hong kong island cityscapes from the top of the big bus *hong kong*

Saturday, April 4:  As soon as I disembark from the Star Ferry onto Hong Kong Island, I see a Big Bus *Hong Kong* siting right in front of me.  I’ve always been a fan of hop-on hop-off bus rides in cities all over the world, and whenever a city offers one, I’m happy to jump on!  In this case, a Hispanic woman sells me the ticket.  She’s talking a mile a minute, and I have to say I don’t understand half of what she says, but she’s stapling all kinds of tickets into a pamphlet and telling me I can get a one hour Harbour Tour, a free ride up the Peak Tram, a Sampan ride in Aberdeen, a night tour, plus numerous harbour crossings on the Star Ferry. All within 48 hours! In addition, I can take the green route (Aberdeen & Stanley Tour), the red route (Hong Kong Island Tour), or the blue route (Kowloon Tour).  All for the exorbitant price of 550 HK$, or $71 (USD).  Ouch.  I buy the ticket without fully thinking it through, and it turns out I’m ripped off royally because I don’t have time to get my money’s worth out of it.

Getting on the big bus *hong kong* at Pier 8

As soon as I leave her, I hop on the first bus I see, and as the bus gets underway, I find I’m on the green route (Aberdeen and Stanley Tour).  This route goes to the south of Hong Kong Island, not through Central, where I mistakenly assumed we were going.  As per my usual way of traveling, I don’t bother to look at the pamphlet and think things through BEFORE I get on the bus!  Oh well, I’m on my way, and the bus is off, so this is the tour I’m in for.  It’s a two-hour ride, the automated voice at the end of my earphones tells me, so there goes a chunk of my day.  I shrug it off.  Whatever I see, I see.  Lately this is my attitude about travel.  I can’t see everything, so whatever I see is good. First we pass by the Hong Kong Observation Wheel and some fairgrounds, where crowds of people are congregating.

The Hong Kong Observation Wheel

Fairgrounds

We drive up into Central, where I can see the Bank of China (where I do my banking) in the crisscrossed building.

The crisscrossed building is Bank of China

Hong Kong Central

Bank of China

In the midst of all these skyscrapers is a modest, more traditional building, that occupies some of the most prime real estate on the planet.

a more traditional building dwarfed by skyscrapers

Central

This interesting Lego-looking building is the LIPPO Center, a twin-tower skyscraper complex (the second is behind the one showing), completed in 1988.  It is nicknamed the “Koala Tree Tower” because it suggests koalas clutching a tree. The buildings were designed by American architect Paul Rudolph who designed clusters of obtruding windows to avoid the traditional severity of the skyscraper.

LIPPO Centre

Some of the name brands are ones I recognize, such as Panasonic and Epson, others I don’t.

Panasonic

Epson, Skyworth and Company

After passing through a tunnel, we make a stop at Ocean Park, a giant theme and adventure park, which I have no interest in visiting.  It covers an entire peninsula east of Aberdeen, on the south coast of Hong Kong.

Ocean Park

Then we head to Repulse Bay, highly popular because it has a number of shops and restaurants. The bay is bordered by the monstrous tower centered around the Repulse Bay Hotel, a restaurant and shopping complex.

Apartments at Repulse Bay

I am sitting on the left side of the open air bus, and I realize as soon as we reach the south coast that I should be on the right.  I can’t stand up because of low hanging tree branches, and so I can’t get any good pictures of the beautiful beaches and bays.  A couple of times I almost stand up to take pictures, out of pure excitement,  If I had done so, I wouldn’t be here today to tell the story!

Repulse Bay

Continuing on, we pass smaller bays and beaches, eventually arriving at Stanley, a residential town whose claim to fame is a bustling tourist market, selling souvenirs including clothes, embroideries and trinkets, and Hong Kong’s largest Dragon Boat Races.  Many people get off the bus here, but I am waiting to get off at Aberdeen, where I can take a “free” (included in my ticket price) sampan ride.

Stanley Beach

Stanley Beach

Stanley Beach

Home on the south of Hong Kong Island, near Stanley Beach

Stanley Beach

Stanley Beach

Here at Stanley, the bus turns around and heads back past Repulse Bay and Ocean Park toward Aberdeen.

Back to Repulse Bay

At Aberdeen, I get off the bus with a bunch of people, and we go on a Sampan ride.  I’ll show you that in another post. After our sampan ride, I get back on the bus, and we head back past the fringes of Repulse Bay and then back through the tunnel toward Central.

Repulse Bay

Back in Central

Back in Central

Back in Central

Highway signs: Central & Kowloon

Central

Across Victoria Harbor in Kowloon, I can see the tallest building in Hong Kong, the International Commerce Center (ICC).

Central in Hong Kong

Scraping the sky

International Commerce Center – ICC – the tallest building in Hong Kong – in Kowloon

reaching for the clouds

Finally, back to where we started, I get off the Big Bus *Hong Kong*, where I get back on the Star Ferry and head back to Kowloon across Victoria Harbor.