Hong Kong, Day 23

June 5, 2015 by Let's CUT the Crap! 42 Comments

On our way back from the light show the night before, we had no trouble getting on the subway. One lady offered her eight or ten-year-old daughter’s  seat for RJ. His wife had found a seat, but he and I hugged poles.

A pictorial on the wall notes illustrated one should give up a seat to the elderly, the disabled and pregnant women. RJ’s hair color was a dead giveaway. Mine is colored. Maybe that’s why he was offered the seat first. Since he refused, I was next in line. The woman persisted. I sat down.

At our stop, we passed a Seven Eleven (seems these are popular here) and thought we knew where we were until we passed another one. A young couple approached and gave directions in wonderful English.

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Breakfast hadn’t been half as nice as our previous morning in Macau at the Sheraton. We later surmised there were more restaurants in the 118-storey hotel; ours a lowly one with disappointing offerings.

Sue and I liked arriving early expecting everything will be fresh. We were the first of our group and misinterpreted the greeter’s actions when she purposely knocked over a couple folded and steepled serviettes. A strange look crossed her face when we sat, but she made no comment. Chinese people a row over kept staring at us. When more of our group arrived they were prompted to sit in another section where only Caucasians were seated. Oops. Was this a faux pas? Had we broken some rule by sitting in the ‘Chinese’ area?

My breakfast:

• Dry croissant and bun with orange marmalade and strawberry jam
• A plateful of watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple with whipped cream (yummy)
• One sausage and a hard-boiled egg
• 3 cups of coffee (quite good)

Our bus driver stopped around 9:30 a.m. for our 10-minute bathroom break and a walk around at a couple tourist shops in Golden Bauhinia Square. Notice the huge golden flower bauhinia.

Smoked pigs are offered on platters as a gift to Tin Hau who protects fishermen and ensures plentiful fish. The Goddess of the Sea Ceremony is like a grand opening of a cruise ship for the Chinese. More images here.

China Daily Asia official channel

Quick Facts:

• 272 outland islands
• Still keeps border separating from China
• Need visa to cross to China from Hong Kong
• Population over seven million
• 1980 nothing here but farmers
• Kept English names of streets and places
• Army no longer in Hong Kong / comes from China
• Police govern Hong Kong. Keep own laws
• Don’t need cars to live here
• Lots of taxies (red with gray roofs), buses, subways
• Cheap transportation
• Not much parking provided at work
• Lots of toll booths

We continued on to Longevity Beach at Repulse Bay. What were we supposed to do here? We couldn’t swim. A Seven Eleven beckoned across the road. No thanks.

© Used by permission of RJ, a member of English 8. All Rights Reserved.

© Used by permission of RJ, a member of English 8. All Rights Reserved.x

© Used by permission of RJ, a member of English 8. All Rights Reserved.

© Used by permission of RJ, a member of English 8. All Rights Reserved.

© Used by permission of RJ, a member of English 8. All Rights Reserved.

Sue spied color and people in the distance, which looked like a festival. We decided to walk down to see what was happening and were startled by a handsome young local (25 – 30-ish), showering outdoors (yes in his bathing suit) slathering on soap as if he needed it. I hope he hadn’t noticed me blush. His English was quite good and he asked all the usual questions: where were we from, what were we doing there etc.

We continued on and happened upon Tin Hau Temple with hordes of people making offerings. (I know I had taken pictures there, but found none on my iPad.) Soon we had to return to the bus.

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Next on June 13^th Hong Kong, Day 23 (cont’d.)

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