‘Kung Hei Fat Choy’! It’s Chinese New Year again - the biggest holiday of the year. Yesterday marked the beginning of year of the pig.

So how does life change in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year holiday? Most businesses shut down. Essentials such as supermarkets operate on only a limited schedule. Due to the nearly week long break, many people go away on holiday. Often people spend time with their family and visit relatives. Married couples give red packets filled with money to their children, relatives and colleagues. With the cease of most construction, the city is far quieter than usual. Where I live, you can hear birds instead of buses when you wake up!

One fun part of celebrating Chinese New Year is going to the special new year’s flower market in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay. It’s PACKED with four, three-block lanes of stalls and people selling all sorts of items to bring luck and good fortune in the coming year. The atmosphere is raucous and fun.

Hawkers rent booths and decorate them (sometimes outlandishly) to attract attention. The merchandise on sale is extensive. Over the last few years, blow-up inflatable items have gained popularity. The plastic blow-ups are based on everything from animals of the Chinese zodiac, to items that sound like something with a double meaning in Cantonese, to items that deal with a current issue. For example, this year there were giant cigarettes, making reference to the recent ban of smoking in Hong Kong’s restaurants and public areas (which is a huge deal in a place with a deeply entrenched smoking culture.)

Old standards meant to bring good fortune are also present at the market. These include different types of flowers and fruits such as small orange trees. Pussy willows (for financial fortune) and peach blossoms (for love life) are also two of the more popular choices. (I bought both!)

Colorful paper and plastic pin-wheels seem to be popular items.

Small charms often in faux-jade that help to protect people of different zodiacs are also available for purchase.

Wonder what it’s like to walk through hundreds of stalls in a sea of thousands? Check out the videos! (more…)

Thursday night I happened to be out at Volar, one of the top clubs in Hong Kong. I was sitting towards the front of the club close to the d.j. booth. All of a sudden I noticed some sort of commotion near the stage. A guy jumped up and there was a brief discussion with the d.j. The next thing I heard was the shrill sound of an instrument being tuned. What was that? I wondered. A few seconds later I had my answer as the guy who climbed the stage began improvising over the uptempo dance music on a violin!

The performance captivated the crowd for about sixty seconds and then the jokes started. While I’m sure some violinists could pull this off, this one ran out of steam pretty quickly. Instead of complimenting the sounds of the dance beats and working with the music, his improvisation began to clash and sound off-key. Either way, it was an interesting departure from the norm and I support people trying out something different.

Monday night I was invited to check out the launch of the New Balance 574 Hungry Dragon shoe. The event was mostly for the media and was held at Dragon-i in Central. In addition to the shoes, there was also a limited edition denim line being touted which is a three way collaboration between New Balance, Eric Kot, and Yoropiko.

The highlight of the event was the performance by Expression Crew, a top international B-Boy group from Korea. A costumed, structured routine followed by several more free-flowing sessions allowed them to show the full range of their moves. Expression Crew have won several major awards in B-Boy competitions around the world. In addition to the dancers, a human beatbox also accompanied them and performed a few songs.

To see more photos and watch videos of the B-Boys and beatboxer in action…

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The problem: What do you do when you purchase a fancy umbrella, only to have it de-spoke on you in a sudden gust of wind? Or, what about that umbrella that you’re sentimentally attached to? The one you kissed under on your first date? Well, in most of the world, it gets tossed in the trash at first injury, but in Hong Kong you’ve got another option.

The solution: Climb the steep hill in Hong Kong’s Soho neighborhood and locate the small shack on Peel Street, just below Caine Road. The simple hand-lettered sign on the front advertises that he’s been doing umbrella repair since 1947 - now that’s old school!

Drop off your umbrella, demonstrate what needs to be done and return a few days later to pick it up. He may forget which one was yours, so help him out if he gets a little confused. The cost is minimal and you’re prolonging a fading vocation in a land where nearly everything is disposable.