The morning mist shrouded the horizon as we made our approach to this exciting port city. The traffic was surprisingly light, not the usual mass of ships I have come to expect, nevertheless there were enough ‘targets’ on our radars to keep us alert and busy. Hong Kong lies on island, while on the mainland lies Kowloon. There are 2 approaches to the port; we use the eastern, ‘Tathong’ Channel, while the ‘cargo’ boys tend to use the western channel, the ‘East Lamma’.
An overview of Hong Kong Island; Tathong channel to the right, East Lamma to the left
Our route in.
Kai tak terminal, the ‘runway’ shape still obvious
We are making for an 0645 pilot and have been on our highest Bridge level since 0600. Reporting points to Hong Kong Control (MARDEP) are necessary as we pass various demarkation points. We turn into the Tathong and ahead the first views of the tall blocks of flats on the western side; in contrast, the fishing village of Ma Wan on our starboard side looks as if it hasn’t changed in eons.
Sunrise as we enter the Tathong Channel
Approaching Ma Wan (right)
and a telephoto lens shot
We are not going to our ‘usual’ berth this morning, we are bound for Kai Tak cruise terminal.
Many of you will recall there was once an airport of the same name and yes, it has been converted for cruise ships. A new airport has been built on Lantau Island, far to the west. I’m sure many a pilot breathed a sigh of relief when Kai Tak closed and, having experienced it at first hand, I can understand why. Final approach involved flying past a reasonably high range of hills and then banking hard right, straightening out and keeping sufficiently high not to take the laundry lines off the top of the blocks of flats which were directly on the line of approach; then dropping rapidly in an effort to use all of the relatively short runway.
There is an ‘interloper’ at our usual berth, the Ocean Terminal, another cruise ship bagged it first and we shift from Kai tak to the Ocean at 2230 on the first evening. It’s a shame really, we so enjoyed wandering ashore to the night markets and eating dinner, some superb seafood can be found there. Instead I have to back in good time for our shift, the evening lost.
We manage to get ashore after lunch though and take one of the shuttle buses from the terminal, this takes us to near the famous Peninsular Hotel. Our dear friends Larry and Laura joined us today, celebrating (a big) wedding anniversary, they are taking the trip of a lifetime, this will be the furthest they have ever been.
We decide to take the Star ferry across to Hong Kong Island and there we jump on a hop-on, hop-off bus; it’s a nice way of them seeing a great deal of Hong Kong without having to walk.
An iconic Star ferry
Hong Kong skyline
A fireboat comes past at speed
While a junk moves more sedately
Karen and Hazel looking serious as they pore over maps while on the ferry
Karen, Laura, Larry and Hazel pose at the ‘Central’ ferry berth
Our ride awaits
or one has the option of a rickshaw , the owner of which has an unfortunate name
Window shopping while pushing a block of marble?
Property ain’t cheap, divide it by 7.8 and one has US$
The Peak tram
This building used to house the British garrison, ironically it now houses the Chinese army and has a large red star on its frontage. (The Brits used to call it the “upside down gin bottle”, one can see why).
A beautiful bride poses for her wedding photographs.
I’ll leave you for a while and see what our tomorrow brings…………
