Feb 19 & 20 - Fireworks & New Years Performances

Feb. 19 – Fireworks

This little girl was waiting at the bus stop with me after the fireworks. She was just too cute not to photograph. Chinese childern dress in traditional Chinese outfits for the New Year celebrations. Her little brother was also dressed up, but he was not nearly so cooperative.

I spoke to Sarah today. She & Clay also ventured over to see the parade. They got there way earlier than we did & got a spot near the clock tower where the parade started. She said the crowds were ridiculous & Clay got impatient because the parade didn’t start on time so they saw like 2 floats & he wanted to leave. They fought the crowds to get to the MTR station & were both very mad at each other. I told her that John & just split up & he went home & text messaged me. She laughed really hard at that & said it sounded like a much more equitable way to handle it. She told Clay that is what he needs to do next time. We laughed about how much alike our husbands are.

For the fireworks, Sarah was very apologetic because without her knowing it, Clay had invited several people from work over to watch from their apartment. They have a perfect view. I told her I didn’t mind, as I like being with the crowd & hearing their reaction.

John let me know early in the day that he didn’t really feel like fighting the crowds for the fireworks, which I appreciated so I could plan accordingly. He went to the ones in the fall & felt like he’d rather not go again. It was raining lightly out so I didn’t really blame him. The cloud cover was very low, so I wondered how well we’d be able to see them anyway. I of course had to venture out. I love fireworks & just didn’t want to miss them. I left early (2 hours) in hopes of getting a good spot. I again went across to Kowloon, as I thought I might get a be better view from that side of the harbor. I found a spot about 20 people back from the front, but since this was in the sky it didn’t really matter. I met a nice couple visiting from Scotland for 2 days, on their way to Australia for a month vacation. They were in their late 20’s & so enthusiastic. They had a very full 2 days (they were leaving the next morning) & absolutely loved HK. They were talking about moving & finding jobs here. I guess the big city lights & crowds are exciting for folks from rural Scotland. We didn’t really feel the rain, but when you looked up into the lights you could see it blowing past, very misty kind of rain. The cloud cover was so low that you could only see about halfway up the buildings across the harbor. Sarah told me later that the clouds were so low that they only saw the first few explosions, then the smoke from those blocked the rest of the show. Glad I was were I was.

Turns out I had a good spot & could see very well. I could have done without the loudspeaker right next to me blaring the music, but I tolerated it. I was not disappointed by the fireworks or the crowd’s reaction. This was a much better location than last time, because I could see the fireworks from all 4 boats, it was a more expansive view. The trip home was a lot more difficult, though. I heard later that they estimated the crowd to be over half a million. I managed to find the ferry dock, after wandering around for 30 minutes and fighting massive crowds of people going the other way. It was like swimming upstream against a really strong current. I got dizzy watching the people come at me like a wave, it was strange. When I finally go to the ferry pier, it was closed. I guess since they set the fireworks off from boats in the harbor ferry service is temporarily suspended. People were waiting & after about 30 minutes they opened it up. I didn’t want to fight the crowds to get to the MTR station & be underground with all those people. Took the same mini bus home. It was actually the same driver & he laughed & welcomed me as I got on this time. The bus drivers are so nice. It was a late night, but I’m glad I went. John had an enjoyable evening watching a good movie & not fighting any crowds. We were both happy.

If my writing isn’t too good here I apologize. I wrote this very late at night & I guess I was more tired than I thought. I read through it once & made lots of corrections, but I don’t have the energy to do it again. Thanks for understanding.

Feb. 20 – New Year’s Performances

Yesterday & today the groups who participated in the parade were scheduled to do performances at a few venues over in Kowloon. Since I missed so much of the parade, I decided that I’d like to see some of the groups up close. The performances were from 2pm to 9pm. There were two main venues that were both in a mall area. One was inside the mall down about 5 floors, so you could view from many balconies overlooking the atrium. The other was outside in a large covered courtyard on a raised stage. It was about a 5 minute walk through the mall from one to the other.
I arrived a little after 2pm & could hear music booming from the mall. I found a spot on the performance level a few people back, so I had a decent view. There was a man behind me who had a huge camera with a huge lens. He looked nice & was reaching over my shoulder to get a shot, so I very politely let him get in front, for what I thought would be one shot & then he’d move back. I learned that lesson quickly. He just kept shooting & shooting. The etiquette of polite crowd behavior is a little different then I’m accustomed to, it is each man for himself. When the guy finally did move out, another man (he looked Indian), pushed into his spot so quickly that I didn’t have time to react. I took note of this.

