Central and Western District

The Star Ferry that takes passengers to Kowloon from HK Island
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I have been completely immersed in school the past 2 weeks. The students come tomorrow and I made myself go out this afternoon and pretend I was on vacation. I decided to take a bus I have not traveled on before. I took bus #6 from Stanley to Central, a double decker bus. I sat up on the top so I could see everything. Bus #6 goes over the hills to get into downtown, instead of going through the Aberdeen tunnel. It is much more scenic and a bit of an adventure in and of itself. The roads are so narrow and windy. We always hit tree branches with the top of the bus and it always looks like we will hit another bus or car, but we never do.

Huge incense coils hanging from the ceiling of Man Mo Temple
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When I arrived at Exchange Square in Central I decided to walk to the pier to see where you can take the ferry to Kowloon, just across the harbor. This is also the place you can take ferries to other islands around Hong Kong Island and you can take a ferry to Macau (which I might do next Saturday). On this entry you will see a picture of the Star Ferry that takes you to Kowloon. You can also take the subway or a car, there are two cross harbor tunnels. There were so many people hanging out all along the pier area and many other places around downtown. Sunday is the typical day for most "domestic helpers" to have off, so they all gather along the streets, anywhere they can find shade. They sit, relax, socialize, read, play games, have lunch, cut hair, etc. I guess it has been going on for years. Many of the domestic helpers are from the Philippines and I read somewhere that there are about 160,000 of them in Hong Kong.

World's longest covered escalator

Man Mo Temple
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After checking out the pier scene, I walked over the foot bridge toward the Western Market. This is an Edwardian-style building (they say!) and it was built in 1906. It has several Chinese shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs. The second floor is full of fabric sales people. I just browsed. I continued my browsing while walking through Hollywood Road and and Possession Street where there are endless antique shops. On Hollywood Road is one of Hong Kong's oldest temples, Man Mo Temple. Inside there are huge coils of incense hanging from the ceiling (see attached picture). It was quite the sensory experience with the sights and smells. The altar was bright with golds and reds and flashing lights. This temple pays homage to the Taoist gods of literature ("Man") and war ("Mo"). Many people stopped to burn incense and say a quite prayer.

Mid-Level Escalator traveling through SoHo
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Next I made my way over to the Mid-Level Escalator. At 800-meters long, this is the world's longest covered escalator. Before 10 am the escalator takes people traveling down, after 10:00, it switches direction and only travels up for the rest of the day and evening. That means you have to walk the steep sidewalk and stairways back down, or flag down a taxi. The escalator travels through many streets in an area called SoHo, named for its location, South of Hollywood Road. Everywhere you look in this area is another funky bar, outdoor cafe or coffee shop. I couldn't resist. I stopped and had a glass of wine while people watching.

Another escalator shot
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After my wine indulgence on a Sunday afternoon. I walked through another popular area called Lan Kwai Fong. It is well known for its excellent restaurants and for its happening night life. I will have to return to this area soon. Then I was back on the bus heading over the green hills to Stanley on the south side of the island. It was a good day, I can now face my first day of school tomorrow.....