Hong Kong

After another delayed flight, customs, and an hour-long bus ride back to the ship we were on board by 4 pm.  On the ride home we drove past the location of the new Disney Resort, over the replica bridge of the Golden Gate Bridge and listened to our guide give us commentary on Hong Kong.  He went on for a bit about Apple, noting that their products are made in China where they pay workers minimum wage, a whopping $4an hour.
Our dinner table mates had arranged for us all to take a Hong Kong Harbour dinner  cruise during the symphony of lights.  Our table mates are comprised of two Americans, two Australians and two Brits, and they are all great fun.  We somehow always  manage to be the last to leave the restaurant every evening and the conversation and laughs are virtually continuous.  
We took the Metro to get to the north shore of Hong Kong island where we boarded the boat.  We were booked into the VIP room, a private room that let on to the private balcony that occupied the entire bow of the boat, which is where we watched the Symphony of Light show.  This is a must-see in Hong Kong and even though the smog was bad, the show was nevertheless spectacular.  After finishing dinner and drinks we took a taxi back to where the shuttle bus to the ship was waiting to take us back home.  Hong Kong is amazing at night with massive buildings lighting up the sky. Part of the city looks like a giant billboard with all the companies names lighting up the sky.
The next day we headed out to explore the city.  After taking the shuttle bus to the central district on Hong  Kong Island, we caught the Star Ferry to Kowloon.  Cia joined a tai chi class on the waterfront outside the museum of art.  After that we walked along the avenue of the stars where we saw the handprints for Jackie Chan and a statute of Bruce Lee and a bunch of other Chinese movie stars whose names we did not recognize.  Then we walked the entire length of Nathan Street, the 3-kilometer long main shopping street in Kowloon.  Their were plenty of Rolex shops, jewelry stores, high-end fashion stores and tailors. We walked by the goldfish market that had bags and bags of goldfish for sale, then by a regular street market, then the flower market which had the most amazing orchids and bonsai plants for sale and roses that were individually wrapped.  The final market we went to was the bird market where hundreds of singing birds were for sale in cages. The songs were beautiful but it did not seem right to see these creatures fluttering around in such small cages.  There were also pairs of love birds, parrots and numerous macaws for sale.
In the interests of saving time, we decided to take the subway back to the Star Ferry Terminal.  The subway system is amazingly clean and the stations are massive.  They have maps so you can figure your optimum way out of the stations.  We then took the ferry across again and made our way to the tram station to go up Victoria Peak, passing by the occupy Hong Kong movement that had pitched their camp in the sheltered, shady concourse beneath the HSBC bank.  The camp's unkempt slovenly appearance was in stark contrast to the gleaming steel and glass towers surrounding it.  
Even though it was smoggy, we decided to go up to the top of Victoria Peak just to enjoy the funicular train.  It was worth it.  At the top it was windy and cool but the smog was beginning to clear up somewhat so we paid the extra fee to go to the sky terrace.  While the building itself is very interesting to see from the outside, the fee to go to this terrace on its roof is not really worth it because the traditional, free public terrace outside the tram station building gives essentially the same view.  After stopping for a Starbucks beverage and free wi-fi we took the tram back down.  On our walk from the tram station back to the pier we encountered  a lovely urban park that was a beautiful oasis of rocks, trees and fountains midst the skyscrapers.  We also stopped at the apple store where they had just launched the new Apple iPad 3.  Looking around the glitzy, glamorous store, we were reminded how our guide Bill commented on the low salary of Apple factory workers.  We got back to the ship and enjoyed a lovely sail away party watching the skyline of Hong Kong slowly recede as we partook of a few glasses of cheap, but free, champagne.  A pleasant way to cap off a brief but very pleasant visit to this interesting, vibrant city.

Cruise tip:  plan your day and take the subway/bus/ferry system.  The cost is reasonable and English is spoken throughout.

Sea terms as provided by Princess:  Sucking the Monkey  
During the American War of Independence, British seamen  persuaded West Indian women, who came aboard the naval ships to sell coconuts, to empty the coconuts first and refill them with rum.  When the rum was then extracted using a straw, this was known as "sucking the monkey".  The resulting drunkenness supposedly remained a mystery to the ships' officers for many years.