Steppe By Steppe: Christmas in Hong Kong

Everywhere we looked there were mass plantings of poinsettias, in rich contrast
to the lush greenery growing amongst the concrete and steel skyscrapers. Hong Kong
was dressed up for Christmas with lights and tinsel in profusion.

We stayed in Kowloon, a short walk to the Star Ferries and across the street from
the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Directly across the road from our hotel is the museum
site of the former Marine Police Headquarters. It overlooks the harbour and it's from
here that typhoon signals were sent before modern technology was developed for
this task.

The original building on the site, called Hullet House and dating from 1884, has been

refurbished to include a boutique hotel, 5 restaurants and a gift shop. New buildings

have been added to house shops selling high end luxury goods. How many watches

can one own, do you think?

A view of the property from the front steps of Hullett House
with a misty view of the harbour and the roof of the Space Museum
in the background.

Photo op, anyone? Thousands of visitors had
their pictures taken in front of the bear. We
declined the opportunity.

Three generations basking in the sun in the inner courtyard
of Hullett House. The weather was fine during our time in Hong Kong, with temperatures ranging from 14 to 22 degrees C.

You have to get up early to find a place in Hong Kong where there is only
one person. This young woman started her day in the foyer of the Cultural Centre.

Local denizens playing a board game in a park in Kowloon.
It's not clear how many were playing the game, but everyone had
something to say about it.

We started our Hong Kong visit by taking a double decker bus tour.
The narration was excellent, providing current and historical
information and giving us an overview of the city and a good sense
of what we wanted to explore in more detail. Over 2 days we took all
3 routes on offer, hopping on and off when wished, including an excursion
through the Stanley Market.

A view of Repulse Bay on the south shore of Hong
Kong Island along the road from Aberdeen to Stanley

The Esplanade walkway along the Kowloon side of the harbour with the buildings of Hong Kong Island in the background.

Hong Kong honours its performing artists with these hand-imprinted stars
inset among the paving stones along the Promenade of the Stars.

A sculptural tribute to Hong Kong's film industry.

The western end of the Esplanade between the back of the Cultural Centre and the harbour.

The lights of Hong Kong Island taken from the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour. It's hard to imagine the lights getting brighter but in fact they do - every evening at 8 p.m. there's a sound and light show.

Vehicle traffic is heavy in Hong Kong but it's far more orderly and predictable than the pedestrian traffic. On Christmas
Eve in Kowloon the main streets were closed to all except emergency vehicles to allow for the influx of even more
pedestrians than usual. Stages for street performers appeared as if by magic and throngs of people of all ages were outdoors to celebrate the season. You can't get anywhere quickly but it's festive and fun.

Public transportation is efficient and economical in Hong Kong. It's subsidized, making transportation by far one of the most affordable things in this expensive city. We made multiple crossings of Victoria Harbour on one or the other of the Star Ferries.

There are over 13,000 taxis licensed to operate in the city; they're easy to spot and can be flagged from most main streets. And sometimes they all hang out together ...

We took the tramway to The Peak, the highest point on the island. It's very
touristy, but well worth the ride and the views that put the city in its
geographical context. Judith and Celia returned by city bus to The Peak
along an interesting and circuitous route then walked the circular path
around the top of the hill.

We visited the Hong Kong Botanical Garden with

its impressively large and healthy stands of bamboo.Walking through the garden it's hard to believe that it's so close to the city centre. Just like so much inHong Kong the Botanical Garden is situated on a hillbut the walkways accommodate the inclines and theplantings are well labelled and easy to read from the path.

On December 22 we attended the traditional service of Nine Lessons
and carols at St. John's Anglican Cathedral. What wasn't traditional but
which made the service special and unique for us was that each lesson
was read in one of the predominant languages of the Cathedral community:
Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog and English. The choir is large and the
music was magnificent. We left feeling fully in the Christmas spirit.

Hong Kong architecture is diverse, interesting
and sometimes controversial, offset by tropical
greenery that grows in stark contrast to the
geometry of the buildings. It seemed to us that
wherever something green could be planted, it was.

Working harbours are fascinating places and Victoria
Harbour is no exception. Along with ferries, junques,
sampans, fishing boats and tugs are the enormous
yachts and cruise ships. The harbour master has his
work cut out for him!

Fish boats moored in the harbour at Aberdeen ...

A sampan, much spiffier and in much better shape than
the one on which we rode.

Celia negotiated a ride for us on this woman's sampan. She couldn't understand or speak English but hand signals and body language did the trick and she expertly navigated us through a short tour of the harbour at Aberdeen.

The waterways, just like the streets of Hong Kong are kept clean. This is one of the city's garbage boats, trolling the harbour for debris. When found, it's hauled on board to be taken to a waste management site.

A classic example of one of Hong Kong's live-aboard fishing
boats. This one appeared to house a full extended family as well
as 2 large dogs. Our sampan pilot delivered 2 of the family
members on our tour of the harbour.