Hong Kong and Vietnam

Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong(HK) primarily consists of HK Island and the Kowloon Peninsula which is part of mainland China. In addition, HK is surrounded by a number of smaller islands, over 200 of them in the South China Sea. HK, of course, was a British dependency from the 1800’s until July of 1997 when the Chinese took over control. The history of how Britain gained control in the first place is interesting and you will have to ask us about the story of the British inspired opium wars in 1841 and 1860 then the retaliation of China (over 100 years later)by threatening to turn off the water supply to HK which was the basis of Sino-British Joint declaration to turnover HK and the Kowloon Peninsula to China.
HK is frequently described as a city where east meets west. On one street corner, there may be traditional Chinese shops selling herbal medicine, Buddhist paraphernalia or bowls of shark fin soup; but around the corner you’d find a skyscraper, theaters showing the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a McDonalds. Frankly, we were stunned by the thriving, modern city with over 7 million people. Larry expected rickshaws, sanpans and bicycles but none of those could be seen, we might as well been in NYC or London. Hong Kong is a progressive, efficient, diverse city in a forest of skyscrapers.
Our day was spent with a wonderful guide (Marco Foehn) who met us at the pier and led us to the star ferry to enter HK. He showed us the highlights of the city, Tea at the Peninsula Hotel, a wonderful lunch at Hunan Garden (we highly recommend it for authentic, delicious Chinese), up to Victoria Peak to see the city from high above and a great three mile walk around Lugard street.
While walking the city, our guide pointed out the clusters of young Filipino, Malaysian, and Indonesian women sitting on overpass pedestrian walkways, under the overpasses, and in commercial plazas where the businesses were closed (we‘re talking thousands of women)
. These women were socializing with their homeland villagers on their one day off, Sunday. The young women are contracted as domestic workers for the Chinese Hong Kong households and gather to visit, eat, and share experiences on Sundays, their day off. Hong Kong households typically have domestic help live in and both husband and wife work outside the home.
Our evening was spent at the Rainbow restaurant on Lamma Island where we had a great seafood dinner and a wonderful harbour cruise.
Chan May Vietnam and Hue
Viet Nam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest and Cambodia to the southwest. On the country’s east coast lies the South China Sea. With a population of over 85 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world. Chan May and their new harbor continues to contribute to the strong economic growth of Vietnam Centrally located between historic cities, the working port of Chan May is the gateway to Danang, Hoi An and Hue (pronounced “way”).
Our day was spent on a ships tour to Hue, the historic Imperial City, crowded with historic Shrines, Pagodas and Temples. We were struck by the agrarian life style, shanty homes, unique fishing vessels and most of all, the people. Extremely hard working, every one young and old appears to participate. We observed work in the fields as well as construction work and quarry work being done manually. No heavy equipment to ease the work. The traditional bamboo leaf cone shaped hats and bundles of purchased goods carried on long sticks resting on one’s weary shoulder were visible everywhere. It was also interesting to see extremely few traffic lights on the very crowded streets with hardly any autos. Just buses, trucks and motor scooters, hundreds of motor scooters transporting entire families (sometimes even two adults and young child, on one scooter!). In the city, we noticed cell phones in use. What a contrast of technology when within a few miles, you could see water buffalo
being tapped with sticks to encourage movement in the right direction and farmers using hoes to clear land for planting.
Sorry we missed Larry’s Mother’s 90th birthday celebration, we did attempt a phone call from Hong Kong but it apparently failed. Happy birthday to Desi as well. Next stop, Ho Chi Min City