« Hong Kong -- Day 2, Light show and Big Buddha | Main | Da Bomb »
February 27, 2006
Hong Kong -- Day 3, Animals and Victoria Peak
Our final day in Hong Kong was a race to see as much as we could. :-) We began early in the morning after we checked out of our hotel with another Star ferry ride back over to Hong Kong island. Which, by the way, cost $4.40 Hong Kong dollars for two of us to cross one way. That works out to just over a quarter ($0.25!!) each. What a deal for a romantic boat ride!
The first stop for the day was to the Ocean Park. This is a large combination amusement park and oceanarium.
Here is the view from the gondola as we go from one half of the park to the other.
Once we arrived at the top, this is the view that greeted us. I was really struck by the sheer number of ships that were coming and going. It's a great perspective on just how much commerce is conducted on and by Hong Kong.
While we didn't partake in any of the amusement/theme park rides (it just didn't compare to any of the Six Flags parks), we did see some fascinating and well done displays.
Even in the pictures, these jellies just look surreal...
I am still a fan of watching rays swim through the water. Such grace and elegance.
This is perhaps Anna's least favorite sea creature, the Moray eel.
Of course, there were two Giant Pandas lounging. We learned that they spend 41% of their time resting, 55% eating and 4% doing other things. Apparently, we came during the 41%.
We next headed down to Stanley's Market. Yes, I know we had already been shopping quite a bit, but hadn't bought much. We mostly enjoyed wandering among the myriad of shops.
After we were totally shopped out (and now carrying a few bags of souvenirs :-)), we hopped a bus to the city.
We were headed to the Victoria Peak Tram for the highly touted ride up to the peak. The tram has been in operation since 1888, so it's been around for a while. Nevertheless, we made it safely to the "top." When we arrived, we found a shopping mall, several restaurants and lots of people. Since we wanted to reach the actual peak, we still had 30 minutes more hiking.
This is a view from the ride up.
We heard the sunsets were very nice from the peak, and while a little hazy, this one did not disappoint us.
We had worked up a healthy appetite during the day. We found a very nice, romantic restaurant right on the peak as well.
We ended our Hong Kong experience with another light show. This time, our vantage point was from the top of Victoria Peak (just over 1,800' above sea level). With over 6 million tourists a year, this is the largest tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
The show was yet again, spectacular.
As you can see, it was a little cold for us thin-blooded people from Guam.
From there, it was back to the airport to await the 4 and a half hour flight back to Guam.
Hong Kong was a nice introduction to Chinese culture. It was a unique blend of the east and west. It helped that there was still a strong British influence and everything was in English and Cantonese (interestingly, not Mandarin as the rest of China is).
It was another great trip and one that we won't forget anytime soon!
We can't wait to experience more of the culture when we go to mainland China this spring.
--Jim
Posted by jim at February 27, 2006 12:07 AM