Shopping

There are a lot of things different about shopping in Hong Kong versus the US.  Hong Kong has a lot of HUGE mega malls.  We went to one the other day in Sha Tin that had 7 floors and 3 "phases" which basically meant it was 3 different malls connected by long walkways.  It also had a huge outdoor playground called Snoopy's World complete with a water amusement ride.  The mall had a lot of stores I recognized (Gap, The Body Shop, Victoria's Secret, H&M, Sketchers, etc.), but a lot of new ones as well.  Some of the stores sell high end designer items, while other shops sell discount items.

On the streets, there are also blocks of small, inexpensive shops.  Most shops specialize in a certain type of item, like small electronics, clothes, or tools.  There are also a lot of open air food stands.  The Chinese buy their fruits and vegetables fresh every day, so there are many stands around the cities.  Often the stand will only sell fruit OR vegetables because they wouldn't mix the two, they should be kept separate. (However, we did see several shops that sold raw meat and vegetables.  It would make more sense to me to separate those.)

Shopping can be an adventure here because first, we don't know where to go to buy certain things.  We went to 5 or 6 different stores before we found a digital lit clock for Tommy's room.  We tried at several department stores and a couple bigger electronics stores similar to a Best Buy.  We finally found one at a small, hole-in-the-wall electronics store.  We wanted to buy more, but he only had 1 in stock.  The stores are so tiny, they often don't want to waste space with multiples of items that apparently don't sell well.  I definitely miss being able to go to Target for pretty much everything we need.  Also, communication can be difficult.  Often, if we would ask someone where to find something they would point to or go get someone else who was spoke English.  Even with the English "speaker" there was still a lot of pantomiming and often we still couldn't find what we were looking for.  Also, since we do not have a car, I have to think carefully about what I want to buy because we have to carry everything home on the bus or train.  If we order big things, they will deliver things for free, but everyday things like groceries have to be carried.  I have seen a lot of people with knapsacks on rollers, our relocation agent told us she and her friends refer to them as "granny bags" (she has one though).  I might have to get one soon.  Our house it about 2 blocks from the grocery store and I think I will go almost every day just because I can't carry much more than that at one time.    :)