Hong Kong and China Frenzy

In the almost thirty years since Dianne and I were last in Hong Kong, it has moved to China ownership but that has not defeated its spirit or dampened its verve. Hong Kong has grown to become a more dynamic, frenetic, and allconsuming city, where skyscrapers share the space with throngs of loud, noisy and active people. On our last day, we passed by thousands of women sitting under bridges, in alleyways, near the entrances to the ferries between Kowloon and Hong Kong, and later discovered they were mostly Indonesian housekeepers on their only day off, enjoyiing community with card games, bottles of wine, and laughter. They shared the streets with clothing hawkers, beggars (very few), and working stiffs on their way to and from work. This is a make do city and country!

Our four days were busy: we started with a long walk north in Kowloon, where the ship ported, visitng four markets: bird, jade, flower and clothing. The bird market took our fancy...thousands of exotic birds with almost as many older men and women sitting on stools watching their birds, whose sale seemed an afterthought.

On our first night we attended the Majestic Drums concert at the Hong Kong China Symphony with guest drummers and players. We also spent a marvelous day in mainland China at SEZ (Special Ec. Zone) Shenshen, all the better for being adopted by a young woman, Cherry, who took us around the city of 1.2 million, including an eventful lunch, where we took 35 minutes to order, with a throng of waitresses around the table staring at us. Add to that a stimulating Arts and Crafts fair (where I of course met the glass lampworker), a night trip to the Temple St. Market, and even more strolling...and we have another great stop.