Hong Kong

HONG KONG - All of our lives we have heard about it, read about it, seen it in the movies and on television, but to finally visit here is an unbelievable experience.  Hong Kong covers 425 square miles, but has a population of 7,000,000 people making it one of the most densely populated places on earth.  There are over 1,200 skyscrapers in Hong Kong compared to 564 skyscrapers in New York City.  The tallest building is 1,588 feet tall.  When we entered Hong Kong harbor at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, March 14th (Thursday, March 13th Florida time) we were blown away at the site of tall buildings as far as the eye could see both on the mainland side called Kowloon Peninsula and across the harbor on the Hong Kong Island side.  As is typical in Hong Kong at this time of the year, the weather was cool (mid-60s) and foggy; great weather for sightseeing, but not for taking photos.

Our ship got an ideal docking position in Kowloon which was convenient for us for walking to many of the sites.  The first morning, we took a 1/2 day tour of the City highlights to help us get our bearings.  Our good natured tour guide was a Lucy Lu look alike whose name was Wing.  Her nickname was Chicken Wing and she was a lot of fun and very informative.  We first took the Peak Tram, a rail car, up the mountain to famous Victoria Peak for a panoramic view of Hong Kong Harbor.  Next, we went to an area called Aberdeen where we boarded a sampan and cruised Aberdeen Harbor among old Chinese houseboats and vintage fishing boats and a huge floating restaurant.  We were amazed at how clean the water was in this busy harbor; no trash bags, beer cans or other debris in the water.  They do a fantastic job of keeping the waterway clean.  Next, we visited a traditional jewelry factory where artisans make handmade jewelry specializing in jade and pearls.  Of course, there was a shopping opportunity there.  Our last stop on the tour was at famous Stanley Market on Hong Kong Island which was a great open air market.  We returned to the ship, then ventured out on our own in the afternoon walking around town.  We visited the Peninsula Hotel with the Rolls Royces lined up out front, then walked along Nathan Road where all the upscale stores line the street.

In the evening Seabourn treated all the world cruisers to a special event at a beautiful restaurant located on the 10th floor of a building overlooking the harbor.  We were served a multi course Chinese meal as we watched the famous nightly symphony of lights where all the buildings are lit up and a there is a laser light show with symphonic music.  The colorful lights are impressive.

The next day we left the ship early to explore the area on our own.  We took a walk along the waterfront to the Avenue of the Stars where the Chinese movie stars have their names etched into the pavement.  There were busloads of fans enjoying their favorite stars' markers.  Since we don't know too many Chinese movie stars, we recognized only Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, but we enjoyed watching all the jubilant Chinese tourists take in the sites.  The public art displays and festive waterfront area were really enjoyable.  After that, we took a ferry across the harbor to Hong Kong Island.  We stopped at one of the many upscale malls located inside tall skyscrapers.  The retail mall went up several stories with all upscale stores.  The Apple store was 2 levels and was, of course, packed with shoppers. The expensive, upscale stores were all busy and people were lined up to get in.  Apparently, people from mainland China come here on the weekends to shop.   Many of them are very young, fashionably dressed and apparently enjoy great wealth in the flourishing economy in mainland China.  Some of them had rolling suitcases with them to fill up and take home to the mainland.

 We left the upscale mall and hit the streets to explore the street vendors and back alleys which were all bustling with people, too.  The atmosphere on the streets and alleyways was much more our idea of how Hong Kong would be, not as sterile and western as the modern malls.  We loved the energy, the smells of the small local cafes and the buzz of the street shopping.  Brian, the big spender, treated himself to a new silk tie - bright Chinese red with dragons - at a whopping cost of $3.00.  I splurged on 2 new pairs of printed pants and 2 tops spending a grand total of about $30.00.  We can't wait to show off our new Chinese fashions at upcoming parties on the ship!

We walked the streets of Hong Kong Island and then ferried back to Kowloon and walked until we were ready to drop.  It was so much fun and we did not want the day to end.  Our last stop was at an Irish pub called Murphy's located in the basement of a building on Nathan Road.  We stopped in for a cold beer and a snack and to celebrate our great day in Hong Kong.

