GNG did not have an programs scheduled for Hong Kong or China so we had those ports off to travel at our leisure. Hong Kong was amazing a really cool booming modern city with a breath-taking skyline. As a New Yorker I felt a little silly to be so in awe but really its huge and gorgeous. I only had one full day in Hong Kong before taking off to Beijing but I was thoroughly impressed but how the city moves. Literally, the buses have flatscreen tvs inside, the subways were clean and efficient and there were massive walkways above street level with moving sidewalks and escalators. At times I felt like I was in the 5th Element or some science fiction film. So from Hong Kong I flew to Beijing along with Mark, Ben and some of our SAS staff buddies. It was a real adventure in part because China has proven to be the most difficult port to navigate which is largely due to the fact that everything is in Chinese! I think we have all taken it for granted that in every country we have been to so far many people spoke at least a little basic English and we could read signs, menus, etc. But this port sure put us all in our place. That said we managed to make it to Beijing and see Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall and to Qingdao to meet up with the ship.
Now we are off to Japan!
~Joanna
I'm surprised you remembered that much about Hong Kong. I pulled a sicky the next day.
Posted by: Sterling | June 01, 2007 at 10:48 PM