HONG KONG-DAY 2

Saturday, March 23rd
     First I want to add some photos I took yesterday as we sailed into Hong Kong harbor and docked at 1pm.

                                                       We will be docking here on HK island.

  

                                Hong Kong Island--Financial district and where we are docked.

                                             A look across the bay at Kowloon Peninsula.

    High speed boats running back and forth to Macau.  The only place in China where it is legal to gamble.

                                           Display of fruit they set up on the pool deck.

     We will be doing the 4 hour "Living Traditions of Hong Kong" tour this afternoon.  Last night quite a few passengers were on tours or dining in town so we managed to pick up a reservation at Prime 7 steakhouse.  Also we were reunited with our old friend, Goren.  He boarded the ship in the afternoon and is now the new Food & Beverage manager.  We met Goren and his wife, Erica, on our South America cruise last year where he was the Assistant F&B manager.  The F&B manager he is responsible for all the bars and restaurants on the ship.  It's a big job.
     The chef and his staff do food displays on sea days.  Each display is a different theme and they are all beautiful.  Also at lunch time every day at sea he has a  different theme buffet out on the pool deck.  Some examples so far are: Mongolian, stir fry, Spanish, Chinese, plus there is always hamburgers and hotdogs being grilled to order.
     It's now 5pm and we are back from our tour.  I mentioned yesterday that Hong Kong was a vertical city because of its limited size.  There are over 2000 skyscrapers here which is 4 times the number in New York City.

                                                           Name of our tour today

                                First stop on tour was the Tin Hua Temple, built in mid 1800's.

                                    People burnt incense and prayed to Buddha for everything.

   The carrots were huge!

                                    This place would drive our USDA inspectors crazy.

                                            Think I would pass on these squid.

             Second stop was the "wet market" where people bought fresh meat, fish, and vegetables.

                                         

                          Then we hopped on one of these double-decker trams for ride across city.

                     
     We also stopped at a local tea house for coffee or tea and a little lemon tart.  We were in this same place 3 years ago on our world cruise.  We walked through some of the streets to get a flavor of local life.  It is Saturday and I think 6 million of the 7 million who live in HK were out shopping.
     We sail at 11pm tonight and will be at sea tomorrow.  We are now in the warmer climates for rest of the cruise.  It was 80 degrees here today but quite pleasant.

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HONG KONG--DAY 1

Friday, March 22nd
     We docked here in Hong Kong at 1pm.  Unfortunately, we are using the China Merchants Wharf instead of the the Star Wharf.  The latter was where we docked in 2010 and is great location for laser light show and for shopping.  This afternoon we took a shuttle bus to Star ferry terminal and a huge nice mall opposite it.  I wanted to look for a new Dell laptop battery for one of my computers and Rebecca new Kindle Fire HD was not working.  Did not have any luck with either.  Back on the ship about hour and a half later.  Took her Kindle to Alex, the ship's IT person and he got it working again.
     Love it in ports when all the passengers are off for tours.  It is nice to basically have ship all to ourselves.  There is a HK night light tour at 6pm so hope a lot of folks are going on it also.  We may be able to get last minute reservation at Prime 7 steakhouse.  I don't think we will be able to enjoy the laser light show from our position so glad we have already watched it.
     It is sunny but very hazy today with temperature of 79 degrees.  I took some pictures as we were sailing into port but will wait until tomorrow to add them.  Better get ready for cocktails and dinner.  TGIF to everyone.

CRUISING STRAIT OF TAIWAN

Thursday,  March 21st
     Our position this morning is yellow arrow in little red circle on the map between mainland China and Taiwan.  We are scheduled to arrive at Hong Kong at 2pm tomorrow but Captain says we should arrive there early.  Ocean still looks rough but our ride is not that bad.
     We went out in hallway for the block party yesterday evening but Rebecca disappeared after about 10 minutes.  I went back to suite to see what happened.  She said she about fainted so I went        down and informed our friends that we would not be joining them for dinner as planned.  Instead I ordered room service for our dinner.  I think she was just weak from not eating much all day.  She is back to normal this morning so was 24 hour bug I guess.  I still have my head cold but not feeling bad.  I went to the show by myself last night.
     We plan to enjoy a relaxing day at sea today.  Both of us will go to gym this morning.  I am adding some information today about Hong Kong, our port for Friday and Saturday.  I am also adding some photos of HK that I took at night when in HK three years ago on our world cruise.  Want you to see some good shots of the laser light shows.
     Situated on China's south coast, it is a "special administrative region" of the People's Republic of China.
As such, it has a difference political system than does mainland China.  It became a colony of the British Empire after the First Opium War (1839-1842) but was returned to Chinese control in 1997.  Hong Kong is only 426 square miles but has a population of over 7 million so is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.  Because of the limited land area it has grown vertically with many skyscrapers.
     HK is one of the world's leading international financial centers and is characterized by low taxation and free trade.  Many US corporations have offices here.  It's currency is Hong Kong dollars and the stock exchange here is the 7th largest in the world.
     Probably the neatest thing about HK is its laser light show every night at 8pm.  The laser lights are on top of many of the skyscraper and illuminate at different time to make a "show".

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     Like I say, these pictures were taken on last trip to HK.  We had a fantastic docking place in 2010 but Captain said during his noon PA we would not have that dock this time.  So may not get good photos of the light show tomorrow night.
     On tap for tonight is dinner up in Sette Mari, Italian restaurant we were to dine in last night.  The will go to 9:30 show featuring Linda Gentille who will be playing Broadway favorites on piano.  We missed her first show but hear she is very good.  Cute for sure.



                                                                                          

CRUISING THE EAST CHINA SEA

Wednesday, March 20th

 
     Well it is 2:00pm now and this is what seas look like today.  Fortunately, the 35 knot gale force winds are mostly from our stern (rear) so ride is not as bad if from any other direction.  Captain says seas should get better by tomorrow morning.  Now he is saying we had a "propulsion problem" not engine related.  This is hard for me to believe but said our speed dropped 3 knots because of the cold ocean water temperature.  I will confirm if that is possible with Bjorn, who used to be the Chief Engineer on this ship.  We are scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong (skipping next scheduled port at Xiamen) at 2:00pm day after tomorrow (Friday).  Now Captain says we may be arriving early if they can secure docking space for the early arrival.
     We are kind of sickies.  Rebecca woke up this morning with upset stomach and has been lying around all day.  I have had an upper respiratory thing going on since boarding in Beijing but getting around ok and still working out in gym.  Hope she is feeling better after her nap as we are to have dinner tonight with a couple who was on our 2010 world cruise.  Except for me going to gym, we have been holed up in suite all day.
     After 5pm now and Rebecca is getting ready.  At 6pm we have a "block party"!  Everyone goes outside their door into hall way and the suite stewardess serves wine as we meet the neighbors around us.  Regent is only cruise line to do this and I think it is great idea.  The Captain, General Manager, and Cruise Director goes running up every corridor saying hello to all.  We will meet John and Hee Ann at 6:30 for cocktail prior to having dinner together.  Going up to Sette Mari, the Italian restaurant.  This is a new concept that we help test last year on our South America cruise.  As your day begins, ours ends!

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