We spent two days in Hong Kong, arriving the first day just in time to take off on an evening excursion. We took off first for the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Kowloon to the Temple Street Night Market, where we had some free time to explore the area.

We meandered through the market stalls and along the side streets, where we saw many ladies of the night and sex shops (ooh la la). We also saw “normal” fares, of course, but nothing is going to stand out as much as sex-related stuff, amiright?

After we visited Temple Street, we took off in a double-decker bus to explore the northern part of mainland Hong Kong at night.

We found it to be particularly vibrant and beautifully illuminated. We of course sat in the top of the bus so we could have fantastic views of the city as we drove by historical landmarks such as the Peninsula Hotel, the dazzling domed Hong Kong Space Museum, and along the Golden Mile of Nathan Street, which was ablaze in a riot of neon lights. It was fun to see the city alive at night and people watch from atop the bus before heading back to the ship.

The next day, John and I did a “Highlights of Hong Kong” tour that took us all over the place. The boys opted out of this one. We started out with a bus ride to Hong Kong Island, through a tunnel that took us under the water. On the bus we were treated to facts about Hong Kong and the typical way of life of the locals. Here’s a picture of the map they showed us to get our bearings. Whereas we spent the previous evening in the pink section of the map (Kowloon), today was to be across Victoria Harbour on Hong Kong Island.

Once there, we took a ride on the Peak Tram to the highest point on Hong Kong Island. The views of the sprawling metropolis below were amazing during the ride and at the top.

The tram has been running since 1888 and as the world’s steepest funicular railway it was a thrill to ride. There was a woman sitting in front of us who kept commenting on how it felt like a roller coaster making its ascent – and it really did. The incline really did feel like we were inching to the top of a summit and were going to plummet down the other side (though thankfully we didn’t!). At the top, we had incredible views of the city.

After our views of Hong Kong, we took the bus down the descent and arrived at the beautiful beach that rims Repulse Bay.

Here we spent a little time walking along the beach to an area with a lot of colorful statues and shrines.

There was one statue that was meant to give you prosperity if you rubbed it from its head to its feet and then put your hands in your pockets (like you were putting money in your pockets). John and I both did this, though not long after we overpaid for a beer on the beach so I’m not sure it worked. 😉

After our stop at Repulse Bay (which we both agreed could have been longer), we made our way to the floating village of Aberdeen where we rode a flat-bottomed sampan through the harbor’s calm waters. The sampan was fairly rudimentary yet seemed to be able to turn and move in the water quite easily.

Finally, after the “cruise” through the harbor we went to a jewelry store. It seems like jewelry store stops are a favorite on excursions but we could easily have left this off the trip and been perfectly fine. The highlight of this stop was the sign in the elevator.

At this point, we headed back to the ship. Overall, it was a good excursion and gave us a great view of life in Hong Kong. The city is bustling yet the chaos is controlled. We really enjoyed what we saw and would visit again.