It’s about 1 AM on March 2 here. That means it’s noon in Tallahassee on March 1.
I want to clear something up. The picture I posted yesterday of Repulse Bay and South Bay was incorrect. The bay at the top of the picture is Middle Bay. We walked beyond that to South Bay. Here is a more accurate picture, though you can only see the slightest bit of South Bay on the other side of the outcrop. It was quite a long walk!
Repulse Bay showing Middle Bay to the right of the tall buildings and the tip of South Bay barely peeking around the other side of the outcrop.
Yesterday I explored the shops in the old Repulse Bay Hotel Arcade. I found the most wonderful shop of decorative items from Vietnam and other places in southeast Asia. I also saw shell tassels that are not even as nice as the ones I make and discovered that I am pricing mine way too low!
This morning Monika and I walked to Deep Water Bay and back. It’s about a 45 minute walk. I was so excited to see the sun peek out from behind the clouds that I just had to take a picture of the blue sky. First I’ve seen since I got here.
First blue sky since I arrived. Deep Water Bay.
The walk to Deep Water Bay from Repulse Bay is along a promenade that was built only a few years ago. It’s always amazed me how this place caters to its people and provides them the infrastructure they need to enjoy life. I mean, in this tiny place, which is only about 400 square miles, of which only 25% is developed and accommodates 8 million people, there are hundreds of parks, soccer fields, and tennis courts, and several cricket and golf clubs, and that doesn’t include all the schools with their accompanying sports fields. Plus there are two race tracks (horses).
Promenade between RB and Deep Water Bay.
Just to focus in on that item on the railing….
It's against the law to leave dog droppings on the ground...
Afterward, Monika made preparations to give a facial treatment to a client and I headed for Central to pick up a purse I’d brought with me from Tallahassee to be repaired. They did a great job, I must say. As I headed for the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) which is the subway, I stopped off to grab a bite to eat at a place called “Pret a Manger” (French for “Ready to Eat.”) I have now found my new favorite lunch choice: a Peking duck wrap, which consisted of yummy, tender slices of Peking duck, lettuce, spinch, cucumber, and hoisin sauce in a soft plain wrap. I know where I’ll be eating when I go to town next time! I took the MTR to an area on the Kowloon side called Mon Kok. There, I walked amidst a very long street of stalls selling knock-off watches, purses, and designer clothes. Buying nothing, I walked further north to the Flower Market, which is essentially one long street of gorgeous cut flowers along with some plastic flowers and shops selling things for the small garden.
Street vendor selling roasted nuts and sweet potatoes
Orchids at Flower Market
Exotics at Flower Market
You can’t get the feel of the immensity of the selection from my few pictures, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you… Suffice to say it was wall-to-wall flowers!
Beyond the Flower Market is the Bird Market where people bring their birds in cages for their daily outing and just sit and enjoy the company of other people with like interests. In this area there are also lots of birds for sale, along with all nature of bird seed, bird cages, water cups, and other food.
Wild birds flock to the caged birds to capitalize on spilled seed.Bags of live crickets for the lucky ones.
By the time I’d finished admiring the birds and enjoying their constant chatter, I was pretty beat! I’d been on my feet from 10 AM until now 4:30. I figured it was time to head home. I made my way to the MTR and was in the bus transfer station in Central by 5:00 and in Repulse Bay by 5:30. After a leisurely cappucino at Pacific Coffee in Repulse Bay Shops, I went up to Monika and Gopal’s apartment to start making dinner and call it a day. Clarifying logistics — Monika and Gopal own a shop in the Repulse Bay Club, where they rent videos and sell a variety of sporting equipment and beachwear. The store is open from 3:30 to 8:00 every day, so it’s a late night for Monika, who runs the store. Gopal has his primary import-export business in Aberdeen. He often spells Monika at the store when he gets off work.
Ciao until next time….
