I spend the lunar new year in Hong Kong. Which was great with a big parade, and massive fireworks. The way they celebrate this here is very different than back home, however. Where we all have a big countdown to the climax at 12 o’clock. Here the lunar new year takes 4 days. And actually, there is no cuntdown at all. The festivities are spread over these four days, and are mainly in the daytime (fairs) or evening (parades, fireworks). And no drinking afterwards :) Ofcourse, the foreigners do their own thing and gather in the pubs in the evening, but this is not the chinese way!
I also went to Macau, which was a Portugese colony (until 1999), like Hong Kong was a british colony. It is by (fast)boat only an hour away, so a good daytrip. Unlike Hong Kong, a lot of the historical buildings have been preserved. So walking around the old centre is a bit like walking around in spain or, more accurate perhaps, portugal. However, if you look up, the skyscrapers in the distance tell you you’re still in Asia. The main attraction of Macau however is the sheer number of casino’s you can find here. Because gamblind is legal here, a lot of chinese, korean and japanese people head to Macau on the holidays to place a bet. For me? Well, Hong Kong is expensive enough already, so I postponed my gambling till i’m back in Holland. Or maybe on the horse race track here.
Unfortunately, I cannot go to Beijing or Shanghai, since all the trains are full because of the new year. This means I am a little bit stuck in Hong Kong. But that is not too bad, since there is a lot to do here, and I take it easy! Watching a movie,reading a book, drinking a beer :) I have met some other travellers and local hong kong people here with whom I spend my time here, so that is very nice.
On the 1st of march I will go to Sydney.
Hope you’re all doing OK!
Bas
p.s. I will try to put up some new pictures asap
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