HK Island

• Woke up at 7:15 and made it to breakfast by 7:30
• Buffet was great! I'm glad this is the one I get to have again at a more leisurely pace on my free day.
• Went down at 8:10 for my 8:15 pickup, and saw a big tour bus and group outside. I asked the receptionist if she knew if that was the Hong Kong Island group, and she asked if there was a number she could call to confirm. I told her I would just ask the group outside but she said it would be better to call in case that was the wrong group going to a similar place. While I was talking with her a guy came up and asked if I was William. I said yes and he told me he had been waiting by the concierge desk (in the other building). Whoops.
• This guy put me in a 25-person bus, which I found out was just to transport me to the bigger one for the tour, which could seat 50. There were 26 of us on the tour, and my small van was the second-to-last to arrive.
• The guide (Rex) came on the bus mic and talked with us the whole way between each stop. He was a great guide and pointed things out to us along the way (and was funny). Unfortunately this tour also eemed like this was a shopping tour with certain un-included parts I had to pay extra for (which I had not anticipated)
• On our way to the island, we went in a tunnel under Victoria Harbor. This was the first (45 years old) of 3 underwater tunnels between HKI and Kowloon, and also the most congested because each way is 10HKD whereas the other two are 45HKD.
• Our first stop was the tram up Victoria Peak, which was very steep! The ride took about 8 mins.and we were at a 45° angle for most of it.
• Before we got there, the guide told us that we would need to pay 50HKD to go to the top ("the tallest 360° observation deck in Hong Kong"), because the tram would only take us to the station near the top. I asked if we would even be able to see anything and he said "oh yes, today is a very clear day." I disagreed.
• While getting off the bus, the woman across the aisle told me to go first and said "I'm with him," pointing to her husband. He laughed and said "she means to say that the man is old." This was Lloyd and Joyce, a couple originally from orlando, but more recently from the Philippines where Joyce grew up.
• When we got to the tram stop, there was a mall with a food court and a free observation deck, so we were released to do whatever we wanted for about 30 mins and I went straight to the observation deck.
• Yep, there was fog all around us. Even better, from this deck you could see the top, which was only slightly taller than where I was. Money well saved.
• I spent the rest of the time strolling through some shops, but the vendors started to get a little pushy do I removed myself and tried going up as many escalators as I could before I would have needed a pass to the rooftop.
• I came across some 3-D art gallery that had free admission (I've come to feel REALLY skeptical when anything is 'free'), and tried going in.
• About halfway through is where you find the photographers who want to take your picture interacting with the art. I was about 5 mins away from my group's rendezvous time, so I started saying no (other than that, the pictures were kinda fun to act with). When I got to the end they tried to sell me the pictures for 160 HKD each
• Met up with the group and we went to our bus, which had driven up to meet us (so we wouldn't have to pay for the ttam again).
• Next stop was the Aberdeen Fishing Village, which the guide really pushed as 'the highlight of the tour' of course, it was 60 HKD if you actually wanted to participate.
• I had only brought along 80 HKD with the intention of buying something when we went to Stanley Market, so I held back with some others on the dock. The guide saw us and came over to collect our money and we said we didn't really want to go. But he said the boats would be out for 30+ minutes, and this was really the apex of the day, and and and...eventually the others caved in, so I decided to go too.
• The boat was a huge disappointment and not at all worth the 60 HKD. We drove from the dock to some crappy-looking house boats, passing a huge floating restaurant that you could see from the dock. Maybe this would have been cooler if I hadn't already seen crappy house boats in Vietnam and Cambodia and Thailand...I just wasn't very happy with it. And 30+ mins was such an exaggeration! We were maybe out for 15 mins.
• There was a loud group of 4 40-50 year old ladies from Miami who were on my boat with me, and they were really interested in asking about where I had been and where I was going and why would I come alone...They wanted others on the boat to take a lot of photos of them (but returned the favor by taking a few of the other 3 people - Lloyd & Joyce, and me).
• Next we went to a the Dynasty Jewelry Manufacturer, which was promised to only take 30 minutes, but then Rex made us stay for about an hour...
• We were first asked to listen to some lady tell us about how they use only 16 and 18 carat gold,  and they import gems from all over the world, and talk about different Chinese zodiac symbols because they make a pendant for each of them. Then she took us to the showroom, where the salespeople were literally waiting on either side of the door and latched on as we shuffled in through the single-file door. I was able to shake mine off pretty quickly by saying I don't have a girlfriend and going to the restroom. There was a small place at the opposite end of the showroom with free water where most of us naturally congregated after just a few minutes (and exchanged hushed whispers about how we felt like we could hardly breath with all the sales hawks around us). Rex just stood there for about 50 minutes, and I went to talk to him about the next place we were going (Stanley Market). I confirmed that it was just a small street market that probably wouldn't accept cards, and said I only had 20 HKD after the boat ride. He laughed at me for only having 80 HKD in my pocket, so I guess it's just normal for everyone to carry a couple thousand around with them? It would certainly make sense since the economy is mostly cash-based (despite what my hotel's welcome book says...).
• When we left, I think the shop got maybe 3 purchases out of us. One of them was a ring for Lloyd, who announced to a few of us "it took me 45 years, but I finally said yes." 
• We finally left and went to Stanley Market, which was basically some cramped streets of vendors with all kinds of things to sell. The Miami group invited me to eat lunch with them, but I was wanting some alone time and was also a little embarassed that I didn't have any money with me. I walked through the streets to see if I could even find anything I was interested in, but didn't. At the end, I came to a bunch of boulders out in the water that a bunch of people were taking pictures on. I went to one of the furthest ones and sat down to watch the waves for a little bit while I ate a granola bar. We only had 35 minutes here, and we left at 2:05.
• On our way there, we passed an overlook of a horse racing track. Rex said we should go to see the races, but not get involved in betting because the local people are INSANE about betting (since they would have to go to Macau for actual gambling, this is their alternative). He said that in 2016 over 107 BILLION USD was put into horse-betting (for reference, Hong Kong's international airport was 35 billion USD to build).
• On the way back, we passed Repulse Bay Beach (one of the most popular in Hong Kong, but not now when it's cold). On the island's edge that juts out next to the beach, Jackie Cahn's house is at the end. I was on the wrong side of the bus to see the house (you had to look up the face of the wall next to the road because it's on the side of a steep hill), but I saw the driveway!
• After about an hour we dropped off at each hotel (using the big bus. Soetimes it had to let out across the street like they did at mine, but that wasn't a big deal). Rex gave us all vouchers to take the hop-on/hop-off operated by Grey Line Tours (the operator of thsi tour), but it's only good for one 'hop-on'. I think I'll use it tomorrow.
• Took a 1.5 hour nam (was supposed to be just 20 mins...), then decided to exchange my last 9 USD (got 65.70 HKD) and walk to To Hai Wan for dim sum. This place is the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world (well, was until some place in Singapore recently beat them out), with each plate costing around 20 HKD. But the way dim sum works is you order several plates of different things, so I ended up spending 65 HKD (9 USD) here.
• Got BBQ Pork Buns, Rice with spare ribs and chicken feet, and fried rice dumplings with a pork filling. The buns were especially good because the bread they used was different than any other than I had seen.
• The restaurant was on the outside of the Olympian City Mall, so I took a stroll through there and found a nice spot to watch the atrium crawl with people. I wrote most of these bullets while I was there.
• Walked back to the concierge and asked what I should do tomorrow. He suggested some markets, so I'll see if I end up in that area tomorrow. I've been told I shoudl go to the Chi Lin Nunnery, so I'm planning to start my day with that (but a little, because I'm ready for a day to sleep in!).