The historic Duk Ling Junk sailing across Victoria Harbor
This morning I was successful in my second attempt to visit the small village of Stanley on the south side of Hong Kong Island. This time I boarded the right bus number 6! I wandered around the market, strolled along the beach and perused around the village before heading to the next place on my itinerary (I was on a mission to see as much as I could and desperately trying to make up for yesterday's disastrous attempts of sightseeing). It wasn't long before I arrived at Repulse Bay - a crescent-shaped strand of sand which is one of the most beautiful beaches in Hong Kong (according to the guide book). The first thing I did was swim in the brisk South China Sea. The second thing I did was stroll over to the Longevity Bridge at a near by temple on the beach. The bridge is supposed to add 3 days to your life each time you walk over it. I planned to walk over it 20 times which would be a remarkable extra 60 days for me to live!! I got bored after the 4th crossing (and realised I looked stupid). My itinerary also permitted me to sun bathe and allowed for 2 hours of chill out time. Life on the beach was great but very short-lived. It started raining as soon as I had finished rubbing in the factor 20. I got the next bus back to Central after lunch. After a brief wander around the city again I took the ferry back across Vicoria Harbor in hope that I would be just in time to see the Duk Ling Junk. Hundreds of these sailing boats used to crowd the waters around Hong Kong but now only one exists. It's free to go on but only operates on Thursday's and Saturday's. I couldn't get tickets for today as they had all been taken but it wasn't long before I realised that it was a blessing in disguise. I wanted a picture of the boat sailing with a view of the skyline behind it and this wouldn't be possible if I was on it. So, just as I had hoped, the historic junk sailed right past our ferry. The weather was horrid, grey and stormy, but it actually made for an interesting shot. I was happy with the results.
I went to the movie theatre (AGAIN!!!) on Kowloon side to see Mr & Mrs Smith. I wandered around Tsim Sha Tsui at night for the last time including the Peninsula where I watched the well-heeled mingle. When I found myself in the bar looking at price lists I decided it was time to call it a day and heading back to the hostel. The kung foo training hostel that is. I was quietly packing my bags until I heard all kinds of aggressive noises coming from the main room. I investigated. About 20 guys were doing interesting arm movements on each other and making loud noises. I asked another guest what they were doing. Apparently, the owner of this hostel (which really is also a martial arts training school) is very good friends with Bruce Lee and there are pictures of them all over the walls. I got even more tired just from watching them and sent myself to bed.
