Lions don't really wander the streets of Hong Kong, but then again, sometimes they do..... at least in representative form. Wandering around you sometimes hear the crash of cymbals and the bang of drums. This generally means a lion dance is taking place, usually to bring luck to a new business venture, or, at Lunar New Year, to bring luck for the coming year.
Sometimes you just see these fellows. They wait patiently.
I love it in Hong Kong when it rains. We have long periods, generally the entire winter, when we have little or no rain at all. Come spring it all happens. And boy, sometimes it really can.
I was taking a taxi to meet some friends, have some lunch at a dai pai dong (street stall), and then go see an exhibition when the sky opened and down came what is referred to as a "black rain". Large amounts of rain fall in a very short period of time. This was the view out the taxi windscreen, between sweeps of the windscreen wiper. Needless to say traffic moved slowly for a while.
I made it to lunch, the pork neck noodles were great, the company excellent, and the conversation was ...... all about the rain.
Last week was the start of the year of the Ox in Hong Kong. And with the start of the year there are celebrations and obligations. One obligation is to make offerings for the success of the year.
So I waited a few days for the crush to die down and headed out to a Taoist Temple in Wong Tai Sin. It was still busy. And the smoke from innumerable joss sticks filled the air.
The entire family visits.
Some from the Chinese Mainland like this group.
In a few days it will all be quite again, well, until the next event on the calendar.
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