A trip to the quiet and unassuming Cat Street Market (officially Upper Lascar Row*) can come as a welcome diversion from such markets as found over in Kowloon. There is no gaudy plastic to be found here, mostly antiques – or excellent copies – jostle for space on the tables lining the street, each one loaded with fascinating objects. Upon approaching one stall it felt like stepping back in time to the 50′s to when People’s Republic came to power. It was quite literally overflowing with all manner of bric-a-brac under the general theme of ‘Red’. The communication gulf between myself and the wizened and wrinkled lady, who seemed to be seated somewhere inside a pile of Little Red Books (the words of Mao himself), was partially bridged as I managed to buy a couple of things from somewhere in the pile. Definitely the most interesting market of the area by a long shot!
*Lascars were seamen of Indian origin typically under the employ of the British Navy and merchants, some settled in Hong Kong hence the name of the road. These seamen were not the best guests and Upper Lascar Row gained the reputation as an area of lawlessness and various criminal behaviours. As noted elsewhere If something of yours was stolen the first place to look was Lascar Row, the name Cat Street refers to the Cantonese slang for thieves being ‘rats’ and hence the cats buy things from the rats… Today Lascar Row is lined with antiques and various
