Attack of the Public Holidays

Don't think for a moment that I'm complaining, but we've had a ton of public holidays of late. In fact, there have been five days off in as many weeks! Due to a combination of festivals based on both the solar and lunar calendars, most Aprils and Mays are heavy on the holidays. And this year, that was certainly true!

In general, you can classify Hong Kong's public holidays into two very broad categories: those linked with a standout iconic showcase and the more general event-less day off. While its always pleasant to have time off of work, its especially nice when that time also provides some insight into the cultural and historic traditions of the city. And so I think I love those holidays falling into that first category most of all. 

First up among the recent crop of holidays was Ching Ming Festival, one of two annual holidays—one in spring and one in fall—for local families to go "tomb sweeping," where they visit the graves of their ancestors for maintenance and cleaning. Blessed with beautiful weather this year, Ching Ming certainly proved memorable. Courtney and I opted to take Fredric to Stanley to enjoy the start of spring. 

On the beach that day, we met a very friendly Australian named Pete and his awesome dog, Max, who enjoyed playing with Fredric in the sand. Pete was in the planning stages of a trip to Burma, so we hit it off quickly, with my travel tips flowing freely. And we exchanged contact details so we could meet up again. 

All in all, it was a wonderful day of food and drinks in the sunshine. In addition to our time on the beach, Courtney and I had lunch at Lucy's, browsed the market and enjoyed some libations at Smuggler's Inn before heading home. 

Just on the heels of Ching Ming, Easter was fast approaching. And, lucky us here in Hong Kong, we get not only Good Friday off work but also Easter Monday. As I detailed in my previous post, the Hong Kong International Film Festival—which almost always coincides with the Easter holidays—provides a great excuse to use these free days off work to take advantage of the amazing movie screenings happening all across the SAR. 

Hong Kong's Labour Day always takes place on the first of May, falling on a Monday this year. I met up with new friend Pete and his buddy Pong for dim sum in Aberdeen, expecting some tasty dumplings and perhaps a few beers. What I got was much more than I bargained for! Midway through the meal, Pete mentioned he and Pong were planning to take his boat out afterwards to spend a day on the water. If I wanted to join, they were happy to have me along!

I think you can guess what I decided to do with my free afternoon. We sailed from Aberdeen, where Pete keeps his boat, to Lamma Island, and then back again. It was an absolutely perfect day, with sunshine, clean water and blue skies. And I even got a brief lesson in driving the boat, as the sunset and the tunes blared! 

We had one work day in between the Labour Day celebrations and the next holiday, Buddha's Birthday, which took place yesterday. Buddha's Birthday surely ranks up there with the Tung Ng Festival and Mid-Autumn Fesitval as my top trio of Hong Kong holidays. Perhaps its no surprise that all three of these days fall into the "standout iconic event" category, and so I try my best to stay in town for them each year, in spite of how tempting it might be to take a trip. 

I know I've written about it before, but Buddha's Birthday is marked by the spectacular Cheung Chau Bun Festival, which occurs on my favorite of all of Hong Kong's outlying islands. True, the island is crowded to the brim with tourists and it can be a little overwhelming at times, but the atmosphere is unbeatable, and I don't think I'll ever voluntarily choose to miss out on the festivities.

Yesterday, I was up and at 'em early, with Fredric and I catching the 8:30am ferry from Central Ferry Pier 5. A little later, my friend Danijela arrived on the island, and we hiked a bit before stopping for lunch alongside the parade route. Each year, the local population create floats gently spoofing local public figures. The floats are especially noteworthy because of the hidden support beams concealed within that make it look as it the town's children are flying through the streets, precariously balanced on one another!

After Danijela left, Fredric and I took a nap on the beach, savoring our last hours before it was back to the grind. As I get ready to brace myself for some solid weeks of work, don't feel too bad! Tung Ng Festival's dragon boat races are coming up next, so we'll have another mid-week respite from work before June is here!