Today started off with my usual Hong Kong breakfast - yogurt with fruit and nuts, and a hard boiled egg. I'll usually have another banana (or two) as well, but today there was only one.
I was feeling better, so after a leisurely morning, it was time for more food. This place was recommended for a typical Hong Kong lunch.
Rice, fried pork with a very strong curry type sauce, and a side of green vegetables (with little tiny shrimp) was on the table extremely quickly. A table shared with six other complete strangers. It was a great experience!
I'd been searching for a new iPhone case, so the nearby street market seemed like a good idea.
I didn't find a case on the street, but what I did find was this table full of something that caught my eye. More on that later...
Close by was a Wanchai Computer Centre, which was nothing more than an Apple store on drugs. Seriously, it had that sear your eyes over light atmosphere, spread out over two floors and for isle and narrow cramped isle. Quite an dazzling, dizzying place. I managed to find the phone case I was looking for after what felt like hours of searching (side note: I looked for an iPad air case for my mother, to no avail).
After a morning and early afternoon of eating and shopping, it was time for some culture. Off to the Hong Kong Museum of Maritime History! Last time I was in HK, this museum had yet to open - I missed the grand opening by a few weeks. I made sure that this was on the agenda for this trip.
The museum was incredible, to put it mildly. Of course this is coming from someone that works in the museum world. The artifacts and relics dated back centuries, including this folding panel wall, that was made for export. Depicting Gaunghou (Canton) around 1690, it was meant to be sold in Western Europe.
In addition to dozens of models of ships from the earlier centuries of Chinese maritime history, the museum had extensive models of contemporary ships.
They also had a multitude of interactive displays that were easy to use, informative and enjoyable. This particular one was set inside a short section of a shipping container. You were supposed to load a ship with containers using a joystick. I will admit it was fun making the ship tip over by improperly loading!
The museum was set in an old pier, jutting out into Victoria Bay, so it was possible to see the very waters in which the museum was dedicated to explaining. Quite something to see the passenger ferries, cargo ships and other boats mixing and mingling right out the windows.
The famous Star Ferry line was in the next pier over, and again it was fun to watch them come and go after just reading about the history.
By this time, my feet were killing me, so it was back to the apartment to check out the spoils of what I had bought - Chinese knockoff Lego. I have to admit this was an extremely impressive Lego rip-off. Not that far remove from the (sad) quality standards of today's Legos.
