Shopping Hong Kong's street markets: orchids, goldfish, jade, and dim sum

February 5, 4:12 PMAlbuquerque International Travel ExaminerKristin Carlson

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Odds and ends.  From Sumi brushes and old books to jade bracelets and piglets in every color. Photo by Kristin Carlson.

To break up what was a surprisingly exciting month of work within Hong Kong's biggest shopping center, my husband and I set ourselves a demanding routine:  Wake up at sunrise, walk and run sweating through the thick summer air to experience the city, and still appear at our venue on-time before noon to put in a 9-hour day. 

A mall in Hong Kong is nothing like you've ever seen in the US; it puts the Mall of America to great and unending shame.  Langham Place is located at the junction of all main subway lines in the bustling Kowloon district- a place where you may see fewer than 5 Brits and no one else of any European descent in 4 weeks' time.  The mall itself is a glorious 16 floors of luxury shopping, eating, theater, and music spiraling up and around an open glass atrium- with escalators stretching 5 or 10 stories at a time.  This is all topped off by another 40+ stories of offices and a balcony with the best view in the city other than The Peak. 

At the bird market: The most expensive are those
with the loveliest voices. Photo by Kristin Carlson.

However, the most interesting shopping we saw was on our walk from the hotel.  How much, exactly, can you pack into a mile?  Shopping in the street, it seemed, was divided into neat, precise categories.  Blocks at a time of all variants of a single item were at our disposal: goldfish here, orchids there, jade bracelets down the way. There are no better places for incredible photographs.
 

Bug eaters. Pitcher plants for sale at the flower market.
Photo by Kristin Carlson.

We found a small park filled with thousands of elaborately carved teak cages and more kinds of songbirds than we had seen in the city's aviary.  You can even get your fortune told by a bird after you enjoy your dim sum.  Clusters of outdoor stalls sold nothing but flowers and tropical plants: potted orchids, lilies, and bonsais; curling bamboo stems stuck into tubs of water; bug-eating pitcher plants trailing over display carts; bursting wedding and graduation arrangements in yellow, white, purple, red, pink, and orange.  The ladies’ market presented luggage and purses, while the men’s boasted sportswear, athletic shoes, and cell phones.  There were carved trinkets, antiques, and jewelry at the jade market, and hundreds upon hundreds of live fish dangling in plastic baggies in the goldfish sector.  Here is an amusing goldfish video, which gives a pretty accurate feel for being there.
 

Fish in a bag. Goldfish of all shapes and sizes,
pre-baggied for quicker take-home feng shui.
Photo by Kristin Carlson.

The street vendors set up and tear down their wares during daylight hours, every day.  Of course, there are two exceptions.  If you need any sort of LED light- be it flashing, strobing, chasing, blinking- in any color known to man, there’s an electronics market for that.  Or, go to what is simply called “The Night Market” for fried food, costumed opera singers, fortune tellers, unknown animal parts simmering in pots that can only be described as blood volcanoes, and a wide array of dildos, socks, and sex toys for sale after dark. 
 

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