Where I Shop When I Go To Hong Kong

Just some of the stuff I've bought over the past week from Prince Edward.
Hint: none of these cost over 80HKD ($10.30 USD or PHP 445).

Most people who know me know that I "live" in Hong Kong part-time. I've been going back and forth between Manila and Hong Kong since birth, because my mum works in HK and I go to school in Manila. In July 2011, my sisters permanently moved to HK to study and since then, my visits have gone from about 3-4 times a year to once every two months, which is great for me (despite the hassle of going through Manila airport security) because a) I get to see my sisters and mum, of course, and, b) shopping in Hong Kong is majestic, and I get to do just that (provided that either I have pocket money or my mum is being nice--it's usually the latter!). And c) it's really just a great breather from my everyday routine, which I like to pretend is more taxing than it really is.

Let me tell you about shopping in Hong Kong. One thing: You have to know where to look.

If you've got unlimited resources, yeah sure, go to the usual malls like IFC, Elements, Harbor City, and even the high-end outlet store, Citygate. It'd be nice if you could afford the designer pieces at Lane Crawford and everything, but I'm twenty years old, still in university and therefore still living in my parents' pockets. So I'm stuck with budget shopping, which is actually about 239% funner than regular shopping, give or take.

So for a half (or full) day of shopping, I've come up with a budget shopping itinerary that you can do on foot!

Start at Sham Shui Po for electronics. They have just about everything, if you're looking to buy a new phone or computer, or even just the parts or accessories. Around Apliu Street Market are stalls with random electronics that you might need or didn't even know you wanted, and around Sham Shui Po are rows and rows of stores that sell all kinds of devices. But where you really want to go is the Golden Computer Arcade, which is a 2 minute walk once you exit the Sham Shui Po station at Exit D1. They. Have. Everything. And at extremely competitive prices, too. We're basically a Mac family, so this is where we've bought our hardshell cases, laptop sleeves, keyboard protectors, USB connectors, replacement chargers, HDMI cables, adaptors, everything. This is hardware and software heaven for any computer geek, Mac or PC.

Some of my sister's finds.

Matte turquoise Macbook Air hardshell case, orange CrystalGuard for keyboard, for a total of 170 HKD ($22 USD or PHP 946) +cute glittery lizard sticker we found at a stationery shop, plus a few tops from Prince Edward, neither of which are above 60 HKD ($8 USD or PHP 334).

Prince Edward is a 20-30 minute walk from Sham Shui Po, along Cheung Sha Wan road (I suggest saving a few screenshots from googlemaps if you don't have mobile internet access). If you're a bit lazy, you can just hop on back to the MTR and exit at Prince Edward's B2 exit. What you wanna look for is the large sculpture of the two goldfish between Allied Plaza and Pioneer Center (both buildings have a lot of shops as well), and from there, you can cross the road and turn left through Nullah Road. Go straight past Kowloon Watch Co., past Watsons and turn right when you see the Mobile Softee ice-cream van, where there's a street market that stretches 2 blocks, with Bute Street in between the two. You'll want to explore the air-conditioned shops to your right and your left (not the stalls on the street--well you can go to those too but there's less to see). Obviously I can't really tell you which shops to go to because they all kinda look the same to me, but some are definitely better than others. Just be patient :D This is where we go to buy tops of all kinds (both unbranded and factory overruns),  cheap but not cheap-looking accessories, and SHOES. On the streets parallel to this one, there are goldfish markets, pet markets, flower markets, etc. Prince Edward is also a great place to snack. Buy some Milk Tea or Fresh Coconut Juice, or try the street food.

This blend of Coconut Juice is crazy good.
You'll see these all around the area.

The Mong Kok Night/Ladies' Market is for tourists, but Tung Choi Street is walking distance from the Prince Edward market! We don't go here often because most things are overpriced and there's not much variety, but this is where you'd go if you needed to buy souvenirs or knock-offs. However, there is a catch: It's super easy to haggle. Let's say you wanted to buy some Ray-Ban wayfarer knockoffs, and you ask for the price. So the saleslady goes "One hundred and fifty HKD". What you should do is snigger and laugh a bit, as if to say, "Wow, that's ridiculous. I'm not gonna pay 150 for these. That price is for tourists who think they're getting a deal." And you should shake your head a bit, muttering, that's too expensive. Most likely, the saleslady is going to ask you, "How much dyou want it for?" You should stand your ground and give a low price (lower than whatever you're willing to pay), like, say, 45 dollars. Either the saleslady will say, no that's too cheap, or will say yes right away. If she says no the first time, just walk away. 90% of the time, she'll run after you and hesitantly agree. In your head, you should be celebrating because you just got a deal! Woohoo!*I know there are a lot of restaurants around here as well, so you could go ahead and have dinner here :)

If you were looking for specific items, you could just google them, because I guarantee there are markets for them. For example, a few streets over from the Ladies Market is a whole row of sports shops. Along Lan Kwai Fong (where HK nightlife is at its best), you'd find some costumes and halloween masks and the like. Near Apliu street in Sham Shui Po, there's a bead market. And so on.

Sooo there. Hong Kong is a shopping haven, even if you've got budget constraints. You just have to know where to look.

(*This happened to my sister and I today. We were buying sunglasses for our younger sister. Heehee. At another stall, we were given a price of 89 HKD, and that was still too expensive for us!)