We didn't get to bed until almost 1 this morning so when I woke up about 10 I didn't want to wake Peter up just yet. He never sleeps that great and in the 13 years we've been married he has always tossed and turned all night. It wasn't until about a year and half ago, when we bought our Tempurpedic mattress, that he actually started sleeping more soundly. The bed in our hotel leaves much to be desired. It's a bit harder than we would like but at least it doesn't have springs sticking into our backs or sagging areas in it. When we did finally get around and moving we ate a granola bar from the snacks we had brought with us and got ready for our day. We left about 1 and the first thing we did was stop to eat. I was feeling a little adventurous so I persuaded
Peter to stop at a Chinese restaurant that had absolutely no English and no pictures of the food offered. It was quite the experience but we knew that this was the real deal and definitely authentic Chinese food. One of the ladies saw us come in and I am sure knew right away we didn't belong so she sat us and tried to take our order. She didn't speak English but somehow I managed to order Won Taun Soup for myself and noodles with chicken for Peter. The food was really good, I thought, and filled us right up. There was a lot of it too so we weren't able to finish it all.
The weather today was a little warmer but with the wind you wouldn't know it. I was still freezing. Our first stop of the day was the Jade Market.
We took a train or two and ended up in Kowloon where the markets are. Last time we came to Hong Kong we hit the Jade Market right as it was closing and everyone was packing up. We got to see a little bit of what it was all about but we didn't spend any time actually shopping there. This time while I was reading in my Lonely Planet book I found out that the Jade Market was actually two separate parts so we made sure we hit both sides today.
We had a great time but it is really kind of crazy. If you have every been to the straw markets in the Bahamas you may understand a little bit of what it is about. There are booths after booths of items, most are pretty much the same. Lots of Jade and several with pearls. Most sell necklaces, earrings and bracelets, some sell little statutes and ornaments. If you look at a booth the owner comes up right away to sell you something. If you touch something they are on top of you in an instant. They immediately start taking things out and apart to show you more. I always feel bad because I really just wanted to look and then make my decisions after I had seen everything. Everyone at a booth has a calculator and that is how they communicate with you. You touch something they put in a number and show you, then almost
immediately they clear it and put in a slightly lower number. Sometimes they will give you the calculator and you put in an offer and they will counter it. I really wanted a Jade Dragon Ball that consists of several levels of rings within each that is actually cut from one piece of jade. They are everywhere in China and several of the booths had them available. Peter went to work looking for the best price of those. They were about $350 HKD depending on who you asked but as soon as you turn to go to the next booth you are offered a lower price. Peter actually got one lady down to $70 HKD though she started at $350. That was the best price he found so he paid and she wrapped it up. I was looking for jade crosses to give away to some of my friends but couldn't find any that weren't on a necklace. I just wanted the piece alone. Finally I found a couple at a booth and asked if the lady had more. She immediately started searching and going through things then said, "follow me" and took me to a booth on the other side of the building. I asked her several times how much for one but she kept asking me how many
I was going to buy. I told her I didn't know and wanted to know how much each one was, she didn't completely understand but, like everyone else, she said "you buy more, you get discount." I ended up picking out 20 pieces, thinking of the people I could off the top of my head but then adding a few extras for ones I couldn't think of right now. When I showed her what I wanted she took out her calculator and did a few things then came up with a number close to $6,000! Haha, I don't think so. Peter and I immediately stood up and said no way. I tried to explain to her that I had no idea they were that expensive and I was only going to give them away as little gifts. I told her I had asked how much one was and that I wasn't given an answer so I didn't know. She tried to give me another price well over $5,000 and I said no and tried to leave but she grabbed ahold of my arm and when I tried to get away she held tighter. It was really hard trying to talk to her when we couldn't understand each other's languages. I asked how much one was and she told me $680 Yuan (Mainland Chinese currency) which meant nothing to me. She asked how much we wanted to pay for one. I told her that I thought they would be maybe $20 HKD each and that is why I had asked initially how much each one was. She laughed and said no and gave us another lower number way above the price we would ever pay. I told her repeatedly that I was sorry for wasting her time but we really had no idea that it would be so much and we couldn't pay that. I tried to leave but every time she would grab my arm. She asked how much we would pay for all and Peter said $200 ($10 each) HKD. She said no and we said that was fine and tried to leave but she wouldn't let us. We went back and forth a bunch of times and finally she said how much for 10 and we said $100. She said fine (her mom, I think, was in the booth across the way and was