Arcadia at Hong Kong

The view of the Skyline from Arcadia's Starboard Side.



Hong Kong is a vibrant City that never sleeps.

The Evening Light Show.

Hello!

I hope this finds you well. Sorry I was unable to blog for a couple of days as our Satellite Internet connection has been unavailable during our call in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong was another exciting sail in – a once in a life time experience which could be repeated on a regular basis and yet never be the same, as the sky line is always changing and the harbour looks so different depending on the time of day, the light, the clouds, the smog, the sunshine, the moon light and so on…

Once along side at 1400 hours there was the excitement and rush of passengers to get ashore, many doing their own thing and others going on our organised excursions. We were at the Ocean Terminal. This is the prime berth in Hong Kong as once you step inside the terminal you are right in the centre of the shops and everywhere is spotless and the white marble floors gleam. There are hundreds of designer shops displaying their latest designs and all the shop assistants are immaculately groomed – mainly dressed in black! They are all very helpful without being pushy. It was a joy to be in the centre of somewhere really wealthy, prosperous and glamorous. There is a buzz here that is unique to Hong Kong. You know that you are here! There is nowhere else quite like it.
As soon as we had the arrival formalities over and business attended to I was down the gangway to explore the Ocean Terminal and down to the Star Ferry Terminal. What a fascinating place to people watch and to admire that great white P&O CRUISES liner docked alongside. There is a certain pleasure in watching locals wanting to have their picture taken with the Arcadia in the background and nice for me to know that Arcadia is where I live and work! Then it was on to Nathan Road and all the hustle and bustle of ‘reps’ handing you a card and asking you to visit their tailor and have a suit made to measure. Every major luxury brand in the world is represented here.

Passing by the Peninsular Hotel I thought – it would be nice to be staying there for a few nights – one day I will! I admired the Bentley’s parked in the forecourt – all dark green. Prices seem more expensive than in previous years, but then I was working out that the last time I was here for any length of time was 18 years ago. The exchange rate for the £ does not help, but you can’t take away from it there in nowhere else in the world quite like HK.

I was only down the gangway when I realised I was off without my camera! I called my sister on my mobile phone and gave her a run down on events since we left Shanghai – there is a great freedom in phone calls when ashore as you know that no one is going to knock on your door or call you on another line – freedom to chat and have a laugh – and the phone lines are so good now that you would think you were just next door.

Of course it was hard to get out of Ocean Terminal with the chorus of hello Sir, hello Purser, hello Mr James from my loyal and dedicated staff already returning to the vessel heavily laden with their shopping! And all the way along to Nathan Road I saw many of my passengers – hello James, hi James, one for the blog James!!!

I had a nostalgic moment passing the McDonald's at the Star Ferry Terminal as back in the Gulf war days when we were in Hong Kong for three nights every two weeks, we used to nip out here for our breakfast in the mornings. This was after completing rounds of the ship as I was Accommodation Officer at the time. I remember once on Oriana Chris Bullen the boss called me on my VHF Radio during Embarkation asking my where about and I had to admit to being in the Opticians in Ocean Terminal having new glasses fitted! Well you do have to make the most of your time in port……….

Once up Nathan Road there are thousands of people in circulations and it was great just to get lost in the crowd and enjoy the moment with no camera! I can’t see that it has changed much since I was last here – just the merchandising and the latest brand names. I was not looking for anything in particular as I have all the gadgets I need including an IPOD which I have not quite got the hang of downloading music from the Internet yet – but that is one for my leave! Is there any need for a new lap top when I only use it for emails, photographs and on line banking – no – I will save my hard earned cash for a new patio! I am always tempted by watches but then if I buy a new one I will not wear the ones I have! Nice to view the Mont Blanc range but I did not weaken as I already have five – all of which get good use. The Commodore asked me one day if there was any need for four Ink pots on my desk. Any notes or cards that I send to my passengers are hand written with a fountain pen, and all typed letters personally signed. You cannot under estimate the value of the personal touch.

Back on board it was great to see the light show at 8.00pm when all the buildings show off their hi tech lighting systems for about 10 minutes – apparently this used to be much more extravagant however like everywhere in the world they have to watch their costs! We also saw the Star Cruises Ship sail out. The harbour is constantly busy with vessels large and small on the move. Arcadia took on Fuel by a barge.

All went well on Friday and we said farewell to good friends - passengers and crew - and as always embarked many new faces - some familiar some not!

You have seen her in the sunshine - now see Arcadia in the clouds! The wind really blew up in the afternoon but settled by the evening.

I was out for dinner with friends last evening at a local Chinese seafood restaurant where we were treated like Royalty. An evening to remember! Finally at midnight Arcadia let her ropes go and we sailed out of the harbour amidst this vast array of beautifully lit buildings, pleased with our call and looking forward to the delights of our Inaugural Grand Voyage Leg 5 ahead when we will be visiting Halong Bay and Phu My in Vietnam, Sihanouk Ville in Cambodia, Singapore, Langkawi in Malaysia, Cochin in India, Muscat in Oman and Dubai U.A.E.

Have a great weekend wherever you are.

Best wishes,

James.

It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.

James Thurber