NEW YEAR’S EVE: HONG KONG ’13-14
Sixty five degrees, bright sunshine, families gathering…It was a beautiful day to stroll Victoria Harbor. A young woman suddenly stopped in front of me and asked in quick succession “Why are you in Hong Kong?” “Where are you from?” “Do you have any children?” “How old are they?” | had fantasies of being the subject of a story | would read in the United Airlines flight magazine. “Why are you asking me these questions” | asked. She had such a big smile on her face. “I’m practicing my English.”
We were surrounded by such a young, happy, contemporary, crowd. This is Hong Kong, after all. And it is New Year Eve. And the shops are still open. Shopping is a national sport. For hours, we walked, wined, got lost, and the crowds swelled.
We were told that our view on the 23″ floor would have too many buildings obstructing the fireworks view. Our plan…walk down about 11:30 to cue up – there was a lot of shore line on both sides of the harbor.
11:30PM: We bundled up…walked out to the quiet Mody Road to Nathan Road-the direct road to the harbor. Instantly, the space around us disappeared. The crowd, so dense we all moved as one…like the tide in the ocean, lava flowing from a volcano, a field of maze on the plains. This is a four lane road without an inch of unclaimed space. Our bodies were pressed together with hundreds of our new best friends. Shoulder to shoulder..hip to hip…at times, it felt like our feet weren’t even touching the ground. Our ) movement was out of our control. In unison, Mike and | blurted…”We’ve got to get out of here!!” We pushed hard through the tidal flow of bodies to get to the underground Metro. Police lined the station. Crowds poured through the station towards the Nathan Road exit. We burst free of the masses as we were headed in the opposite direction. Holding on to each other tightly, we reached the first open exit – luckily the one that had a direct entry to our hotel. Our pace quickened a bit while we made it to the elevator, then our floor, then our room. We opened the door with a great sigh of relief…..and laughed and laughed out loud. The view from our huge bay window was stunning as the sky filled with exploding fireworks! We ooohed and ahhhed for the next 8 minutes clinking our wine glasses with the mantra, “I don’t believe it!” and watching from our picture perfect view on the 23″ floor!
P.S. FENG SHUI revisited: An important principal in Feng Shui is “Lucky Day, Lucky Time” Below is an excerpt from News Story January 1, 2014
Midnight Marriage Proposal: When asked why he proposed on New Year’s Eve, the young man said,“I want to be with her for the rest of my life so | decided to make a marriage proposal when it is the turn of the year 2013 to 2014. In Cantonese, ‘13-14’ is pronounced like the phrase “being together for a lifetime.”
