At the airport in San Fran, I was asking myself why I was traveling 14 hours away for vacation to a place in a different time zone. In case we haven’t met, the answer is simple. I want to see as much as the world as I can. My desire to travel is huge. While I have the time, money, and resources, I will go. When I retire, I may end up being on a fixed income or my ability to be mobile might decline. I don’t know. What I do know is that I must “work while it is day…the night cometh.” Okay, that was a paraphrase.
Plus, I can completely unplug from the Matrix!
I was thinking about my life. I am very grateful and thankful. I have made some bad choices, and those choices could have ended up worst than they did. I was thinking how different life could be if I hadn’t made those choices. But the truth is choices good and bad make us who we are. I have to belief I am who I am supposed to be.
I should tell you a little more about Canton Road and the mall. Any name brand you can think of has a store. Dior. Prada. Chanel. You name it; there is a store. It’s quite overwhelming. As you walk down the street people are offering you foot massage services and tailoring services. It’s hectic.
I ended up taking the subway from Tsim Sha Tsui to the Prince Edward Station. Every time I hear “Please mind the gap,” I smile. My goal was to get to Boundary Street and walk down Nathan Street to get back home. I would venture off to other streets to see things along the way. When I exited onto Nathan Street at the Prince Edward Station, I was in Hong Kong. Not the Hong Kong of Tsim Sha Tsui, but the real Hong Kong. I thought to myself, you are not in Kansas anymore. I forgot my water, and I had to get some water and the teller told me the amount in Chinese. It made me smile.
Anyway, I started at Boundary Street and made my way back. This street marked the border between British Hong Kong and China from 1860 to 1898. In 1898 the border was moved to include the New Territories for a 99-year lease that ended in 1997. It was of interest to see. Nothing earth shattering, but interesting. I may sign up for a day tour up to the New Territories.
I walked through the Flower Market to get to the Bird Garden, which was kind of sad to see all those birds in cages. It wasn’t quite what I expected. The guidebook said that locals take their birds there for fresh air. So, I was thinking of a park where people take their pets for air. It seemed to me that it was a place that mostly sold birds, but the guidebook made it sound like that was a small part of the novelty of the place. The birds were confined but singing so prettily. It reminded me of the sad song of Sirens. It was interesting to see the free birds there eating food from the edges of the cages.
I then walked back through the Flower Market and gave it some attention. It reminded me that I need to start buying flowers once a week for myself. There were some very pretty flowers. I then walked down Nathan Street and took in the sights and went down side streets that looked interesting. I took a lot of pictures of buildings that looked interesting. I realize that I take lots of building pictures when I travel, but they do tell a story. People’s lives are often displayed in their laundry and open windows. It’s hard to resist peaking in. Buildings also have character. Even ones that are seemingly in decay have a poetic sense of survival.
I walked through the Fa Yuen Street Market, which is part of the Ladies Market. There were streets of vendors sellings things from fruits, vegetables, meat, clothes, etc. I love taking pictures of the stalls, but try to be mindful that the vendors might now want to be in my photos so I try to aim for their goods.
I then cut over to Shanghai Street and walked through some of the Reclamation Street Markets, which had a lot of foodstuff. One of the markets was called Yau Ma Tei Market. I also went to the Jade Market. Basically, there were a lot of markets. It was fun to watch people haggle prices and go about their lives. Having suffered through the tourist at the Market at home, I try to be mindful of things that bother me. Like stopping in the middle of the sidewalk oblivious to the fact that people have things to do.
What I noticed was around Jordan Street, I moved from Hong Kong Hong Kong to tourist Hong Kong. It was disappointing to once again see all the tourist trap stores. Funny how the guidebook had the Golden Mile as the number one thing to do in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon. Basically, it’s a bunch of stores for tourist to shop in, which I get. Tourism brings big money to cities.
I then spent some time in Kowloon Park, which was quite beautiful. There was a Chinese Garden, some sculptures, a bird sanctuary, tennis courts, a swimming pool, which I guess is a big cruising spot, and more. I totally love the Banyan Trees. Their trunks are so big and firm and their roots are firmly grounded. I did a lot yesterday and more than made up for the two days when I chill-axed.
I then returned to the hotel and read before going to dinner with Alice. We went to this Canton restaurant. Went home and read and then went to sleep.
Got up, read and then got ready and am now on the Internet. We leave for Macau tonight, and we will stay the night there. I am trying to figure out what I will do today before meeting Alice after work.
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