Star Ferry Apartment in Hong Kong, Flight and Guide for residents and tourists

Hong Kong Star Ferry

Great place to go when visiting Hong Kong. The earliest report of a ferry service appeared in a local newspaper dated 28th December 1888: ¡§Steam launch ¡¥Morning Star¡¦ runs daily as a ferry boat between Pedders Wharf and Tsim Sha Tsui at the following hours (a 40 minutes to one hour service during all hours of the day). There will be no launch on Monday and Friday, on account of coaling." The ferry service was originally founded by a prominent Parsee, Dorabjee Nowrojee, under the name of the Kowloon Ferry Company. Some reports say it was about ten years later, upon acquiring the total assets from Nowrojee, that the Star Ferry Company as we know it today came into existence. Despite the lack of detailed documentation, it would seem appropriate that the new company took its name from the vessels it acquired, which all bore the name ¡§Star¡¨. Some of the original names like ¡§Morning Star¡¨ and ¡§Night Star¡¨ have indeed remained to the present day. In 1933, the company introduced the first diesel engine ferry called "Electric Star". Plying across the heart of Victoria Harbour, the ferry service in its early days charged five cents per person. The fare is still comparatively inexpensive when considering other methods of cross-harbour transportation. The history of the great Star Ferry has by no means been crisis-free. Its sevice was hit hard in September 1906 by an almost unexpected typhoon which took away two vessels and left the Kowloon pier beyond repair. The devastation subsequently led the company to reconstruct the ferry wharf using a new design ¡V being parallel instead of perpendicular to the praya. The new layout allowed ferries to berth without loss of time and unnecessary wastage of coal. The Japanese invasion in 1941 marked the longest halt of the ferry service. Despite the intense shooting and shelling, the company did manage to run the ferries up to 10am on 12th December under the control of the British Army to evacuate refugees, troops and key personnel from the Kowloon peninsula. The service was then suspended for the following forty-four months. Liberation came at a price. In 1946, the Star Ferry found itself bereaved of three vessels with two others having to return to the dockyard. Subsequent to this, the company operated a joint inner harbour service with the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry for a period of several months. In the years of 1966 and 1967 the first of the public services affected by Territory-wide disturbances. The political turmoil resulted in the suspension of the company¡¦s Hunghom service, which was resumed quite some time later. However, just like its fleet of sturdy sea ships, the Star Ferry managed to retain its stability even in the most incliement weather. From the original four single-deck vessels propelled by a single coal-fired boiler, the ferry fleet has evolved to comprise twelve diesel-electric vessels. The two newest additions in 1989, the 750-seat ¡§Golden Star¡¨ and ¡§World Star¡¨ can accommodate two hundred more passengers than the traditional ferries and has an air-conditioned upper deck cabin. Now, all ferries in the fleet have an air-conditioned upper deck cabin.. http://www.starferry.com.hk

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Nights and nightlife in hong kong

There's no denying, Hong Kong has very varied and exciting nightlife. The number and variety of pubs, wine bars and clubs are staggering.

And boy, does the composition change fast, whether name, type or location. Indeed, this article will probably be out of date by the time I finish it!

After spending 5 years in hong kong, i got a good grounding in frequenting entertainment establishememnts, as well revisiting some during my recent few visits. So here's some of my views and oberservations.

Licensing hours - how long are the pubs, clubs open

Generally, as long as you want. The bars normally choose when they finish as I think many have an open license. Even if they don't it seems that way.

You can easily walk out into the bright morning sun from some Philippino Wan Chai disco, eg Strawberries on Hennsey Road.

Even if some place shuts there's normally somewhere else to go, usually around the mid market (some would call it the low end) Wan Chai.

where are the main entertainment areas

Lan Kwai Fong (mid to upmarket) - The place where the locals and expats mingle together and the area is very good for poeseurs and the normal couple who want to go out for a good time. The prices can vary and may average around 3 to 6 UK Sterling for a drink, but if your before 9pm there's generally a few happy hours available.

The main pedestrian street is a big attraction of this area, and on Fridays and Saturdays, visitors stand outrside street socialising and generally checking out each other..

Notable establishments include, Insomnia. They have dancing to a very good resident Philippino band. The bankd plays music from U2, RHCP and many other mainstream artists.

Wan Chai
This is where the notorious strip bars used to be. A;lthough the bars are there, theyre generally pretty boring and serve expensive drinks. Go if you want, but check the drink prices out before you buy.

More mainstream are main big bars populare with expets and tourists such as China Town (large fancy bar) and Joe Bananna's (Disco Bar).

Kowloon - Tsim Sha Tsui (pronounced Tim Sha Choy)
Causeway Bay

what type of clubs and clubs are there

variety
Philippino band pubs - dusk till dawn
Wine Bars
More down to earth bars
Theme pubs

Star Ferry -
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