The first market we visited in Hong Kong were the Stanley markets, on the south side of Hong Kong Island.
You can get to Stanley Markets by bus, I don't think you can catch the train there ( but I later heard you can also catch a boat there if you fancy!). We bought tickets to a Big Bus tour of Hong Kong and this was our first day of travel (it took about 40 minutes to get there)- boy were we pleasantly surprised! I don't know what I expected of Stanley markets, or any markets in Hong Kong, but I didn't expect such a relaxing and stress-free experience in Stanley. Almost all of their stores were air-conditioned which provided a lovely escape from the Hong Kong humidity. You can respectfully bargain with shopkeepers there, although they already had some pretty good deals going on. My first purchase were Birkenstocks! White with one strap. These came to about $60AUD which is such a bargain. And if they are copies, they are really good ones. It does say "made in Germany" on its shoe box, which I highly doubt.
As we walked through the shops, I couldn't help but walk into every store that were selling bags. I'm one of those shoppers that has to see every single option there is before I can make a decision on which item to get. I finally walked back to a shop that had a deal of buy-one-get-one-free. I was going in on that deal with Michelle (my mother-in-law) but we ended up buying 3 bags collectively (2 for me!). I didn't want to buy a bag with a logo on it, they had Jimmy Choo and Mulberry copy in this particular shop. I bought a leather navy blue structured Hermes-style copy bag with a twilly and a leather mustard yellow backpack (Michelle bought the same but in black). I absolutely love it!!
Matt and I then bought 3 vintage-style advert posters printed on wooden boards. We can't wait to put them up in our spare/study room. Matt also bought an R.M Williams polo shirt. We were definitely surprised and excited to find an Aussie brand being sold in little old Stanley markets!
We then wandered out of the markets to a strip of cafes and restaurants by the water, it was such a lovely atmosphere and rather western too. We went into a restaurant/pub called the Pickled Pelican for some cappuccinos and a side of hot chips, before we made our way back to the bus stop to make it back to our hotel. Visiting the Stanley markets was a whole-day affair for us, so I'd recommend giving yourself enough time to explore the place. It is really such a lovely area and I loved seeing the south side of Hong Kong Island, I didn't expect to drive by nice beaches!
The next markets we visited were the Ladies Markets on Tung Choi street on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong.
As we walked through the shops, I couldn't help but walk into every store that were selling bags. I'm one of those shoppers that has to see every single option there is before I can make a decision on which item to get. I finally walked back to a shop that had a deal of buy-one-get-one-free. I was going in on that deal with Michelle (my mother-in-law) but we ended up buying 3 bags collectively (2 for me!). I didn't want to buy a bag with a logo on it, they had Jimmy Choo and Mulberry copy in this particular shop. I bought a leather navy blue structured Hermes-style copy bag with a twilly and a leather mustard yellow backpack (Michelle bought the same but in black). I absolutely love it!!
Matt and I then bought 3 vintage-style advert posters printed on wooden boards. We can't wait to put them up in our spare/study room. Matt also bought an R.M Williams polo shirt. We were definitely surprised and excited to find an Aussie brand being sold in little old Stanley markets!
We then wandered out of the markets to a strip of cafes and restaurants by the water, it was such a lovely atmosphere and rather western too. We went into a restaurant/pub called the Pickled Pelican for some cappuccinos and a side of hot chips, before we made our way back to the bus stop to make it back to our hotel. Visiting the Stanley markets was a whole-day affair for us, so I'd recommend giving yourself enough time to explore the place. It is really such a lovely area and I loved seeing the south side of Hong Kong Island, I didn't expect to drive by nice beaches!
The next markets we visited were the Ladies Markets on Tung Choi street on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong.
