Another trip back to Shanghai from Taipei via Hong Kong today. On the map, it looks like it would have taken not more than one and a half hours direct, but we had to transit in Hong Kong instead. Taking half a day. So what I usually do is to stop over in Hong Kong for a day trip eating and window shopping. This time it was strange. I was on the way to Ocean Terminal to look for a shop and hopped on the bus to Hung Hom Bay instead. What was I thinking? Darn GPS didn’t get any signal, and when I did pinpoint my location, I didn’t have enough points on my mapless eTrex Vista to know where I was, but at least I knew which direction to walk. Half an hour later I ended up at the KCR station tired. Hungry, so went for a standard rice with roast pork and steamed chicken. Hmmm… Nice. Photo below is a later snack at 5pm with a bowl of wontan noodle… Can never visit Hong Kong without having one.
After that lunch, there was no time to waste. Jumped into a HK Taxi at the KCR after having to go through a couple of propaganda from the Falun Dafa guys, hanging posters all over the taxi queue. It was time to go to Mongkok, time to look for some outdoor equipment (was in the market for Pacsafe’s security netting for backpacks) and Supreme Co for some 5.11 items again. Did find my netting, but nothing else. Almost walked away with a new Gore Tex jacket but I think I can survive in the cold and wet well enough with my current jacket. So it was a No Go.
The tip of Tsim Tsa Tsui was next. Had to stop over at my favourite Tin Cheung Camera shop at Carnavon St, accessible a short walk away from exit A from TTT MTR station. Had to stop over to look at some used Leica cameras. The prices there are too high to buy, and I guess I realised why. When I was there the shop was full of mainland chinese. There were this two old men looking at new Leica lenses and Billingham bags. As usual, the tactic in China is to complain that everything is expensive and that the shop next door is cheaper. Then they would go on asking for the price of another item and the same reaction. But these guys were definitely one of the ones with money to spare, and they had shopping bags full of luxury goods. Why would a couple of old septuagenarian be holding paper bags from popular handbag brands? However, they did walk away with a Leica D-Lux and a Billingham bag. I enquired the price of an M7, MP, and a 35mm Summicron ASPH and left.
Then it was time for a last noodle before going to Peninsula Hotel to take the K3 bus back to the Airport Express train back to HKIA. On the shuttle bus I came across this strange sight. Essentially, in a construction site, the engineers seemed to have uprooted a tree, placed it on a high platform and continued construction.
nangka.org 