R2—The Journey Begins

From San Francisco to Hong Kong, February 18-20

Somewhere over the rainbow

It’s a long way from San Francisco to Hong Kong.  Fifteen hours to be precise.  But it felt like an eternity.   on the non-stop Cathay Pacific flight carrying me on the first leg of  my  journey around the world.

  We left close to midnight. The lights dimmed, people drifted off to sleep, and  I  peered into blackness from my porthole window  dreaming that I was drifting  beyond earth’s atmosphere and  into outer space,  much like an astronaut on a journey a million miles from earth.

Time seems to stop on such a long  flight.   You doze in and out of sleep, disturbed only by an occasional  bell alerting you to turbulence .   At 3 a.m. a Cathay Pacific stewardess suddenly awakens you. for the first round of breakfast--- a cup of ice cream.  At 5 a.m. she appears again,  this time handing out chopsticks and a large cup containing a mysterious mixture of thai noodles, rice, herbs and  sweet fruit.  One taste and I opted for orange juice to accompany the two breakfasts that arrived soon after.  

Secured in the strait jacket of an economy class seat, the flight is  especially exhausting and confusing because as you fly westward to the Orient, you lose an entire day.  But finally,  the 15 hour flight over the Bering Sea and  Japan is over, and the brilliant lights of Victoria Harbor appear in the mist below.

I had always dreamed of visiting Hong Kong, but never thought I’d make it. But Hong Kong would be the first stop on my cruise on the R2, a 600 passenger ship of the Renaissance Cruise line.     My shipboard companion would be a friend I had met on my recent around the world  expedition.   After that adventure, Vi Westphal and I had booked this Southeast Asia cruise only after our planned excursion to circumnavigate South America had fallen through.  Secretly, I was delighted at this last minute change in plans. I had always wanted to explore many ports in  Southeast Asia, and this R2 trip was a bargain basement bonanza!

But exhausted as we were after the flight, we couldn’t board the R2 yet.   The Regal Hotel in the heart of Kowloon was our first destination. There we checked in with the R2 staff and were served yet another breakfast---our third in 15 hours!   Some people already began to complain, impatient about not getting onto the ship.   But I was delighted at the delay.   It was just 7:30 a.m  and this meant  we had a free morning to explore  the streets of Kowloon.   We opted to walk along the promenade bordering Victoria Harbor since we could reach it easily via one of the many nearby elevated walkways of Kowloon.  

This promenade runs for miles along the beautiful Victoria Harbor.  Strolling along in the early morning sunshine, we passed small groups of people, old and young,  who were starting their day  doing  tai chi  in synchronized patterns, Their serene exercises contrasted with the enormous energy of the harbor.  It was alive with the noise and color of  tug  boats, sampams, junks, ferry boats, huge container ships, and other seagoing vessels making their way through the wide waterway.

Finally, we reached our destination, the Star Ferry terminal and hopped aboard  for a free ride over to Hong Kong island   This fleet of lozenge-shaped green-and-white striped boats has been plying the harbor between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon for a hundred years, giving passengers an incredible view of the city’s spectacular skyline, bridges and harbor.   After the 15 minute  ride, we hopped the next ferry back to Kowloon joining  crowds  of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Philippine and caucasian passengers who use the ferry as their  primary mode of transportation.

What a  fascinating city!  Almost seven million people live and work in Hong Kong,  The “handover” from the British to the Chinese took place in 1997, and today there is a quota of just 150 people a day allowed in from mainland China.   Double decker busses line the streets; honking horns blast away at every stop light, and people dart in and out by motor scooter down the narrow streets.   Towering futuristic buildings  reach high into the sky, rising in gleaming clusters of  every architectural design, with some seeming to  perch precariously on Hong Kong’s many mountains.  Amazingly, bamboo scaffolding rising  a hundred stories high surrounds the shells of the many  buildings under construction.  And everywhere, workers  labor to create  new retaining walls and stairways  that climb straight  up steep hillsides.

By now, our ship, the R2, was waiting for us, and almost numb with fatigue, Vi and I made it to our stateroom.   This would be our home for the next five weeks.  (More about that later.)  We were saving all our energies for  the next day when we would set out again to explore Hong Kong.   

In the early morning, our bus took us up a winding two-lane road on a long drive to the top of Victoria Peak.  This is the must see, for all tourists new to the city.   The panoramic views  were breathtaking despite an early morning mist that shrouded the mountains and harbor in pale tones of  mauve, celadon and  soft grey.  

But my favorite experience in  Hong Kong was yet to come.  Back down at the harbor we hopped into sampams for a boat ride to Aberdeen, the enormous floating  boat villages in the harbor.  Our sampam snaked its way slowly through a labyrinth of narrow passages  between miles of floating homes.  These colorful small boats are the sole living quarters for many of the city’s fishermen and others.    Passing through the narrow waterways, we could almost touch the laundry hanging out to dry, nod to people squatting down and preparing meals,  repairing fishing lines, sleeping, or just dozing on the decks.   The boats have old tires mounted to the sides as barriers against collision, and it took great skill not to bang up against these bumper  tires as we wove our way through Aberdeen.

The historic  Man Mo temple on Hollywood Road was our next stop.  But, after a short visit and inhaling too much of  the smoky incense burning in the temple, I was ready to escape and stroll along the  maze of narrow streets.  Hollywood Road is an antique lovers’ dream street.  It is lined with tiny stalls and miles of stores housing marble statues, handsome antiques, fine silk wear, and old shops selling herbal Chinese medicines, incense, and everything else imaginable.

  Finally, dead tired, we headed back to the R2.  Most of the passengers on the ship are veteran travelers and  have been to Hong Kong many times.  But for me, a first time visitor, this was a dream come true.  Hong Kong, with its  brilliant banners,  handsome department stores,  tropical landscaping, winding passageways and stairs climbing up the steep cliffs, and a  harbor called one of the three busiest in the world, was far more exotic and fascinating than I ever expected.

  But our trip was just getting underway.   The next stop, Viet Nam.