Hong Kong

 

Swabbing the deck after Shanghai.

Lots of floating brown seaweed.

Three ships racing.

Entry into Hong Kong harbor.

Our berth was right next to the Star Ferry terminal (middle left). We started our exploration of the city by taking the ferry to Hong Kong Island. The ferry was started in 1888 by a Parsee (Zoroastrian) from Bombay. He chose Star for the name of the ferry because it is an ancient symbol used in the Zoroastrian religion. If the magi were Zoroastrians (very likely) then they followed a star to Bethlehem.

 Man Mo Temple, dedicated to the gods of literature (man) and war (mo).

Ladder Street

Will's favorite medicine.

It takes about a week for these coils of incense to burn--which means extra long protection from the gods.

Citrus was the offering of choice in the three temples we visited. Bottles of vegetable oil were also a favorite.

Why is ivory still being sold? The large tusks in the red are from mastadons.

Riding up the long Central Mid-Level escalators. We then walked along the mid level slopes via the zoo to the Victoria Peak tram.

Hong Kong harbor from Victoria Peak. It was an hour long line for the tram up.

Escalators up from the breezeway (a feng shui design to facilitate easy flow from the harbor up the mountain--the dragons back) ground floor into the HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Bank). These were placed at an angle in accordance with feng shui to disoriented evil spirits. The escalators are seen as whiskers of a dragon sucking wealth into the belly. Other feng shui influences on the architecture are glass windows looking out on the harbor so that lucky dragons from the harbor can enter the building. Also some have suggested that the top antenna looking objects are pointed at the nearby Bank of China which is a rival so as to channel bad energy towards it. Both banks have twin lions guarding their entrance.

The student protests from last December's umbrella revolution were held in this this central banking and government sector. I heard that the students camped in the ground floor breezeway.

The new Bank of China building is on the left with the diamond/triangle design. The older Bank of China is the short older building in the center and towering above in on the right is the HSBC.

Some of the many Filipinos who gather in public places around town to enjoy their one day off from working as domestics. 

Temple Street night market. I introduced the kids to jack fruit (nangka) and mangosteens (manggis). Both were a hit. We also bought some red knock-off vans for Will and cheap wrist watches for Sarah and Joel.