Jamie | Founder of J3 Private Tours Hong Kong | Offering Award Winning Private Tours of Hong Kong
I have now uploaded 100,000 images to my J3 Private Tours Flickr site
Not my favourite colour for a Porsche GT3 RS
This is image number 100,000 that I posted to Flickr on July 14th 2018
Yup, 100,000 images I have uploaded to my Flickr site which is pretty good going as I put every image through photoshop and then I have to reduce the image size, it really does require a lot of effort but it is worth it.
My Flickr site is not just about cars, cars are my passion and Hong Kong is all about cars, both the car brand and the number plate are a big thing here which is great for me, I am not really about taking pictures of Japanese or Korean cars (with one exception, the Nissan GTR aka Godzilla)
I have lived in Hong Kong a very long time so I have a pretty extensive collection of images (30,000 +) spanning subject matter that might be of interest to people visiting or researching Hong Kong, as a private tour guide I have to have extensive knowledge of Hong Kong.
..... so a big thank you to everyone that | clicks | on my images and sends me comments
The Ladies Market in Hong Kong, forget the criticism and just visit
Mong Kok | The Ladies Market
I am always a little surprised by the constant criticism the Ladies Market in Hong Kong gets.. here is an example from a reviewer on Tripadvisor.
| The Ladies Market is thrown at you the whole time you're in Hong Kong like it's a big deal but it's so not worth the visit. I mean, if you like experiencing street markets that's cool, but in terms of actually shopping it's utterly worthless. Why? Well, imagine there's a stall that sells souvenir junk (magnets, key chains, etc.), a stall that sells knock of tech stuff (phone cases, charging cables, etc.), one with cute figurines and stuffed animals, one with purses and bags, and one with clothes. Now, copy and paste those exact same stalls with the exact same things for sale for four blocks and you've got the Ladies Market. Now, add onto the fact that the vast majority of stuff is not even related to Hong Kong but rather Japanese (Totoro and Pokemon figurines/stuffed animals left and right) and it makes it damn difficult to find a decent souvenir or unique item. The stall owners start yelling at you the second you stop to look at an item and will drop the price if you start to walk away, so you might be able to find a decent bargain but since it's the same stuff being sold all over Hong Kong, you can save yourself the trip and just buy it elsewhere. If I had known what it was like I would have given it a hard pass. |
Frankly a lot of the criticism in this review is factual and correct but that is hardly the point, the products are absolutely NOT available all over Hong Kong as suggested in the review, we really only have 3 Tourist Trap Markets so to speak
The Ladies Market in Kowloon
The Temple Street Night Market in Kowloon
Stanley Market on Hong Kong Island
We have "local markets" in Sham Shui Po in Kowloon but these markets are nothing like the other three.
The Ladies Market is full of junk, tat, poor fakes and such, it is always crowded but by golly it is fun, it is great for people watching and most people will end up buying something that is just right for someone they know.
Haggling is straight forward, offer 50% of what they say as the starting point and if you are lucky you will get the product with a 50% - 70% discount, which is about right.. every now and then you come across a stall that is different and takes you by surprise.
The people that manage the stalls at best are surly and indifferent, but who can blame them ? (and somehow are always eating a lunch box!) they do not speak good English (in fact I am pretty sure they are taught by one person who teaches them the basic art of negotiation) and they might spend up to 10 hours on their feet in all weathers haggling with surly and indifferent customers | not the best job in the world.
..... so my advice as an experienced private tour guide is go and visit with low expectations and just have an hour of fun! it opens at mid day but doesn't really get going until after 2pm and closes at around 11pm - 11.30pm (ish) daily.
Hong Kong Chief Executive (Leader) Carrie Lam, | Official BMW | Hong Kong Crest instead of a license plate.
A car upgrade for our Dear Leader, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong
... and about bloody time as well, Hong Kong's leader is an important person make no mistake and I have always gotten a little mad at seeing our leader trolling around in a Lexus, a Lexus is a perfectly boring and safe choice for most of our Government Ministers (matches their personality) but our Carrie is different, she likes a little luxury and the prestige in riding around in a lovely BMW 7 series car., and yes this quite lovely BMW 750Li matches her personality and I think it is great she has used a bit of Executive Authority to get this car.
You will notice the lack of a number plate, with our leaders they have the honour (perhaps that is a little dubious) of using the Hong Kong Crest which at best makes for the perfect aiming point for someone wishing to use a paint gun | water melon or such.
In her official car she has 2 bodyguards plus the driver, I am quite sure the driver has skills as well, sadly I am not quite there on waving terms with Carrie but given the number of times I have photographed her in her official car, I am sure her chaps have had me checked out.. funny though she is only a few minutes from her Official Residence to her Office and I bet she takes the same route everyday, I am just saying... oh and sometimes she has a Police Escort (Traffic Cop) and sometimes she doesn't, good job I am a patriot and I rather like her.
The Hong Kong version of the Ladies that do lunch, the Tai Tai
A typical Hong Kong Tai Tai | in essence a wealthy married woman that does not work
I am a Private Tour Guide who does premium walking tours of Hong Kong, as such I find myself in fancy 5 star Hotels frequently and waiting for my guests provides me with ample time to do a spot of people watching , one of my favourite things to do.
This is very much a typical Tai Tai in Hong Kong, perfectly coiffured, Hermes bag, expensive jade bangle, lots of diamonds and for me the funny part, the somewhat old fashioned flip phone, I would put money on her chauffeur driven Rolls Royce being 5 minutes away.
So, why a flip phone? simple really, some of our richest people are somewhat tight fisted or as we say in England when mocking people from Scotland, as tight as a ducks a**e!, it is true, they could be worth billions but if something still works ok then why waste money? at the very least some lady like this should have a VERTU phone., anyway, it made me laugh.
| 4 things you probably did not know about Tai Tai's in Hong Kong |
They buy jewellery at K.S. Sze & Sons in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central
They do lunch in Cafe Causette in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central
They have their hair done at Kim Robinson Salon in Chater House, 1 minute away from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central
The car | chauffeur are illegally parked at Princes Building, over the road from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central
One word of warning, you never, ever cross a Tai Tai, when you have billions, exacting revenge is an art form., you have been warned.
24K Pure Gold Mickey Mouse, 10.53kg | 23lbs, US$425,000, a Hong Kong Icon
Gold Mickey Mouse, iconic Hong Kong statue.
Truly amazing
Location | 1st Floor, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company, I Square, Nathan Road & Peking Road, TST, Kowloon in Hong Kong.
This is an old image, if you go into the Peking Road entrance at I Square you will actually see a 24K Pure Gold Statue of R2D2, that's because Mickey Mouse has been moved upstairs to the 1st floor, you have to ask to see him, sometimes they let you, sometimes they don't..... R2D2 incidentally is the same weight and value as Mickey Mouse and what a great selfie opportunity!
I am huge fan of Chow Tai Fook the Jewellery Company | quite legendary actually, as a visitor to Hong Kong you cannot help but notice that they are everywhere, (like Starbucks and McDonalds), this is because they are the largest jewellery company in the world today and they are owned by one of Hong Kong's largest Property Developers, New World Development. (or is it the other way round?)
oh... they do NOT sell cheap jewellery as a rule, sone of their pricing will make your toes curl but they have great lines of Disney Jewellery and Marvel Jewellery for the younger generation.
Oh my golly gosh, the simply amazing Pagani Zonda Absolute - this is a custom made car and is rumoured to be the only one of it's kind in the world and it is in Hong Kong!... oh... and yes, this is my picture, talk about being in the right place at the right time.
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