Other Side of the Harbor
Well, I saw another side of Hong Kong today! In fact, I went to the other side. The other side of the harbor anyway.
I had to get my visa back at the office, and this time I was on my own. My boss, Richard Herbst, had taken me to apply on Monday, but he had headed in to Dongguan, so I had to make the trek back to retrieve my visa by myself.
No big deal. I just walked down to the subway station nearby. It was my first visit there. Found the line to Central. Walked a couple of blocks back down to the waterfront. Took the Star Ferry across the harbor, and walked the next few blocks to the visa office.
Of course, I took my time doing that to see a few sites. Central is near some of the original buildings of the area. Very nice. The ferry was quick and simple. But I can tell you it sure rocked in the waves around the docks. It was calm when charging across the harbor, amongst the many ships and boats. But when it docked the waves really rocked it. Balance was difficult.
The other side is very interesting. It’s the Kowloon Peninsula. The Sheraton and Peninsula hotels are there. So it is much more of a tourist area than around the Excelsior, where I stay. That has its benefits and downfalls. I was able to see the Clock Tower, the Concert Hall, and the Avenue of Stars. Seems there were several places devoted to tourists. The Avenue for the Stars is like the Hollywood Walk of the Stars. I only recognized the names of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee.
And shops in that area range from the high end malls to the market type shops down alley-like aisles stocked from floor to ceiling. There were many selling Chinese clothes for the tourists. Bright colored kimono type dresses, etc. Probably no one wears those clothes in Hong Kong.
I had always heard about the tailors selling suits in Hong Kong. Well, I finally saw them today. I can’t remember one shop here at Causeway Bay. On the other hand, one in ten shops in the tourists area was devoted to selling custom tailored suits. They even have resorted to custom ladies suits to increase business. All had at least one hawker on the street trying to get my business. All seemed to be Indian, and knew me as “boss”. You know, not a one of them was wearing a suit.
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:30 PM
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