The Wonders of Travel

So one morning I wake up and I'm in the middle of a desert and the next morning I wake up in a new city, take a city tour to begin to get my bearings, and the first thing we do is take a walk through what is almost like a rainforest,

to get to the Peak - the highest point on Hong Kong Island.  Now I didn't walk all the way up, in fact most of the way (98%+) you travel by tram - a tram that I might add has been operating since 1888.  And the top of this tram ride, and then a very little walk, afforded these views of Central (immediately below on Hong Kong Island) and Tsim Sha Tsui across the harbour on Kowloon.

Our next stop was at Aberdeen - or Heung Gong Tsai (Little Fragrant Harbour) in Cantonese where I went on a sampan ride through the harbour.
There are literally hundreds of boats anchored in Aberdeen, some very modern yachts and most more traditional junks, many of which do still have people living on them.

This one in particular though I think has my name written all over it:

An area called Stanley was also on the agenda today - with an open-air market which would have been a souq had I still been in the Gulf, but with a very different feel to it.

Stanley is an area on Hong Kong Island which is right at the water, on a little bay, where you could see a good mixture of the more traditional with more modern pubs and restaurants, as well as a lovely walking trail along the waterfront.

The rest of the day was spent kind of quietly, getting a feel for the hotel and area where I'm going to be over the next few days - in Kowloon.  I'm feeling a wee bit tired - although the clock said 6:30 when I got up this morning my body was thinking 2:30 am, after not a lot of sleep and a day of travel.  So an early bed tonight is definitely on deck for me, and then after a good night's sleep I should be fit and raring to go tomorrow.