Star
Ferry
 The
Star Ferry has linked Hong Kong Island and
Kowloon since 1898. For just a couple of
dollars you are treated to one of the world's
most spectacular ferry rides, the robust
little green and white boats dodging the
intense water- borne traffic on what was
once the world's finest and busiest deep-water
anchorage.
Strictly speaking there are
several Star Ferries, each plying slightly
different routes across the harbour. The
route everybody rides, however, is the one
between the piers on Kowloon close to the
Cultural Centre and the heart of the Central
district on Hong Kong Island. The trip takes
around seven minutes, and you can choose
between upper and lower decks, the upper
deck costing a few cents more. You enter
the quay via coin-operated turnstiles, so
be sure to have some change, and then wait
with the chaotic-looking crowds for the
next boat (queue at a ticket office by the
turnstiles if you have no change). If boats
are full - and numbers are monitored - simply
wait a few minutes for the next ferry.
Once underway it's difficult
to know where to look. Behind and in front
of you skyscrapers rise from the water-
front, combining with the hills behind to
produce one of the world's most spectacula
city skylines. Below and all around you
the water is alive with countless boats,
while on board the massed ranks of passengers
provide a people-watching spectacle in their
own right.
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