1st Day: getting our bearings

What a Day! Today we toured Hong Kong island, and visited Kowloon just across the harbor. First we went straight to Victoria Peak where we had amazing views of HK, and the bay.

And the warmth of the people touched me right away!

Then we spent an hour at Stanley Market - and there are hundreds of individual stalls with a myriad of silk shirts, slippers, toys, bags galore!! That was sensory overload for me!

Then we had the pleasure of taking a ride in a traditional boat, called a San Pan, through the harbor, amongst the "boat people". It's literally a village of house boats. Plus, the yacht club was right there too. This was one of the best examples of the extremely dense, diverse culture here. Ancient and modern constantly rubbing shoulders.

Then we had a traditional Chinese lunch, Dim Sum. Most people liked it. I really did too.

Then, of course we topped off the afternoon by browsing through the crowded streets of downtown Kowloon. This was the most crowded place I've ever been! There were tons of tailoring, electronics, jewelery and clothing shops. AMAZING!