March 27, Tuesday
Looking across the river at Hong Kong island, the second tallest building. (Supposedly used in one of the Batman movies, but also possibly for a James Bond movie with Pierce Brosnan.... so I'm told.)
Got up at 8 am to go down for breakfast. This time I was directed to the 2nd floor where the other restaurant is located. Nice breakfast buffet. By 9:30 I was back in the lobby to catch a taxi down to the piers where my tour was scheduled to leave from. I asked the Concierge if I could take the metro / subway to get there, but he said I would be better off with either a bus, or a taxi. Since I don’t know the bus system yet, I opted for the taxi. The driver did not speak, or understand, much English, so I showed them the map of Kowloon, pointed to the piers, indicated # 3 and showed him the tour brochure. He nodded his head and off we went. I was able to follow the route he took on the map and we arrived at Pier # 3 at about 9:50. I still had close to ½ hour to wait so I walked down the pier and took some pictures.
From the Kowloon side, pier # 3, looking out at Pacific Club on Pier # 2. In the background, the tallest building in Hong Kong, on this side of the harbour.
Looking across at the north east corner of Hong Kong Island.
There was a security guard walking around so I approached him to ask about the tour. He didn’t speak any English, but when I showed him the brochure, he pointed back to the entrance to the pier, so I walked back and waited under the sign that said “Pier # 3”. And I waited. And waited. 10:15 no sign of a bus, or of any other passengers waiting for the tour. 10:30 still no sign. By then the security guard could tell that something was wrong, so he called over to the security guard for the hotel across the street and this guy came over. He spoke a little bit of English so I explained my problem and showed him the brochure. He said that I was at the wrong pier # 3; apparently there is another series of piers with the same numbers further down the road, completely out of sight. By now it’s about 10:40 and I’m walking in the direction he pointed and go through an area that did not look pedestrian friendly, (trucks were driving into a building and since that is where the road went, that’s where I went) but I didn’t have much choice. On the other side, coming out of the building, I saw the “Star Ferry” Terminal and beyond that I found the other piers with #s 1 through 6 on them ! ! ! Well I still wasn’t sure this was the right spot, and I was obviously too late to catch the boat for my tour, so I started looking for a telephone. Went into a building that looked like a convention centre (but turned out to be a theater (something like that National Arts Centre in Ottawa) and found a pay phone near the box office. I called the phone number for the tour company and they knew who I was as soon as I said “I was supposed to take a tour this morning from Pier # 3”. The lady was very nice and said that they had waited for me. I explained what had happened and said that I was actually waiting at Pier # 3, it just wasn’t the right one ! She told me she would reschedule me for the following day and asked me to wait near the Clock Tower. She would send someone to show me exactly where I should go the following morning so that there was no confusion. How nice is that ! And isn't it also fortuoutous that I had noticed a Clock Tower just outside this Centre. Within 10 minutes a young lady named Ivy showed up and we both had a good laugh when I showed her on my map, the Pier # 3 where I had been waiting. She confirmed that the second one I had found was the correct one. At least tomorrow morning I know exactly where to come to start my tour.
There was a security guard walking around so I approached him to ask about the tour. He didn’t speak any English, but when I showed him the brochure, he pointed back to the entrance to the pier, so I walked back and waited under the sign that said “Pier # 3”. And I waited. And waited. 10:15 no sign of a bus, or of any other passengers waiting for the tour. 10:30 still no sign. By then the security guard could tell that something was wrong, so he called over to the security guard for the hotel across the street and this guy came over. He spoke a little bit of English so I explained my problem and showed him the brochure. He said that I was at the wrong pier # 3; apparently there is another series of piers with the same numbers further down the road, completely out of sight. By now it’s about 10:40 and I’m walking in the direction he pointed and go through an area that did not look pedestrian friendly, (trucks were driving into a building and since that is where the road went, that’s where I went) but I didn’t have much choice. On the other side, coming out of the building, I saw the “Star Ferry” Terminal and beyond that I found the other piers with #s 1 through 6 on them ! ! ! Well I still wasn’t sure this was the right spot, and I was obviously too late to catch the boat for my tour, so I started looking for a telephone. Went into a building that looked like a convention centre (but turned out to be a theater (something like that National Arts Centre in Ottawa) and found a pay phone near the box office. I called the phone number for the tour company and they knew who I was as soon as I said “I was supposed to take a tour this morning from Pier # 3”. The lady was very nice and said that they had waited for me. I explained what had happened and said that I was actually waiting at Pier # 3, it just wasn’t the right one ! She told me she would reschedule me for the following day and asked me to wait near the Clock Tower. She would send someone to show me exactly where I should go the following morning so that there was no confusion. How nice is that ! And isn't it also fortuoutous that I had noticed a Clock Tower just outside this Centre. Within 10 minutes a young lady named Ivy showed up and we both had a good laugh when I showed her on my map, the Pier # 3 where I had been waiting. She confirmed that the second one I had found was the correct one. At least tomorrow morning I know exactly where to come to start my tour.
