One of the most memoral things we did in Hong Kong was visit the Jade Market, it was quite the experience! This market is a little different from the others because it’s indoors, but like the others most of the vendors sell the same items. As soon as you walk in you are basically attacked by people asking you – what you like, what you’re looking for, how much you can spend, etc; it was incredibly overwhelming. We walked in a circle bowing and trying to politely decline everything they were trying to sell us. To be honest we almost ran out of there…
I stopped to look at some earrings and the lady (who was still being pushy) started showing me the differences between real jade and fake jade. When seen under a light the color of real jade will be enhanced while fake jade looks blurry, but fun fact they also sound differently, real jade sounds deeper while fake jade sounds like plastic beads. I really liked her unique technique of keeping me interested in her items and i picked out a studded pair of earrings for me. My friends, who had kept walking, joined me and i ended up buying five pairs of earrings (because christmas gifts)!
*Jade Market Tip* I thought i got a pretty good deal and i did, compared to what i would’ve paid for Jade elsewhere. But after arriving in Okinawa and speaking to someone from Hong Kong i was told that you’re supposed to haggle the price to half of what they offer!! If they act like they can’t go that low, walk away, they will probably follow you and cave.
^^ These porcelain looking white/blue ones were one of my favorites! ^^
After spending some time on that one table we felt a little more comfortable and were able to walk around a bit more. We all bought something, but later wished we would’ve spent more time shopping around; if only it wasn’t so intimidating and uncomfortable.