Kowloon Markets and Macau Mania

Though it has only been a couple of days since our last post, predictably, lots has happened since we last checked in. Thanks to an amazing piece of scheduling, I have managed to avoid all classes to this day, and will start in earnest on Monday - probably. School is officially in session, but I have managed to cram my classes from Monday to Wednesday in order to free up time for future weekend trips. That in mind, Nicole and I have been free to wallow in our own crapulence, and have continued to explore Hong Kong and its environs. Here are some highlights.

Found: HK's Dance Floor Tai Pan

On a recent trip to LKF, we happened upon a live music bar featuring an outstanding Filipino funk band. The music was to good to stay seated, but before we could get the dance floor started, a lone dancer stormed the stage and really set the tone for the evening. Brandishing little more than a Chinese fan and canned heat in his heels, this strange middle-aged man taught us kids a thing or two about rhythm. Enjoy.




Kowloon

Located 800 meters across Hong Kong harbour, Kowloon is the grimy, rougher, no-frills ying to Hong Kong island's yang. While the island is high-end, international, modernized, Kowloon still bares the appearances of China town on crack. This means megawatts of neon, and a variety of markets for the pleasure of locals and tourists alike.

Nicole and I took the MTR across the harbour with our friends Lyndsay and Kora to take in the sights, sounds, and indeed the smells. We started in the Flower Market, which consisted of four or five consecutive blocks selling almost exclusively floral arrangements, house plants, trees, and one motorcycle store (which presumably exists for the benefit of the Chinese boyfriends who have forgotten anniversaries and need to speed flowers to their infuriated lovers). From bouquets of roses (HK$5) to carnivorous pitcher plants, this place looked and smelled great.


Where the flower market ends, the Yuen Po Street Bird Market begins. While the flowers were all nice and fragrant, the bird market was something else altogether, and, frankly it was quite unsettling. The crowded streets lined with caged birds were certainly beautiful, but the conditions these animals were kept in was generally appalling, and many of the birds were showing signs of psychological and physical distress. That said, the variety of birds was impressive. Macaws, African Grays, and mynah birds were displayed with a host of finches, love birds, lesser parrots, etc. The sensory assault at the bird market was a stark contrast to the serenity of the Flower Market. These birds stank! After we had all we could of this spectacle we carried on to the next site, the Goldfish Market.



The fish were pleasantly silent, and the market was really interesting, stretching for four city blocks. All kinds of aquatic life was for sale here: red, white, and blue crayfish, all sorts of tropical fish, turtles, and creepy little albino frogs were all displayed in plastic bags hung from the shop walls. I felt less bad for these guys, because...well because they're fish. No one flushes a parrot - think about it. The fish market was my personal favourite. There was tons to look at, and it made for some spectacular scenes. Nicole and I have decided to get a goldfish to keep us company at the apartment, but that will wait for another trip.



Livestock markets now completed, we stumbled upon the Ladies' Market, which is a proper street market selling almost anything you can imagine. There are no fixed prices in the market, so bargaining skills are a must. We spent a couple hours taking it all in, and picking up a few things along the way. Also, we learned that the Chinese are not shy at all about their sex toys. Many of the stalls in the Ladies Market sold well scandalous outfits for both the ladies and the fellas. Other stalls had all manner of stimulating implement imaginable (and some you definitely never thought of) for general perusal. Given that there were many children present in the market, I would love to be there for the inevitable discussion about 'baby's first gimp mask.' Though I feel that Nicole and the girls could have stayed in the market for several more hours, they took pity on me and we began to make our way south to the waterfront for the Hong Kong lights show.



Whereas Canadian buildings are single-purpose (either dwelling, or living), buildings in Hong Kong have multiple personalities. If you can't throw yourself off the skyscraper with a bungee cord, the building is likely rigged with lasers and lights for a nightly spectacle. When viewed from the Kowloon promenade, the lights of Hong Kong are choreographed to music and the entire skyline puts on a 15 minute performance. While the score might be a little contrived, the spectacle is amazing, and it's not every day you see massive financial institutions blasting lasers into the night sky. All in all, it was pretty badass. My hope is that the Chinese spirit of entrepreneurship kicks in and the city starts to license this amazing toy to some of the world's most entertaining musical acts. Just imagine seeing Daft Punk's Alive Tour choreographed across the Hong Kong Skyline....just imagine.



After a few photo-ops, we headed back into Kowloon for dinner at Gaylord Restaurant. What? This place had amazing Indian food and a live band covering all of your Hindi favourites.

Despite our best intentions to carry on to the Kowloon night markets, we were frankly pooped and had to call it a night.

Macau

Following a "personal day" (viz. foot massages), Nicole and I decided to join a group of 16 exchange students on an overnight trip to Macau, a former Portuguese colony about one hour away by ferry. Currently, Macau is one of the worlds premier gambling destinations, a close second behind Las Vegas, and substantially similar, but with far less Americans, and far more Asians.

There are bright lights, and every sort of indulgence you can think of. From luxury brand malls to the world's highest bungee jump, Macau is an amazing destination to blow off some steam, and some money.

After the roulette table ate my investments in record time, we decided to take it out on the dancefloor. Having been disappointed by the lack of dancing in Hong Kong, we eventually found D2 nightclub in Macau, after a somewhat insane search through many of the casinos on the strip. The DJs were fantastic, starting with some standard house favourites, and progressing through the night into some insanely hard house. It was a feverish workout for all involved, and we left the club a thoroughly exhausted, sweaty mess.



We later came to learn that D2 was a popular hang out for the local 'working girls,' and this important fact explained several key aspects of the club. First, the Asian girls lustily eying me when we walked in, were apparently not taken by my rugged good looks, but rather my pocketbook. Second, while gogo dancers are common at many disco bars, strippers are not. We should have known something was up when the entertainment went from wholesome to pole-dancing. Third, where go Russians, so follow hookers. This explains the Siberian crew that showed up around 3am with a particularly lascivious entourage.

All in all, it was a great night, and everyone seemed to have a great time. While some of the crew decided to stay in for another night in Macau, Nicole and I came back to HK, which turned out to be a great decision, as the tail end of a typhoon has descended on this part of the world, and it has been raining in sheets all day.