Hong Kong
I had been to HK a number of times. When flying "home" to Manila at Xmas or summer it was the usual change planes stop off for Air France which was the regular (least expensive ticket) airline of choice.
We dock on the modern Ocean Terminal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_Terminal,_Hong_Kong The upper gangplank for passengers led straight into the Terminals shopping center. The lower one led to the cargo area and although my flight to Manila is a little later I am near the gangplanks to see whats outside.
Invasion.... I can see a crowd ( hundreds) of Chinese workers waiting to board on the lower plank, as the gangplank drops they swarm aboard..no security checks enforced or enforceable and 10 mins + pass before anyone can go the other way. There is another lower gangplank for goods and this too is backed up with supplies arriving, Including rolls of carpet as well as the usual food and beverage items. Cunard are obviously taking advantage of the "cheap" labor to do some refit work.
I go to the bow near the bakers shop and have a smoke and this is what I see
https://www.google.com.ph/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&biw=1280&bih=917&noj=1&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=%E6%B5%B7%E9%81%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%BB%88&oq=%E6%B5%B7%E9%81%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%BB%88&gs_l=img.12..0i24l10.44080.47511.0.49245.22.9.0.0.0.5.211.716.4j2j1.7.0....0...1c.1.32.img..21.1.211.pBNknvXme2oMy filght to Manila is a little later so I go to cabin to have a quick rest and pack before I depart. When I am ready to leave I walk from the Aft crew cabins through the gangway and am slightly surprised not only to see lots of Chinese working but scattered everywhere ..hypodermics. It does not take a genius to work out that these are for heroin injections and the number seen indicated that not only were the vast majority of labor users/addicts but they did not care who knew and bother to hide them.
Hong Kong in 1975 looked exactly like this 1975 pic..thanks to blakestokers
http://blakestokers.com/10.html and this HMS Blake Stokers Association has pictures of many of the places the QE2 visited at the same time period (1975) including Rio Mombassa Gib, Malta Funchal Madiera (traditional QE2 new year stop to see firework display), Singapore (so I will refer back to this for Rio and Mobassa) and Rotterdam where I was married in 1979. The Big Ben picture was actually my local for 18 months when I worked in the Hilton Hotel just round the corner . The views, time period and locations are so close it looks like this HMS ship was secretly shadowing the QE2 in case of trouble at Sea... LOL (EDIT....So I have emailed them requesting the dates of Port calls on their 1974/75 Far East Tour to see if they match up)
On returning from Manila my Father , Sister and her husband came on the same flight. They checked in to the Empire Hotel as that was reasonably priced and centrally located and the place Dad checked in with Family.
In Hong Kong one of the must do's is eat dimsum (yum cha)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yum_cha HK is predominantly Cantonese with Cantonese style food so we had some in Ocean terminal. I would say though that there were excellent dimsum in Londons Soho at Lee Ho Fook and surrounds which was one of the first to offer in the early 60"s and where we were regulars. The point being that we should compare apples with apples. The best in HK was = to the better offerings in Londons Gerrard St and Wardour St which in turn was better than HK's mediocre dimsum establishments. Now things have changed and there are some truly fantastic dimsum in HK but you need to book or queue well in advance for the best "cutting edge" Restaurants (not an option for cruise passengers).
Another sight to see at that time was the markets as the fish are still breathing and cut in half to show the continuous inflation of the air sac to prove freshness(EDIT
http://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=fish+market+hk+breathing&vid=6321fe7e2fd406881c1d3a078900b394&l=00%3A32&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DV.4909372182890061%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DE0BlPjNlVAE&tit=Skinned+alive+fish.avi&c=2&sigr=11ai2lehq&sigt=10mh7np8a&ct=p&age=0&fr=yfp-t-903&tt=b) and chicken..lol. Its alive..you chose it, they cut off the head, dip it in boiling water then put it in a spin dryer that removes 99% of the feathers, the last ones being plucked out. Shirts and suits in 24 hours is another HK standard but I had already got mine years ago and the fashion had moved on. Hk was also starting and later to be flooding with knock offs and factory rejects for branded clothing. $1 buys a Charles Jordan(flogged to death causing demise of the Brand), Puma, Addidas shirts and trousers etc. This $1 price would last well into the early 90's. Its not the same now as I was there Feb 2013 and you cant easily find those goods.
I offered them a tour of the QE2 as security checks prior to boarding, as long as you "looked" the part, were not a common practice. 1975 still had the upstairs /downstairs mentality on luxury ships of "who are you to ask ME who I am? Don't you know?" My sis and brother in-law availed but Dad declined so as not to take the "risk" of being embarrassingly turned away.
On the tour the Chinese were still fitting carpets in passenger gangways and common areas but they were suitably impressed, their first time on a Luxury (or any) cruise ship, and this was the #1 in the World.
I returned to shore , made my farewells and would consider his suggestion to return and work with ( FOR lol) Dad in Manila. I would eventually agree and by July I would be off the ship and ready to go to Manila by late August.
The workers were still on board up to the last minute (sea of hypodermics now in all crew gangways leading to cabins) and I remember the lower gangplanks being pulled back and stragglers still trying to get ashore, the last ones having to jump the gap a little. There was an argument ongoing on the goods gangway as there were still some late supplies not yet boarded. The goods gangway was last to be taken away and we sailed with the door still open leaving whatever could not be loaded.
Picture with thanks to Blakestokers
http://blakestokers.com/10.html 
