An iconic thing to do, ride the ferry across Victoria Harbour

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Photo of the day No. 12 - The Star Ferry Hong Kong

An iconic thing to do, ride the ferry across Victoria Harbour

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As any photographer will tell you, great images that you take are very, very rare, particularly if you are not a professional photographer, more often than not it is just blind luck. I have been taking pictures since I was a kid here and armed with my awesome Hasselbald camera I almost made a life changing decision to train as a photographer under the tutelage of a renowned photographer in Hong Kong. I decided not to pursue it because I was simply not good enough, in my own mind I am just an average Joe who likes to take pictures, I had no desire to turn into an arrogant, pompous, shallow and boring professional photographer. To this day I do not do photography tours, I have more than 170,000 images taken in Hong Kong on my Flickr site.

I was smart enough however in 2014 after retiring my Hasselblad camera to invest in a fairly decent camera which is with me whenever I go out because you just never know when a great shot will present itself.

The image above is one of my personal favourites, it was a late January day, warmish but very hazy which is typical of Hong Kong weather in the Winter, the sun was setting to the West and Victoria Harbour was devoid of sea traffic, the only vessel in the shot is you guessed it, the iconic Star Ferry that ply’s its trade between TST in Kowloon and the Central Waterfront on Hong Kong Island. A journey that has been going since 1888, first under the company name of the Kowloon Ferry Company and then it became the Star Ferry Company in 1898.

The classic quote about the Star Ferry was this : “and to live through one of the “top 50 experiences of your lifetime,” according to National Geographic.”

I know a lot of people who would dismiss that as hype but I happen to agree with it, maybe it is because I have been on it thousands of times, maybe it is the history or the amazing views of the Hong Kong Island skyline, for me it is 8 - 10 minutes of going back in time, everything just slows down and I like to reflect on my 53 years in Hong Kong.

These days the ride is just shy of 10 minutes at best, it used to be a lot longer decades ago but reclamation on Hong Kong Island shortened the journey and even the Ferry Pier was relocated, The Ferry is now down to 2 routes basically, the other being from TST in Kowloon to Wanchai next to the Convention Centre on Hong Kong Island. The Star Ferry is the oldest public transport company in Hong Kong still operating.

Call me old fashioned but there is just something about taking a ride on the Star Ferry, in frantic Hong Kong it is a thowback to times when it was an essential way to cross the harbour (there are no bridges and the first tunnel connecting Hong Kong Island to Kowloon opened in 1972).

I am also a bit odd in that I almost never go on the upper deck of the ferry which is air conditioned, I have been on the Star Ferry many thousands of times and I like nothing better than to sit on the lower deck which is open to the elements close to the engine room and the water! for me it just brings back a lot of memories.

Riding the Star Ferry is absolutely one of the best things you can do when you are in Hong Kong and it should be on your top 10 wish list of things to do.

I urge you to have a look at the Star Ferry website, talk about throwbacks, the design is like something from the late 1990’s and just fits in with the historic nature of the Star Ferry.

Finally, in recent times there have been some dubious press reports in Hong Kong that the Star Ferry Company would close down, these articles gained traction during Covid when Hong Kong was closed off to tourists for 3 years, for the record the Star Ferry Company is owned by Wharf Holdings, one the largest and most successful property companies in Hong Kong and the Ocean Terminal Cruise Terminal and Shopping Mall complex is a Wharf Holdings company and just happens to be next to the Star Ferry Pier in Kowloon.

So there you go, the Star Ferry, a true Hong Kong Icon.

The amazing panoramic city view from the Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak

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