Star Ferry Crossing

One of the things that I love about Hong Kong is the public transportation. Whether one wants to travel by land, air or sea there is a public form of transportation that will get you from point A to B. So there are lots of choices from the subway system, public buses (small, large and double decker), ferries, street cars, cable cars and moving sidewalks.

Last night Jennifer and I went over to Kowloon, which is a part of Hong Kong but on the other side of Victoria Harbour, north of Hong Kong Island. There is a convenient subway that will takes only a few minutes from one side to the other but we prefer to take a little extra time and take the Star Ferry.

Because of the large number of outlying islands and numerous waterway crossings ferries are an important mode of transportation in Hong Kong. Although the subway system was created to phase out or modify those ferry routes my guess is that ferries will long be an important mode of transportation for Hong Kong people.

One of the routes we like to use leaves from Pier 7 Central and crosses the Harbour to the Kowloon side. The whole journey takes approximately 15 minutes. The Star Ferry has been in operation for over a hundred years and some of the ferries in operation were built in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The engines roar and burn a thick diesel which only adds to the aesthetic appeal of this trip.

Last night was a hot humid night. But there was a cool breeze coming off the water. As we sat on the folding benches watching the fury of activity on the water, I thought to myself, “Why would anyone choose to be underground on such a beautiful night?”