Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [34]
MARKETS Map
MTR Central (exit B)
On the lower reaches west of the 800m-long Central Escalator, which transports pedestrians through Central and Soho and as far as Conduit Rd in the Mid-Levels, you’ll find narrow streets containing market stalls and open-air canteens centred on the Graham St Market ( Map).
With luck the market will still be there by the time you read this as redevelopment threatens the market’s future. If it is still there, it’s a compelling place to go if you want to have a close look at the exotic produce that Hong Kong prides itself in selling and consuming. Preserved ‘thousand-year’ eggs and fresh tofu curd scooped still steaming from wooden tubs are just some of the items on display. The squeamish should stay away, though: fish are cut lengthwise with the heart left beating so that it continues to beat and pump blood around the body, keeping it fresh.
HONG KONG ZOOLOGICAL & BOTANICAL GARDENS Map
2530 0154; www.lcsd.gov.hk/parks/hkzbg/en/index.php; Albany Rd; admission free; terrace gardens 6am-10pm, zoo & aviaries 6am-7pm, greenhouses 9am-4.30pm; 3B, 12, 40M or 13M from Central
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top picks
TEMPLES
Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple ( Click here)
Man Mo Temple ( Click here)
Yuen Yuen Institute ( Click here)
Ngong Ping ( Click here)
Chi Lin Nunnery ( Click here)
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This is a pleasant and surprisingly expansive collection of fountains, sculptures and greenhouses, plus a playground, zoo and some fabulous aviaries. Along with exotic trees, plants and shrubs, some 160 species of bird reside here. The zoo is surprisingly comprehensive, with more than 70 mammals and 40 reptiles, and is also one of the world’s leading centres for the captive breeding of endangered species (there are 16 different species of endangered animal being bred here).
Albany Rd divides the gardens, with the plants and aviaries in the area to the east, close to Garden Rd, and most of the animals to the west. The animal displays are mostly primates (lemurs, gibbons, macaques, orang-utans etc); other residents include a rather forlorn-looking jaguar and radiated tortoises.
The gardens are at the top (ie southern) end of Garden Rd. It’s an easy walk from Central, but you can also take bus 3B or 12 from the stop in front of Jardine House on Connaught Rd Central or buses 40M and 13M from the Central bus terminus below Exchange Sq. The bus takes you along Upper Albert Rd and Caine Rd on the northern boundary of the gardens. Get off in front of Caritas House ( Map; 2 Caine Rd) and follow the path across the street and up the hill to the gardens.
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MAID IN HONG KONG
A large number of households in Hong Kong have an amah: a maid who cooks, cleans, minds the children and/or feeds the dog, and who either lives in or comes over once or twice a week. In the old days amahs were usually Chinese spinsters who wore starched white tunics and black trousers, put their hair in a long plait and had a mouthful of gold fillings. Their employers became their families. Today, however, that kind of amah is virtually extinct, and the work is now done by foreigners – young women (and increasingly men) from the Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka on two-year renewable ‘foreign domestic helper’ (FDH) work visas.
Filipinos are by far the largest group, accounting for some 65% of the territory’s 240,000 foreign domestic workers. While the Indonesians descend on Victoria Park and the Nepalese prefer Tsim Sha Tsui on their one day off a week (usually Sunday), Filipino amahs take over the pavements and public squares of Central. They come in their thousands to share food, gossip, play cards, read the Bible and do one another’s hair and nails. You can’t miss them around Statue Sq, Exchange Sq and the plaza below the HSBC building.
Though it doesn’t seem very attractive, for young Filipinos a contract to work in Hong Kong is