At 6:00 p.m. we had a sail away party on deck.  As the sun went down, the lights of the tall buildings came on and the magic of the colorful skyline presented itself as we pulled away.  The passengers were in awe of the lights and skyscrapers surrounding us on both sides of the ship.

We really need to come back here again and spend some more time in this incredible place.  Hong Kong is neither Chinese nor Western, but is a blend of both cultures.  It is so unique.  We loved it.

Early morning arrival in foggy Hong Kong

 

Tall buildings everywhere

Star Ferries - Cheap Transportation

Across the Harbor

Traditional Chinese Sampan

Aberdeen Harbor via Sampan

Jumbo floating restaurant in Aberdeen Harbor

Famous Stanley Market on Hong Kong Island

Bargain Shopping in Stanley Market

Avenue of the Chinese movie stars

 

Jackie Chan's Star on the Avenue 

 

Bruce Lee has my back!

The famous Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon

Busy street shopping on Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong at Dusk

The magic begins when

 darkness descends on Hong Kong

Fun Sail Away Party on Deck

Goodbye Hong Kong

 

Leaving Hong Kong, we said goodbye to a lot of friends as many passengers finished up their cruise on this segment.  New passengers boarded in Hong Kong so the ship is now full.  In fact, some of our friends wanted to extend their cruises, but could not because there were no cabins available.  We are excited for our upcoming stops as we cruise southwest out of Hong Kong, then west through Hainan Strait into the Gulf of Tonkin headed to Vietnam.  More good times ahead!!!!!



 

 

 

 

Malaysia - Island of Borneo

After leaving our last stop in Indonesia, we had an at sea day as we sailed through the Molucca Sea and the Celebes Sea and across the Equator back into the northern hemisphere on our way to the island of Borneo.  Borneo is a very large island and is divided into three countries -- Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.  We visited the port city of Sandakan in Malaysian Borneo located on the north side of the island. This part of Borneo is only 24 miles from one of the islands in the Philippines.

 In the morning, we went on the "Wildman of Borneo" tour that took us outside the city to the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary to observe the orangutans in the jungle.  This popular park is a rehabilitation sanctuary where orphaned orangutans are protected and fed so they can return to their natural habitat.  These adorable creatures share about 96% of the same genes as human beings.  We saw about 6 orangutans on our visit to the park.  They are much smaller than the ones we have seen in the zoo since they live in the wild.

Our tour also stopped at a Chinese Temple built and operated by the Moral Uplifting Society, a religious social welfare society that has been in existence since 1939.  This magnificent temple with its bright green shiny tile roof and bright red columns was open air and perched on a hillside overlooking the water.  Such a serene setting for worship is certainly an uplifting experience.

Another interesting site, was the Buli Sim Sim water village which is a community of houses built on stilts over the water.  The houses are all connected by plank walkways.  At first glance, this housing looks pretty shabby and unsanitary.  However, our tour guide told us that the residents choose to live in this community because they believe it is preferable to living on the land.  Living on the water is part of their history and culture.  The houses have electricity, running water, satellite dishes for television and internet.  They are perfectly content with their lifestyle.  While the sanitation conditions in the water village are not pleasant, the residents and their children are supposedly happy and healthy.  They must develop strong immune systems.

We finished up our day with a walk around downtown Sandakan.  We sailed out of Sandakan that evening for a 3 day sail across the South China Sea on our way to Hong Kong.

Arriving in Sandakan, Malaysian Borneo

Orangutan Sanctuary on Borneo

Orangutan in its natural habitat

Orangutan coming in for feeding

Buli Sim Sim Water Village

Next stop, Hong Kong.

Flores Island and Ambon Island, Indonesia

From Komodo Island, we sailed east on our way to Flores, another Indonesian island.  After leaving Komodo our route took us along the coastlines of several islands.  In the afternoon we sat on our balcony for several hours totally mesmerized by the beauty passing in front of us.  We were also entertained by small dolphins jumping completely out of the water in the wake of our ship.

