Hello everyone and happy February!
I've talked to some people about our neighborhood and what it is like but I got more inspiration today to give you all a glimpse into our area. We live in the district of Sai Ying Pun. It is an older district that is becoming the new place to live because of the new subway stations currently being built. There are old buildings right along side brand new and many interesting things to be found each time I leave the apartment.
So I thought I knew our neighborhood pretty well. The grocery store is here, bakery there, 7-11 everywhere (literally, they are everywhere) until today that is. We live at the bottom of a massive hill, one that is blocked off from cars at certain points. We walk one block up to our building and that is usually enough to get a bead of sweat down your back and your heart rate going. I don't normally go past our building up the hill because I have everything I need here and honestly, it looks like a lot of work to go up there. Today though, while the weather was beautiful and partly sunny, I decided to make that steep hill my workout while also checking out the neighborhood.
To start off with, let me tell you about the area I do know. We live near what is known as the dried seafood market and it is exactly what you think. Stores upon stores selling tiny shrimp, clams, squid, scallops, whole fish and much more, all in dried form. The stores are also known for selling shark fins, making these stores somewhat controversial with animal rights activist groups. The dried seafood was brought about when people were unable to store all of the seafood due to the lack of refrigerators The seafood is laid out on baskets to dry in the sun so that they will keep in pantries for long periods of time. You can also find nuts, mushrooms, garlic and various seeds in most of these stores. My least favorite part of this market...the smell.
So now onto walking UP the hill. My curiosity started when we recently talked to another expat at a local restaurant who informed us of a new escalator in the area. Let me fill you in on something, Hong Kong
loves escalators. Pretty much anywhere there are stairs up or a hill, there is an escalator. They also have the world's longest outdoor escalator that goes up the entire hill. So now our neighborhood is beginning to build it's own escalator to compete with the higher class districts. The escalator here only goes up a few blocks, but that will still save you many beads of sweat.
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| A section of the world's longest outdoor escalator |
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| That's only half of one block, |
On my journey up the hill, I found markets and restaurants nearby that I was unaware of. There were flower markets, seafood markets (still not brave enough to buy from there) and western restaurants moving in to the 'up and coming area.'
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| Flower market |
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| Seafood market...from the outside |
As I kept going up the hill the stores and markets thinned out and all that remained were high rise apartment buildings. I kept trying to look up to see the impressive heights but kept losing my balance from looking up so high or bumping into someone (the sidewalks here are narrow).
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| See, I mean narrow! (ok, a little excessive but you get the point) |
As I made my way back to our building, I realized I was very happy with our choice in neighborhood. We get to see the traditional way of living with street markets everywhere, having the convenience of everything right outside our building, while not having to fight the crowds that the more popular districts deal with. I can't wait to see how our neighborhood changes while we are here and develops over time.
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| And of course, Ahri says hi! |
