On a dull, grey and wet morning we made our approach towards the Tathong Channel, on the east side of Hong Kong Island.  During the early hours, the officers on the Bridge had been weaving their way through hundreds of fishing boats and large cargo ships of every  description.  The main shipping route to and from the Chinese mainland ports cross our path, as a consequence we were altering for ships; or them altering for us, throughout the night.  Reporting in to the Hong Kong Marine Department, or MARDEP for short at frequent intervals, more akin to an aircraft on final approach.  They keep on eye on us, via radar and our Automatic Identification System, (AIS), warning us of other shipping that may be a problem in the congested waters. 

It had been blowing all night and as we turned into the Tathong and got behind the mainland, there was some relief from the 45 mph winds.

We approached the pilot station at the north end of the channel and 1-minute earlier than scheduled he boarded at the Lei Yue Mun pilot station.  During all my calls here, the pilot has never said much, nor taken the Con and today was no exception; coffee in hand, he watched as the Bridge Team again did ‘their thing’ and took her up the waterway which separates HK Island from the Mainland, (Kowloon). 

Thomas took her in, a pirouette off the berth and alongside at #1 berth, Kai Tak.  As I’ve mentioned before, this was the site of the ‘old’ Hong Kong International airport, I’ve had a few ‘hairy’ landings between the skyscrapers in my day; now there is a new airport, on reclaimed land, on Lantau Island. 

The terminal is really a logistical disaster, miles away from anywhere, an endless walk just to get off the ship and into the terminal and when one gets there, apart from our shuttle bus, not a soul to be seen and only the occasional taxi.  O, I forgot, no MTR station (subway/underground) or ferry either.  We all yearn for the days when we used the Ocean Terminal, right in the heart of Kowloon and a brief walk to the centre.  I’m not privy to the peculiarities of how berths are assigned, me? I just have to deal with the questions and comments from guests and crew alike. When Karen was with me, we would brave the logistical challenges and make the most of this vibrant city.  She was still in Rochester, however I needed some necessary items, so boarded the bus into Kowloon.  Traffic of course, is heavy and a 30-minute ride later, we reached Kowloon.  Cold-weather clothing on (14C/58F) I bought the necessary and returned to the ship, no markets, no browsing stalls as I am used to.  Incidentally, Karen should return in Singapore and very remiss of me, I should have mentioned this at the start of my post; thank you all so much for your lovely comments about her recent demise.  (Karen will, all being well, rejoin in Singapore).  I spent some of my time onboard taking photos and videos, so here they are.

I tried another video, this time I had the camera on a tripod, so, although not perfect, I’m making progress!

 Now, as I write, we are in the South China Sea, heading for Phu My, a port near Ho Chi Min City, (Saigon).  Due to our draft, we are not able to go all the way up the Saigon River to the city itself.