To Market.... To Market.......

I've been too busy to do any form of exploring recently as it has been end of year report writing time. For a while the only thing I saw that I found interesting enough to photograph was a huge advertisement for Macallan single malt whisky in Central MTR Station and this was only interesting to me as it had lots of pictures of typically Scottish things on it, such as: ruined cottages, stags, red squirrels, sheep, typical Scottish houses. It made me feel quite homesick.

I later found out that the pictures in the advert are by Sir Peter Blake who designed the collage style cover for The Beatles’ 'Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band' album in 1967. The pictures will be used as labels for thirteen limited-edition bottles of Macallan whisky which date from 1967. The pictures depict scenes from the history of Macallan whisky.

Macallan Single Malt whisky.

Macallan Single Malt whisky.

Macallan Single Malt whisky.

Macallan Single Malt whisky.

Macallan Single Malt whisky.

Last weekend was a three day holiday weekend due to Dragon Boat Day on Monday 14th June and I had intended to do some sightseeing, but unfortunately, I got sick so actually spent my Monday off in bed sleeping, apart from when I got up and went to the couch for even more sleeping.

By Tuesday 15th I was back at work, but had to take a broken computer to Lai Chi Kok for repair. I decided since I was so close to Sham Shui Po I may as well take another look around there.

Sham Shui Po.

Sham Shui Po is a very interesting area, but I could not do it full justice on such a short visit and so fully intend to go back later and do it more thoroughly.

Sham Shui Po means Deep Water Pier. It is an older and poorer area of Hong Kong - very working class. It is famous for markets. In World War II it was the site of a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp. Unfortunately, there is almost nothing to mark where this was. Sham Shui Po also has some interesting historical buildings, lots of typically Chinese restaurants and in recent times several colourful murals.

One of the reasons I went there was that I wanted to see a mural called 'The Rainbow Thief'. This is by Spanish artist, Okuda San Miguel, who painted it for the 2016 Hong Kong Walls Festival. The mural shows a fox's head which looks incredibly three dimensional on top of a multi-coloured tall narrow building. It is located at 180 Tai Nan Street and certainly brightens up an otherwise dreary area.

The Rainbow Thief.

The Rainbow Thief.

I noticed a few other colourful murals around, mainly painted on shop shutters. Again these added a bit of colour to the otherwise drab surroundings. One blog I read before visiting even recommended going to Sham Shui Po early when all the shops are closed to see the artwork on the shutters.

Colourful Murals.

Colourful Murals.

The streets of Sham Shui Po are lined with market stalls and different streets have different specialties. There is a street specialising in ribbons, one for buttons, one that mainly sells toys and another concentrating on cloth. I haven't fully explored all of these yet. This time I found the cloth and the ribbons areas. This area is also famous for cheap electrical goods, especially in the Golden Computer Centre.

Ribbons and Crafts.

Cloth and Ribbons.

Cloth.

Ribbons and Crafts.

Ribbons.

Food Stuffs.

Shoes.

Clothes Shopping.

Hardware.

Electrical Goods and Household Items.

Sham Shui Po also has its own nine story shopping centre called the Dragon Centre. This used to be the biggest shopping centre in Kowloon until Elements was built above Kowloon Station. Apparently it even has an ice rink. I did not go inside on this occasion as I really did not have time. Maybe I will take a look next visit.

The Dragon Centre.

Not far from the Dragon Centre, at the junction of Lai Chi Kok Road and Yen Chow Street, is Sham Shui Po Police Station. This is an old three story colonial style building dating from 1924. A Japanese Prisoner of War Camp was located right next to it during World War II.

Sham Shui Po Police Station.

I also came across one of Sham Shui Po's three temples. Unfortunately it was closed so I only took photos of it from the outside. Actually this is a double temple dedicated to Sam Tai Tsz and Pak Tai. The temple to Sam Tai Tsz was built by Hakka immigrants in 1898 after a terrible outbreak of plague. The Pak Tai Temple next door was built by local fishermen in 1920 to honour Pak Tai, the Emperor of the North.

Apparently this is the only temple to Sam Tai Tsz in Hong Kong. Sam Tai Tsz means third prince. His poor old mum was pregnant with him for more than three years. When she finally gave birth, instead of a baby out came a large sphere of flesh. The boy's father, General Li Jing, hit it with a sword, and the sphere split open and revealed a grown child inside. The child could already speak and walk. He was taken under the wing of a Taoist immortal and developed an ability to chase away demons and cure the sick. The early Hakka inhabitants of this area paraded Sam Tai Tsz's image through the area and believed he chased away the demons which caused the plague outbreak. When the plague had gone, the people were so happy they built a temple to Sam Tai Tsz.

Temple.

Temple.

Temple.

On my way back home the sun was setting over Sunny Bay, so I stopped to take some photos before catching my bus.

Sunset over Sunny Bay.

Sunset over Sunny Bay.

Sunset over Sunny Bay.

Sunset over Sunny Bay.