Hong Kong
We sept in today. A short day today as all aboard is 3 PM.
We decide that another trip to the Stanley Market is in order.
The free shuttle bus left at 10:30 AM. We did not want to wait around. We took the green mini bus. There are three bus lines and they are privately owned. All use the Octopus card. It took two hours to get to the Stanley Market. The Market is located in the town of Stanley. It is an arcade full of shops. Some bartering is possible but not like mainland China. It was 11:30 AM and that left little time to shop before we had to head back. 2 hours to get back but who knows how traffic will be. By 12:10 we were ready to go.
Terri ducked into a deli and grabbed some lunch. We waited for Green mini-bus no.40. Several passed us. They only hold 19 passengers. One was full, one went to refuel. Finally we boarded at 12:40 or so. Cutting it too close I thought. There are many stops on this route on Hong Kong Island but the bus blew by most of them. No retail north of Stanley until we get closer to Kowloon. 15 stops later we were in Kowloon. We transferred to another bus company. These were all double decker busses. 17 stops in Kowloon and we hit every one. It would have been easier on the metro but it was Sunday and I didn’t want to take any chances. We were back near a shopping mall were we took one more GMB to the port. 2:15 PM and we were aboard. 45 mins to spare.
We saw Joe and Ann at the market and decided to join them for the Hong Kong sail away on the Lido deck at 3 PM. Lots of appetizers and I took advantage of them. The house band played. They tried to make every tune Irish as it was St. Patrick’s Day but it really didn’t work. Tequila? How is that Irish?
A woman approached me as we sat and enjoyed the party. “Excuse me, you look like someone I went to High School with. Is your name Mark?” I said it was doubtful that we went to school together as I went to an all male High School. She showed me photos on her phone. All I could say was “wow, what a handsome guy!”. He did look like me but I said “that is not me”. She said, “Too bad. He is a famous Hollywood producer now”.
The ship left late because of missing passengers and we kept wondering if our table partners made it back to port. They were mysteriously absent at dinner.
Team trivia was about St. Patrick’s Day. What is the tag line for Lucky Charms cereal? What animal did St. Patrick drive out of Ireland? Was the first St. Patrick’s Day parade held in Dublin? What was the fabled Leprechaun’s job? What do you find at the end of a rainbow? Which breakfast cereal featured “Lucky the Leprechaun?”. What do the three leaves of a clover stand for in Ireland?
One group got all but one right. Not so much for us.
No live evening entertainment on stage. Typical of a port day. We played cards outside for the first time in a few weeks. It is getting warm again. We don’t miss the snow in Japan and China.
One day at sea and then 2 ports in Vietnam.…