The Not So Ladylike Market

The other day my friends and I decided to go experience the Ladies Market. The Ladies Market is an outdoor market just like the swap meet, a bunch of vendors selling a ton of cheap stuff, none of which you really need. For instance, I came away with a Hello Kitty handkerchief which I tried to tell myself was going to be my napkin, since... (oh yeah! I don't think I've mentioned this. They don't have napkins here. It's really bizarre! If you're lucky, they'll leave a box of Kleenex on the table like that's supposed to get the shrimp juice off your fingers.) Nevertheless, it's an experience "you just have to have" in Hong Kong. Part of that experience is supposed to be haggling.

At first, I was really intimidated by the whole scene. There were SO many people and so much shouting in Cantonese and oh the peculiar smells...I kept losing my friends and with a "death-clutch" on my purse, I was so sure someone was going to "just slip their hand right in and snatch my wallet!" Pretty soon my friends were getting good at the bargaining thing, so I decided okay, if I find something I like, I should try my hand at it. Sure enough, I find this awesome bracelet, one of those painted bangles that they sell at J.Crew for like $40 a piece. This one was great! Blue with little white and red flowers and green leaves. And...it fit my wrist which is like a miracle! So the vendor woman walks up and says, "$89HK okay for you?" Now $89HK is about $11 USD. While that doesn't sound very expensive, for the Ladies Market, it was. So I say, "Uh...no..." trying to bargain a bit, you know, and the next thing I know, she's shooing me out of her shop shouting, "Den okay BYE BYE!" I was shocked! Here I thought I was SUPPOSED to do that and the one thing I want, I can't have now!?! I mean, I even would have spent the $11, but I was just so appalled at how rude she was, I couldn't bring myself to go back. I think that's what prompted my Hello Kitty impulse buy.

At another shop, my friend Kristen was trying to look at a pair of leggings. She accidentally knocked 2 off the rack while she was looking and the shopkeeper grabbed the leggings and yelled at us in Cantonese!

So now I can say I have had the Ladies Market experience, but it's not one I plan to have again.