Tuesday 14th April Hong Kong
UNITED KINGDOM | Tuesday, 14 April 2009 | Views [109] | Comments [2]
Last night we had a swim in the roof top swimming pool at our hotel which was very refreshing. We felt that, while we are here, we really should try one of the local restaurants. So it was with a bit of fear and trepidation that we entered unchartered territory and visited a local chinese restaurant. We chose one which was full of local people and not another westerner in sight. We ordered five different dishes from the menu and waited to see what arrived!! We were advised by someone we met in the swimming pool that you never ask "what is that" in a chinese restaurant. There are 2 reasons for this - (1) you would probably not want to know and (2) you would offend the chef!! Anyway we thoroughly enjoyed our meal and it was delicious.
Today we have followed a suggested Walking Tour of the Local Markets. We took the local train to the first market. Two things we noticed about these very modern trains - firstly there is a glass wall all the way along the platform edge, with doors built in that open when the train has arrived (no suicides here). Secondly the carriages do not have doors between them and you can see from one end of the train, right through to the other end.
Our first market was The Bird Market where there were hundreds of different birds of all shapes, sizes and colours for sale, along with maggotts, live grasshoppers and other unknown birdfood (we now think we may have identified one of last night's dishes!!) There were also many local people here with their own birds in their cages, just taking them for a walk.
We then went on to The Flower Market where again many, many shops were selling flowers of every variety you could imagine. The fragrances were lovely. You could buy a big bunch of orchids for as little as 1.50p. Pam - you would have loved it.
It was then onto The Goldfish Market where hundreds of colourful fish of different species were for sale, along with other animals such as guinea pigs, mice and rabbits. This was amazing sight (a second dish from last night has now been identified).
Next market was Fo Yuen Street Market where we browsed for well over an hour with hundreds of stalls selling everything you can imagine and more, from clothes to elctronic goods, and trinkets of all sorts.
We then crossed over to The Ladies Market - don't be deceived by the name, this market has something for everyone. There are lots of toys and gadgets, and new inventions, some of which were amazing to see.
It was then on to The Jade Market where there are over 400 stalls selling necklaces and trinkets from this rare green stone. We think most of them were genuine.
After leaving this market we came across another market not mentioned on our route at all. This was a fruit, vegetable and meat market for locals, and we were the only tourists amongst hundreds of people. We could not believe the sights that we saw, especially the outside pork and poultry butchers. There was parts of the animal hanging up for sale that we had a job to identify. (all dishes from last night have now been established). On this very hot and humid day we were quite glad to leave behind the aromas that this market produced, but it was great fun just watching the local people at work, and trying to identify some of the fruits and vegetables on sale. Tescos will never be the same again. Visiting these markets is another MUST DO in Hong Kong.
We have been blessed with magnificent weather since we arrived in Hong Kong. It has been very hot and humid, and we are very grateful for all the air conditioning in shops and our hotel.
Comments
Add your comments
