I had a stopover in Hong Kong for a couple of days. The weather was delightfully cool, great for walking all over this amazing city.
10 minutes walk downhill from where I stayed is Hong Kong Park, a good place to start.
I have walked through the park dozens of times, but I came upon a cute little pond with a collection of frog sculptures for the first time.
Beside the frogs I thought I spied a turtle basking in the sun.
He turned out to be a sculpture too. I watched for ages for him to move, then I spotted other very still turtles nearby.
The fish are real, but not the turtles, but they are incredibly lifelike.
I took the tram to the Peak. It is years since I have been to the top and everything has changed. The view from the observatory is still spectacular ( despite the smog )
But the quaint old fashioned market place has been replaced with a multilevel shopping centre.
I visited the tiny temple in Peel Street, where people can duck in quickly to light a candle or burn incense.
From here it was back to Hollywood Rd and the antique shops. The stunning Man Mo temple is here too. It looks ancient, but was built in 1847.
On the way back to the city centre I passed this interestingly named restaurant.
I wonder who Joyce was, and where she went.
I walked through the central markets. I love fresh food markets. Most of the produce I recognised.
…but some I did not.
These fairly unattractive things were about the size of large grapes…any ideas?
I think these may be mangosteens, but I am not sure.
These are salted duck eggs.
Any suggestions?
The fish was very fresh, some of the poor things were still jumping.
The display in the meat section left a bit to be desired…a trip to Italy might help the vendors. The lack of flair didn’t stop the customers, the stands were all busy.
Down in Pedder St the lovely old Shanghai Tang building is now Abercrombie and Fitch…there are some compensations.
I thought I should go inside to share the delights with you.
It is about to be the year of the snake, but only a few displays have appeared. I quite liked this one.
I find bamboo scaffolding amazing. There is lots of it around the city.
It must be strong and safe, but I don’t see too many safety harnesses.
Hong Kong is food heaven. You can eat excellent food in any style you like. It is difficult to choose where to go.
Sevva at the top of the Princes building is a favourite. The lighting was too low to show you my dosa, but it is worth going to Sevva for the gorgeous setting alone.
My favourite meal was at Roka in Pacific Place. My black cod was too delicious for words, and the grilled eggplant with ginger and mirren…I wished I could keep eating it forever.
There was time to visit my favourite shop in Landmark, Dries Van Noten.
…and watch an event at Bulgari with a very important person…I had no idea who she was, but she was very popular.
I did like that snake necklace.
Soon it was time to head off for Helsinki. Goodbye Hong Kong until next time.