On the overpass above the correct set of piers for my tour tomorrow. The water front walk goes on for quite a distance. I'll have to explore more later on.
The Clock Tower and the Hong Kong Culture Centre (similar to Ottawa's NAC)
Orchids ! Growing off one of the trees in the distance. Could not get close though so this zoom shot is all I could get.
Beautiful flowers everywhere. This one was particularly different, kind of whispy tendrils of pink.
A duck pond (taken with new camera... doesn't look that sharp !)
Part of the park that links to other city buildings (taken with new camera)
Birds in the aviary. They have to come up with better screens for these. I took half a dozen pictures and all of them focused on the screens instead of the birds. This is the only one that came out OK, because the bird was near the screen !
One of the fountains in the park
Beautiful bird sitting in one of the bushes. Too bad he flew away before I got a chance to try the same shot with my new camera and see the difference in quality !
A look at the largest fountain from the hill above it.
Beautiful sanctuary within the city. No street noises invade here, only bird song.
And there were many sculptures in the park as well, this bronze one almost 3 feet tall, depicting sea shells.
Check out the scaffolding this guy is putting up. All bamboo sticks tied with some type of fabric and tape.
Lots of high rises, lots of people. Busy, busy place at all hours of the day.
The Clock Tower and the Hong Kong Culture Centre (similar to Ottawa's NAC)
I decided that since I was already in downtown Kowloon I should take advantage of it and do some walking around. I needed to get a replacement battery for the cheap watch I bought in South America. (It wasn’t safe there to flash around my expensive one.) I walked down Canton Road, then turned on Peking Road. It took awhile to find a shop that could change the battery but I found one. From there I turned on Nathan Road (this is the main road that leads north up to Hotel Stanford where I am staying) and made my way north toward Kowloon Park.
On the way there I spotted a Sony Store. My Sony Cybershot camera has been making some strange noises for awhile now whenever I turn it on or off. Doesn’t help that (1) I’ve fallen a few times while I was holding it and it's really banged up. (2) It’s been sprayed by waterfall mist a few times. (3) It’s 5 years old and I’ve taken thousands and thousands of pictures with it. I figured that I should buy a replacement before it konks out and I’m stuck without a camera. Long story short, I selected and purchased a replacement Sony Cybershot camera (better zoom, more clarity, more stability, etc) After processing my payment, the guy wondered why I wanted a Sony, since there were other cameras available with better colour options. He takes down a Panasonic with Lumix lens, turns it on, turns on the camera I just bought and shows me the difference in colour; the one I just bought is all yellowy. WOW ! So I decide to turn on my camera and compare all three. Guess what? My camera has better colour than the one I just purchased. He then explains what Sony has done to its camera line (sorry, I didn’t understand the techy talk) but bottom line was that I would definitely not be satisfied with the new Sony photos. So I bought the Panasonic, for double the price ! But I’m a fanatic when it comes to photos and these will be the memories I carry of this trip for the rest of my life, so it’s worth the extra money.
{Bob & Jess: I know you will be disappointed that I didn't purchase something more professional, but I really need something I can just point and shoot; no lens or setting adjustments required.}
Interesting shops I found along the way. If you have tons of money you don't know what to do with, the problem would immediately be solved in Hong Kong jewelry shops. The artistic work is exquisite.
Street scenes in downtown Kowloon
A few blocks later I found a mall with some restaurants and stopped for lunch. A nice salad ! It’s been so long since I had nice mesclum mixture of greens.
As I walked up Nathan Street, I started watching for the street names and realized that I had reached the street where the park ends, but I hadn’t seen the park ! Turns out that there is a line of stores fronting the park hiding it completely from the street, so I back tracked and found a set of stairs leading up to the park.On the way there I spotted a Sony Store. My Sony Cybershot camera has been making some strange noises for awhile now whenever I turn it on or off. Doesn’t help that (1) I’ve fallen a few times while I was holding it and it's really banged up. (2) It’s been sprayed by waterfall mist a few times. (3) It’s 5 years old and I’ve taken thousands and thousands of pictures with it. I figured that I should buy a replacement before it konks out and I’m stuck without a camera. Long story short, I selected and purchased a replacement Sony Cybershot camera (better zoom, more clarity, more stability, etc) After processing my payment, the guy wondered why I wanted a Sony, since there were other cameras available with better colour options. He takes down a Panasonic with Lumix lens, turns it on, turns on the camera I just bought and shows me the difference in colour; the one I just bought is all yellowy. WOW ! So I decide to turn on my camera and compare all three. Guess what? My camera has better colour than the one I just purchased. He then explains what Sony has done to its camera line (sorry, I didn’t understand the techy talk) but bottom line was that I would definitely not be satisfied with the new Sony photos. So I bought the Panasonic, for double the price ! But I’m a fanatic when it comes to photos and these will be the memories I carry of this trip for the rest of my life, so it’s worth the extra money.
