Since our Carriers draft was too deep to pull in next to the pier, we sailed into shore on passenger boats called liberty boats. Like a transit system, the liberty boats would run a continuous cycle from the carrier to Victoria Quay every fifteen minutes, carrying anywhere from 20 to 200 personnel to the "beach". At times, it would take up to 30 minutes to get through the line and on a liberty boat. But after being on the ship for more than 30 days, it's well worth the wait!

Once on the beach (dryland), we would all go our separate ways or just go exploring with our closest friends. It's a fun experience and since Hong Kong is so different than what any of us are used to, my friends and I took every opportunity to ridicule the locals and their way of life. Just simple things really. For instance, when walking through the crowded side streets downtown, it's not uncommon to see the local restaurant proprietors frying up a dish that looks like it's been hanging out in the streets for a week. Honestly, these people hang-up either the catch of the day or chicken special while waiting for some poor local shmuck to order it and eat it. Eeack!!! I don't know about you, but I held out for something better... :-)

The infamous "Stanley Market" was cool! It's nothing more than a side street bazaar where you can purchase anything from art to little plastic whistles. In all, I'd guess there were more than 300 shops all packed into a space not too much larger than a standard sized baseball field.. All selling similar merchandise with only a few specialty shops selling well known articles and trinkets from other continents like Australia and Africa.