots.