Long Walk Along the Harbourfront

Gorgeous day for a walk and admire the Hong Kong skyline

This morning my friend and I did the 11.5km walk from North Point to Kennedy Town in just over two hours. It was a great way to walk off an accumulation of calories and see the city the way I used to see it when I lived in Hong Kong.

It was already sunny and hot at just after 8.30am when we set off, and luckily we had slathered on sunscreen and wore a hat. We walked past North Point, seeing people make use of seating areas to eat a snack, look at their phones or read the newspaper, and Fortress Hill before going to Tin Hau and Causeway Bay, walking around the Police Officers' Club.

Construction for the route in Sai Ying Pun

In Wan Chai there was a running race going on -- the My Boy 3K Family Run, based off of a comic strip character. We saw many people dressed in blue T-shirts with medals around their necks and then the actual race route along the Wan Chai waterfront. 

When we got to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre it was great to see the familiar sight of Victoria Harbour and both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. I was not able to spot any cats by the rocks though. 

Meanwhile there is construction extending from the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong so that people can walk from the hotel across an overpass to reach the walking path which will be fantastic once it's done; guests won't be confused as to how to get there and be able to enjoy the skyline by the harbourfront.

Pretty soon we arrived in Central, and spotted a military ship docked; I was surprised there were no People's Liberation Army soldiers out in front of the gates guarding the ship...

Military ship docked in Central

At the Ferry Piers there were the usual crowds hanging around waiting for friends or family before boarding together to go to the outlying islands and it wasn't as packed as it used to be pre-pandemic.

Shun Tak in Sheung Wan was basically the same, though with more pollution from the Turbocat ferries. I don't miss the noise pollution and the gasoline smell.

Soon after we arrived in Sai Ying Pun, and at Dr Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Park there were people exercising, children playing, and walking like us. But after passing the sports centre the route was diverted with lots of construction along what used to be the boardwalk.

My friend noted that not much seemed to have been completed since the last time he walked by this area. Alas will have to see how it looks the next time.

Finally we reached Shek Tong Tsui where we saw the former Instagram Pier that has been blocked off for years from public access, and soon enough we arrived at Kennedy Town.

The coffee shop Arabica is still very popular with mainland tourists thanks to Xiaohongshu, and across the street, many were trying to get a shot of themselves with Victoria Harbour in the background. There were more people taking pictures with the line of Banyan trees on Forbes Street. It is quite the miracle how the seeds for these trees landed in between the rocks of the stone wall and managed to cling on and grow into trees. 

Banyan trees are a tourist attraction in K-Town

It was heartening to see most of the restaurants and shops are still around.

Macau Doubling Down on HK Tourists

When Covid first hit, Shun Tak Ferry Terminal fell silent

The buzzing of the Turbojets from Shun Tak Ferry Terminal has returned after many Covid restrictions were lifted on January 8.

Before then, for about three years the terminal was completely dead, the Turbojets docked with no where to go, and the harbourfront was nice and quiet for once. Wonder if the sea life below also enjoyed a resurgence. Were there any marine biologists taking advantage of this time to study that?

People lining up for hours for ferry tickets

In any event, business is ramping up big time in Macau, now that the former Portuguese enclave is enticing Hong Kong visitors if they buy ferry tickets to go there, stay at least one night, the return tickets are free, until March 31.

And guess what -- people are lining up for hours to take advantage of the deal (that saves them less than HK$200 or US$25.60)... 

Macau Government Tourism Office deputy director Cheng Wai-tong said Friday that he expected about 10,000 Hongkongers would visit Macau on a daily basis during the Lunar New Year period, and is hoping for the return of the daily average of 20,000 in 2019.

About 8 months ago the terminal was empty

"The more Hong Kong people visit Macau the better," he said. "This is tied to the capacity of ferries and buses, because it will take some time to restore services to pre-Covid-19 levels."

One woman reported standing in line for four hours and 45 minutes. Others grumbled about how long they had to wait in line and said they should have opened more ticket windows.

Typical Hong Kong bitching about efficiency.

Nevertheless, with Hongkongers taking advantage of the "Macau Treat" campaign, hotels are seeing a 63 percent occupancy, which is not bad to start off and considering everyone is experiencing labour shortages.

Macau was devastated by Covid-19, as it is so dependent on visitors, in particular gamblers.

Macau hopes gambling will get it back on track

Even though Beijing has laid down the law that Macau has to move away from gambling and diversify its economy, the Special Administrative Region may have to depend on Baccarat tables and other enticements just to get the city back to pre-pandemic levels.

The great procrastination has begun...