I’ve been to Hong Kong before. I enjoyed seeing the skyline on the Star Ferry in Hong Kong Harbor and walking in some of the local parks, but for me, the overpowering smell of the dried fish markets really got to me – and Fred had even more trouble with it. Needless to say, I wasn’t too keen on experiencing that again. I knew that the kids hadn’t seen the city, however, and Fred was eager to show us places I had not been before, so I was willing to give it another chance. I’m glad I did.
A couple of friends that we’ve made onboard the ship were going to Stanley Market, so we decided to head out that way, too. We were told that it was one of the largest open-air markets in Hong Kong, so we hopped on the shuttle to another mall and caught the subway there.
Then we got off the subway and walked a couple of blocks (because we weren’t sure where we were going) to the Exchange Square bus terminus. We got on bus number 260, a double-decker bus with comfortable seats and wifi, and started toward Stanley Market. Kyle was quick to pop the Dramamine because we knew we were in for a windy road along the coast. There were some seriously spectacular views! Sorry for the backlit photos, but it was the best I could do in the situation.
Fred had been to Stanley Market before and both he remembers it being a lot larger. For the time it took us to get out there, we were expecting more. We walked around a while and looked at the various shops, but we ended up leaving empty-handed. Of course, as usual, we joked about the various shop names that we saw.
Once we left the market, we walked around the area for a little while and did find a lovely little rocky beach. We spent a few minutes there enjoying the views.
We soon hopped on the bus and headed back into the city. There was an Indian restaurant that Fred wanted to try and it was close to the bus station, so once we got back, we headed straight there (except for Fred’s unicorn). Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed, so we ended up going next door to a casual place that had falafel, chicken skewers, and (drum roll)…chicken tikka masala on the menu (Yay for Fred). None of it was more than average, but we were really hungry, so it hit the spot. Fred also grabbed a quick juice to top it all off once we were heading back to the subway.
Near the subway, we made a pitstop at LUSH to pick up a few more bath products for the ship because you can really never have too many LUSH products. There were quite a few new Halloween items, so we ended up getting a florescent yellow shower gel, a body scrub, and my absolute favorite: Ocean Salt (that’s right – another body scrub).
We headed back to the subway and then waited at the mall for our shuttle bus. It was rush hour, so the trains were packed.
It was not the best day we’ve had, but it was a good one. I was happy to see a different side of Hong Kong – one that I enjoyed way more than the first visit.