Hong Kong- A Peak, A Beach, and the Final Resting Place of an Icon

Hong Kong- A Peak, A Beach, and the Final Resting Place of an Icon

Two days in Hong Kong. General impression? A very busy, very urban, very heavily populated “special administrative region” of China trying hard to establish itself as a financial capital, struggling to separate itself from the juggernaut that is the People’s Republic of China while simultaneously accepting the new reality of its loss of independence. Pieces of old Chinese culture peek through the big city environment.

Coming into the harbor on a gray day

Victoria Peak, aka Mount Austin or, simply, The Peak
552 feet elevation, the highest in Hong Kong

Accessible by cable car

Alternate way up

Views from above it all

“Anyone who commits such offenses as littering, spitting, fouling of streets by dog feces, or unauthorized display of bills or posters in public places in Hong Kong is liable to pay a fixed penalty of HK$1,500.”

Front of a refurbished early- days tram car

Bye bye

Repulse Bay, aka Tsin Shui Wan
The name is obscure. Two stories have it either named after British ships that repulsed pirate attacks, or it may have been named after the HMS Repulse that was stationed in the bay. In any case, it is a very popular tourist attraction.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot to the left.

Be kind to the fishies

Aberdeen Harbor
This historic harbor more closely resembles a watery junkyard. Lots and lots of boats, many with questionable seaworthiness and some occupied, are tied up side by side in long rows. Our tour was on small boats, eight of us to a boat…

Amidst the boats is an icon of better days in Hong Kong. The Tai Pak Seafood Restaurant is a three-story floating barge established in 1954 and built to resemble a Chinese palace. Along with its sister restaurant, the Jumbo, they were premier seafood restaurants that for years served the rich and famous visiting Hong Kong. Guests included Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Carter, Tom Cruise, Chow Yun Fat, and Gong Li. The Tai Pak could accommodate 800 guests and was supported by a separate kitchen barge and other craft. Unfortunately, the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, followed by the Pandemic, spelled the end of these extravagant vessels. The Jumbo was sold and towed out of the harbor in 2022, only to sink under questionable circumstances. The Tai Pak remains in the harbor and, despite being sold with promises to refurbish, remains abandoned.