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More photos on Flickr and Instagram

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We had an amazing breakfast at the hotel. Undoubtedly the biggest spread I’ve see in quite some time.

The weather looked like it was still fairly overcast and we were unsure if it would be worthwhile going up to Victoria Peak. We stayed at the hotel for a while because my cold was worse and wanted to see if the morning haze would clear off.

Happily, the haze cleared off and we were able to take the hop on/hop off tour bus up to the Peak Tram (avoid walking so far). We pass thru the Wan Chai district, which means ‘small harbor’. Land reclamation turned the area into the part of HK we see today.

While making its way to the Peak, the guided narrative noted a location along Causeway Bay (shopping area) where there are ladies who work to place curses on your adversaries. Price depends on length and severity of the desired curse.

Noon day gun Jardine & Matheson shoots off a noon day cannon shot. A tradition from 1800’s . Time keeping signal of the past continued as a tradition even today.

While stopped at a light, a van backs into our bus.😐 Did I say the streets are congested?

Our multi day pass gave us a fast track of sorts to the tram, meaning we didn’t have to stand in a very long line just buy a ticket to stand in line again to board the tram. There were hundreds of people in line, as it’s one of the top attractions.

It was about a 30 minute wait to board the tram for a 10 minute ride up a very steep incline to the peak. Or rather the entrance to a multi-level shopping center with a viewing platform on top. Entering the building you’re immediately introduced to Hong Kong’s favorite pastime. Shopping. We went up at least six levels of Schindler escalators and on each one, the level was composed of shops and the next bank of escalators.

We finally reached the observation level and were rewarded with some spectacular views of both Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon peninsula and the harbor in between.

There seemed to be one ‘house’ within sight below us with a koi pond on top. This is the only ‘house’ we’ve seen so far.

Short movie

While we were taking in the views, I noticed a drone flying above and a short distance from the peak observation deck. We waved and watched as it seemed to move up and down, waving back . It eventually moved away and we watched as it descended to an area from where we thought it was being controlled. If you run out of battery up here, you’ll never find your drone in the undergrowth.

There are some other structures up here, looking like apartments (but not really tall) and some radio towers. The mountain is lush with trees and undergrowth.

Winding our way down those Schindler escalators to queue up to take the tram back down to street level where it seemed like the waiting  crowds were just as large.

We pass by the Man Mo Temple is still in use today.

The big news in the South China Morning Post is about Donald Tsang, former chief executive of Hong Kong, convicted on conflict of interest and bribery charges. The other regional  news that has remained in the paper is the investigation into the murder of North Korea’s  leader Kim Jung-Un’s half brother, Kim Jong-nam, in the Malaysia airport. No front page news of Trump aside from a short clip about mainland (China) firms rushing to register the name of ‘Ivanka’ to cash in on the name. James Taylor and Tom Jones have a front page ad for their forthcoming performances.

Fortunate to have the loaner cellphone from the hotel, as I could use it as a hotspot to tether my phone!