Business trip to Hong Kong. Part 2 - Excursion on the bus BigBusTour
First morning in Hong Kong. We don’t relax in bed, at breakfast we plan how to spend our free time with benefit for ourselves. I suggest that Peter not torture himself with walking tours of Hong Kong, but take a few bus tours from the Big Bus Tour Hong Kong and try to explore the maximum number of Sights of Hong Kong using them in a couple of days.
After breakfast, we find the nearest Hong Kong Metro HKU MTR station to our hotel and rush to the center of Hong Kong Island to the Central area. Further along the long elevated pedestrian crossings we go to the Central Pier piers where the office and bus station of the BigBusTour travel company are located.
Already 100 meters from the Central Pier, we notice in the transition an extraordinary revival among the crowd of Chinese holding some kind of lists, something noisy and sometimes even swearing.
At this moment, I notice that we are not far from the main Apple store in Hong Kong and I remember that it is on these days that sales of the Apple iPhone 6S and Apple iPhone 6S + start in Hong Kong. Therefore, I have a unique chance, if not to buy, then at least to feel the new iPhone on the day of sale. But sales start only tomorrow, and for today our action plan is already set, especially since in the afternoon we have equipment setup and a trial broadcast of the Chekhov readings from Google at the University of Hong Kong.
Finally, we passed the crowd and we have a view of Victoria Harbor, the Central Pier building and the recently built Observation Wheel near the piers.
The Observation Wheel was opened quite recently - at the end of 2014 and has already gained its popularity among both tourists and local residents. It is not very high - 60 meters, but the cabins there are very comfortable, each of the 42 cabins of the Ferris wheel has eight seats. Well, there is a separate story about the Ferris wheel and a report about it - I will post its pros and cons a bit later. . .
The Big Bus Hong Kong tourist bus company is located at the Central Ferry Pier on Hong Kong Island. Here you will be helped to choose an excursion program, answer all your questions and give the necessary recommendations. Here you can also get detailed maps of the company's routes in different languages. As I already wrote, the company offers you several package tours including: an evening tour of the Kowloon Peninsula, a day tour of the center of Hong Kong Island and the longest day tour from Central Ferry Pier to Stanley Market and back.
The bus makes regular stops throughout the route at special stops where you can get off for a walk and sightseeing and then continue your trip in the next bus of the company after 20-40 minutes by presenting your ticket at the entrance. We chose a package called "Deluxe Tour with Night Tour". In addition to the three excursions that were included in the price of the package, we were solemnly awarded: tickets for the Star Ferry, Sky Pass for the Peak Tram funicular to Victoria Peak, tickets for a sampan boat ride on Aberdeen Bay, tickets for visiting the Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck, tickets to the nearby Hong Kong Maritime Museum and tickets to the 1-hour tour of Victoria Harbor, route map.
The Big Bus Hong Kong mobile sales offices are located on the same street and across Victoria Harbor at the Star Ferry Pier on the Kowloon Peninsula.
Well, now about the company's buses. Comfortable double-decker buses with an open second floor and an air-conditioned first floor. At the entrance to the bus there is a box with disposable headphones, showing the ticket, taking the headphones and then choosing a seat, you get comfortable and connect to the audio guide.
The audio guide tells about Hong Kong, its history and sights throughout the tourist route. His story has been translated into 10 languages, including English and Russian. The audio guide is synchronized with GPS and then you just have to follow its commands, turning your head to the right or left.
From the height of the second floor of the Big Bus Tour tour bus, Hong Kong appears in all its splendor. . .
One of the stops is Aberdeen Bay. Here is an old fishing village of sea gypsies. She has a big story, which you will hear about when you make a small water trip on a sampan - a small fishing boat.
For nearly 150 years, Aberdeen has been not only a fishing port, but also a place of residence for such peoples as Tanka and Hoklo. They arrived in Aberdeen from mainland China, from the coastal regions of Fujian and Guangdong.
The fact is that a long time ago, the tanka started a rebellion against the emperor, for which they were expelled from their homes and were forced to settle in shaky boat houses on the water.
