kowloon

we spent our second full day in hong kong across victoria harbor in a part of the city called kowloon. first stop was the hong hong temple. i have wanted to see this building my whole life! it was so wonderful to come around the corner, after getting off the subway and walking through the pouring rain, and see the golden angel moroni atop the temple. jane and i were able to participate in an endowment session (which was in chinese) and sit together in the celestial room. it was – celestial.
   IMG_7831 IMG_7835
it seemed like the further away we got from hong kong island, the less westernized our surroundings were. after the temple we went deeper into kowloon towards the markets, and jane was kind to follow me on my hunt for a really authentic dim sum lunch. i loved feeling a little more immersed in what felt like “china” as we worked through the streets looking for a recommended restaurant.
IMG_7839IMG_7907
after a bit of an adventure, we found the restaurant, and proceeded to be quite the spectacle as the only white people or english speakers in the place. i loved it. we somehow ordered some food, which turned out to be pretty gnarly (even though we ordered by far the most “normal” things on the menu – maybe we should have gone for the chicken feet or pig innards?…). it was awesome.
IMG_6403 IMG_6408IMG_6410
after lunch, we explored the many, many markets in kowloon (we saw so much, but i think we still missed about half of the markets). i love markets so this was a really fun afternoon for me.
first up was the flower market, which went on for blocks and blocks. i think these are about a third of my pictures – i couldn’t stop snapping because there were so many gorgeous colors and textures blooming everywhere! in addition to blossoms there were succulents and bonsai trees and lots of tacky fake and/or fresh flower arrangements. it was amazing!
IMG_6417IMG_7852IMG_7863IMG_7857IMG_7860IMG_6422IMG_6415IMG_6427IMG_7865IMG_7867
next we checked out the bird market. there were gorgeous birdcages for sale, as well as food for birds (live grasshoppers in a bag!) and then the colorful birds themselves!
IMG_6451IMG_6450IMG_7895IMG_7889IMG_7896IMG_7888IMG_6465IMG_7892
a friend of jane’s that had lived in hong kong for many years told us we must try the egg tarts sold at the various bakeries around the markets. she suggested her favourite place, supremecake. i tried a coconut milk egg white tart and a coconut flesh egg tart. i honestly have been thinking about those delicious, delicious tarts several times a day ever since. yum.
IMG_7873
we walked through the open air food market and bought some huge asian pears. i loved the colors and energy and action of it all.
IMG_6468 IMG_7908IMG_6473
around the corner we found the goldfish market! there were huge walls of bags of fish all the way down the road.
IMG_7919 IMG_7921IMG_7928IMG_7923
then we walked down to a long street packed with tall stands called “ladies market.” we got some fake mark jacobs bags and toms shoes after some pretty stellar bargaining.
IMG_7935IMG_6487
our last market stop (can you believe all these markets? i was in heaven) was the jade market, which was a little bit of a walk. on the way there we passed lots of food stalls with really interesting and outrageously bad smelling foods as the neon lights started to flicker on for the night. the jade market was stuffed with all kinds of jewelry.
IMG_7929IMG_7945IMG_7951IMG_7958IMG_7953
after dinner, we went to see this breathtaking view from the kowloon promenade:
IMG_6499IMG_6536
there is a super cheesy and fantastic light show every night, and we got to sit there right on the water, mesmerized. it is pretty amazing how everything is orchestrated – the lights on the bank of china building totally dance to the music! 
IMG_6564IMG_6571
we got gelato and took the star ferry back across the harbor.
what an amazing day!

Comments

  1. Hi charity, I came from Shawni's blog. I have a really random question for you: do you know the best way to get from union square San Fran to the oakland temple via Bart or any mass transit (no car). A few friends of mine are meeting in San Fran this Wednesday and we can't find online how to get to the temple from the city. Help! (if you can). Thanks mucho!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Caitilin - I don't have an email for you and Blogger won't let me access your profile - so I hope you check back here! I know there is a bus you can take from the BART station that gets you pretty close to the temple. My google map (if you have an iPhone, you can put it in google maps and then click the bus icon and it will tell you how to get anywhere on public transit) says you can take BART to 19th Street Oakland and then take bus #18 (San Pablo & Marin toward Moraga & Mountain) and get off at Park Blvd, then walk up Park Blvd to Lincoln Ave. I'm so sorry - I've never done it via public transport. If you want, email me (charityeyre@gmail.com) and I can help more. Also, I am working on my guide to San Francisco for this blog! And I can pass on a draft :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Meanwhile....this is a truly amazing post! Could you two have had more fun!? So awesome!

    What a photographer you are! And dripping with passion!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are fantastic! Thanks for the info. I've plugged it into my iPhone. Any great places we must eat? Best beach for pics of ggb? This is a mothers day trip for us and we can't wait to "talk motherhood" in a different city! Just wish power of moms had the bay area retreat this week! Bummah! Take care and thanks again! Oh and I'm the daughter of some of your parents old friends from Dc days: Doug and Colleen curran. Say hi to your parents! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Caitilin - send me an email, okay?

    ReplyDelete
  6. These pictures are amazing. And I love your dress. What an incredible trip!!! I'm feeling an urge to hop an a plane myself!

    ReplyDelete
  7. going to the Hong Kong temple is one of my life dreams! So happy for you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment