Frickin' Laser Beams!

After a brief nap, we roused ourselves (to be fair to us, this was only our second full day on the other side of the world, so there was still jet lag causing us to lag.

We walked down Nathan Street (known as "The Golden Mile") to the Harbor and went to find pier three.  Carol spotted it right away.  That meant it was too easy, so we walked further, came to a helpful Information booth, and they confirmed that she was right.  (I just wanted to be sure, as there was just a boat tie-up and the big number "3" -- I thought it might be more of a pier, as our ticket said "Pier Number 3."  Being at the wrong place at the right time would not have worked well.

I had booked us on a 7:30 harbor cruise on the Dukling, one of three junks that still ply the waters of Hong Kong.  At 8 pm, the buildings of Hong Kong put on a light show, known as the Symphony of Lights.

An I.M. Pei building with

a pre-show light show.

The Dukling.  A junk.  Literally.

(On the Dukling, the sails are just for show -- and with the wind that night, they didn't even put the sails up.  It was still great fun.)

I didn't know what to expect -- it could be cheesy and underwhelming.  Instead, it was great.  The Dukling was not overcrowded -- there were people (we were the only non-Asians), but we did not feel overcrowded.  It probably helped that we went out Sunday night instead of Saturday.

We left from Tsim Sha Tsui, popped over to Hong Kong Island to pick up a few more tourists, and then headed east along the harbor.  At 8 pm the light show started, accompanied by a recording of the Hong Kong Orchestra.  While the show only lasted ten minutes, it was quite dramatic!

There were laser beams shooting into the sky over us, and the buildings changed colors and had lights.  There were electric billboards at the top of the skyscrapers with words like "Dance!" and "Hong Kong."  And, I had my first ever Tsingtao Beer in a can!  (I thought it only came in bottles!).

This beer is for my brother, Rick.  I have

to believe he has had Tsingtao before.

My tradition when we go to our local Peking Duck restaurant is to always have a bottle of Tsingtao, so I always associate that beer with happiness.  (Editor's Note: Most people associate beer with happiness, unless there is too much consumed.  Blogger: Who could be happy having a cold beer at a baseball game?  Editor: Um, everybody?  Blogger: True.)

Anyhow, my pictures don't do it justice.

The show only lasted ten minutes, and then we cruised a bit more around the Harbor and returned by 8:30 to Pier 3.

Not part of the light show, but

a cool building on Kowloon.

Imagine this across most

of the city's skyline.

Buildings with frickin' laser

beams attached to their heads!