The final stop on my trip is Hong Kong. Just as Shanghai was a good way to transition into China, Hong Kong is a good way to re-enter western society. What we think of as Hong Kong is officially a Special Administrative Area (SAR) that includes the Island of Hong Kong, Kowloon, and the New Territories. Although since 1997 it is part of China, it is not considered the mainland and traveling here requires passports for foreigners and official travel documents for citizens of China. Under the"one country, two systems" principle, it has it's own form of government with elected leaders, a separate judiciary, and its own currency. This policy will last until at least 2047, and at present seems to be working well.

On arrival, after immigration and customs, it was about a 45 minute bus ride to our hotel . We stayed on Hong Kong Island near Causeway Bay. The hotel is centrally located and within walking distance of shopping. It is also easy to get around by bus, subway, or ferry. We had an afternoon orientation walk and explanation of public transportation and then had a free afternoon and evening.

On Friday we started with a bus tour of the city. In the Chinatown district, we rode the Mid Level Escalator, which is actually a series of outdoor, covered escalators that take about 20 minutes from end-to-end. Since there is only one series of escalators, they travel down from opening at 6 am until 10 am to accommodate the people going to work. After that they travel up until they close at midnight. It seems like a very efficient system if most of the users are traveling in the same direction, but a hardship if you need to go the opposite way. We passed one man who was hauling a large suitcase up the stairs. He must have been in a hurry, because it was 9:45 and in 15 minutes he would have been able to use the Escalator . We left the escalator in the heart of Chinatown, and watched the merchants setting up their sidewalk stalls, and the locals shopping. According to our local guide as high rises replace the older buildings these stalls will disappear.

Next we visited the Shueng Wan Man Mo Temple. This is one of several Man Mo temples in Hong Kong and is dedicated to the civil or literature god Man Tai, and the martial god, Mo Tai. In the same complex is Lit Shing Temple, dedicated to all of the heavenly gods, and Kung So, an assembly hall for community affairs. After visiting the temple we headed to Aberdeen on the south side of Hong Kong Island, for a ride through the harbor in a Sampan, before making our final stop at a local jewelry manufacturer.

We had another free afternoon. This time I crossed Victoria Harbor to Kowloon, to visit the Hong Kong History Musuem. There were two featured exhibits, The Hong Kong Story, and the Terra Cotta Warriors . Since I had been to Xi'an, I chose to view the Hong Kong exihibit. It was very good and very thorough, and I really enjoyed the sections on the people and their cultures. The section on the Japanese War (WW II) was very interesting because I didn't have much information about how the war affected Hong Kong.

In the evening we had an optional tour, Hong Kong by Night. It included a wonderful Thai dinner, a visit to the Temple Street Night Market, a ride back to Hong Kong on the Star Ferry, with great views of the nighttime skyline, followed by a drive up Victoria Peak, to another view of the cities by night. Because there was great visibility we could see all the way to the New Territories. Finally, we took a ride on one of the local double-decker trolley trams that having been running for more than a 100 years. Our evening ended with a bus ride though Wan Chai, the area made famous by Susie Wong. If you aren't old enough to remember the movie, it is Hong Kong's red light district . There were only a few girls and mama sans on the street, but it looked like there were plenty of customers. Or maybe they were just out for an evening stroll.

Our final day in Hong Kong was a free day. I chose to go to Stanley, another area on the South Coast. After directions and marks on the local map, Arlene and I set off for a ride on the local bus. Along the way we had some great views do the local beaches including Repulse Bay. It was about a 30 minute bus ride, and since Stanley is the final stop there was no confusion about where to get off. It is a beautiful beachfront area with lots of restaurants featuring local seafood, a modern shopping mall and a huge local craft market. It was easy to complete my shopping list, and to enjoy a great grilled tuna sandwich before heading back to the bus stop for our return trip. There was only one small miscue. When we got off the bus, we turned left instead of right and after about 3 blocks realized that we didn't recognize anything. However after checking the map, we were able to navigate to our hotel with only a 4 or 5 block detour, and were also able to see another local market area. I knew it was time to come home when I didn't even take photos after saying just how many vegetable and meat stall can you photograph.

Now, to finish packing for an early departure.