In the South China Sea

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Today we visited the Kok Tsiu Market on Fuk Tsum Street. This is not a place for the feint of heart, nor for vegetarian/vegan types. All manner of deceased animals were strung up in the stalls; chickens by their necks, pork roasts next to hog belly and various unappetizing entrails, fish of all kinds gutted and splayed or alive and floundering around in large tubs. We saw baskets of live frogs, glass containers of squiggly eel and other critters I couldn't identify. There were also vegetables of all kinds including giant carrots the size of baseball bats and beets as big as a football. I wonder if these things are grown too close to a nuclear power plant. But in spite of the blood and gore the market was spotlessly clean and folks were shopping for their daily meals. Down the same street signs advertised "Rooms for Rent/by Hour". Hmmm? I wonder what that was all about.



We then walked to a beautiful park nestled in the midst of apartment blocks 50 to 70 stories tall. In spite of the packed city all around it, the park on Lok Kwan Street was quiet and peaceful. It seems to be the place elderly Hong Kongers gather in the morning to do their excercizes. We watched as they slowly and gracefully did something I would say is akin to tai chi around a pond filled with carp and turtles. It was magical. These elders seemed so serene and at peace with their aged bodies, something I don't often see in the United States.





We boarded the M/S Nautica at the pier in early afternoon. The cruise ship/ferry terminal features an absolutely huge shopping mall on serveral floors with literally hundreds of high end shops. We walked through one long corridor which was devoted to children's apparel such as Gucci for Kids, Armani Junior, etc. It was simply amazing and the shops were bustling with shoppers. This is not a poor country by any stretch. We saw watches for sale costing over $100,000 U.S. Gasoline is priced at more than $10 a gallon. Tonight as the ship got under way toward Vietnam we dined with some wonderful folks from Canada, California and a couple of American expats now living in Mexico. The Hong Kong skyline was lit up with lasers and strobe lights in fantastic colors. It was like being inside a huge coleidescope. The second tallest building in the world is in this harbor and countless others in the 80 storey range. It is hard not to use superlatives in Hong Kong. If this is the new China, we in the U.S. are truly screwed.

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