You can’t say you’ve ‘done’ Hong Kong until you’ve taken a ride on a Star Ferry , that wonderful fleet of electric-diesel vessels with names like Morning Star, Celestial Star and Twinkling Star . Try to take your first trip on a clear night from Kowloon to Central. It’s not half as dramatic in the opposite direction.
At any time of the day, the journey, with its riveting views of skyscrapers and jungle-clad hills, must be one of the world’s best-value cruises. At the end of the 10-minute journey, a hemp rope is cast and caught with a billhook, the way it was in 1888 when the first boat docked.
Star Ferry also runs a 60-minute Harbour Tour (HK$80-200) covering calling points at Tsim Sha Tsui, Central and Wan Chai. Get tickets at the piers.
The Star Ferry was founded by Dorabjee Nowrojee, a Parsee from Bombay. Parsees believe in Zoroastrianism, and the five-pointed star on the Star Ferry logo is an ancient Zoroastrian symbol – in fact the same as the one followed by the Three Magi (who may have been Zoroastrian pilgrims) to Bethlehem in the Christmas tale.
Zoroastrians consider fire a medium through which spiritual wisdom is gained, and water is considered the source of that wisdom. No wonder that on an overcast day, the only stars you’ll see over Victoria Harbour are those of the Star Ferry.