After the suppression of the uprising, they were not allowed to stay on the land of China, to which the cunning and enterprising inhabitants said that the earth is not water, and began to live in sampans - Chinese boats.
Along with the tank and hoklo off the coast of Aberdeen, visiting pirates moored their junks. At that distant time, the sea became a home for many outcasts. The Tanka and the Hoklo were not allowed to communicate and marry those living on land.
This is how the fishermen lived in their boats from generation to generation: they got married, sold seafood, led their modest life. Only at the beginning of the 20th century they were equalized in rights with the rest of the Chinese and allowed to settle on the island part of Hong Kong.
The inhabitants of the water part of Aberdeen are still easy to recognize in the crowd. Most of them prefer to wear light-colored hats with huge brim.
For many years now, these hats have been indispensable for those who spend most of their lives outdoors.
Not so long ago, the Hong Kong government tried to relocate them to city apartments, but not all residents left their houseboats and now continue to live here in accordance with their ancient traditions. . .
Now, next to the small fishing boats in the bay, large boats and yachts, floating restaurants and large fishing trawlers peacefully coexist...
The famous floating restaurants Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant and Tai Pak Floating Restaurant are located right there in Aberdeen Bay. Jumbo Kingdom Restaurant was built back in 1976 and has since become a true symbol of Hong Kong tourism. It is considered one of the largest floating restaurants in the world.
Having finished your little journey around Aberdeen Bay, you take the next bus from the BigBus Tour Hong Kong travel company and continue your trip to the South of Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong beaches such as Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay await you ahead.
These are city beaches freely open for access by both citizens and tourists. All beaches are closed from the sea with anti-shark nets and fenced with buoys, lifeguards are on duty on the beaches. Here you can get off the bus, swim and freshen up after the sweltering heat, then rinse in free showers and continue your journey again.
Next stop is Hong Kong's world famous Ocean Park with its shows, rides, roller coaster and aquarium.
Here you can buy a ticket and safely spend at least 4 hours, and it will be quite an intense vacation.
By the way, buying a ticket to Ocean Park involves an automatic free admission to all its attractions, the only thing that can hold you back is their large number, queues and lack of time. . .
Next stop Stanley Market. Attractions in the Stanley Market area include beaches (Central Stanley Beach and St. Stevens Stanley Beach Park), a promenade with shops, restaurants and cafes, and temples.
Murray House, Stanley Plaza, Hong Kong Correctional Services Museum, Stanley Ma Hang Park, Stanley War Cemetery are within walking distance of the market.
One of the highlights of Stanley Main Street is a building in the style of the British colony - the Murray House. It was built in Hong Kong in the Central area in 1846. The house served as a barracks for military personnel who came from the Old World. The name was given to him in honor of the British politician George Murray, who lived in 1772-1846.
The architectural design of the house was carried out by Major Altridge and Lieutenant Collinson. In 1998-1999, the building was literally brick by brick moved from the city center to the Stanley waterfront, and in its place the famous Bank of China building was erected.
Life at Stanley Market is in full swing all seven days a week and 24 hours a day. At the time of the British colony, there was a small and relatively quiet fishing village here.
Today, the Stanley area is a kind of market town, hundreds of stalls, shops, kiosks and trendy boutiques, cafes and restaurants stretching along the very edge of the gentle and clean South China Sea.
From the Murray House building, you can walk along the path to Blake Pier, located nearby. Pier (or pier) Blake was built in 1909 and was located in the Central area of Hong Kong.
In the early 60s of the last century, it was dismantled and moved to Morse Park in Wong Tai Sin. Today, the pier is again used for its intended purpose - small pleasure boats depart from it to Aberdeen and the island of Po Toi.
And again to the Bis Bus Honkong bus, but now in the opposite direction. Again our road circles near the beaches, hotels and cottages generously scattered around the island.
We are entering the city. One of our next stops is the bottom station of the Victoria Peak Funicular (The Peak Tram). We go out again, we are met by employees of the travel company and, without a queue, we are led to the very head of the long queue for the funicular.
