Hong Kong 4D3N: Day 3 Shopping!!

Today is Mummy's day!

That's what I told the kids before leaving the Hotel (we stayed at Metropark Kowloon, mainly because they have free shuttle service to shopping area). After a 5 min ride on the shuttle (shuttle seating based on 1st come 1st serve basis, if you miss it, you have to wait for the next one, about 1/2 hour later), we got off at the first stop somewhere on Fa Yuen Street. It was 11am ish in the morning, we were very surprised to see none of the shops were open. We walked towards the Lady's market, some peddlers are setting up their stalls. The only shops that were open were George and Me. I was excited at first since one guy recommended this shop on his blog, saying you can get item as cheap as HK$5. Well, they are cheap allright, but you really get for what you pay for. It's worse than Malaysian typical bundle store. Guess if you really spend the time in the hot (no air conditioned and poorly ventilated) shop, you might find sth that you really like.

Before I reached HK, here are the list of things I wanted to buy:

1. A pair of leather boots

2. A pair of sport shoes for my futsal

3. Handbag

4. Silk Scarfs

Fa Yuen St is actually a Sport goods street. All the shops along it sells Nike, Adidas, etc. The prices are more or less same as Malaysia. But of course since the entire street sell the same thing, you are spoiled for choices. My only problem is, I am not too sure if they are genuine. Some look suspiciously fake. Since the price is not much lesser that Malaysia or Singapore, I ended didn't buy any sport shoes. Felt scared that I'd get con into paying an original price for a faked product which might fall apart after weeks of wear.

The kids started to grumbled; tired of walking and the heat started to get to them too. We decided to go back to the Hotel and let the kids rest a bit before heading out again to search for halal food (we were starved; 2 days no meat or rice!). On the way back, we passed by Lady's Market again, this time more stalls were opened. I stopped by a stall selling handbags. The starting price was HK120, managed to bargain down to HK$70..again could've gotten the same thing at the same price at Batu Feringghi. But then again I don't wanna risk getting slash (literally) after all the bargaining, so I just bought it.

They hardly put price tag on any of the item, so it's very hard to shop since the moment your eyes aim at something, the seller would sworm at you like bees. I was planning to some some souvenirs for some friends, and was thinking of buying nail clipper key chains. When first asked how much "20 dollar!"...I started to walk away since I didn't want to start the price bargaining war. She grabbed my sleeve and said "Come a...come! you tell me your price! I give you cheaper!" When I told her I'd only pay for no more than HK$6 a piece and will buy more...she cursed in Cantonese. When I started to walk out again, she grabbed me again and asked me to add a bit more...the kids were grumbling since it was bloody hot on the street (noon, over 30 degrees). We finalized our sales, I ended up buying handphone holders as souvenirs.

After the kids had rested, we headed out again, this time all the way down to Tsim Tsha Tsui, where there are supposedly lots of halal restaurants. We managed to find one at the end of Ashley Street called Ebernezzer. All Halal restaurant is not exactly halal since they serve alchohol too (guess it's a must since alchohol is like coffee to the locals). But since we didn't have any choice, we went in anyway. Was so happy that they have Briyani rice & Kebab. And the food was so delicious (not too sure now if it's the food or the fact that we were starving). The Manager there is very nice and polite (he has worked in Penang before). The place isn't exactly a high class restaurant, more of an eating joint where people would go to grab a quick lunch. But it was cozy & clean.

Then we headed across the Island to go to Victoria Peak. We didn't expect too much, other than a nice view but we were proven wrong. The ride was short & the tram is very convinient (they move every 10-15 min). Once up there, we were surprised to see many shops (since we thought it'll be liek Penang Hill). I honestly believe Penang State Goverment official should try to emulate Victoria Peak management in order to attract more tourists. Amirul (and Daddy alike) were in heaven since they have EA Sport Shop where they put on display all the latest games gadget you can think of from PS3 to XBox complete with a 42 inch LCD Display. Plus you get to play any of them for free!!

We wanted to see the skyline at nite, so we decided to stay a while longer (not a problem since there' so much to do). Madam Tussaud is also located on top of Victoria Peak. We had dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp...I just had to go in, since I love the movie so much. The food was great, but we couldn't try the main course since the batter was all mixed with alchohol. nevertheless, it was a great place with a superb view of the city at night. The staffs were wonderful and the ambiance was good as well.

It was 10pm when we headed down and back to Mong Kok. The kids were tired but still full of energy. When we emerged out of the subway, we were surprised to see a different side of Mong Kok. The city now is so lively, most streets were closed for pedestrian walking. And people were everywhere! We thought of buying Amirul a PSP (as a gift for his exam results) since we saw it's a lot cheaper than in Malaysia (HK$1100). But we ended up didn't buy any PSP since Hubby got into a nasty argument with the seller. Most of sellers in HK are very intimidating and rude. This particular guy (who is the owner, I think) answered all our question in a rude manner (often used "of course!" while rolling his eyes & with a smirk on his face). When asked to get the PSP out of the box, he grumbled in Cantonese. Hubby realized that the manual is in Dutch insted of English. When my son wanted to touch the PSP, the rude seller snatched it from my boy's hand and that was the last straw! Hubby shouted at him and we left the store.

Generally, if you can stand rude, intimidating seller and don't mind giving these kind of people, your hard earned money...then Hong Kong is a shopping heaven for you. As for us, we better off taking out business elsewhere, even if it means we need to pay a little bit more.