Courtney and the Mid-Autumn Festival

Hong Kong’s festivals are one of the most intriguing aspects of life here. I’d say the city plays host to at least one relatively important festival each month, but some of them are more fascinating than others. May’s Cheung Chau Bun Festival is probably my favorite, and I also love the Dragon Boat Festival in June, but perhaps the one that visibly transforms Hong Kong most impressively is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Held on the 15^th day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, the festival is marked by fire dragon dances and decorative Chinese lanterns festooning the streets and parks of the SAR. It’s also notorious among expats for the little “mooncakes” that are consumed during this period. “Mooncakes” are de rigueur among the Chinese here during the festival, but to a Western palate, they are quite perplexing—a richly sweet lotus seed paste encased in a pastry-like shell, with several unbroken salted duck eggs enclosed in the middle. I am very happy that I made it through the entire festival this year without having to consume a single one!

A picture I took during the Dragon Dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2010

Making this year’s festival even more memorable for me was the fact that a friend of mine from Villanova was visiting at the time! Courtney was two years behind me at school, but because we were both involved in Music Activities and the Blue Key Society, I got to know her pretty well. She was only in town for four days, capping off a multi-week trip that took her from Bangkok to Phuket to Beijing and finally to Hong Kong. Her timing was pretty perfect. Hitting the Mid-Autumn Festival would have been good enough, but due to this year’s lunar calendar, the festival overlapped with China's National Day on October 1^st. So I was off from work on both Monday and Tuesday, getting to spend all my time with Courtney without having to take any days off!

Good Old Days: Me and Courtney during NovaFest 2009 

It was a blast from start to finish, a non-stop string of days with little sleep but lots of fun! I picked Courtney up at the Airport Express station in IFC and took her straight to Crystal Jade. One of her biggest goals of the trip was to really sample the entire range of authentic Asian food, from the lowest street grub to more upscale dining. Since Crystal Jade is on my short list of all-time favorite restaurants, and since she was hungry immediately on arrival, and moreover since there is a branch located a few floors up from the Airport Express, it seemed stupid not to head straight there. Dan dan noodles and xiao long bao—the perfect way to start a trip to Hong Kong!

Back at my apartment after a longer-than-usual taxi ride, we played some music on the rooftop and enjoyed catching up over a few drinks before hopping on a tram to Central for dinner. My buddy Will had a friend in town too, and he had put together a dinner at a Thai restaurant that night, which we joined. Tuk Tuk Thai is cheap and cheerful, and it’s centrally located so it makes for an easy segue into a night of revelry in Lan Kwai Fong. Naturally, we headed to Al’s Diner for some post-dinner Jello shots to kick start our night on the town. Needless to say, it was a great night out, capped off with a visit to Wan Chai, where we hit up Typhoon, Dusk till Dawn and Amazonia before finally heading home.

Lan Kwai Fong!

My friend Bernadett invited us to join her and her parents for dim sum Sunday morning. They were visiting from Germany, and I had met them last time they were out here, so it was great to see them again. Dim sum can run the gamut from humble to haut. Places like Lin Heung Tea House serve it from trolleys in a noisy, crowded dining hall and other dim sum restaurants have Michelin stars. Bernadett’s choice was on the more upscale side—Fu Tung in the Wharney Guang Dong Hotel on Lockhart Road in Wan Chai. Tucked away three floors above street level, the restaurant is a hidden gem. I never even knew the place existed, even though I walk past the hotel several times a week. Luckily, a friend of Bernadett’s recommended it. We had everything from spicy jelly fish and steamed pork buns to congee and deep friend wontons. Each time I go for dim sum I kick myself for not indulging more often, because I love it so much.

Before heading over to the Dark Side for a day of sightseeing, I took a little detour to show Courtney my old ‘hood, Wan Chai, by day. Most famous as a nightlife zone, I got to know and love ‘the Wanch’ over my two plus years living there. Although I also love my current apartment in Happy Valley, I still miss living in the bustling, colorful neighborhood practically every day.

So we headed up to Queen’s Road East where we hopped in the scenic “observation lifts” of the Hopewell Center. I still think these elevators are one of Hong Kong’s best kept secrets. Nobody seems to know about them, but there they are, on the 17^th floor of the building, free for all to use. They rise and descend on the exterior of the cylindrical structure, connecting the 17^th and 52^nd floors. And all the times I’ve ridden them, I’ve rarely had to share them with any other tourists. It’s like nobody knows this free sightseeing gem even exists.

But the view is incredible—first just over the rooftops of Wan Chai, and slowly higher and higher, as the towers of Central come into view, and—finally—the glasslike water of Victoria Harbour and the skyscrapers on the Dark Side ultimately fading into the Kowloon Hills. Sometimes if I’m just walking by, I pop up to ride the elevators, so I’m glad I found the time to take Courtney here.

We wandered down through Wan Chai’s market, past butchers and fishmongers and a bustling crowd of local shoppers. It’s not Hong Kong’s most famous market, but for me, it’s one of the best and most authentic.

As we were nearing the ferry, Courtney suggested a mimosa. Always a good suggestion. So we stopped at new place called Divino Patio to imbibe before finally catching the Star Ferry and crossing to Kowloon.

