Spent the morning yesterday swimming, but the water is getting colder. There is something about kids swimming though...JC spent two hours in the water, even though by the end her lips were blue and she was shiverring. The only way to get her out was to offer her lunch.

Yesterday afternoon we ventured with my in-laws to the Dark Side (Kowloon). Took the MTR to Mong Kok. My in-laws, being from Australia, were not used to trains in Hong Kong. There are no rules about waiting for passengers to alight; using elbows is de regeuir. Nevertheless they were with us and we knew the way of things here, so we used my father-in-laws 6 foot plus bulk to bludgeon our way in.

Exited the station and found ourselves in the heart of the Ladies' market. It was packed, yesterday being a holiday in HK as well as peak tourist season due to a week long holiday on the mainland. My two lessons of Cantonese mean I have an ear for the local language rather than Mandarin. I have no doubt many locals still look down on Mandarin speakers as poor cousins from the third world mainland. Yet the cash these "peasants" were flashing around show the balance is changing. The market goes for blocks, with large stalls and 3 feet of walking space, with several people at any one time trying to move in opposite directions. Plus those trying to get in and out of stalls. Like many of the street stalls, there were fakes a plenty. Louis Voutin handbags, Rolex watches etc. I picked up some Versace business shirts (100% cotton my arse; if I get those near a naked flame they'll be picking it off my skin for weeks); Mrs M had a good dodgy watch man from whom my father-in-law and I bought 3 watches. I had printouts from the websites and let me tell you these were indistinguishable from the real thing. In-laws bought a digital camera and so on. There are several markets in the area, with one street for electronics, another for fashion and watches, and another for sporting goods.

Like all men once I had purchased what I wanted I had enough and wanted to go. Three hours later, we did. Headed back to the Island where we had dinner at a place called Ye Shanghai. Good Shanghai-ese food, but we knew we were in trouble when the waiter told us the band would start at 9:30pm. Sure enough, they did. They were tolerable for the first couple of bland ballads, but when the lead singer and her man in the band started a duet of Eric Clapton's "You're wonderful" we all knew it was time for the bill.

JC decided to wake at 5:45am this morning. She wasn't popular. Spent a quiet morning contemplating my brother's footy team and their Grand Final today. I wish them luck, mostly because my bro will be inconsolable for about 6 months if they lose. We've now watched Nemo the obligatory twice this morning so we are heading for another Artic swim. And to take our mind off why things like this will never happen to us.