The first day of travelling with my parents in HK is over. It got off to a rocky start with dad throwing a tantrum at the walking pace as we hunted down somewhere to eat last night. Mum put him in his place though. We found a place to eat however they had no cutlery. Dad slurped his noodles with a spoon, while my BBQ duck and pork with rice was easily consumed using chopsticks. Even mum who professes no ability with chopsticks, managed to eat when faced with no other choice.
Dad likes all kinds of antiquated forms of transport, so we boarded a tram. He nearly took out half the locals on the tram as he lost his balance. I had to duck as the ceiling height of a HK tram is less than 6″. Mum and I now refuse to travel on a tram due to the lack of practicality of using them.
After the tram fiasco we went looking for the Stanley st camera stores. I was there back about 10 years ago and it hasn’t changed much. A small little street with a few camera stores. They were all closed today on a Sunday.
We then caught the ferry across the harbour and a train up through Kowloon to visit the various markets. First stop was the flower market, followed by my favourite being the bird markets. Think of quaint little bird cages and singing birds with old chinese men. I’d have bought a cage just for the sheer craftsmenship of the cage, but alas getting it home would be an issue.
We also discovered the goldfish markets followed by the hustle and bustle of the ladies market, where everyone had a special price for me. I haggled for a mahjong set. She started at $500HK and was dropping slowly. Dad said $380 and she came down to $420. I tried to walk out and she asked what price you pay. I said $350, at which point the lady thought dads offer of $380 was good, to which I said no, he is old and not so smart. She then went to $360, which I accepted. A local said I got it at a very good price for a foreigner. Mum isn’t a fan of haggling but still made some wise purchases. Dad however seemed to love bargaining. Although he didn’t accept the 2 watches for $100HK after she started at $450.
By now all our feet were aching and a couple of rides on the metro and a short but painful walk back to the hotel earnt a well earned rest where I taught mum how to play Mahjong, the proper way.