I have playing Kowloon tour guide practically down to a science. Ever since Lisa and Tak first visited me, I’ve pretty much only made slight adjustments to the itinerary whenever somebody has come out to visit. With minor tweaking, I took Courtney on the same tour as those who had visited before her. After getting off the ferry, we strolled up the Avenue of Stars, where the Hong Kong skyline is best viewed. Then we took the MTR to Prince Edward, where we explored the flower market and Yuen Po Street Bird Garden, before walking back down Tung Choi Street with its photogenic goldfish market. The goldfish market ends a few minutes’ walk from the Ladies Market, so we strolled down past some of the stalls there, where Courtney bought some cool souvenirs to bring home for friends and family. Since we had made a pit stop for a few beers earlier in Prince Edward, time mandated we take a taxi to the waterfront instead of walking all the way down Nathan Road. We arrived back at the Avenue of Stars with a few minutes to go before “A Symphony of Light” started at 8pm.

The Kowloon waterfront was decked out with really colorful lanterns thanks to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the biggest lantern display was located in Victoria Park, back on Hong Kong Island in Causeway Bay. I missed the whole thing last year because I was back in the States for about a month, but I had great memories of my first lantern festival in 2010, and I really wanted to check it out again.

So after a quick dinner at my old local noodle joint (during which Courtney battled bravely against her soup but ultimately lost) we went to the massively crowded Victoria Park with my friends Gauthier and Hugo. The red lanterns hanging everywhere, and a bright full moon looking down from the heavens, make this a very charming spot, in spite of the ridiculous crowd. There were musical performances, puppet shows and perhaps thousands of lanterns hanging all around the park! A post-crowd chill out session on our rooftop was just what the doctor ordered, and we came scarily close to never leaving the apartment that night. But luckily, we found the second wind to leave.

At the Lantern Festival in Victoria Park

Myles, one of my local Hong Kong friends, invited us to join him and some others on Repulse Bay Beach. It’s sort of a Hong Kong tradition to gather with family or friends on the beach on the night of the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this popular stretch of sand was crowded even when we arrived after midnight. There were glow sticks everywhere, and families even had little children out with them. It’s too bad there aren’t more nighttime gatherings on the beach, because the buzz of the crowd, the gentle breeze and the pale glow of the lights made for a great ambiance to spend a very chilled out night. I won an impromptu jump-roping competition, Gauthier made some friends from Venezuela, and Courtney got to see a Hong Kong beach, so the evening was a success in the end.

When we got home, we booked tickets to go to Macau on Monday. Because it was so late, we actually only had a few hours’ sleep before our ferry, but I definitely think it was worth it! Gauthier joined, and so did my friend Sarah, who you may remember from my post when Jackie came to visit. You see, Sarah had such a good time out here in Hong Kong, that she went back to England, quit her job and decided to move here. She actually had to go to Macau anyway, in order to re-enter Hong Kong with her new working visa for a brand new job that she started this morning!

In Macau, we had to cram a lot of things into a short amount of time, but I think we hit all the important points. We had a beautiful, Sangria-filled lunch at Portuguese favorite Fernando’s on Hac Sa Beach. We had to wait a little longer for a table than usual, owing to the public holiday. But some Sangria and chorizo in the garden made the time pass quickly.

Fernando's serves delicious Portuguese bread.

After lunch, we headed to Senado Square to stroll Old Macau’s tiny streets and alleyways. I will always love it here, and I’m so glad we found the time so Courtney could experience this little slice of colorful Portugal hanging off the southern coast of China.

Senado Square

Gauthier, me, Sarah and Courtney in front of the Ruins of Saint Paul's

Colorful Macanese side street

Before we knew it, though, we had to head back to catch our ferry. The boat ride flew by, Sarah re-entered Hong Kong and got her visa stamped, and the National Day fireworks were less than an hour from starting! 

Journey Completed!

Not many people get a fireworks display to celebrate their first day of work, so obviously champagne was in order! We popped into CitySuper! and bought the goods, headed up to the public rooftop of the mall and watched the fireworks commemorating the 63^rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

It was Courtney’s last night before returning to New York, and there was no way I was letting her leave Hong Kong without going up to Victoria Peak. As you know, I’m firm in my opinion that the view from the Peak is simply the greatest city view in the entire world, especially at night. You just can’t leave this city without seeing it. So, after the fireworks, Gauthier, Hugo, Courtney and I caught a cab to Hong Kong Island’s highest point and took the one hour circular walk. We made it just in time to see the former British colony in all its glory, just a few minutes before some of the city’s most iconic towers turn their lights off for the night. And then we continued the walk through the lush forest-like setting of the Peak. Courtney must have gotten annoyed with how often I kept saying “Gosh, I’m going to miss this place.” But I really am.

Figuring the crowds would be in Wan Chai, we took a rollercoaster of a taxi ride down to Lockhart Road. Unfortunately the bars were relatively quiet, but a quiet evening in Wan Chai can still be a good night out, and in the end, we wound up staying out pretty late, aided by several live bands (Spicy Fingers and Dusk till Dawn) and, finally, a jukebox (The Old China Hand).

Yesterday, a public holiday, felt just like an ordinary Sunday. Courtney woke up and packed, and I slept in a bit later than usual. Rich woke up eventually, and so did our second houseguest, confusingly also named Courtney! She had been travelling around the world for several months, so this was the first time I’d seen her since August, and it looks like she’s thinking about taking over our apartment when I move down to Singapore, so it’s good to know it will stay “in the family,” so to speak!

The four of us wound up at a local pub, The Jockey, for an al fresco brunch, and like everything else so far this trip, the time just evaporated! I can’t believe how fast it all went. Rich and I caught up with Courtney after her months of travel, Courtney and Courtney got to know each other, and I just enjoyed being with great people in such a great city. 

Before long, we hopped a cab to the Airport Express station in Central, and Courtney headed off on her way back to New York. Hope your trip was a success and you had as much fun in Hong Kong as I did! Be sure to come back to Asia when I've gotten myself settled in Singapore!