Hong Kong, SAR Oct 23, 2014

We love Hong Kong. The more we travel the more we have an appreciation for cities that work, I mean really work. Yes, there is a lot of people here but it is obvious why there are so many people that would want to live in a warm place all year, were you really do not need a car because the public transportation is fast, clean and not expensive. Yes, it is expensive to live here but this is based on supply and demand, simple economics, there is only so much land and buildings can only go so high. The land use is maximized to its fully extent, there is so little air space between some of the buildings. So yes, there is incredible density here but there are many places in this crazy city to go and get away from it all.

Hong Kong has a unique blend of East meeting West and the blending of Chinese heritage, old British colonial influences, high-tech modernity and Chinese gusto; where both Cantonese and English are the official languages. This is a futuristic, densely populated, surreal, surprising, mind-numbing, inspiring and every-changing city. In short, it is full of contrasts, where skyscrapers and temples meet, shopping malls and old hawker stalls sit side by side, and a high-tech horse-racing track is just around the corner from a temple housing more than 10,000 Buddha statues. Hong Kong is a world class financial, trading and business centre, yet amongst this urban hustle there are the quiet parks and green spaces, beaches and mountain top views. Yes, Hong Kong has reverted back to China on 1997 but it will remain as a Special Administrative Region for 50 years, retaining its free port status and its economic independence. What happens after this 50 years is anyone's guess but as you may have seen in the news lately this uncertainty is beginning to make waves already.

We were warned about areas to avoid as the demonstration areas were told to us as the news unfolded, no big deal for us as government buildings or problem areas where not on our agenda for seeing. Day one here was a full day, very full, this our third time here we ventured into the areas we had not yet discovered. So after getting up at 6am for the incredible sail in to this amazing port, off we went at 8:30, with our preloaded Octopus Cards in hand (from last year - this card acts like a debit card and can be loaded up to use for all public transport as well as at many convenience stores) we jumped onto the subway and headed out of town to the New Territories and the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian Gardens. These gardens are 35,000 square metres in size and were created during the Tang dynasty (618AD to 907AD), the Nunnery also built during this time and all the timber structures here are said to be built without the use of any nails. Parts of the garden where under maintenance repair but this did not take from the incredible green space tucked in amongst all the high-rises. Our next stop was at the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, which is one of the most popular temples in Hong Kong. According to legend, Wong Tai Sin is able to "make every wish come true upon request". We were here along with many other domestic and international tourists and worshippers, in short very crowded but incredible to be a part of. This temple is home to three different religions: Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Our next visit was to the Hau Wong Temple which was built in the 1730's during the Qing dynasty, a bit hard to find but well worth a visit to this temple which has almost gotten itself buried amongst the urban sprawl. Across the street from this temple is the Komloon Walled City Park which was a very interesting walled park to visit as it remained outside British jurisdiction after Hong Kong became a colony. After a visit and stroll through it was across the street to the Kowloon City Food District. We are now with the local population here and in this area there are about 200 inexpensive often family run eateries serving all types of foods from around the world. We stopped in at a family run Thailand style restaurant, excellent. Whew, did I say it was a full day and not nearly over yet as we jumped back onto the subway over to some of the famed market areas, the fish market, the flower market and the bird market - we have never seen these before and they are amazing with all types of fish, flowers and birds in the respective markets. We then hit the ladies market on the way back to the ship for a two hour rest before heading out once again to catch the 8:00 pm laser light show from the top of the highest building in Hong Kong, Sky 100 at the Ritz Carlton. By 9:30 we were at the Temple Street night market for a late dinner and to complete the day shopping until we dropped as we returned back to the ship at 12:30 am. Tomorrow we are geared up for nice 75 relaxing message on the Hong Kong side.

Hope you enjoy our day in pictures... Four Parts today...