Day 15 - 5 July
Well, as predicted, the Captain advised that our visit to Hong Kong would be shortened to just 1 day and that we would be sailing tonight for South Korea, also missing Shanghai. This decision was made to enable us to get out of the way of Typhoon Nepartak, currently east of Taiwan. This is disappointing and gives us another 3 straight sea days as well as 2 days in Incheon, South Korea - we'd rather have an extra day in Beijing, but it is not to be.
The alarm went off at 5.30, so that was the first shock to the system! We had breakfast on our balcony at 6.30, and it was a really nice sail in to HK. We had to assemble in the Vista Lounge at 7.30, as we needed to be processed by HK Immigration. At 8.00, we were assembled, with passports in hand, waiting to finally dock, when there was a change in plans, we'd now be processed ashore. There were about 250 of us going to Macau, mostly on the ship's tour. All the other passengers going ashore did not need to be processed, just those of us leaving HK.
As with all immigration queues throughout the world, large queue, minimal staff. There were 5 busloads, we were #4, and drove to HK - Macau Ferry Terminal on HK Island via the new tunnel under the harbour. This gave us a good insight into the city (seeing as we no longer have a city tour tomorrow). At the terminal we had half an hour to wander and got a coffee (HKD 66). Coffee was good, but all too soon time to join the queue again and head down to Immigration (again - leaving HK now).
After immigration, another line to sort-of check in for the high speed ferry. Then another line to get seat allocation and sit down to wait for 10.30 ferry. Each ferry holds almost 400 passengers, so quite a crowd. Only 80 odd from the ship were on this particular ferry, so many locals and families going across to Macau. Anyway, we were fortunate to get window seats (2-3-3-3-2 layout) and off we went. Just a little choppy & certainly more movement than the Sun Princess but a lot faster.
The journey took just over an hour and we docked adjoining the airport. It was then quite a route-march to Immigration, which is actually at the airport! Everyone has to be processed, including the large number of HK residents who commute daily. We thought that we'd be smart and went into the "over 65" queue - but this turned out to be the slowest, so we were the VERY LAST to get out.
First stop on our tour was the museum, which is modern and well laid out. Then a quick look at the ruins (facade) of St Paul's Cathedral. I should explain that Macau was settled by the Portuguese and there is a strong influence in the architecture, with lots of yellow buildings, making us feel that we could be in Lisbon (or indeed many of the South American countries we visited last year). Clearly, the main industry on Macau is gambling and there are dozens of casinos, which makes an interesting contrast of modern glitzy structures alongside the Portuguese and Asian influenced buildings. A very brief sun shower caught us out, but we were dry by the time we got back to the bus.
Time for lunch, which was an excellent buffet on the 60th floor of the Macau equivalent of the Sky Tower in Auckland - complete with A J Hacket bungee and skywalk. Great views all around and amazing to see all the construction & reclamation going on - they just erect a sea wall and then dredge the seafloor and dump it inside to create more land, and more buildings, and presumably more casinos spring up. Another interrsting sight was the new bridge which goes on and on as far (& further than the eye can see), this is the 50+km bridge linking Macau to HK Island. There is only a small gap towards the HK side to be completed. Incredible construction.
After lunch, onward to the original Buddhist Temple and old centre of Macau, which was interesting, but was not really worth the climbing involved. We took the advice of our CC colleague, Robert and didn't go to the very top, as there was nothing to see - blocked by trees. We had a spare 40 odd minutes, so we diverted from the programme and visited the MGM casino. Incredible building & decorations, not that we ventured into the gaming halls (of which there were many). When it comes to the various casinos, it is a little bit like Dubai - you just wonder.....
OK, back to the port & by now you get the picture, immigration from Macau, ferry tickets, seat allocation, boarding, ride back to HK, new immigration to HK, bus back to ship, immigration from HK, ship security, ah peace! Well the ship was waiting for us so that it could depart, which we did just after 8.00. We'd been promised a light show & although there was no show as such, the lights of HK looked great as we sailed away - I understand that it started raining, but we were eating by then. Bed looked inviting, thankfully sea day tomorrow.
Day 16 - 6 July
We are progressing in a generally northerly direction & for once the sea is a little choppy with a bit of breeze blowing sea spray around. In the morning we travelled through a large fishing fleet, probably getting as much aboard before heading home to avoid the typhoon. The general weather is remarkably good, with a bit of movement, but not enough to put us off our walk.
Day 17 - 7 July
They stole an hour off us overnight, so we slept in a bit and went without our morning cuppa. The sea has really calmed and we are trundling along at just under 15 knots. Got our walk in before morning coffee, which we shared with Margit & Jim. We have all been commenting on the lack of information /misinformation on our intended destinations. The Captain must have been listening, as we now have revised itinerary of just the 1 day in Incheon (Korea), and now 2 days in Beijing, which is great news. We will also be calling at Busan in Korea before hitting Vladivostok and getting back on programme. The thing is that we need to be in Yokohama on 21 July, as this is the end of the sector, with many passengers getting off/on there.
Day 18 - 8 July
Our last sea day before Korea. While the sea is calm and the sky relatively clear, it is certainly a little cooler. Looking at the news, we are pleased to have missed the typhoon (although the weather in NZ yesterday didn't look too good). Remarkable that we have had to skip a port or 2 to avoid the largest typhoon in decades, when we had to skip a port in February to avoid the largest cyclone in memory - is it us I wonder!!!
Readers will recall the problems we have been having with the internet, well yesterday morning at around 2.00am I was woken to the sound of both our tablets pinging with incoming emails and notifications. Obviously I was worried that I had not logged off properly and was being charged for usage (pretty unlikely as I am very careful). No, it turned out that somehow we were getting free internet without going through the ship. Clearly too good to be true, as today we have lost satellite connection altogether - it may be that we are in Chinese waters. All back to normal now.
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