On the market.

Tuesday 22nd November 2016

I woke this morning still thinking of the meal we had last night.  I've had better tasting washing up water.  It was funny because we struggled through the first three courses before we both admitted that we weren't enjoying it.  There is more fish in a fish finger than there was in all the fish balls we had last night.  Our 'pudding' was almond tea with egg white.  I tried to convince myself it would be merangy! but no, it was like the whispy bits of egg white that failed to bind to a poached egg floating in a hot, thin liquid of sweet almond.  I couldn't eat it....and that is something coming from a self confessed glutton.

Anyway, so, here's the thing.....we managed a good sleep and decided that we would visit a nunnery and some markets.  Janice did some tai chi in the room.....

But I thought she was doing a Hong Kong Phooey impersonation. The peaceful Tai Chi turned to Kung Fu especially when I said 'Enter the Dragon'.

We travelled north on the train to Diamond a Hill.  The Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden were next to each other and were good to visit despite the 105% humidity (Janice called it Scottish Mist)!

It is not as old as it looks.  Initially opened in 1930 but completely rebuilt to traditional methods in 1998 without the use of any metal fixings.  It was very tranquil.  There were several polished rocks that displayed wise words of peace and fulfilment and other Buddhist stuff.  You can tell that I have a true sense of Khama or Dhama or whatever Buddhists do?

The Nan Lian Garden was pretty.  It had a picturesque Pagoda and nice ponds with Koi carp.

We called into a nice tea shop whilst the humidity got a bit heavy.

We caught the train again back as far as Mong Kok (no jokes please).  Apparently it is the most highly populated area on the planet.  It was certainly busy and 'proper' Chinese.  Shops that sell the same products seem to be clustered together.  There was an area where household renovation shops sold wall and floor coverings and there were streets of pet shops together with dogs or cats or turtles or rabbits etc in the window.

There was a goldfish market.....yes several shops, all selling varieties of goldfish and aquarium supplies.  I don't think they were for personal consumption.

There was a flower market that covered several streets.

There was a market called Ladies Market but I couldn't find any for sale.  I think it was actually a ladies clothes market.

We tried some 'dim sum' from a street vendor and took a pick and mix approach because I didn't have a clue about what was inside.

The only one that surprised us was the octopus in batter but I ate it anyway.  It was all more tasty than anything we has eaten the night before. 

Back to the hotel for a late afternoon siesta (not sure if you can have a siesta in China)?

The humidity was persistent in the evening but we had a walk to see the bright lights of the city.

This is looking back to Hong Kong Island.

We plumped for a small cafe for our evening meal.  It was so much better than last night.  The staff were kind, the meat was present and correct and we got rice (no soup thank goodness). Just need to complete a tripadvisor review for last nights restaurant before I go to bed.  What a grouch I am!