Sunday, February 12, 2012

Hong Kong - roaming around Mongkok

Shoppers at Hong Kong normally visit two places, Causeway Bay area to Central and downtown Mongkok. If you are searching for cheap merchandise such as t-shirts, souvenir items, bags and so on, you should go to downtown Mongkok due to its Ladies market and countless boutiques and shops. Unlike in Causeway Bay where you explore the different shopping malls, in Mongkok area, you explore the different streets surrounding Mongkok proper.

Last December vacation, my family and I celebrated Christmas in Hong Kong. I arrived at Hong Kong few days earlier. While waiting for them, I found some spare time to explore Mongkok area. I didn't expect it be extremely cold during those days thus I forego my plan to visit that place during night time .

The famous Ladies market at Tung Choi street occupies several blocks starting from Mongkok road to Dundas street. It opens at lunch time until 11:30 pm.

I was a bit early so most of the stalls were still closed



I strolled around the area for some time and decided to take my lunch on the street. I saw this 25 HKD fried chicken (excluding drink) stall at the corner of Dundas and Sai Yung Choi street south. Trust me chicken lovers, you'd love the crunchy and tasty fried chicken being sold here. Big serving too.



After downing this, I returned back to Ladies market. All the shops were now in business and shoppers started arriving from all over the place.


any idea what is this for? LOL

You can haggle at Ladies market but usually the price is already fixed and posted. In that case, you can haggle only if you plan to buy several pieces. My daughter noticed that the quality of some merchandises were not good. Likewise, fitting is also not allowed here.

Further, be careful when walking along this street. I saw two young lads by accident hit some items and they fell to the ground. Upon returning those items to their original place, the lady shouted at them. They tried to reason out but it was useless to the bantering lady. I felt intimidated by the lady as well.



Another famous street within Mongkok area is Fa Yuen street. Along this street you will find mostly food shops. Seafoods, meat shops and fruit stands abound along this street.


In addition to food stuff, there are also shoe shops along Fa Yuen street but most of them if not all are for ladies. Nevertheless, by exploring the other streets around Mongkok you will find many shoe stores for men as well. Some of them are selling old model hence the price is lower. However, for branded shoes, you should have at least an idea on how much it cost in Philippines before you decide to buy here. Bear in mind that shops overhead cost in Hong Kong is higher than in Manila.

MORE SHOTS AROUND MONGKOK AREA

confusing?

my buddies

Bought these 3 Cashmere scarfs (?). It was priced at 68 HKD per piece but I got them for 150 HKD for 3 pieces.

Coming to Mongkok is quite easy by MTR. It is more convenient if you can get hold of free Hong Kong map at the airport or at any hotel. On the other hand, dining here is quite tricky. You seldom see local restaurant having English menu, not to mention the difficulty in finding available seats in case you are a group. With family in tow, we eat most of the times at fast food joints. Anyway, you can't expect the kids to appreciate something that their taste buds are not familiar with.

Nathan road was famous for electronic items but it wasn't in our itinerary due to crowded sidewalks; countless passengers are always waiting at several bus stops along Nathan road. To add, I purchase all my electronic items at Dubai which is absolutely cheaper than in Hong Kong. Besides, Nathan road is infamous for electronic touts so better avoid this place in case you plan to buy some electronic items.







OTHER HONG KONG ATTRACTIONS:


Wandering with my eldest son
Street Carollers at Causeway Bay
Roaming Around Causeway Bay
I am in Hong Kong for my lunch and dinner

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