Hong Kong Fluey

Plastic bowls full of live fish, flipping and splashing. Beef carcasses hanging from hooks, chickens being plucked, mounds of bok choy, bananas and mango. Red paper lanterns, bright parasols, and someone's washing hanging off a piece of string looped across the road. And the smell. It's a humid-hot scent, peppered with over-ripe fruit, spices, car fumes and the sea. I'm standing on Peel Street, Central Hong Kong, one of the last remaining street markets where locals can come to buy their food. The colours, sounds, and scents are almost overpowering, and not a bit like my local Woolies. There are men with no teeth, tiny, frail old ladies carrying loads almost larger than themselves, fruit vendors, butchers, cooks and someone selling weather-weary flowers. Then turn around and a few steps down the road is the Two IFC Tower, a mammoth structure that's 417 metres tall, and resembles, I think, a giant electric razor. That's Hong Kong. It's crazy yet chic, crowded yet friendly, modern yet old-fashioned. A city of contrasts. A new building is under construction, rumoured to be the tallest in the city, which will apparently stand at 437 metres when complete. They're building it with bamboo poles for scaffolding. Of course they are.
We both love it here, even though I've developed a shocking cold-type illness which plagues me the entire stay. Although we only spend two whirlwind days in this amazing city, we see enough to make us want to come back again and again. Oh, and the shopping, ladies, is amazing. A Louis Vuitton on every second corner, Zara, Marks and Spencer, Harvey Nicks, Stella McCartney, Dior, Chanel, names, names, names, sweetie! Unforunately I cannot partake as I am under strict six-months-without-pay shopping restrictions, but I salivate in front on the windows and make plans to jump on a plane when the sales are on here one day.
A real highlight is a sailing trip on a junk on the harbour at dusk, as the sun is setting and all the lights start twinkling on in the city. Sipping wine, chilling out to Cafe del Mar beats, and watching the spectacle unfold is goose bump-enducing. Great Chinese food, trawling through markets and admiring the beautiful trees and parklands (Hong Kong is over 40% parkland) also make the stay special. But the best part? Call me crazy (and yes, Michael did), but as a public transport quality controller from way back, I have to say, the system in this fast and furious metropolis is beyond. Totally in a good way. Especially, and this was the best bit of the best part, the Octopus card. Like a credit card you buy, swipe on anything from trains to trams, busses and ferries, and that's it. Add money when you need to. If you're lucky enough to be heading here sometime soon, get one. It's like, so fun!
Until next time, London calling...