The performance was a group from South Africa doing traditional drumming & dancing. It was spectacular. Lots of noise & energy. The cameras were out in force, with some huge lenses and tripods – the works. There were more stepladders than I saw at the parade. These people are serious about their photography. The flashes were constant during the entire performance. I wondered what these people will do with 500 photos of African dancers & drummers. Since this went on all day with every performance I realized how digital photography has probably changed how people view photo taking. I’m guessing if the had to pay to develop each photo, the enthusiasm would have been somewhat diminished.

The performances were every half hour & alternated between the 2 venues, so you had to rush to the next one if you wanted to see anything. The next performance was a group of dancers from Spain in Caribbean dress. I didn’t have a very good view & they basically had these huge feathered hoops circling way above their heads & were just strutting around & shaking. I was not inspired, so I moved on to the next location to try to get a good spot. I was starting to understand how this all works. You stake out your spot & fight to keep it no matter what. Nobody says anything, they just push & jockey for position. I can fight that battle as well as the rest of them.

I got to the next venue early & got a spot just one person back, unfortunately the couple in front of me were both tall (figures I would find tall Chinese people to stand behind). I would have asked if I could get in front of them, but they had a child & it didn’t seem like that sort of this was done. Wouldn’t you know it, the Indian guy ended up right next to me, he was as short as me so I knew if push came to shove, I could take him. This group was New Zealand stiltdancers. The costumes were colorful and dramatic. Lots of flowing wings and colorful makeup. Near the beginning of the performance a man came in with a little girl & he his wife was at the front row, in front of the Indian man. He let the man & child in & then complained that now he couldn’t see very well & one of them needed to move. The woman moved back next to me. I made a point of saying to her that she was very nice to do that because this man had pushed in front of me at the earlier performance. I said it loud enough so the man would be sure to hear it. He gave me a glare & I said “Yes, you did the very same thing to me at the last performance, so you really have no right to complain.” He just turned away & ignored me. I didn’t care, it made me feel better & I had won a friend in the woman. I’m learning fast.

Next up Flamingo Dancers from, where else, Spain. This one I watched from 2 balconies up because there was a spot in the front & I noted all the good spots on the main level were already occupied. This was another colorful and energetic performance. They had their own band accompanying the dancers, very enjoyable. I think I got some good photos of the women spinning around in a blur from above. My creative photography coming out.

Yes, I am happy to report that the USA was well represented at this event. The next group – The Arizona Cardinal Cheerleaders and Mascot. I was SO VERY PROUD of my country for sending such an authentic representation of our wonderful culture. Women half naked shaking & grinding to pounding music. Somehow the South Africans did a much better job at this. I couldn’t even get close to this performance, the men were jammed in like sardines with cameras flashing away like crazy. The stepladders were out in force, it was actually pretty comical. My lack of interest in this allowed me to get to the next venue early & stake out a good spot, because this was one I was particularly interested in – Chinese cultural dance & song.

I was near the middle in the very front (yeah, I graduated to the front row after just 5 performances, I am a quick study). I had to sit for an hour (longer break between the events this time), but it was well worth it. This group was from Hainan Province, which is an island province south of Hong Kong. The women were draped in flower and the costumes were extremely colorful. They danced & sang what one would think of as Chinese style with energy. One young man demonstrated some native instruments one of which was a bamboo flute type of instrument that he played by blowing with his nose.

I rushed from this location to the other one & ended up getting a moderately good spot. This was the Switzerland Comic Band. The only way I can describe their outfits is they looked like the guards at the castle of the Wicked Which of the West from the Wizard of OZ. They were bright blues & quilted material with geometric designs on them. They each had a different & very comical hat on. They looked like they were having a blast, very silly on stage with lots of faces & antics, but when they played, they were nothing but professional. They belted out some great tunes & were a pleasure to listen to.

Back to the other venue, but had an extra half hour so I got there early & got a good spot. I think I’m starting to get the hang of this. This group was from Korea & they were extremely good. They did farmer dances, drum dances, and Pan-Gut, which combines music dance & games (that is the description from the brochure). Their costumes were also colorful & fun. Some had hats with huge pom-poms on them with the colors of the Korean flag. There were 4 men who had long ribbons on the top of their hats (10 foot long ribbons) which were attached in such a way that when they made the slightest movement of their heads the ribbons twirled around them like the gymnastic ribbon event at the Olympics. One of them did a solo with an even longer ribbon & he could really work it, it was fascinating. The drumming was excellent also. This one was really fun to watch.

