Shore leave is the time when sailors are officially permitted to go on land while the ship is alongside in port.

It is a period of time off from their duties, often lasting a few hours, to take a break and spend time ashore.

A small photo series from Hong Kong is my fleeting memory of a shore leave in a city I had never been to before and will never return to again.

Books, films, and songs about sailors on shore leave include Jean Genet's 1953 novel Querelle of Brest; Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen's 1949 film musical of Leonard Bernstein's On the Town; and Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel's 1964 ballad Amsterdam.

Singer-songwriter Tom Waits wrote a song entitled Shore Leave in 1982 and included it on his 1983 album Swordfishtrombones. It depicts the loneliness that many sailors feel when they suddenly find themselves with free time but without loved ones to share it with.