Searching for Hong Kong Skyscrapers in a Sea of Clouds

Day 74, 2024 Grand World Voyage

Sunday, March 17, 2024; Hong Kong.

Despite this being my third visit to Hong Kong, I had never ventured beyond Tsim Sha Tsui in west Kowloon and central Hong Kong Island on foot. So my plan for today was to take an easy ship’s tour to some of the other iconic locations, including Victoria Peak and Stanley Market.

By taking an excursion, my sisters and I didn’t need to figure out how to get from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal to these locations, which would have involved a combination of shuttles and connections through public transportation or taxi rides with drivers who typically speak no English. We could sit back and enjoy the sites.

The disadvantage of ship excursions is that they seldom if ever make deviations for weather. And thus we ended up first thing in the morning on Victoria Peak, towering over the city with more skyscrapers than anywhere else in the world (657). Yet we couldn’t see the trees mere yards in front of us, and even a nearby building was barely visible.

But go we went, taking a funicular to the top and exploring in the cloud mist. Frankly, I’m not sure we would have had a great view anytime on the two days we were in Hong Kong. And now that I have a better lay of the land, I’ll plan to return to Victoria Peak on a future visit when the visibility merits it. As we traveled down the mountain, some buildings finally began to come into sight.

It amazes me how tour buses wend their way through the winding streets of Hong Kong. It is very hilly, and our next stops were on the south side of the island. With the city’s impressive growth, high-rise apartment, condo and office buildings seem to take over any available space.

If Hong Kong is known for something beyond its skyline, it would be its shopping. Our next stop was on the southwest side of the island in Aberdeen at a “jewelry factory.” The misnomer (showroom, no jewelry-making in sight) reminded me a bit of my long-ago trip to Egypt, where carpet producers got around child labor laws by calling their factories “schools.” The jewelry mainly featured pearls and jade, and a number of our group made purchases.

Staying at sea level, we next jumped on a tourist boat for a spin around Aberdeen Harbor. It features the remnants of Tanka fishermen who traditionally lived on their boats (junks or sampans). The harbor houses a floating village, with many of the rafted boats seeming to seldom take to the sea. Alongside are piers of million-dollar yachts.  

Our five-hour tour ended with a visit to the legendary Stanley Market, quite the touristy area but a good place to find inexpensive souvenirs for those expected to bring something home for friends and family. We had less than an hour, but I managed to buy a dress, two jackets, two tops, a necklace and a scarf – all for less than $200. The clothes are all a fine linen – a fabric I would never buy if I weren’t spending a good deal of time on a ship with an excellent laundry. They all have an Asian look in varying degrees.

Yesterday we had a change of captain on the Zuiderdam, as Capt. Frank Van Der Hoeven left and Capt. Friso Kramer took over as master of the vessel. These are the same two captains who split the 2023 world cruise duty, as most captain contracts are three months on, three months off – too short for the four-and-a-half-month world cruise.

They share the trait of being tall Dutch natives and having great senses of humor, but do have different personalities and mannerisms. Capt. Frank has taught us about a variety of nautical topics during his noon announcements, and he scores points in my book by being a fellow Formula 1 fan.

Capt. Friso makes good use of the word “wow!” in his announcements, as he sometimes introduces himself simply saying “it’s me.” He almost always tells us which of his staff of navigational officers will take the helm as we leave the pier. And apparently, they both enjoy an early cup of coffee. I saw Capt. Frank about 7 a.m. yesterday ordering a last coffee in the Crow’s Nest and Capt. Friso there first thing this morning, as he noted that he was still a bit jet-lagged from flying in.

This afternoon I was disappointed we didn’t sail out through Victoria Harbor and the heart of Hong Kong, but rather through the shorter Lei Yue Mun channel. Still, for our lively sail away, we had 360-degree views of high-rises, skyscrapers and even more modest housing as the clouds finally lifted.

Next stop: Vietnam, after a day at sea to recover from busy days in Hong Kong. But first, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, with lots of green around the ship. I finally got my Party City green metallic eyelashes to stay on.