hong kong v1.3

hong kong island day. we looked into our chinese visas and then took the star ferry from kowloon to central on hong kong island. there are a lot of activists with disturbing images of falun gong prisoners in china in the ferry terminal. the ride across victoria harbour is fun as the boat sways at dock and pitches during the journey. when we arrived at central we saw the last of hong kong's rickshaws, and then began our walking tour.

this island is the home of power business, a jungle of towers, concrete and steel. a lot of sharp suits. the island is the "capital" of the territory, and from what we saw may very well be the capital of bentley automobiles. needless to say there is a lot of shade ...

after a tour of the trendy downtown area we scanned over city hall before ascending to the 43rd floor of the bank of china tower (70 storeys). it is hong kong's third tallest structure, and a marvel of asymmetry and anti-feng shui (sp?). the panoramic view it presented of hong kong was amazing from the free viewing gallery on the 43rd floor.

we then took in the rest of the tourist sites including the exchange square, hong kong park, st. john's cathedral, the ritz carleton, the mandarin oriental hotel (voted best hotel in the world), and the hsbc building. the latter was built in 1985 at a staggering cost of $1 bil. the chinese call it the robot building. we finished off our sightseeing by taking the peak tram up to the top of the peak. carrying 8,500 passengers a day, the tram is so steep that the floor is angled to help standing passengers stay upright. of course the ride was fun. 370m later we exited the the tram and rode an additional 7 escalators to the top of the peak tower and its outdoor rooftop observation deck. you could see the entire island, and even the buildings we had marveled at now looked so insignificant. the peak has always been where the elite live, and has been since the time of the british taipans. on average it is 5 (0C) degrees cooler than at the base, and can only imagine what the view costs. we walked a little, took pictures a lot, and then took the tram back down.

we remained on the island for dinner and ate in the famed lan kwai fong alley. what was once a squalid tenement street of rats and garbage is now the young, hip and happening place to party. posh bars and restaurants are everywhere. money is everywhere. expats come here to stomp around after work. the road winds and rises and falls and you feel like you are in (what i imagine) san francisco. lyds discovered a little restaurant hidden down an obscure side street. we are there only customers, the seats are cramped and uncomfortable, the table is small. the food, however, is fantastic. we walk away feeling like we know a secret.

after dinner we take the ferry back to kowloon. we ride in the lower class for my dad.