helping someone else but I could tell that she was also telling her daughter to make a sale) and started to bag them up, then she said how about 4 more for $150 total? I said okay but as she was bagging them she said, "how about all for $200 (the same thing we had said 10 minutes ago) and we said sure. So in the end we walked away with the 20 pieces I wanted initially for $200 HKD when she had originally quoted us almost $6,000 HKD. It really makes me wonder how much each piece actually costs them and how often tourist pay the initial super high price they are quoted. Okay, so I had finally gotten the crosses I wanted and I had picked up a couple bracelets that had little beads of white and green jade on them that I planned to take apart and make ornaments with some old Chinese coins I had purchased at Stanley. That was another thing. There was a stand selling the beads (little ring type pieces) for $10 HKD a piece. There were lots of booths that had bracelets with the same beads on them and after haggling a bit I bought 3 different bracelets with 20 beads on them each for $40 HKD total. What I didn't realize last time we came was that the people at the booths make all the items themselves. While they aren't helping anyone out they sit and piece together the jewelry on strings and bands. It's pretty cool to see. There was one lady at a booth who spoke English really well and I found myself wanting to talk to her. I realized that it had been over a week since I was able to have a real conversation with anyone (other than Peter of course). It also made me realize and understand the importance of community better. I didn't buy anything from her but she tried to sell me something for $350, she said her boss wasn't there so she could give it to me for $330. Then she said "It's Happy New Year"- the Chinese New Year was last week- so she could do $305. I said no thank you and that I was just looking but by the time I walked away she was offering whatever it was to me for $100. When we had first walked in I saw a necklace that I really liked so when we had been through the whole market we went back to that first booth. The lady remembered me and brought the same piece out again for me. I liked it just as much as I did the first time I saw it so I picked up a couple bracelets for the girls and another necklace for me and a bracelet for me. We went through all the prices of each piece and the deal I could get for all of them or just a couple and so on. Peter knows me well and knows that I have no problem dropping money on someone else but I really struggle with buying things for myself. Peter had wandered off to look for uncut jade pieces for guitar inlays and came back as
I was trying to pick apart the pieces I had chosen and trying to decide which items I had picked for me to put back. He stopped me and bought them all from the lady. He told me I needed to get things for myself and stop buying for everyone else. He's so sweet to me. Finally we went back to the other market where Peter had seen some uncut pieces. While he was looking at those and talking prices I went to find a wrap and little pendant made of purple jade that everyone had at their stands. I love purple but people were asking $360 or so for this little piece. At that stand I ended up buying a string of pearls, the purple pendant and a bracelet wrap for myself-again-thanks to my husband.
So we exhausted the jade market and had fun doing it. We came out with some good trinkets and souvenirs. In the market I wasn't cold but once we left and were out in the wind I had to bundle up again. Peter wanted some coffee so we made our daily trip to Starbucks where we sat and warmed up and I had some hot chocolate. Our next stop was to find a Foot Reflexology place and get a good cheap massage. Just about everywhere you go in Hong Kong you see neon signs with a foot outline on them that say "massage" or "foot reflexology". After all the walking we have been doing over the last week or so our feet were in need of a good pampering. We only went down one street and found a sign so we climbed a
dark and shady staircase that came from the street level and found the massage sign outside of a door. We hit the bell and a lady answered who didn't speak any English. We said massage and pointed to our feet and she told us to sit down. There were at least three ladies in the place, none spoke English, but two went to work getting hot water for our feet to soak and then they got the oils and started the massage. Peter and I determined that this was the people's home and we were in, what we would consider the, living room. I was sitting just next to the door we came in from and from where I sat I could see into a small room that had a bathroom on the other side. There was a hallway between Peter and my chairs but the living room only had one more chair and some foot stools and a tv on the wall. While we were getting our massage a man came and from what I gathered asked for a normal massage. He was directed to go down the hallway between Peter and I and then came out in just shorts (possibly boxers) and then went to a room next to the bathroom where we could hear him take a shower. When he was through he walked back through the living room and the third girl went to assist him. It was all very strange for Peter and I and by far the most unusual thing we have done on our trip. On one hand I said that it doesn't get more real than that but on the other hand I said, we could totally die there and no one would ever know. But to be fair, that's really any place in Hong Kong. Our massage was 50 minutes for $98 HKD so Peter paid the lady when we were through and we were on our way. Our feet felt so much better and we survived the really shady massage place.
