Stanley Market
Good for: Photography, beaches, small village atmosphere, alternative shopping, cafes and bars
Not good for: Name brand shopping
Lonely Planet review for Stanley Market
No big bargains or big stings, just reasonably priced casual clothes (plenty of large sizes), bric-a-brac, toys and formulaic art, all in a nicely confusing maze of alleys running down to Stanley Bay. It’s best to go during the week; on the weekend the market is bursting at the seams with tourists and locals alike.
Traveller reviews for Stanley Market (3)
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Great souvenir shopping in a small village atmosphere
migigawa recommends this,
Stanley is a world away from the megacity on the other side of Victoria Peak, the perfect counterpoint to all the skyscrapers you have probably gotten your fill of on your previous days stay.
Best way to go is by double decker bus. I always stay in Kowloon so the best bus from there is the #973 bus that snakes its way around the peninsula before heading cross harbour to Kennedytown, then Aberdeen, Repulse Bay, then Stanley. I think from Central, one takes the #6 bus from Exchange Square. Try to sit upstairs, in the front seat preferably, and you'll be treated to the closest thing public transportation gets to a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride. complete with sheer cliff-side views and tree branches smacking the windshield, all the while dodging numerous speeding Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris while swaying to and fro. If you're prone to motion-sickness, better take some medication first!
Get off at Stanley Market and you will find lots of stalls selling that last-minute souvenir you were looking for, for the folks back home. Lots of great restaurants and bars here too. On one side of the small bay are the reconstructed Murray Building and a historic covered wharf. Resident hawks twist and glide in the skies high above. The Murray building houses an excellent museum on the history of shipping, complete with a simulator that has you pilot a large freighter through HK harbor. There's also a small hillside mall and a few small temples that are worth visiting. The town has constructed a beautiful seaside promenade all around the bay.It feels more like the Mediterranean in Stanley, rather than a part of China.
Back to the other end of the bay, walk past the shops, past a rocky point, past the public restroom complex and walk through an open-air antique shop and make your way to a small beach where you can rest a while and enjoy the view and do some beach combing. Lots of very old porcelain fragments can be found in the sand. On weekdays off-season you're probably the only one there watching the waves; sit on the sand and forget that you're in one of the most high-tech places on Earth.
The bus ride back during sunset hours is a treat all its own. The view of the sun setting on Aberdeen, Lamma Island and Ap Lei Chau is spectacular!!!
Good for: Photography, beaches, small village atmosphere, alternative shopping, cafes and bars, seaside promenade
Not good for: Name brand shopping
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A good place to pick up souvenirs for friends and family.
angriest recommends this,
The Stanley Market is a nicely laid-back, relaxed place. I never felt pressured or crowded while visiting, and the prices were all pretty reasonable for what I was buying. The bus ride to Stanley is great to see a part of Hong Kong you'll simply miss if you stay in Central or Kowloon. The Stanley promenade is also worth walking along, with a lot of nice cafes, a pleasant pub, and historic Murray House - which includes the surprisingly good Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
Good for: gift shopping, Shopping, A Relaxed Drink...
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