Destination Hong Kong :: Two

Today’s posting is a little bit longer, mostly because of all the flowers! As you all might know by now, I am a bit of a flower fiend. If you don’t, well, you can go check out my Romantic Blooms series here!

I only had a few extra days to do a bit of touring, so I tried to plan my time well and see some things that were important to me. A few of those happened to be the markets in the Mongkok area of Hong Kong. The Flower Market, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden and Goldfish Market were all in the same area, which was perfect ~ so I hit all three in the same day. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed in the Flower Market ~ I was expecting something completely different….some exotic things, a bit more bustling and more like a wholesaler sort of idea but a whole block of pretty colours, shapes and sizes was good enough for me. Most of the flowers were imported from elsewhere and a lot of blooms were things we get here in Vancouver. Still some neat things, nonetheless, like the heart-shaped cactus and those crazy pitcher-type of plants!

Right next door was the bird garden, which was more like a garden-block of men selling beautiful birds of all sizes in these little cages. Felt a little sad about that part. There were also owners that would bring their birds to the park and sit amongst the cacophony of tweets and twitters while making conversation with passers-by. Seemed like a good social thing to do. The songs of some of the birds were amazing and mesmerizing.

A few more blocks away was the fish market. Here, not many photographs were taken, mostly because the shopkeepers forbid it.

This day was topped off with a boat tour of Victoria Harbor on the iconic Star Ferry, a stroll along the Tsim Tsa Tsui Promenade and an iced Starbucks coffee overlooking the water as the sun went down and the city lights got brighter. It was an incredible day!

I was also happy to be able to hit another gem in the city, The Peak, which is accessible by road or by tram. The Garden Peak tram is such a remarkable piece of history and while sitting in its wooden seats, I just couldn’t help but marvel that it’s still in working order, after 120 years of operation. The grade is ridiculous and it brings you to the loveliest area that is lush, full of trails, has spectacular views (when it’s not misty), with well-manicured gardens and impressive homes. I spent a great deal of time here too ~ I found the area refreshing to be in, the air seemed a bit cooler and wandering on the trails for a few hours was very welcome. It remained misty and a little dark all day, which was fine by me. I got caught in a monsoon downpour and hid under a gazebo for 15 minutes until the rain passed. There is definitely something very cool about being caught in a rain so heavy and so warm that you don’t need to bundle up for it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these! If you have, please feel free to leave me a note below! I’d love to hear from you!