Sham Shui Po Revisited

For our last full day in Hong Kong we only had a couple of places on our list to visit, a quiet was in prospect. As it turned out we ended up with our highest total daily mileage of 8.7 miles and me with my bad leg too!!

Our first port of call after crossing Victoria Harbour on the Star Ferry to Kowloon was the local park. It was hoachin’ (ever so busy)! Every Sunday thousands of female workers from Indonesia and the Philippines gather in any open space they can find. The groups enjoy each other’s company, there’s lots of eating, card playing and singing. Time is also taken to style one another’s hair or give one another massages. It is a sight to behold!

There are an estimated 200,000 female domestic workers living in Hong Kong. Most are employed as maids for the city’s wealthy families. These ‘helpers’ (the common term for domestic laborers in Hong Kong) are expected to work twenty four hours a day, six days a week, but government regulations dictate they must be given twelve consecutive hours of free time each Sunday.

Since the women cannot afford to go to movies or eat in restaurants on their day off, they gather in Hong Kong’s train stations and parks or outside public buildings.

After coffees and treats in a nearby shopping mall we took the MTR to, our new favourite, Sham Shui Po for a second look at this very colourful, in more ways than one, area of the city. Again it didn’t disappoint and we thoroughly enjoyed strolling around Button Street, Ribbon Street, Leather Street, Bead Street and Plug Street! Well maybe there isn’t actually a Plug Street but there easily could be!

Tired but happy we departed SSP having made a few purchases and had an early evening meal at the Crystal Jade restaurant at Harbour City. Then we wandered down to the harbour to catch the ferry back to Hong Kong Island but at the last moment decided to buy ice creams and sit in the sun for a little while and watch the world pass by.

It turned out to be a very good decision because nearby there was an Asian Cultural Festival in full swing. So we sat awhile and were royally entertained by Sri Lankan dancers, Korean drummers and Indonesian singers who also played wooden frame shaped instruments.

It was a perfect way to end our day. Back at the hotel it was time to pack our bags!! Hong Kong has been such a wonderful experience.

Today’s blip is of the Man Fung Building in SSP which was given a colourful facelift by Madrid-based street artist Okuda. The extras are very colourful too if you have a few moments to spare to view them.