HONG KONG PART FOUR, PAGE SIX--STANLEY--DEC. 16 - 18, 2003

Tuesday: Quiet day, Work on this journal. Wednesday. Work on journal in the morning. In the afternoon I take the MTR to Central and walk over to the ferry terminals. I am just looking around and getting info regarding the ferry destinations and schedules. I want to visit some of the outlying islands later this week. At about 3:30 I receive a call from my friend D. She asks if I would like to take the bus with her to Stanley, a small village on the south side of HK Island, and I quickly agree. About 30 minutes later we meet at the Central Bus Terminus where we board Bus No. 6A, an express bus to Stanley. The bus first goes east thru town, and then enters an expressway that goes thru the Aberdeen Tunnel to the southern side of the island. The tunnel is quite long, about 2 miles, and I can imagine all of the twisting and turning roads and switchbacks that have been avoided via the tunnel. When we exit the tunnel Aberdeen (aother village, now with many highrises) is on our right. We follow the coastal road going generally south-east. The scenery is quite good. We are high up in the hills, and the ocean is below. The HK coastline is quite rugged, with very few beach areas. We pass a couple other small towns, and soon we have arrived at the Stanley bus terminal.

rWe exit the bus and walk west along Stanley New Street, and then Stanley Market Road, towards a shopping district. Stanley is located at the narrow point of a peninsula that juts out from HK Island, and thus there is water on both sides. Many westerners live in Stanley, and it is a preferred and expensive area. We walk past some of the usual sea-side tourist shops, and soon we come to the waterfront at Stanley Main Road. There is a harbor area with a few smallish boats, and a walkway and roadway that curves along the waterfront. Across the roadway are several restaurants and bars. We keep walking and come to a small mall, the Stanley Plaza. Well it's actually not so small--there are about 5 or 6 levels. But we continue walking along the waterfront walkway, which soon ends at a park entrance. We walk into the park and follow the concrete path. About 5 minutes later we reach a small temple on a rocky outlook over the ocean. Backtracking a little, we then go up a very long stairway which leads to another concrete path that goes thru the forest and follows the contour of the hillside. We soon learn that this path takes you to a beach area. We pass several other people on the path. It seems especially popular for people walking their dog. We head back to the mall where we get a snack at the McDonaldsin the Plaza, and then we go to the upper level of the mall which has a bus stop. A few minutes later we catch Bus No. 66, and after 30 minutes of twisting and turning we are back in Central. I thank D for asking me to join her on this little diversion, say goodbye, and head home. Thurs: Nothing to write home about.

View looking north from ferry terminals, with cruise ship docking on Kowloon side.

Stanley Harbor and waterfront.

View back towards Stanley from Murray House.

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Stanley Harbor and waterfront.