Next up, Thailand. I didn’t get a very good spot, but close enough to get some decent photos. This performance & costuming was what I would expect from Thailand. Very elaborate costumes with lots of gold & red. Some had the traditional Thai headdresses that look like temple roofs. Their movements were stylized, with lots of attention to finger positioning & angling. One group of women had long attachments to the end of their fingers with red pom-poms on the ends. This was another good performance, but I have to admit that the Thai music is very high pitched & it kind of got to me after a while. Fortunately the next performance was at the same venue, so when the Thai group was done & the people cleared out, I moved in for a front row spot.

The last group was from Yunnan Province. If you are familiar with the book called The Last Horizon which talks about a place called, Shangri La, Yunnan Province is the place the author is talking about. I’ve heard from locals here that it is a wonderful place to visit & has some dramatic scenery. Again, the costumes were wonderful, lots of color & tassels & embroidery. The women had very unusual hats. I loved the colorful sandals the men wore. The music was upbeat & fun as where the dances. They did an all female dragon dance which must be unusual, because they made a big deal about it. The Chinese love the dragon dances & the women did a great job twisting the dragon around the stage. There must have been about 30 women making up the dragon & they had to curve around & twist through the row. It required very accurate timing & precision so as not to get tangled up & crash into each other. It was a wonderful culmination to a day of culture, theater, music & fun. I was thoroughly exhausted, but so glad that I went. I took plenty of photos & even some video. I only missed 2 performances, one being the New Zealand Air Force Marching Band (I’d seen them in the parade & wasn’t too impressed) and the Fralinger String Band from Philadelphia. I hated missing a home town group, but it was them or Thailand and I opted for Thailand. So I think I did pretty well getting in as much as possible.

It ended at 9pm and I found my way to the MTR this time & took the bus home. It was a good day. I think I got some good photos, so take a look at my photo site if you are interested.

Feb 21 – Cleaning the corporate apartment

This day was not so much interesting as it was comical. There is a guy coming in from the US Cadmus office tomorrow, and it being New Years, we could not get anyone to come clean the corporate apartment. For New Year’s it is important to have your home cleaned (or clean it yourself which most people don’t like to do) to get rid of the bad luck from the old year and allow the good luck to come it & have a clean place. It had been cleaned a few weeks earlier & a guy from the office in Thailand was there for a week since then, so I figured it couldn’t be too bad, so volunteers to make the beds & be sure it was presentable. I brought some supplies with me & walked over there. My first surprise was the freezer was thickly caked with ice so that none of the drawers would open, so it was going to need defrosting. I got that task started & then went to check the rest of the place. The rugs in the bathroom & kitchen were pretty dirty, so I figured since I’d be there for a while defrosting the freezer, so I might was well throw them into the washer. I did this, then went to make the beds. After a few minutes I heard what sounded like water & thought it was strange that the freezer would defrost that fast that water would pour out. I rushed back into the kitchen to find about a half inch of water all over the kitchen floor. It was not the freezer, but the washer was gushing water out of the bottom. I realized that there was a drain hole down there & the plug had come out. I replaced the plug & got the extra towel & began mopping up. I had it all cleaned up & was about to go back to the beds when the washer went to the next wash cycle & the plug popped out again. Fortunately I was there to get it back in quickly & gave it a turn to tighten it up. I decided that I’d better just sit there in the kitchen and baby sit the washer just to make sure there were no more floods. After mopping up that mess, I turned my attention to the freezer & got that all cleaned up. I’m glad to say the plug remained in & I didn’t have to do any more mopping. This is the same type of washer as we have in our apartment that takes 2 hours to wash & another 2 hours to dry. So I had plenty of time to get all the cleaning done & beds made & make the place look nice. Lesson learned, washers have plugs, make sure they are IN before you start it up.

Feb.22 – nothing much

I put up some groceries in the apartment. Met John & Keith (the visitor from the US) at the Airport Express station & brought Keith’s luggage up to the apartment for him so that he could head out to the new office. Keith is an IT guy who is here to get the new office computers & phones all working the way they should. Poor guy !! Spent the rest of the day getting things done around here.