May 14th and 15, 2005
We finished our tour of Guilin and said goodbye to the local guide Sue and the national guide Lisa. The group was sad that Lisa was not going to Hong Kong with us. On the way to the airport Lisa reviewed our trip, asking us trivia questions. I was amazed that we had already visited 7 cities and had one more to go. Beijing and Tiananmen square seemed like ages ago. We had seen so much and covered a lot of territory.
It was also clear that the trip was coming to an end. There were no more group meals, we were saying goodbye to Lisa and I knew, having been to Hong Kong that we were on our way to a very westernized city and the excitement of seeing new sites was about to become a memory.
I was a little surprised to find out that our flight to Hong Kong was considered an international flight and our passports were stamped as exiting China. Although China now rules Hong Kong, it is still considered to be its own entity.
We ran into a few problems at the Guilin airport. We were warned about the about the 20 Kilo luggage weight limit for domestic flights, we were surprised to find out that this applied to the Hong Kong flight as well. The shoppers in the group were not happy about paying for the additional weight. Adding insult to injury, Southwest China Airlines would only accept cash for the payment. Many of us had made it a point to get rid of our Chinese Yuan before departing to Hong Kong. I personally had to pay an additional fee as I kept my carry luggage light and packed everything in my bag. Twenty Kilos (about 42 lbs) is rather light for a two-week tour.
We arrived in Hong Kong and it was clear that we were back to a Westernized city. There was a mix of people and the conservative dress had become trendy. As we drove into Hong Kong, the city looked new, the skyline was bright, skyscraper after skyscraper. Narrow tall building after narrow tall building and neon signs everywhere. The streets were well maintained, there were no people on bicycles, or walking along the freeway, people obeyed the traffic signals and the taxi drivers drove nice red Toyota cars instead of converted motorcycles.
The following morning, I heard a couple of people commenting on the rudeness of the Hong Kong people. During the check in process and trying to cash a travelers check, I experienced the same thing. I even joked with Allan at dinner saying that in China, there was a lot of “Yes, one moment please” which meant, I don’t understand, I am going to get someone who does. In Hong Kong, the commonly used phrase was “Yes, no problem” which really means, I don’t understand you but if I say “yes, no problem”, maybe you will go away.
I thought about the comments and realized that the people in Hong Kong were not rude and the level of service provided by the hotel wasn’t less than other hotel we would expect in the states but rather we had been spoiled by the friendliness of the people in mainland China.
May 15th, 2005
We loaded up on the bus and headed to Victoria’s Peek. It hadn’t changed much since my last visit almost four years ago only it was a little bit cloudier and the pictures did not come out as clear.
After Victoria’s Peek, we headed to Stanley Market. It was exactly how I remembered it from my first visit five years earlier. I remembered what I had purchased and where I purchased it from. I decided to to purchase a table cloth for the dining room before we loaded back on the bus and headed to Aberdeen. Aberdeen was originally a fishing village. Today it is a little bit touristy but there are people who still live on the boats. I hadn’t seen that on my previous trip and I really enjoyed seeing it.
That night Alan and I went to Nathan Road. The shuttle service dropped us off at the Peninsula hotel. After taking pictures of the Hong Kong skyline and watching the Laser show, we took a few snapshots of Nathan road and then stopped at the Peninsula hotel for a drink and air conditioning. The Peninsula hotel is an elegant and old hotel. I wondered what it was like when it was first built when Hong Kong was an exotic port and the hotel was a playground for wealthy travelers.
After we returned to the hotel it started to rain. I watched it with fascination, it rained hard with thunder and lightning. I thought how appropriate, now that we have finished our trip, we finally get a storm. We had been so lucky with just about perfect weather and now that we are wrapping things up, the skies let loose.
Well, homeward bound!
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