Rick's Roadshow: Hong Kong, Day 2

Rick's Roadshow from Hong Kong resumes with Day 2. I thought I'd share a few quick facts about Hong Kong: In total it consists of 426 square miles from Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. Most of Hong Kong's land is full of hills and some steep mountains so less than 25% of the territory's land is actually developed; Kowloon the most densely developed part. Hong Kong has pretty decent mass-transit options, such as MTR subway, Hong Kong Tramways, Star Ferry, and double decker buses. Although I did a **LOT** of walking, I had no trouble using the subway or ferry at all. In fact they were quite efficient. I had a number of business appointments most of the day yesterday, so I relied mainly on the subway and ferry to get around. Yesterday we had a level 3 typhoon, typical for this time of year I am told. The scale is 1 to 8, with 8 being really bad I guess. Mainly we just had a ton of heavy rain. Here is what it looked like in the morning when I took the ferry to Kowloon:

above: The Kowloon Bay was very froggy when the ferry was crossing it. The rain was coming down quite hard the entire time.

above: On my way to an afternoon appointment I planned a side bar to check out a temple. This is the gate to the Tin Hai Temple in Kowloon.

above: the garden leading to Tin Hau Temple

above: Tin Hau Temple itself.

above: I tried to go in the temple, but there was some sort of ceremony going on so I just stayed out front instead.

above: the back of the Temple has a little waterway with mini-bridges. Check out the wall with the Chinese Dragons on it.

above: Here is a close up of those Chinese Dragons on the wall...

above: In the temple's reflection park, a group of men gathered together having just left the temple.

above: Later in the day while walking Kowloon on foot, I found a few different farmers markets type places. Mainly they had the usual fare...but a few unusual things popped up too...

above: OK so I recognize the grapes, but WHAT are the red is things behind them (top left in photo)?

above: and WHAT are the puple-ish things in the lower left of this photo?

above: the market stalls also featured a variety of roots and dry goods too.

above: ah, some fruit I recognize!

above: this kitty was busy protecting her fruit stand!

above: the markets also had interesting drinks, like these: Sugar Cane juice, Sago drink and Papaya drink.

above: and of course, they had the gross butcher stuff hanging right out in the open. Blech.

above: later in the day I made my way to the famous Jade Market to try to find some decent quality jade at good prices.

above: the entrance to Jade Market. Its really just a bunch of tent table stalls in a huge pen. There are some deals to be had, but you need to be careful not to buy cheap jade that has been colored. I suppose if you really want the highest grade jade, you need to go to reputable jeweler. But for the odd souvenir, the Jade Market suits its purpose!

above: I'm still not sure why, but Hong Kong is loaded with places offering foot massages. The signs are virtually on every corner in Kowloon.

above: it may be tough to see but there are three foot massage signs in this one photo alone.

above: the foot massages are based on reflexology (see chart above). Parts of our feet are connected to various part of our body, including vital organs. I broke down and got a foot massage. It was well worth it especially as I had been on my feet all day already.

above: earlier I mentioned how good the subway is here. This is not just a photo of the subway map. Its how you buy tickets. All you need to do is tap the station you are going to and it spits out a ticket for you. Pretty cool, huh?

above: Cakes Galore. I took this photo just for Empress Bee of the High Seas...

above: and finally...just one of the many hip and trendy clubs in Hong Kong. This is on the Hong Kong side, and was close to my hotel. I like how they blend the traditional elements with contemporary design.
Well Thursday night I leave Hong Kong and head to my next destination: Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I'll try to post again from Hong Kong, it just depends on how much work I have to do on Thursday. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by.
-Rick Rockhill