Day 289, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China
First things first, we found ourselves a taste of coffee in Hong Kong. We are in a residential area, but one very close to some huge shopping centers. The first thing we noticed is that the day does not seem to begin early. The Starbucks opened at 7:30, and even then, we were the only ones there. A few more people trickled in after 8. The malls open at 10 or 11.
The only places which are open in the morning before 10 am are little bakeries. They have a number choices of white bread concoctions. The type of bread here is like the cheaper dinner buns we have in the States, but slightly sweeter. So it’s always white Wonderbread like, and then they will add something like a hotdog or a slice of salami. These little bakeries are a flurry of activity and have a directional flow to them, and people aren’t impressed with if you mess it up. You grab a small round tray and some tongs on the way in, lift up the plastic doors, flip some stuff onto your tray, go the counter in pay. The average person gets this done in under 15 seconds. I got pretty good at it, too. If you’re going to look, you have to stand in places where you don’t get in the way, which is easier than it sounds.
We went to the grocery store to stock up on provisions. The British influence is apparent with salt and vinegar chips. We also did a Nutella sighting, so we’ll have to also get some of that. We found some of the girls’ favorite ramen, grabbed some fruit. Hong Kong has a great mix of Asian choices and also some European yummy options mixed in. Best of all worlds.
The malls here are insane. They are huge and showy and upscale. So is the advertising, always over the top. The Langham Mall had the most cavernous space I’ve ever seen, about 14 floors high. The ceiling of the huge atrium is lit up like a sunny blue sky with a few fluffy clouds floating by. I was wondering why I was finding it oh so mesmerizing, and realized we hadn’t seen blue sky since coming to Hong Kong. For all the days we were there, it was drizzly and cold.
This ceiling sky screen was easily the size of a football field, maybe two.
The escalators were the longest and tallest I’ve ever seen. Looking up from one.
Looking down at another.
The buildings first three or four stories are often filled with over-sized video screens, bombarding the senses with sound, color, and constant movement. The size of these screens and billboards were impressive, the length of entire buildings.
This large orange character hung over the middle of the street.
Back in our small two-bedroom apartment, we dug out the heater and turned it on full blast. The girls were catching up on school work, but with a great view of Hong Kong from their windows. When the rainy mist or smog or whatever it was cleared here and there, we could see all the way to downtown.
In the evening we went to grab a coffee at Starbucks. We especially enjoy drinking coffee from the countries we’ve visited.
We sat at the barista bar where they do pour-overs and French press and other more time-consuming cup of coffee creations. The barista talked to us while he made our Costa Rican pour overs, taking great pride in every stop. It was an enjoyable experience. 
Paul thought he’d make a quick trip to the bathroom when we left. He was given a key with a huge fob, like you used to get at those gas stations in remote areas, and told the bathroom was in the building next door. He took the huge Starbucks bathroom fob next door, which was a huge business sky-scraper with a large marble lobby. It felt a little like punked Hong Kong, but the cameras were missing. The security guard eventually ended his confusion by telling him the Starbucks john is on the 18th floor. Paul asked if he was kidding, the man facial expression assured him, he was not.
At the 18th floor he got off directly into a huge Amway office. Certain now that this was nothing short of a practical joke, he asked someone if the Starbucks bathroom was here, and they assured him it was. He walked through the office and found what he was looking for. This rates as one of our top 10 most interesting bathroom experiences.
Perhaps this sign that you see going into Starbucks would be more accurate if it read: Our Bathroom is About Exploration.
Next we went to what is locally known as the Ladies’ Market. This is a portable market that goes on for blocks and blocks, winding it’s way through this part of town. The remarkable part of this market is that cars drive down this road during the day.
Here the tarps and scaffolding are placed on the side of the road.
Here the market it open during the day…
and goes on late in to the night.
The stalls are all the same size. But what they do to maximize their modest footprint, is to build up. It’s so very Hong Kong, really. Everything is so vertical, why not the markets, too? So each stall has extremely high walls, on which their merchandise can be displayed. So you spend most of your time trying not to bump into strangers while looking up all around you. We never made it to the end of this long, long market, but it entertained us for many blocks. I liked seeing both ends of the shopping spectrum in Hong Kong.