Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Day 172 Hong Kong (Part 1 of 2)

The theme for today turned out to be Modes of Transportation.  From the beginning of the day to the end, we kept jumping from one mode to another.  We started out early in the day taking the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island with the intent of traveling to Lantau Island.  From Central we took the subway to Tung Chung where we planned to take the cable car to The Giant Buddha at the summit. Our plans were quickly changed when we learned that the cable cars would not begin until 10:00 am.  Instead, we jumped on the Number 11 bus which took us over the mountain to the fishing village of Tai O where many of the homes are built on stilts.  Although this wasn't my first visit to Tai O, having been here on several previous occasions, it was perhaps the best.  We stumbled onto a local boating excursion and enjoyed a magnificent tour through the canals of the fishing village which eventually culminated in the sighting of pink dolphins.  After our tour, we hopped a local bus which finally took us to the Giant Buddha.  We were pressed for time so I made a speedy trek to the top of the stairs, sucking wind all the way.  I took the photos I wanted and we quickly departed the area on the cable cars that took us back to Tung Chung and onward to Central Hong Kong on the subway.  Once again we found ourselves on the ferry back to our starting point near our ship in Kowloon, but this time we proceeded to The Peninsula Hotel where the highlight of our day was about to begin.  At 2:00 pm we met Brad and Gloria at The Peninsula Hotel and were whisked away on a helicopter tour of Hong Kong.  The trip was absolutely magnificent and exceeded all my expectations.  As a result, once again, I took way too many photos and I'm doing a two-part blog with part 2 being dedicated to that magnificent flight.  That's what happens when you have a fabulous day .... the photos just keep clicking away!

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