Day 1

6 May 2010

Walking through the Wanchai markets on my way to work. You can see snippets of a flower stall on the right (not my fav one which is down the road a bit further, but one I occasionally buy from).

I don't have to walk through the market to get to work, there is a side road which I could take if I wanted to avoid it. I don't know what it is about the market, but I LOVE walking though there everyday - it makes me feel alive, reminds me that I am living in Asia, and makes me very thankful. Most of all, thankful that I have this wonderful opportunity to live in amongst another culture.

The market is always bustling, and I ALWAYS find new things everyday when I walk through. If you ask any of our visitors, they usually say that they enjoy visiting this market the most in all of Hong Kong. It's only small, but there are so many treasures to be found.

Last night when I walked home through the market I went to visit the local tofu lady (who incidentally also sells bean sprouts - which is what I was after). Just as I arrived she pulled out the fresh batch of tofu and proceeded to yell down the street to alert everyone to its arrival (well at least that's what I could make out of her Cantonese). Then I called into the fruit shop to buy some mango's and got caught buying a bag full of fruit - lychee's just in season, the most wonderfully aromatic guava's, and some cute little pink gala apples (guess what we had for breaky this morning - fresh apple and guava juice! YUMMO). Then I called into the thai shop (one of my absolute fav shops in the market) to buy fresh mint, basil and lime. I had a quick chat to the owner (who incidentally used to be my beautician at the Mandarin Oriental before she opened this shop), before heading home to cook dinner.

I thought a shot of the market was appropriate for day 1 considering how integral it is to my life in Hong Kong, and also, just because I LOVE it so much!