Yesterday, I participated in my first SantaCon, here in Hong Kong. I came very close to joining in the festivities last year in Singapore, but in the end, it just wasn't in the cards. And somehow, in all my Christmases back home, I also never got involved in the massive New York event. So it was with incredible anticipation that I donned the red hat yesterday afternoon.
For the past few weeks, the weather has been just beautiful here, probably the most temperate Hong Kong December that I can recall. I still enjoy many hours on the roof of our apartment, and I even spent one afternoon on St. Stephen's Beach in Stanley not too long ago. However, all that changed last week. The rains and clouds have invaded our fair city, and it's been pretty dreary for the past stretch of days. Unfortunately, things did not improve in time for SantaCon, but at least torrential downpours didn't coincide with the event. Despite the drizzles and slight chills, it was still a very fun day.
In case anybody out there is unfamiliar with SantaCon, it is a Christmastime pub crawl, observed in three hundred cities spread across forty-four countries, in which participants donning Santa suits or other Christmas-appropriate attire make their way around town from one bar to another. And one of the coolest things about it for me was knowing that all across the globe, hundreds of thousands of people were all participating in the tradition.
The first stop of the Hong Kong crawl was rooftop RED Bar, atop IFC mall. I went with my friends Allan and Lou, and we met up with my flatmate Sarah there. Unfortunately, we arrived late, and the vast majority of revelers had already made there way to the Dark Side to bar number two. Still, about twenty or so Santas were still at RED, and we decided to stay there a bit.
Instead of crossing the harbor and joining the party in Kowloon, we opted to take the MTR straight to Wan Chai, where everybody would eventually be heading anyway. Because we had already arrived late, it seemed like a better idea, otherwise, we'd have invested lots of time and energy in getting to the Dark Side watering hole, only to have to then cross back to the island again a short time later.
It was a good decision. We got to bar number three, Coyote on Lockhart Road, and enjoyed some sidewalk Coronas, sang some Christmas tunes and awaited the arrival of the masses. Other people seemed to have the same idea, a couple of Santas joining every few minutes. And then, after an hour or so, the throngs arrived off the MTR. All of the sudden, the bar, sidewalk and street were filled with a thousand Santas. Bumping into old friends, and making new ones, it was a great way to celebrate the coming of Christmas. And people just kept on filtering in.
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The final bars of the night were in Lan Kwai Fong, where the Santa crew merged with the rest of the LKF party goers, of course in full force on a Saturday night. I can't ever remember running into so many old pals, some of whom I hadn't seen since my return to Hong Kong three months ago. Although I'd love to arrive on time next year and fully participate in the entire crawl, I have nothing but fond memories from yesterday. I'm in a very festive mood, and ready to fly home on Friday for my first American Christmas since 2010!
The first stop of the Hong Kong crawl was rooftop RED Bar, atop IFC mall. I went with my friends Allan and Lou, and we met up with my flatmate Sarah there. Unfortunately, we arrived late, and the vast majority of revelers had already made there way to the Dark Side to bar number two. Still, about twenty or so Santas were still at RED, and we decided to stay there a bit.
Allan and Sarah at Red Bar
Instead of crossing the harbor and joining the party in Kowloon, we opted to take the MTR straight to Wan Chai, where everybody would eventually be heading anyway. Because we had already arrived late, it seemed like a better idea, otherwise, we'd have invested lots of time and energy in getting to the Dark Side watering hole, only to have to then cross back to the island again a short time later.
It was a good decision. We got to bar number three, Coyote on Lockhart Road, and enjoyed some sidewalk Coronas, sang some Christmas tunes and awaited the arrival of the masses. Other people seemed to have the same idea, a couple of Santas joining every few minutes. And then, after an hour or so, the throngs arrived off the MTR. All of the sudden, the bar, sidewalk and street were filled with a thousand Santas. Bumping into old friends, and making new ones, it was a great way to celebrate the coming of Christmas. And people just kept on filtering in.
.jpg)
The final bars of the night were in Lan Kwai Fong, where the Santa crew merged with the rest of the LKF party goers, of course in full force on a Saturday night. I can't ever remember running into so many old pals, some of whom I hadn't seen since my return to Hong Kong three months ago. Although I'd love to arrive on time next year and fully participate in the entire crawl, I have nothing but fond memories from yesterday. I'm in a very festive mood, and ready to fly home on Friday for my first American Christmas since 2010!
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