è Report on Week 8 - February 25 – March 01, 2008 (three days at sea and stops in Manila, Philippines and Hong Kong, China (2 days)

We arrived in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, on Tuesday, February 26.  We had not booked a tour, as a fellow Rotarian was meeting us to personally show us his city.  Mario Magat had stayed at our home, a few years ago, when he was the Team Leader of a Rotary business group from the Philippines to Upstate New York.  Mario, his wife Evelyn, and another member of the Rotary team, a young architect named Franco, were confirmed to meet us at 9AM at the dock.  Given Manila is home to many of the ship’s crew who were meeting family for the day, we were lucky to spot each other in what was a very large crowd.  Luckily we had agreed, via email, to all be waving white hats and it worked like a charm.

Our hosts decided we should start with a tour in the Intramuros, Manila’s oldest colonial district.  The Intramuros was originally a Chinese settlement before the Spaniards fortified it by building a rock wall barrier around it (to keep invaders away).  While inside the Intramuros (meaning “within the walls”), we visited a museum that tells the history (good, bad and ugly) of Spanish control from 1565 to 1898, over 300 years.  Next, but still side inside the Intramuros, we visited San Agustin Church and Museum, that showcases Filipino, Spanish, Chinese and Mexican art treasurers, and Casa Manila, with its colonial Spanish courtyard, architecture and furnishings.  Mario, Evelyn and Franco took turns telling us “behind the scenes” stories about how the Intramuros was being rebuilt (lots left to be done) and about the people, politics, positives, and problems of life in the Philippines today.

Over lunch, we talk about many lighthearted things, but also some meaningful points in our connected histories, such as - US control over the Philippines, beginning in 1898 with the end of the Spanish-America War; the Japanese invasion, the Battle of Corregidor, both during WWII; and the American Memorial Cemetery, where more than 17,000 are buried.  We also talked about current events including - ongoing separatist movements and a corruption scandal involving President Gloria Arroyo.  Needless to say, we had a very interesting day that ended with us giving our hosts a tour of the ship after getting clearance from local and ship security.  We said our good-byes and set sail at 6PM for Hong Kong.

After a day at sea, we sailed into Victoria Harbour, in Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, on Thursday, February 28 and docked at Ocean Terminal, Kowloon.  The Ocean Terminal is connected to Harbour City (www.harbourcity.com.hk), the largest shopping mall in Hong Kong with 2 million sq. ft. of space and over 700 stores.  If you didn’t stop in any of the stores, it took 20 - 40 minutes just to walk through it to the street, depending on how fast you walked and how many time you got lost.

Having not been in Hong Kong for over 25 years, we opted for an all day tour, again, to see as much as possible in the least amount of time.  Traffic was absolutely horrific, but the driver and guide kept us on schedule and we saw all that was planned.  On the Kowloon side, we visited the Bird, Flower, and Jade Markets, and then traveled through the Cross Harbour Tunnel to Hong Kong Island to ride the funicular tram to the top of Victoria Peak.  The view of Victoria Harbour from the Peak, with its frenzy of boat traffic and skyscraper plastered shorelines, was a sight to behold.  After a great lunch at the “top”, we were off to Repulse Bay (south side of Hong Kong Island) and the popular Stanley Market, for more shopping (the favorite pastime of many).  That night we watched the laser light show from the ship and took off for the Temple Street Night Market, just to see the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong at night.

Our second day of our two day stop in Hong Kong was less busy, but tons of fun.  On a recommendation from some fellow passengers (a retired Air Canada pilot and his wife), we made our way to a tailor (one of thousands) just to take a look, as we had no intension of really buying anything with only one day left in Hong Kong.  Well, after a short conversation with the tailor shop owner at 930AM, Nick was measured for a new tuxedo and white dinner jacket and we were told to come back at 3PM for a fitting.  The fitting was perfect and everything is being shipped to Singapore – no problem!  The balance of afternoon was spent sightseeing, visiting The Peninsula Hotel (we didn’t have tea), and dodging the traffic and people in the Golden Mile/Nathan Road area.

That night, we decided to view the laser light show from the Star Ferry Building, along with hundreds of other tourists, so we could hear the music that was synchronized with the lights (or is it the other way around?).  FYI, the lights are projected on the fronts and from the tops of about 20 different buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour and the show runs from 8PM - 815PM every night of the year (a Guinness Record, we were told).  At 11PM, we sailed away from Hong Kong, with our departure marked by the spectacular sights and sounds of an illuminated 75-foot “Night Pearl Dragon” and two lions, accompanied by traditional Chinese drum music, from the Ocean Terminal dock.

Just some facts - - The British took control of Hong Kong (just the island portion) in 1841 following the Opium Wars.  After another war with China in 1859, the Kowloon Peninsula (mainland area closest to the island) was ceded to the British, and in 1898, the British gained a 99-year lease on the New Territories (area north of Kowloon).  This 99-year term lease was the reason that Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese sovereignty as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, on July 1, 1997, after 156 years as a British colony.

While many had worried about Hong Kong’s return to China and its impact on finance and business, there appears to be no decrease in the number of new and much taller buildings under construction.  With traffic, population density and pollution on the rise, however, there may need to be a slowdown soon.

Check out Nick’s website - www.nide.smugmug.com - for pictures from Manila and Hong Kong

è The next report will be Week 9 (March 2 – 6), including three stops in Vietnam and two days at sea