Aside from Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), one of the more famous places for us Filipinos is MONG KOK and it is synonymous with shopping.
And off we are to MongKok, which is just three stops from TST station.
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| In the MRT to MongKok... |
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| As we were going out of the subway to MONGKOK |
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| MongKok station schedule |
Again, I picked up some Wiki knowledge which I dropped here for your information!
Mong Kok (also spelt Mongkok), is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Before the 1994 merger, Mong Kok was part of theMong Kok District. The Prince Edward area occupies the northern part of Mong Kok.
The district is characterized by a mixture of old and new multi-story buildings, with shops and restaurants at street level and commercial or residential units above. Major industries in Mong Kok are retail, restaurants (including fast food) and entertainment.
According to Guinness World Records, Mong Kok has the highest population density in the world (mean 130,000 per km2 or 340,000 per mi2) and with a development multiple of four.
Name
The current English name is a transliteration of its older Chinese name 望角 (or 芒角), which is pronounced "Mong Gok" and is named after its plentiful supply of ferns in the past when it was a coastal region. Its present Chinese name "旺角" is pronounced "Wong Gok". The name in Chinese means "prosperous corner".
The area was also called Argyle in English for some time in the past. This name was used for the MTR station in the area, when it was opened in 1979. Also, the office building 旺角中心, which was named after the area, is known in English as Argyle Centre instead of Mong Kok Centre.
Streets and markets
Mong Kok preserves its traditional characteristics with an array of markets, small shops, and food stalls that have already disappeared from other areas in Hong Kong over the past several decades of economic developments. As such, a few of these streets in Mong Kok have acquired interesting nicknames reflecting their own characteristics. Some interesting sites are:
- Ladies' Street (女人街, Ladies' market on Tung Choi Street) - This market specializes in women's clothing, accessories, cosmetics, and the like. It is open daily from noon to 00.00 a.m. at Tung Choi Street on the east of Nathan Road. Typically, where there is a market, there are also food stalls selling noodles, seafood, andcongee for mid-afternoon or late-night snacks. A grocery market is also located in the vicinity, convenient for consumers searching from a diverse range of items; ranging from vegetables to clothing.
- Sai Yeung Choi Street South, (西洋菜南街) - A street full of shops selling consumer electronic products, comestics, and discount books, the last of which are usually located on the lower floors above ground floor of buildings.
- Temple Street (廟街, sometimes referred to as Men's Street), extending into Jordan, is also in the area, however, the area famous for the Hong Kong specific goods are only in the section between Yau Ma Tei and Jordan.
among others....
As soon as I entered MongKong, this is a sad sight I saw...
Of course, we didn't go all around Mong Kok but I was amazed by the spirit of the place.
It was filled with lots of stores - - in buildings and just along the streets, all with the "tiangge" experience as we call it.
It was so bright with all the neon signs and all the people that we saw!
It also had the usual stores like the electronic stores, Fortress and Broadway and the personal beauty shop, Sasa and many more of the name brand stores like Giordano and Bossini.
The first set of stores we saw were selling shoes and while my friends were busy, I went a few more steps away to the Night market area with all the stalls selling cellphone covers, keychains, souvenirs and whatnots.
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| shoe stores |
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| food stalls |
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| of course, Angry Birds stuff toys and other trinkets |
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| the Night market with the "Tiangge" air... but be careful, haggle to the max even as low as half the price...but make sure you buy after all the haggling OR ELSE, you'll get the ire of the angry stall keeper saying things you don't understand, but you know what she means anyway! Decided to keep away from them! |
We were at the computer side of MongKok.
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| Mong Kok Computer Centre (旺角電腦中心 )- This three-story computer mall has around 50 to 70 computer shops. They sell various kinds of products includinglaptops, software, hardware and computer accessories. |
C d C or Cafe de Coral is one of the fastfood restaurants in HongKong.
A lot of things caught my eye - - attractive Chinese signs, interestingly lighted stores and we walked on more to discover MongKok more.
But what caught my attention most was the free spirit of the youth, who just gathered in the middle of the street and danced their hearts away... taking their shirts off in the process.
Of course, a huge crowd gathered around them...I felt a bit old as I went closer to the group!
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| Break dancing away! |
Also in another corner, a group of young men just stood and sang catching the attention of the people.
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| As the night was coming to an end, the crowd thinned out just a bit! |
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