Day 6: Birds, Flowers and Even More Markets

No sleeping in this time, off to find the markets we think we missed the first time. Following the Lonely Planet guidebook market trail (thanks G&M!) we returned to Kowloon, wandered past Mong Kok stadium and down a shaded avenue which is clearly a favourite place to exercise pampered little dogs in cute jackets, around a corner - and into Flower Market Road. Amazing! Several streets absolutely bursting with flower shops, with stalls spilling onto the pavement and everything covered with flowers of all kinds. Orchids were everywhere, as were little towers of bamboo, jonquil bulbs and some strange yellow-orange fruit. Lovely fragrance in the air, people everywhere - wonderful.

At the end of the road was another beautiful corner, Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. This is a walled garden/walkway where older men display their ornamental pet birds. The cages are tiny but most of the birds seem well cared for, except perhaps for the parrots. There was even a pink and grey galah and cages full of budgies. Most of them were singing enthusiastically, which made for a lovely atmosphere. Lots of wriggly mealworms and tanks full of live crickets for sale as food, too, along with all sorts of accessories and weird "bird lures".

Another turn through the flower market and down a few more streets - and then we hit Goldfish Market. Basically a street full of aquarium shops! Plane Boy, a former aquarist, was entranced. The prices, the prices! Some shops had conventional wall tanks, others covered their front doors with dozens of fish (plus the occasional baby turtle or crab), all in individual plastic bags. So much cheaper than back home. No, Plane Boy, you can't bring them home with you.

Just around the corner we spied clothes in racks in the middle of the street... was this the Ladies' Market we'd been looking for? It wasn't quite where the guidebook said it would be, but hey, it was a market, so off we went. Very wide central aisle, not pushy, a good range of clothes: perfect for some serious shopping. Spent quite a while strolling up and down, buying a few bits and pieces, then explored the adjoining shops. A tiny room packed to the ceiling with fake Lego proved a goldmine, with Plane Boy purchasing a few aircraft sets sure to keep him busy when we get home; a shoe store yielded some brightly coloured plastic boots for Nerdia, including a pair she swears smells like grapefruit.

Time for a late lunch, so we ambled into the first restaurant we saw. It turned out to be another dim sum place, so Nerdia was delighted to enjoy yet another yum cha meal. It was delicious... but may not have been the best idea.
We had planned to take the train to another district and ride the trams, but decided to drop off our shopping at the hotel. That proved a good idea as once we got back we both felt a bit tired... then a bit yuck. Nothing too serious but we went straight to bed and haven't been anywhere since. Feeling better today, though, so we might go for a stroll later or perhaps check out the hotel's restaurants if we feel like eating.

Holiday is almost over!