Trip to Southeast Asia Part III - Sanya, China and Hong Kong

Sanya, Hainan Island, China

Sanya is China's top beach getaway - the "Hawaii of the East".  With a daily average of 78 degrees, it is popular with the northern Chinese and tourists coming from Siberia escaping the cold winter weather.

 We took this panoramic photo from our deck as we came into port.  You can see the city of Sanya in the background.
We were intrigued with the architecture and design of these condos that were very near where we docked.

We could also see views of the mountains and city from our port.

We took the ship's shuttle to the city and then on to the beach.

It was a clean, modern city with lots of new buildings and pretty landscaping.

Because of the many Russian tourists that come here for their holidays, we could see many signs that were written in Russian, like the one on the right.
When we arrived at the beach, we walked through brightly colored flowers and New Year's decorations on our way to the beachfront.

We saw this cute group of Chinese children all ready for some fun in the water.

It was a beautiful sandy beach!

After exploring the beachfront, we walked to a nearby shopping center.

We don't speak or read Chinese, but we could read most of the Russian signage and we could bargain with the shopkeepers in Russian to make some good deals on our purchases!  It was fun to speak a little Russian again but it made us realize how much we have forgotten over the years!

 We also saw more kumquat trees and these were decorated with bright red ribbons for the Chinese New Year.

Sanya was a beautiful port and a fun stop.

Kowloon and Hong Kong

We sailed north through the South China Sea from Sanya to Hong Kong. 

Our ship pulled into Victoria Harbour early in the morning and docked in Kowloon which is across the bay from Hong Kong Island.  The photos below show the view we had of Hong Kong as we came into port.

We docked at Kai Tak Cruise Port.

We took the shuttle to the Diamond Hill Terminal and boarded Bus #92 headed for Sai Kung district - about a 25 minute ride.

Yes, a selfie of Hal and I on the bus.

Once we arrived, we then explored some of the city of Sai Kung.

Lots of colorful flowers and the small orange potted trees in the foreground are kumquat trees.

We walked along the waterfront and saw lots of fishing and tourist boats and seafood restaurants.

We saw aquarium tanks full of live fish and other seafood in front of the restaurants so that diners could choose their very fresh meal!

We then explored some of the shops in the area before riding the bus back to the Diamond Hill Terminal.

 We then explored the huge mall there before returning to the ship.

Back on board our ship, we had some beautiful, colorful views of sailboats in Victoria Harbour and a pretty sunset.

Looking out our window in the dining room, we had views of the night sky of Hong Kong.

Day 2 - Hong Kong Island

On our second day in port at Kowloon, we took the shuttle to the Diamond Hill Terminal and got on the metro which runs under Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island to spend the day there.

When we came out of the metro we had to walk several blocks and cross under a street to find the Hop on Hop off Bus Stop.

When we crossed under the busy street we saw all of these sleeping areas for the homeless.  The area was clean but didn't look that comfortable to sleep there!

We bought our tickets for the bus tour which included the Tram to the top of  Victoria Peak - which is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island. We passed some interesting sights on our way to The Peak

The  Hong Kong Observation Wheel

On our way to Victoria Peak, we passed many skyscrapers.  The building with the X design is the Bank of China Tower.  Hong Kong is a former British Colony which is a densely populated area.  It is also a major port and one of the financial hubs of the world.

Victoria Peak

We got off the bus at The Peak Station and waited in a short line to board a tram.

Our Tram driver

Inside Victoria Peak Tower

View from the Sky Terrace

It was cloudy and foggy that morning, so our views were a little obstructed but they were still awesome 360 degree looks at Hong Kong!

We then got back on the bus and headed to Stanley Beach.

Trip to Stanley Beach

The bus trip took us about 1 hour and we saw interesting places along the way. 

We passed Hong Kong's Disneyland and caught a glimpse of one of the entrances to the park.

Deep Water Bay

Stanley

Views of Stanley Market

We walked down to Stanley Beach from the market and looked around.

After we explored Stanley Market, we boarded the bus to ride back to the Bus Station. We saw some beautiful scenery and more views of the city on our way back.

Hong Kong's only golf course and it is only 9 holes!

Views from the bus

Jockey Club Tower

We could see the Commerce Center on Kowloon across Victoria Bay.

We got off the bus and walked to the nearby Star Ferry pier and took a ferry across the bay back to Kowloon.  We had some beautiful views of both Kowloon and Hong Kong Island on our trip.

View of Kowloon

This is a view looking back at Hong Kong Island and Immigration Tower.

We passed other ferries on our way.

The ferry dropped us off at the Ocean Pier, and after we looked around at a shopping mall there, we took a taxi back to the ship.  Hong Kong has so much variety in scenery, population and culture it was a most interesting port!!