Unlike Bali and Komodo Island, Flores is a long, large island.  We arrived in the port city of Larantuka which is on the northeast end of Flores.  We tendered in to explore the area on our own.  Well, it was  a culture shock after bustling Bali.  Larantuka is a small, third world town with little infrastructure for tourism.  We squeezed into a shuttle bus (actually, a van with no air conditioning) for a short ride from the ship to the marketplace.  One look at the marketplace and several passengers elected to stay on the bus and return to the ship, but we decided to explore the area.  The crowded, rustic market was busy.  The locals do not speak English, but were very friendly and the children were delightful.  The children would say "Hey Mister" and loved it when we said hello back to them bursting out with giggles.  At one point, we passed a vendor that had some island music playing and Brian did a little dance as we walked by.  The kids all flocked to us to join in, then followed us down the aisle.  They were so cute.  We then decided to walk back to the ship to experience the town rather than take the shuttle back.  Again, it was very third world with small shacks along the way, open garbage areas and even some goats wandering along the way.  However, all the way along, the locals said hello to us and the children called out "Hey Mister" and broke out with smiles and giggles with just a simple acknowledgment from us.  When we returned to the ship, we questioned why Seabourn, a "luxury" cruise line, chose to stop at such a remote, rustic location.  Upon reflection, we realized that this "developing port" may some day turn into a regular tourist stop, but fortunately for us, it is "real world" Indonesia for now.  We are grateful for our very rich experience here today.


Arriving at Larantuka, Flores Island

Town of Larantuka on Flores Island

 

Main Road in Laratuka -  Notice the Goat

Walking Through the Town of Larantuka

 

 Local Ferry Boat - Safety Equipment???? 

Our final stop in Indonesia was the island of Ambon.  As we were preparing to go ashore for the day we heard music coming from the port.  To the surprise of everyone on the ship, including the Captain, hundreds of people turned out to greet the ship.  A huge welcoming party, including members of the military, greeted us.  The mayor of Ambon Town and the governor of the province were there and made speeches and presented the Captain with keys to the town and other commemorative gifts.  Local dancers performed for us.  It was an amazing sight.  All the passengers enjoyed the welcoming ceremony from above the port plaza aboard the ship.  Once we disembarked, as we walked through the port, many of the locals came up to us and other passengers to have their pictures made with us on their cameras.  A family would have their kids stand with us and take a picture of us passengers with the kids, then the father would stand with us for a photo, then the mother would join us to for a photo.  We felt like Brad and Angelina!  Apparently, we were the first cruise ship to come to Ambon in several years so it was a big deal to this town.  This incredible warm greeting thrilled us all.  A funny thing occurred during our arrival.  One of the songs the residents greeted us with was a recorded version of  Blue Suede Shoes by Elvis. 

We spent the day exploring the town, including 2 beautiful mosques, a town park, a peace memorial and a shopping area.  Everyone really appreciated the wonderful greeting and send off at the end of day.  The send off was truly amazing.  Along with the dancing there was live music including a rendition of the song Delilah, the old Tom Jones song.  The passengers did not know whether to laugh or cry, but we all sang along.  It was a memorable moment.

A Beautiful Welcome to Ambon

  

The Governor of the Province and the Mayor of

Ambon Town Welcome our Captain with Speeches and Gifts

 

Street view of Ambon

 

Beautiful Mosque in Ambon

 

Beautiful Mosque in Ambon

 

Peace Gong in Ambon

 

Ambon Plaza, the local shopping mall

 

Singers serenading us at Port Ambon

 

Big crowd at Port Ambon to

 send us off at the end of the day



 

The cultural diversity of Indonesia is interesting.  While the country, as a whole, is predominantly Muslim, Bali is predominantly Hindu-Dharma, Flores is predominantly Catholic and Ambon is predominantly Muslim.  We saw the ornate temples in Bali, the presence of Christian churches in Larantuka, Flores and the beautiful mosques in Ambon.  These friendly, welcoming people from various cultural backgrounds seem to live in peaceful harmony here in these scattered islands - what a beautiful thing for us to witness in our travels.

 

Now, on to Malaysian Borneo for our next stop!



