Tsing Yi


Tsing Yi is an island in between several other islands that make up Hong Kong. It is also a stop on the MTR (subway) and there is a large suspension bridge that connects it with the other islands. We wanted to find both the bridge and the observation deck to see it.

We got off the train, but no where on maps or signs pointed us in an obvious direction. Our plans of just winging it had worked so well in the past, that I suppose we got a little cocky. Nevertheless, we forged ahead to see what else we could see. Click on the picture of the flowers at the top of the blog to see more photos of our day on Tsing Yi.

Never finding the bridge (we’ll find it another day) we found a park to walk around in with some nice views and plants. Also, on our way back to the MTR to head home, we saw a fresh food market. Now this market made the whole trip worth it. It reminded me of our friends back home, because I’m sure that the pictures of the market are what they assumed all of Hong Kong was like (“will you have to boil your water?”) Uh, no. But, we also don’t shop in these types of markets.

My mom did her shopping years ago in Indonesia in many markets like the one in our photos, but thankfully, Laura doesn’t have to prepare food from it’s rawest state. There were fish in tanks that were just waiting to be butchered and that is about as fresh as it gets.

In a way, I felt sorry for the poor fishies who wound up here, because this was definitely the end of the line and the train was not going to pull out of the station. But, I remembered my dinner the night before, and how tasty it was, and realized that this is just the way it is.

Some of the fish were split in half on tables of ice. I couldn’t identify all the “parts” inside, but the hearts were clearly noticeable. Mostly because they were still beating! Or at least twitching with leftover impulses. The place was so crowded, and the fish butchers were hollering out in Cantonese — something like “cold beer” shouts from ballpark vendors. Cuts of meat, slices of fish, veggies, and everything in between, was for sale, and throngs of people were buying it all up like crazy.

Overall, it was fun to see people in this type of fresh market because it isn’t something us Ohioans get to see everyday. Next time we’re in Tsing Yi, we’re taking a better map to the bridge!

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