Hong Kong: Day 2

Healthy lunch!

The message I took away from Stanley

Waking up in a new country is always an odd feeling, depending on what you’re there for – we embraced the unfamiliarity, taking it in our stride to discover whatever uncovered itself in this new land. We took the local bus up to Stanley on recommendation, the mountainous terrain baffled me as we climbed up and up above the mist level, the greenery increasing as we rose. We passed beaches, high rises and rainforests, the variety was extraordinary, it all melded into one. Arriving in Stanley almost felt as though we’d been teleported to our sea-side town in Devon, another wave of British sentiment passed over me. We walked passed English pubs selling fish and chips, with little Chinese noodle stalls on the corner of shops selling ‘real leather handbag’, the repetition of the authenticity of these items didn't serve the purpose of convincing us but retaliating with irritation only serves to entertain the locals. We finally chose to eat ‘light’, choosing a delightful cafe that serves fresh chickpea, beetroot and coronation chicken salads – a mix of which left us feeling nourished and full.

One of the funny pubs in the coastal town

Dinner - read description to the left!

Later that evening we sat down on bright plastic chairs and slurped up local rice noodles and wantons with fleshy greens, the heat of the soup and the surrounding environment completely enveloped us, requiring us to take brief pauses, leaning back, arms out wide, fanning ourselves with whatever large-surface-area object was available.

Raunchy nurses outfits at the market - Halloween anyone?

Hong Kong from the bus

The night markets were bustling, skimpy nurse uniforms and elephant penis covers were thrust into our faces with no hesitation – on polite rejection the word ‘guilo guilo’ was muttered, I later discovered this to mean ‘white ghost’, not a particularly friendly term but my ignorance towards the language allowed me to smile and continue on unperturbed. The night continued on as we scanned through bags, wallets, magnets, clothes, toys etc. with every other stall looking the same as the last. We continued on until our eyes got dizzy of the fluorescent lighting and constant harassing, the thought of sleep was sounding increasingly more inviting, and so another day in Hong Kong was complete.

















Recipe of the day: Wanton noodle soup
http://steamykitchen.com/1194-wonton-noodle-soup.html