Victoria keeps her secrets

It is obligatory for Hong Kong tourists to take the tram to the top of Victoria Peak. However, it is not obligatory for Victoria to reveal herself and the alleged splendor of the view from her summit. Today was a beautifully foggy day, which meant we had no competition early in the morning for this incredibly angled trip up the mountain. Never mind. We walked around at the mall on the top, had some tea, and flew down the peak backwards! The fog created some lovely vistas, which might have been too frightening had we seen them more clearly.

We started the trip at the Star Ferry Wharf in Kowloon, where a large number of young people were demonstrating an unusual amount of energy for a Sunday morning. Like folks everywhere, they were powering up for a cancer cure run, which mystifyingly has something to do with beating a banana here, but we got the drift.

Following our rapid descent from The Peak, we ambled through various parts of Hong Kong, sticking to the Hollywood Road area and poking into the gamut of merchandise that spills into every available space. We went through Hong Kong’s oldest temple, the Anglican Cathedral, and even saw a coffin store. You can buy anything here. Anything.

This evening we went to the Ladies’ Market – which was really the place to bargain for things you know you don’t really want, but look good for a brief moment. Amazing supply of Jimmy Choo purses. He must have factories working around the clock, around the world! Then we got really specialized, and went to the fish, flower and bird markets, in that order.  Each of them were jam-packed on a Sunday evening. Hope these birds and fish are ending up as pets and not dinner, but they were all getting intense scrutiny by potential buyers.

Time to leave now. We had an amazing visit to this incredible city, and we bow to the people of Hong Kong for their ambitions, their industry, and their success. It is definitely their turn to shine!