Now that it was getting dark people were setting up for the night street markets. Peter and I had a ton of fun last time we came coming through the markets and bargaining to make good deals (at least in our minds). The Ladies Market was one of the things we were really looking forward to doing this time around. On our way to the busier Ladies Market we hit the Temple Street Night Market which I don't think we did last time. We had a good time going booth to booth and the busyness kept me warm from the wind. When we hit the end of part of the market we took a turn to get some street food. We weren't really sure what we were looking at (we are pretty used to that by now) so Peter asked what things were and we got a couple skewers of chicken (we made sure to avoid the chicken kidneys though)
and ate them as we walked. I assume since it was Saturday the streets were busier than usual but maybe it is that crazy and crowded every night. Things were really tight but we managed to find our way to other markets and checked out everything. Lots of times things aren't marked and the people in the booth tell you how much it is after they have looked you up and down and determined what they may be able to get away with. Peter and I never take the first price and after we offer a lower one if they counter we just start to walk away, they always call us back and give us the price we quoted. I bought two purses this time around and the lady told us $600 but we walked away with them for $200 HKD. They say usually you can get 20-30%
off the original quote price but Peter and I often get 50% or more depending on the item. When you go from booth to booth before buying much and getting an idea of what people are willing to sell for you can then go back to buy things and are able to strike a better deal. Some places don't budge on their price and you really have to determine how much you are willing to spend on the item before you get into the whole bidding war. The more you buy at one stand the better the price will be.
We went to every tent and stand and then back again. Peter got a couple shirts and I got a couple dresses. I found a couple fans for the girls but really we didn't buy much more than that. When we are buying things we also have to be mindful of our packing space. We don't check luggage when we travel so that limits us to only our two carry on bags each. We aren't quite sure how we will manage to cram it all in our bags but I think we bought more bulky items the last time we visited and we somehow got it all to fit.
Since we did buy that one art piece in Stanley we will have to mail that home but it is rolled up in a tube since we didn't want the frame as we knew we couldn't get that home. During one of the walks from the markets to the other markets we stopped to get something else to eat. During our first day trip when we went to Ngong Ping I saw a magnet shaped oddly and had no clue what it was. I asked the lady who worked at the shop what it was and she said it was "Egg Waffle, a big specialty in Hong Kong". I had never seen that before so I told Peter would have to try it. Sure enough there were several street food shops selling it so I asked to get one which was only $8 HKD,
just over $1 USD. It was nice and warm which excited me and Peter and I shared it. It did taste like thin waffles that were just shaped like bubbles but all stuck together on a sheet. We finished them up and were still hungry so we got some more chicken skewers. Next door they also had the Egg Waffles but they were selling them for $13, must be on a busier street. After we had our fill of food and shopping we decided we were beat and needed to get back to the hotel. Peter checked the time and it was already after 11:00. When we got back to our room it was only a few minutes before midnight but since it was Saturday we decided to call the kids via FaceTime at home. It was great to see them all get to talk to them. We really miss them and so many things we see or do remind us of them. Things they would like or enjoy, things other kids do that is like one of our children, or just reading in the guide book and knowing the children would like to do that.
Even things like our feet hurting remind us of why we didn't bring them but makes us miss them all the same. Tomorrow I think we won't be doing much of anything as we are exhausted and could use a day off.
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