I have heard a lot about the Ladies Markets (which are not just for the ladies, boys) in Hong Kong, so I was eager to get out there and experience it. We went on a Saturday and we later learned it was also a long weekend in China and Japan - so it was absolutely packed to say the least. Unfortunately this lead me to enjoy it a little less as the crowds (and the humidity) left me feeling exhausted. There were a lot of stalls to walk by and they sold similar items. Bargaining here was an aggressive activity. When you ask the shop keepers of a price of an item, they start at unreasonably high prices (you can negotiate for a cheaper and more realistic price). Once we started to leave the shop, the price of the item we were interested in dramatically started to drop. I was looking at copy Chanel boy bags but didn't like them in the end, so we left. On our way back through that section of the markets, he remembered us and continued to yell out prices in our direction! I felt rude to decline and particularly sympathetic as he seemed desperate to sell. I felt like it was hard to find good quality items at the Ladies markets, but perhaps I had just been spoilt by what the Stanley markets had to offer. I later found that most shop keepers kept their good stuff hidden beneath their tables, only shown to probing shoppers who are really interested (not me on this day, unfortunately). So if you happen to be heading to the Ladies markets, bring you bargaining a-game and don't be afraid to ask if they have any more items to see.
I didn't purchase anything at the Ladies markets, but Matt bought an NBA-style cap for a friend and a beautiful leather-bound notebook.
Later that same day, we made our way to the Temple Street night markets, which are on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. These are open from 4pm and definitely a must-do if you're in Hong Kong!
I didn't purchase anything at the Ladies markets, but Matt bought an NBA-style cap for a friend and a beautiful leather-bound notebook.
Later that same day, we made our way to the Temple Street night markets, which are on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. These are open from 4pm and definitely a must-do if you're in Hong Kong!
The Temple street night markets were a great atmosphere! The items here are similar to what you can get at the Ladies markets. Again, I found myself looking at their copy bags here and when I decided against it and started to walk away from a particular shop, the shopkeeper literally grabbed my arm and begged me to buy it (I still didn't buy it but I felt really sorry for her)!
We moved on to other stalls and bought these beautiful asian-printed noodle bowl twin set with matching chopsticks. They are so lovely!
The night markets here were such a great experience, I definitely recommend you to visit if you get the chance - even if it is just to walk through them. They also have great street food restaurants at the end of the markets (although, this could also be at the beginning, depending which end you enter from). We were a bit reluctant to try it, but there were heaps of people eating there including many western tourists.
What I love about the markets on the Kowloon side is that it is a flat walk getting from one market to the other. You can also get to these markets by train (it is called the MTR), we took the Big Bus tour on this day to the Ladies markets and then walked to the Temple street night markets. We went back to the Ladies markets on our last day in Hong Kong via train to buy sports shoes for Matt (there is a strip of sport stores near Ladies markets - we walked into at least 18 different Nike stores in this one strip and that's not an exaggeration).
These markets were such a great and exciting experience and I would love to go back to each of them in a heart beat. Hope you enjoyed this post, more posts on Hong Kong to come (watch this space)!
Sincerely,
Tia
We moved on to other stalls and bought these beautiful asian-printed noodle bowl twin set with matching chopsticks. They are so lovely!
The night markets here were such a great experience, I definitely recommend you to visit if you get the chance - even if it is just to walk through them. They also have great street food restaurants at the end of the markets (although, this could also be at the beginning, depending which end you enter from). We were a bit reluctant to try it, but there were heaps of people eating there including many western tourists.
What I love about the markets on the Kowloon side is that it is a flat walk getting from one market to the other. You can also get to these markets by train (it is called the MTR), we took the Big Bus tour on this day to the Ladies markets and then walked to the Temple street night markets. We went back to the Ladies markets on our last day in Hong Kong via train to buy sports shoes for Matt (there is a strip of sport stores near Ladies markets - we walked into at least 18 different Nike stores in this one strip and that's not an exaggeration).
These markets were such a great and exciting experience and I would love to go back to each of them in a heart beat. Hope you enjoyed this post, more posts on Hong Kong to come (watch this space)!
Sincerely,
Tia