Day 59 Hong Kong Day 2

Today was our second day in Hong Kong and we made the best of it. First we climbed aboard the tender to get to shore since we were no longer dockside but anchored in the harbor. Then off in a Hong Kong taxi to Stanley market. The taxis are easy to spot as they all have a white top and a red body. Stanley market is a very civilized market where vendors offer all hinds of dry goods, electronics and souvenirs. There are no food items for sale here as in most other market we have visited along our trip. After cruising thru the shops with a few small purchases we jumped into another taxi who took us to Aberdeen. This is a small fishing village. Or it used to be. Today the harbor is still loaded with the old style boats and sampans but now there is a flotilla of luxury yachts as well. We rode thru the harbor in a small sampan to see the boats and then were dropped off at "Jumbo" which is a famous floating restaurant. After a somewhat Chinese meal we rode back to the pier and grabbed a taxi back to catch our tender to return to the ship.
If there is a global slowdown you cannot tell from Hong Kong. There is still a great deal of construction going on and alot of it is very high end construction. The weather was nice and made for a very enjoyable day.
We have weighed anchor and are off toward Taiwan after another day at sea tomorrow.
Chris - We spent the day in a couple of our favorite spots on Hong Kong Island. Stanley Market still has great buys and I particularly like the linen clothing. I bought a linen dress last time I was here (1987) and it lasted until last year when it went to Good Will, when I was cleaning out the house. I bought 2 linen blouses this time, lets hope they at least make it a year or two! The market is as I remembered it but there are so many similar markets now, it's not that unusual anymore. I do like the merchandise better in Stanley though. The town of Stanley has certainly grown up and they have a nice waterfront area with little restaurants and shops. The drive to Stanley was gorgeous, with overlooks of water and large hills, the flowers and trees were lovely. Aberdeen, as Paul said, is a fishing village where you can see all kinds of boats. It has a "neighborhood", that we cruised through, where people live on their boats. Some gorgeous and some boats you're surprised are still afloat. I love touring around there. The main difference to me since the last time we were here, was the tremendous buildup of condo/apartments surrounding the Aberdeen harbor. The condos/apartments are mostly high rise and look well maintained. It certainly changes the look of the "sleepy" little fishing village. I know it's Paul's birthday on Tuesday, but I did find something I want for my birthday in August. I'll put the picture up so you all can see it and maybe pool your money and buy it for me. We enjoyed Hong Kong and the many things to do there.