Since I’d not wandered around Hong Kong Island on my own yet, I figured a good way to get my bearings would be to take a tour. The Hong Kong Tourism Board’s website had quite a few to choose from, and I decided to take the ‘Hong Kong Deluxe tour’, operated by Grey Line Tours. Booking the tour was relatively easy, I could’ve done it from my Hotel’s concierge desk, but since I was near their Kowloon side office, I decided to book it there. Next morning at 8am, I was picked up from my hotel’s lobby and away we went! As I was the first to be picked up, I got a nice tour of the Kowloon hotels as we went around picking up other passengers. It amazes me how the bus driver (Who we were introduced to as "his name is Money") was able to navigate around the tight corners and miss all curbs and pedestrians! Once we were all assembled, our tour guide, Andy, gave us a quick summary of the tour; Man Mo Temple, Victoria Peak, Aberdeen fishing village, a jewelry factory, Stanley Market, then back to our hotels.
First stop- Man Mo Temple. Over 100 years old, this very active Taoist temple is located on Hollywood Road. Andy gave us a quick explanation of the differences between Buddhism and Taoism, cautioned us to take no pictures of the locals coming in to pray, and led us inside. The entire place is bathed in a haze of incense smoke from the hundreds of smoldering coils hanging from every possible place! They’re burned as offering to the Gods for good wishes, health, prosperity, etc. (Similar to lighting a candle for something or someone in a Christian church) This Temple is dedicated to the Taoist Gods of Literature and War, but there are a multitude of other deities represented that can be worshipped as well. Outside, we saw the large brazier that is used to burn ‘hell’ or ‘joss" money. You purchase fake paper money, then burn it in this oven so your ancestors can have it in the Otherworld. After a quick stop into the temple gift shop, it was back on the bus for the next stop.
Peak Tram/ Victoria Peak- Now I have ridden the tram up to the peak before, and if there’s anything I say is a must-do while in Hong Kong, it’s this! The rickety tram ride is amazingly steep! Personally, I think the best seats are the ones in the back going up, or front going down, so you can see just how steep it is. When you get to the top, you can actually see the cable that hauls the trams, and it seems kind of small, but it’s been doing just the same since the 1800s. Once at the top, you can either get inundated with tourist trap stuff in the Peak mall, or go outside for some air and views, we chose the latter. The views from Victoria Peak, on a clear day are simply amazing. You’re looking down on Hong Kong Island, Victoria Harbor, and Kowloon. There are a couple of trails you can take for a nice walk around the Peak as well and, on weekends, these are very popular! Even on a misty morning, I still recommend a trip up to the Peak. Watching the fog come off the mountain is really neat and makes from some great photos! After about 45 minutes or so, our bus picked us up and it was down to Aberdeen fishing village.
Aberdeen- This was very interesting in a sad kind of way. Aberdeen fishing village is what tourists think of when they think of junks and traditional boat life in the Orient and it is a fishing village, there are plenty of commercial fishing boats in the harbor. Unfortunately, it is also the site of the famous/infamous "Jumbo floating restaurant", which had been moved to China for some refurbishment. As our bus was pulling up, Andy let us know that the "optional sampan ride" really wasn’t optional. I guess I could’ve not gone, but why? The ride lasted about 20 minutes, going through and around the anchored boats. About half of the boats floating in the harbor were obviously homes, in various stages of care. I wondered how some of then stayed afloat! Our boat pilot pointed out various sights, such as fresh-caught fish and freshly plucked chickens hanging for dinner, dragon boats, house boats etc., before returning us to the docks to re-board the bus. The expected donation for the trip was $10HK; most tourists left more, as I did. Once back on the bus, Andy explained to us that Aberdeen Fishing Village is in danger from development. A local theme park is trying to take over the harbor to expand to compete with Hong Kong Disney. The fishermen must take out tourists to make ends meet to support themselves, something that is seen as disgraceful. Andy explained that Aberdeen fishing village is expected to be no more within a few years; a Hong Kong tradition and way of life will be gone. Seeing as how we were told this after the ride, rather than before, I’m glad I donated more than the expected. Next stop was the only one that I wasn’t happy with, but it seems to be commonplace on tours in China; the jewelry factory stop. Money parked the bus outside of the loading dock and we were led in the back way; not very promising. Once inside, we were ushered into a small conference room and given a short presentation on how jewelry is made before being escorted into the showroom to shop. There were refreshments and restrooms, and lots of pretty but overpriced (in my opinion) jewelry. We were there for about 45 minutes, then back on the bus for Stanley. Stanley Market was worth the trip over, if just for the scenery along the way. (Repulse Bay is breathtaking!) It’s got as much stuff as Temple Street or Ladies Street markets, but it seems a bit more laid back, and I found the prices to be a bit better. Clothing, souvenirs, all the basic things that you would want to find in a market, and I thought that there was a nicer selection of everything, particularly linens. There are also a couple of museums and a temple dedicated to Tin Hau, Taoist Goddess of the Sea and protector of fishermen, but there wasn’t really enough time to check these out. I came back a few days later on my own, the #6 bus from Central takes about 30 min. After Stanley, it was back on the bus again for the return trip to my hotel. Overall, I’m not a huge fan of the "guided bus tour", preferring to grab a guidebook and map and go on my own. After this trip, that’s just what I did, but the tour was a nice overview and gave me an idea of some places that I wanted to check out on my own later. Andy, our tour guide was very informative and entertaining, and I’m still amazed that our driver, Money, was able to maneuver that bus the way he did! I definitely recommend this tour if you only have a short time, or if you want to get an overview to base your own adventures on.