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Published: November 24th 2011
Please Excuse this blog if it appears with awhole lot of computer cache rubbish in the text. I have been trying to publish this one for over 24 hours and it appears as though something major has gone wrong with the website. Everyone is complaining about to the webmaster but they seem to be having difficulty fixing it. So here goes anyway!! Tuesday dawned in Hong Kong and started rather late.I think our bodies were trying to tell us something…..they were getting tired…or was it just the fact that the day was November 22
nd and I was turning another year older????? Whatever the reason we didn’t wake until 9.15am and it was even very hard getting out of bed at that hour, believe me.
We got ourselves going and had showers and headed up to the penthouse restaurant at the hotel for a late breakfast (which was included as part of our room rate).By this time we had checked emails and found that others in the big wide world had remembered the significance (if that’s the right word) of the date and
sent birthday greetings either by email or text message. In fact the first text message came in at about 5.20am and had woken me up out of a decent sleep to the extent that I took a while to figure out where I was and what the noise actually was.Nice to be thought of by friends when you are so far away from home!!!
We had to collect our laundry from ‘The Grand Laundry’ just around the corner and did this before heading out for the area of Mongkok, several blocks and about 20 minutes walk from the hotel further up Nathan Road.This area has several streets, Sai Yeung Choi St., Tung Choi St. and Fa Yuen St. where the shops all specialise in certain things. Sai Yeung Choi is 5 blocks of electronic goods shops, both sides.We have never seen so many cell phone shops, camera shops, computer shops etc. etc. etc. all crammed into one area.It seems like there were more such shops in this confined area that the whole of NZ combined.By the looks of this Street alone, the Hong Kong economy hasn’t been affected at all
by the ‘global recession’. Joy wanted a couple of small camera accessories for her Canon and these were purchased easily.Interesting to look at prices of things and compare them with NZ after converting the currency.Cell phones that we could purchase at home looked about for around $600 - $800, top end models like Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Defy, appeared about $150 - $200 cheaper here.Lap top computers however were reasonably similar in price from what we could see.Top end cameras like Canon, Nikon and Sony were slightly cheaper but we didn’t thing it was a whole lot.Anyway it was interesting to have a wander around and dream.One TV shop we were in had hundred of them, all flat panels of course, but everything we could see was 3D models, didn’t see any ordinary 42” LCD plain TVs, maybe we were in the wrong section or something.Apple IPads were only slightly cheaper than home.
The next street, Tung Choi, was what they called the ‘Ladies Market’ and it was 5 blocks of good old HK market shopping and YES we did make some purchases and the Christmas present list had a dent made in it during the afternoon.BUT still have several other markets to visit yet!!!
The third street, Fa Yeun, was wall to wall sports goods and sports shoes for 5 blocks.Unbelievable, didn’t realise there were that many pairs of shoes in the world!!!!!! These were not market knock offs, these were all genuine branded marked priced items. I suppose they were slightly cheaper than at home.Joy found a ‘Clarks’ shoe shop selling her favourite brands of shoes … this type of store seems to have followed us all around the world!!!!....and I was assured they were way cheaper than in NZ so we will be going back there no doubt before leaving.
We then walked deeper into this area and came across the ‘fish and meat’ market.We ventured into the fish market and were just blown away. Everything is kept alive in every sort of container you can imagine.There was every imaginable species of sea food on show and then hundreds more species that you could never imagine….if you get my drift.You name it and they had a container full of them for sale….wriggling and squirming all over
the place.We also saw a rather barbaric side to the culture here.At one stall a woman was slicing the back fins off rather large fish while they were still very much alive and then presenting them for sale on trays liberally bleeding and still very much alive but minus their back fins.I know it is probably not much different than sticking live crayfish into boiling water to cook them but this just seemed a bit strange.HOWEVER it was an incredibly interesting place to wander through.I can confirm, however, that my desire to not eat most types of seafood has not been changed at all, thankyou very much!!!! I’ll just stick to the odd meal of filleted terakihi or grouper and an occasional piece of fish from the local ‘fish’n chip’ shop.
We ventured further down Tung Choi St. and came across the ‘gold fish market’.Blocks of shops on both side of the street selling gold fish and tropical tank fish of every breed imaginable. Plus every other sort of thing you might keep in a tank….turtles etc. etc. by the ton (and very expensive) All the accessories required were available and it was funny to see how they displayed and sold them.Not just tank fulls in the store but outside were hanging plastic bags with water and gold fish in them just like mitre 10 might display packets of seeds out front of the shop.Unbelievable!!!!!
We also came across many, many pet shops in this area selling every imaginable breed of dog, from miniatures to breeds that grow big like Samoyeds. Very expensive.A few cats and things like rabbits, guinea pigs, mice etc. Not sure if they were for pets or the pot!!!and didn’t ask.
All in all a very interesting and entertaining long late morning and afternoon and we headed back on foot for the hotel, still window shopping as we went, for a well earned ‘feet up’ before heading out for a ‘birthday dinner at, YES YOU GUESSED IT, Hong Kong’s Hard Rock Café.Well we had to go there at some stage to complete Joy’s Tshirt collection so we killed the proverbial two birds and headed there for dinner.
We visited HR last time we were here 3 years ago but it had shifted location considerably and when we were over at ‘Central’ the previous evening at the opticians we mentioned in passing while having dinner with Emily that we wanted to visit HR at some stage.Guess what?? It was just over the road and up a short hill walk from where we were so we knew exactly where to go.
