Chinese New Year is on Sunday February 14th this year and the celebrations last for 3 days. Every day another lucky decoration is hung up and real live cherry blossom trees spring up everywhere overnight! It is a MASSIVELY big deal over here and most malls/hotels/office blocks are festooned with lucky money trees (usually cherry blossoms), some kind of tiger motif, fire crackers and lucky coins...
This is the rather modest (ahem) foyer of my hotel, I took this pic this morning, all the pink flowers you see are cherry blossoms and appeared overnight. When I got back to the hotel tonight - a huge cherry blossom tree had been 'planted' in the middle. Its all very pretty and me and my cherry blossom tattoo feel very lucky indeed.
The room numbers on my floor prettified.
My hotel is only 7 months old and is very strongly Art Noveau themed, but in brass, and I do mean that everything is made from brass, the lifts, the ceilings, brass coloured mirrors, its a maid's nightmare, every surface is either reflective or made from brass - they must order Brasso by the 100 gallon flagon!
Arty shot (and why not) of me taken in the mirror above the lifts - not sure why you need a mirror up there, but hey, this is Hong Kong.
Foyer at my offices in North Point.
One of many Year of the Tiger displays you see in and outside of the shopping malls. This one was in a particularly expensive mall near Central. It was huge and made ENTIRELY out of fresh flowers - quite beautiful and very impressive - the time! the money it must have cost!
This one is outside a mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon - it's the 'Mardi Gras' version of the one above.
My friend Billy was over in Hong Kong for a few days with work, we spent Sunday shopping and getting very wet in the constant rain in Kowloon and eating Dim Sum.
Damp Billy and cherry blossom trees as far as the eye could see at a ridiculously huge mall in Kowloon.
The cocktails we had a 4pm definitely helped us dry out, we went to a fab bar called The Pawn in Wan Chai. Lena the lady I met in Stanley during my pilates/yoga face off stint recommended it to me. It used to be an actual pawn shop that was converted into a bar/restaurant and they kept all of the original interiors.
Next: Jane is flying in from Beijing to spend CNY with me, I am soooooo excited and we plan to be very, very busy eating, drinking and touristy over the next week or so. Highlights include the CNY fireworks, big Buddha on Lantau Island, CNY races in Happy Valley....
Kung Hei Fat Choy!
Misc: These are lucky little ornaments made from GOLD, solid gold, you'd have to be lucky to be able to afford them! But they are very cute. Btw, does anyone know the symbolism behind the er, pineapple on the left hand side? Answers on a postcard please.
Helium balloons used to advertise the new 'lighter' Samsonite suitcase range, genius!
No comments:
Post a Comment