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Friday morning we awoke and checked out, leaving our bags at the hostel with the kind woman who runs it. We then headed to McDonald's for pancakes before heading out for the day.
We wandered around on the "Walking Tour" around the famous parts of the island, seeing all the little shops, looking for others, catching a glimpse of life in the city. Hong Kong is a large, international city with lots of small, quiet areas, where people simply go about their day.
Julie's grandfather died earlier in the week and she wanted to buy paper money to burn as an offering for him at a temple. We set out to find some.
The first shop we went in to only sold incense but directed us next door. The friendly woman greeted us in Cantonese and spoke no English. We paused, not sure what to do. How could we explain why we were there and what we wanted. The shop only sells goods for temple offerings (that I could tell), but some explanation was still necessary. Who died, what was their name, and how did we know them? Julie suddenly had an idea. "Do you speak Mandarin?" she
Yum? No, it's medicine.
But it looks like the only thing on a stick not at the Minnesota State Fair. asked in Mandarin. The woman beamed and we continued our conversation in a mutually second language.
So when someone dies you don't just offer money for them (to use to stay out of hell or in the afterlife). You also need to give them clothes, shoes, a watch, 3 kinds of money, and incense. All of these were then carefully arranged in a large paper bag with Julie's grandfather's name written on the outside. I guess it's almost like burning the papers is like mailing him a carepackage.
We left the shop and wandered trying to find the temple with the directions we hadn't quite understood. Instead we found the Man Mo Temple. I suspect on weekends it's a bit touristy, since they offer fortune telling, but today it was relatively quiet. We went inside and Julie asked what to do. We both took incense and walked around offering to each of the statues inside the temple. The room was dark and only lit by candles and a dim light. A French family was also visiting, their daughters lighting as much of the free incense as they could.
After we finished inside we went outside to the
offering oven. Julie placed the bag inside and took a few moments to herself. I took pictures of all of this so she could send them to her family in the US. When she was done we left to wander around SoHo for the day and eat lunch.
In our wanderings we stumbled across a cute little place with sparkly red painted walls called "Double Happiness." How could we not eat here!? It was a fusion restaurant and I had shrimp and scallops with asparagus. I haven't seen scallops or asparagus in China. It was divine. Two French women, sisters I think, dined next to us. They were quiet and polite but very passionate about whatever they were talking about.
After lunch we wandered around and window shopped. I did end up getting one present for myself: a cute panda purse. I saw it in the window and it drew me into the store. It's just big enough for my wallet and cell phone and keys--just the way I like it. And it has a long strap and a wrist strap for extra security. Julie got the matching keychain. We stopped in a few more shops, I buying
The purchase
shirt, shoes, watch, 4 kinds of money, gold bars, and a partridge in a pear tree nothing else. I kept taking pictures on the street. I love this city. I love the feel of it, the energy of it. I felt like I could wander for days and keep discovering new things.
Then we headed back to pick up our bags before the last stop on our 2-day tour.
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Emily
non-member comment
panda purse
Hello I love the panda purse. I told my hubby that when we go, that I want one. lol