{Bob & Jess: I know you will be disappointed that I didn't purchase something more professional, but I really need something I can just point and shoot; no lens or setting adjustments required.}
Interesting shops I found along the way. If you have tons of money you don't know what to do with, the problem would immediately be solved in Hong Kong jewelry shops. The artistic work is exquisite.
Street scenes in downtown Kowloon
A few blocks later I found a mall with some restaurants and stopped for lunch. A nice salad ! It’s been so long since I had nice mesclum mixture of greens.
There are a series of public pools at the north end of the park, complete with waterfalls. These were all closed for maintenance the day I was there.
It is a huge park complex and it turns out I was in the North section where the public pools are located.I checked the internet to find out that covers about 33 acres, and is the "green lung" of downtown Kowloon. "In 1989, it was rebuilt, funded by the former Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club at a cost of about HK$300 million." I also found out that the only forms of "legal" gambling in Hong Kong are Horse Racing, Football matches and the lottery. The Hong Kong Jockey Club is the only organization allowed to control these, and they give back millions of dollars of charity every year.
Some of the walkways in Kowloon park
It is a huge park complex and it turns out I was in the North section where the public pools are located.I checked the internet to find out that covers about 33 acres, and is the "green lung" of downtown Kowloon. "In 1989, it was rebuilt, funded by the former Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club at a cost of about HK$300 million." I also found out that the only forms of "legal" gambling in Hong Kong are Horse Racing, Football matches and the lottery. The Hong Kong Jockey Club is the only organization allowed to control these, and they give back millions of dollars of charity every year.
Orchids ! Growing off one of the trees in the distance. Could not get close though so this zoom shot is all I could get.
Beautiful flowers everywhere. This one was particularly different, kind of whispy tendrils of pink.
A duck pond (taken with new camera... doesn't look that sharp !)
Part of the park that links to other city buildings (taken with new camera)
Birds in the aviary. They have to come up with better screens for these. I took half a dozen pictures and all of them focused on the screens instead of the birds. This is the only one that came out OK, because the bird was near the screen !
One of the fountains in the park
I meandered through the park for over an hour, until I found the “Heritage Centre” a kind of museum, and went in for a visit.
The park road beside the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Kowloon Park
An early skull (? BC) discovered in the area, and the recreation of what he may have looked like.
Ming Dinasty pottery shards
An entire glass floor of it ! I was walking on top on Ming Dinasty Pottery !
Close-up of some of the shards.
The rose gardens, just south of the Heritage Centre. Unfortunately could not get close to these either since they were spraying insecticides, but this picture shows you how tall the rose bushes are and how big the blooms are.
The park road beside the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Kowloon Park
An early skull (? BC) discovered in the area, and the recreation of what he may have looked like.
Ming Dinasty pottery shards
An entire glass floor of it ! I was walking on top on Ming Dinasty Pottery !
Close-up of some of the shards.
A look at the largest fountain from the hill above it.
Beautiful sanctuary within the city. No street noises invade here, only bird song.
I was at the South end of the park by then so I decided to make my way back to Nathan Road and catch a bus back to the Stanford Hotel. The concierge had indicated that I could take the # 1, 1A, 2, 6 or 9 that ran all the way up from the pier along Nathan Road up to the northern part of Kowloon where the hotel was located. It was actually a quick ride on a double-decker bus. I sat up front on the second level to take some pictures.
View of Kowloon downtown streets from the upper level of a city bus
Check out the scaffolding this guy is putting up. All bamboo sticks tied with some type of fabric and tape.
Lots of high rises, lots of people. Busy, busy place at all hours of the day.
It took less than 20 minutes to get back to Soy Street, and only a few minutes to walk back to the hotel. I couldn’t resist stopping at one of the restaurants nearby to grab a bite to eat since it was past 4:30 by then and I was hungry. The food was just OK however, so I’ll have to keep trying different ones in the vicinity of the hotel during the next week. Where was the one with the rich aromas I had smelled yesterday?
I decided to call it a day after taking my shower. Time to catch up on publishing my blog.
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