On the metro to ‘Central’ and a very nice dinner was had of traditional HR Café Chinese style.Well actually it is exactly the same menu as every other HR Café we have been in from Las Vegas to NYC to Niagara Falls to Paris to Berlin to Venice and so on and so on!!!! However as my brother Craig reminded us recently in an email, we are in China so it is all Chinese food here!!!!
Today, Wednesday, was an earlier start as we had booked a half day tour to the ‘New Territories’ of HK and were being picked up at 8.20am.So after breakfast we headed out, small group of 4 with a guide in a 20 seater bus!!! We visited a huge Buddhist Temple at Chuk Lam Sim Yeun which is nestled in the green foothills of Tseun Wan. Interesting place and an interesting culture variation!!! We arrived while the resident monks and other ‘worshipers’ were having morning ser vice and the ‘noise’ was immense.
We then stopped at a look out at Tai Mo Shan where you look out over the New Territories towards mainland China.From what I could gather talking to our guide the New Territories is an area that the British leased from China in the mid to late 1800s after they had taken over the main Kowloon area etc.It was mainly a farming area with several old traditional families living in the area.Farming has basically gone now but it is a huge ‘green’ area in stark contrast to the concrete jungle of Kowloon and the HK island area. An old traditional village was next at ShuiTau/Shui Mei where more traditional housing still abounds and the original ‘clan’ families still live.Again a stark contrast to the rest of HK and really interesting to see and experience.The tour finished with a visit to the Kadoorie Farm.This was a huge tract of land owned by two British brothers back in the mid 1940s after the Japanese WW2 occupation was ended, the Kadoorie brothers of course, and they were obviously philanthropic in setting up a farming area where the farmer refugees fleeing Communist when Mao took over there could have a home and continue their farming.It is still growing a lot of things on an organic basis and is also a home to some of HKs endangered native wild animals like a breed of deer, pigs and some reptiles.Interesting place.It was them back to the hotel and the concrete jungle of high rise and neon signs.Two totally contrasting sides of HK that we hadn’t seen before.
After lunch we ‘beat the feet’ again and headed to the Jade Market (just what it says) and Joy bought a few little bits and pieces.We then got a text from Emily advising that Joy’s new glasses were all ready a day early so we headed back to Jordan metro and over to Central to find our way to the opticians. Piece of cake and picked up the new glasses that Joy was very pleased with indeed.
More shopping around some small market areas that we stumbled across in the Central area eventually tired us out so we headed back to the hotel on the metro. We have become experts at using metros around the world and in a way will miss such a great form of public transport.It really seems to be so efficient and quick everywhere we have used it. In HK to get fro m the station nearest us, ‘Jordan’, to ‘Central’ over on HK island which is really a long way and takes you right under the harbour, costs $8.50HK one way, about $1.50NZ so it is very cheap as well.
Back at the hotel and while Joy downloaded photos I had a ‘wee read’ on the bed.I felt very refreshed after my ‘wee read’ and settled in behind the laptop to start this blog. Around 7.30pm we headed for the Temple Street night market to try to make more of a dent in Joy’s Christmas shopping list.We were a bit disappointed with this market this time. It didn’t appear to be nearly as good as we remembered it last time we were here.We had been right through the market, purchasing a few bits and pieces when we noticed a lot of Police activity in the area.From zero Police to vans and men everywhere.We then spotted Police tape cordoning off an area behind the markets and then a lot of Police with helmets and ballistic vests and very large shotguns at the ready surrounding the entrance to a building so we decide to get out of that as quickly as we could and exited stage right for the main road.Have no idea what was going on but all the locals wanted to crowd around and watch which wasn’t something we wanted to do but it made it difficult to execute a quick withdrawal but my size and height makes me a giant around here and withdraw we did!!!
More wandering around shops but tired bodies and feet saw us getting back to the hotel around 10pm, a long enough day at the end of 8 weeks of long days and nights!!! Tomorrow we are heading out at 9am for ‘Ocean World’, some sort of theme type park at the bottom of HK Island.It doesn’t open until 10am so metro and bus rides will get us there around that time. Don’t know really what the day will bring but that’s part of the fun of this whole trip….new experiences every day.Tomorrow night we plan to head up to the Victoria Peak via the cable car where Joy wants to try some night photography with some of the new settings she has learned about for her camera.
That’s the last 2 days in Hong Kong.Some very contrasting sights in this very busy place. I think in one of my very early blogs from Las Vegas I mentioned that I thought HK was the neon sign capital of the world but that maybe Las Vegas should enjoy that title. HOWEVER after wandering around HK for 3 nights now I revert back my original analysis.Hong Kong is definitely the neon sign capital of the world.It is simply wall to wall neon wherever you go and wherever you look, main streets, back streets, it doesn’t seem to make any difference.
Oh, and by the way, Joy’s toe has healed remarkably well and isn’t causing her any grief now compared to the other day.Still a little sore but the infection has gone so that’s good.
Catch you in a day or so maybe!!!
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Becky
non-member comment
Hong Kong
Hello! I have so enjoyed your blogs and feel like I have been traveling with you throughout your adventures! Have to just send a quick "tie-in" about all of the technology you saw in HK. Corning Incorporated (the Headquarters building was right beside the museum in Corning) is the industry leader in LCD glass and is now heavily involved in the 3D market/other portable devises with their "Gorilla Glass" and with the upcoming "Lotus Glass". They have facilities in Japan, of course. I imagine you are home by now and am hoping you have found your own pillow!! Hugs, Becky