 

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bali and Komodo Island, Indonesia

The nation of Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands scattered over an area about 3,000 miles long  from the island of Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east.  It surprised us to learn that the population of Indonesia is around 240 million people making it the 4th most populated country in the world behind China, India and the United States.  We arrived at the small island of Bali on Sunday, March 2nd (Saturday, March 1st Florida time).  Bali is only 87 miles long and 50 miles wide, but the population is over 3.5 million people, making it very densely populated.  The climate is very hot and humid.  The island population is predominantly Hindu-Dahrma religion which is a combination of Hindu, Buddhist and ancestral worship.  Another cultural trait of the Balinese is the importance of art to them.  Art is a big part of their everyday life and they are very proud of their visual artwork and their performance art.

We spent the morning on a 4 hour tour of the bustling City of Denpasar near the port where we were docked.  Most of the people in the City ride motorcycles.  We saw families of 4 on motorcycles.  We noticed that the parents wore helmets, but the children did not.  Anyway, the traffic was chaotic with so many motorcycles flying by along with the cars and buses.

Our first stop was to visit a palace in town which was an impressive compound that included a private temple for worship.  The wood carved doors and windows and the details of the statues were incredible works of art.  Next, we visited a public temple in the center of town and an adjacent museum displaying Balinese cultural artifacts.  While we were there we saw a young couple that was engaged to be married and they were dressed in their wedding outfits and posing for pictures.  Apparently, it is the trend in Bali for young couples to stage sort of a pre-wedding ceremony where all of the wedding pictures are made a few weeks before the actual wedding day.  It was a treat for us to see their colorful outfits and artful make-up.  Another stop that we made was to a crowded, smelly multi-level market in the center of downtown Denpasar.  After dodging the motorcycles and the aggressive street peddlers, we entered the market to have a look around and immediately hooked up with our own personal shopper who attached herself to us to escort us through the crowded market.  She would not take "no, thanks" for an answer.  Finally, we faked an interest in seeing items along an aisle to the right, then when she turned right we quickly darted to the left and escaped down an exit aisle and got out of there.  That style of shopping was way too intense for us!!

That evening Seabourn treated the world cruisers to a special Balinese event on a beautiful property in Benoa.  We were greeted by Balinese hostesses offering us cold drinks and snacks of local foods. They wore colorful sarongs and fragrant frangipani flowers.  Local dancers performed a welcoming dance for us on the grounds.  We were then seated and served a multi-course dinner called a "rijsttafel" that was delicious and festive.  Local dancers performed a Balinese interpretive dance for us.  In the end they invited us to dance with them which we are pleased to report was not captured on film.  Everyone loved this beautiful display of the Balinese culture.

The next day we left at noon.  Many of us were up on the front deck to watch the sail away which was quite a sight.  Much like the traffic on the downtown streets, the harbor traffic was crazy with everything from jet skis, ferries, Chinese junks, kayaks and parasailing boats flying around the harbor cutting in front of our big ship.  We were very happy to be the on the biggest vessel in the chaotic harbor that day.

Bali

Jero Kuta Palace in Denpasar

Beautiful architecture at the Palace

Offering at a private temple

Public Hindu Temple

Bridal party costume

Hostess with Exotic Drinks - Yummy!

 

Beautiful Balinese costumes

Balinese Welcome Dance

Young boy performing Warrior Dance



We sailed overnight to tiny Komodo Island (population 1,700).  We were up on the front deck just after 6:00 am to watch the spectacular sail into the bay.  We were the only vessel in the area and it was completely quiet, the total opposite of our sail away from Bali the day before.  There were little out-islands jutting out of the water all around us.  It was so picturesque and serene.  The entire island is a national park devoted to the preservation of the komodo dragons that live there.  They are an endangered species of large monitor lizard.  Visitors are only allowed to come ashore with a guided tour.  We did a guided hike through the park to see these wondrous creatures which are descended from dinosaurs.  There are about 3,000 of them on the island.  The can grow up to 10 feet in length and weigh up to 150 pounds. They live to be about 50 years old.  They eat deer, wild hogs and water buffalo that roam the island.  On our tour, we saw 7 komodo dragons.  It was thrilling.

Approaching Komodo Island

 

On Deck Alone to Watch the Arrival

 

Komodo Dragon sightings from a safe distance

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great day on Komodo Island

 

 

NEXT STOP -- FLORES ISLAND