Living in Hong Kong was incredible. We were there when Hong Kong was a British Crown Colony, one of the last gems of the British Empire, with the Union Jack proudly flying from every building and the Royal Navy prepared to meet any challenge. The British Crown Colony was well represented in the day (my downstairs neighbor at the time was Sir Ivo Rigby, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong). I miraculously became a Life Member of the Royal Hongkong Yacht Club (I still am, by the way). Amazing, even now.

We all had weekend activities and events to attend; however, one of my favorite things to do was to take the boat ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, which was then a Portuguese Colony. It was an overnight voyage up the Pearl River, and the two boats operating the service were “sister” ships, the Man Shan and the Fat Shan. If only they were still afloat. Traveling on either one was like being in a Sydney Greenstreet movie. Both vessels had overnight compartments, furnished with ancient wicker chairs and slatted windows. The distance between Hong Kong and Macau was about 40 miles, and the boat moved along at about 5 knots per hour. Just the right speed for an adventure.

When we finally docked in Macau, it was like we’d just arrived in Lisbon, Portugal, from some faraway place. Everywhere were signs in Portuguese; the hotels had Portuguese menus and tiny rooms. Around every corner, shops sold Portuguese food and, best of all, terrific Portuguese wine (way better than the Mateus we were gulping by the gallon). Who wouldn’t enjoy this? Here we were, 40 miles away from Hong Kong amid a tiny part of Portugal. It was a mini-vacation, and every time we steamed back down the river to Hong Kong, we looked forward to another river cruise back to Macau. You know, some things were better “then” than “now.”