Mong Kok

After going out last night for some food and a drink, I came back and met an Australian guy called Anthony in the entrance to the guest house. He's been to Hong Kong regularly as he grew up here and has roots and family here. He was staying with his brother and his brothers girlfriend. We went out for a drink at the pub next door and then went wandering round the shops and looking for places to eat (i'd eaten but they hadn't). They're really nice people and we arranged to meet up again this morning to go to Mong Kok. This is where all the seriously busy street markets take place and some real bargains can be had if you are prepared to haggle. Anthony warned me though that the area is filled with pickpockets and opportunist criminals so extra vigilance was required with bags, wallets and belongings. Certainly Anthony and Adrian were able to help me bargain loads as they are both fluent in Cantonese - this made driving down prices a marvel to watch, getting goods at up to 50% below the asking price.

The guys live on the Gold Coast in Australia, so i think we'll keep in touch so that we can visit each other when i get there. It'll be nice having contacts there who can advise me what to see and what not to see, and I think this could be a long standing friendship considering how well we all get on after a couple of days.

I don't think i could have anticipated the size of the market itself - it was truly phenominal, and we only actually managed to cover a fraction of the market in 3 hours of continuous shopping before we had to get back to meet Anthony and Adrians mum who was coming in from China to meet them. The markets pretty much constutute knock-off brand names and tourist type memorabilia, but there are some bargains to be had as the art of imitation has not been lost in China - most goods are reasonable quality and I got a few more presents for people back home.

Another thing that once again caught my eye was the architecture and methods of construction. It's amazing to think that the scaffolding used to build such vast structures is actually made using custom length bamboo rods tied with nylon cord. It's obviously an art form in itself as it seems really sturdy when you see the workers themselves working on it, but it seems completely foreign to the heavily regulated methods used in the west.

Tonight I think i'll be taking in a movie and possibly going out to visit the Victoria Peak at night to get some photos.