Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Day 30 -Thursday, March 15, 2018 - Hong Kong Day 2.

I guess we are getting spoiled by this cruising thing. Today we are still in Hong Kong and there were no whirring motors to wake us up. So we didn't get up until after 9am and were just able to get some breakfast in the LIDO before heading out for another day of touring in Hong Kong.

The shuttle this day went to a different shopping center at the Diamond Hill subway station. Nearby was the Nan Lian Garden which was a real treat to visit. It's an immaculate garden with amazing shrubbery, glistening clean reflection ponds, beautiful rocks, and a display of some intricate wood joinery. The koi in the reflecting pond were among the prettiest I've ever seen.

We then hopped on the MTR (subway) and made our way to the Ladies Market which we had never seen before. It's much like the Temple Street Night Market but not quite as big. While we arrived after noon, many vendors were still setting up their 8'x10' stalls. Probably the biggest difference that I could see between the two markets is that there were much more ladies clothes and accessory items. We also were finally able to find some deodorant and disposable razors at a nearby beauty store. We retraced our route back to the Diamond Hill Subway station and cashed in our Octopus cards. We used that money plus what we had left to enjoy a very nice Chinese meal at the Modern China restaurant in the huge mall.

Our 3pm shuttle bus was waiting for us at the meeting point and it turned out to be a full bus. The mandatory passenger emergency drill was held at 4:15pm for ALL guests including the in-transit guests like us. Fortunately, as in-transit guests we didn't have to do the face to face immigration check as HAL was already holding our passports. As I write this at 5:30pm, there are still two guests who haven't shown up. Fortunately they must have finally shown up, because at 6:03pm we cast off from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and began our slow cruise out to sea and towards Manila.

The only evening entertainment on the Main Stage was "Listen to the Music" which introduces the entertainment staff as well as the singers and dancers. We've seen this 3 times this voyage and many times on previous HAL voyages. We continue to enjoy it.

We'll be at sea for a day and I am leading a M&G tomorrow for the Cruise Critic members on board.


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