19 Dec 2011 ~ Star Ferry

Listening to: Yellowman ~ 8-28-1986

Got a good dose of the Christmas shopping experience in HK on Saturday afternoon. I took the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor to over to Tsim Sha Tsui.

The Star Ferry service dates back more than a 100 years, with the maiden voyage occurring in 1898. The ferries have whimsical names such as Celestial Star, Twinkling Star, Morning Star and Electric Star.  The trip takes about 8 minutes to cross the harbor; all for about $2.50 USD. About the same cost as the metro bus running underneath the harbor but much more scenic.

The upper deck has better views of the city. (And this is not a very good picture, but it was a hazy day, so I'll post better scenic city views at a later date).

Tsim Sha Tsui is the "tourists' Hong Kong". A tightly packed and frenetic pocket of shops, hotels, bars, restaurants, camera and electric outlets (but buyer beware), fast food stores, neon signs, street hustlers, and masses of people.

The clock tower, looking distinctively out of place, was built in 1915 and is topped with a gracefully colonnaded cupola. This is the final vestige of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Station, once running all the way to Europe.

On the way home I spotted this Apple Store in the IFC 2 building. Got a picture of the bus underneath to give perspective on the size of the store, which is packed with as many as 1000 people at any time.