Sunday in Wan Chai

On Sunday afternoon we planned an outing to an area called Wan Chai. It is close to the central business district, but not its epicenter. We thought it would be a reasonably calm (by HK standards) place to spend the afternoon. We were in the market for new speakers for our laptop and planned to visit a large computer/technology “mall” while there.

As we were searching for a parking garage, we noticed a large concentration of motorcycle police. At one intersection, the police were closing off one of the lanes and motioned to us that we need to get change lanes. We assumed there must have been an accident. We should have known better.

Once we left our car and walked toward our planned destination it became clear that a major “National Day” parade was going to go through Wan Chai. (National Day is on October 1 and celebrates the founding of the People's Republic of China). People were beginning to line up, three-people deep, along the main thoroughfare to get a glimpse of the fanfare. Hong Kong flags and China flags were flying.

Unfortunately, in the midst of the excitement our camera got dropped and the lens was smashed. It took us about two seconds to decide that we had to replace it right away. We usually do a great deal of research before making an important purchase. But, we threw caution to the wind and went to the Wan Chai Computer Centre.

It probably had 200 very small computer and technology stores within it…and at least twice as many eager salespeople. With no research whatsoever (unless you consider a great sales pitch “research”), we emerged with a new camera and laptop speakers in about an hour.

The parade included dragon dances, unicycle riders, lots of drumming, and performances/ costumes that we really didn’t understand. But, the colors were bright and the exciting atmosphere drew us in (Lydia, who had just been complaining that we never do fun kid activities, was thrilled).

We ultimately wound up in the stadium where all of the parade performances came to an end - so much for a calm afternoon! The parade showed no signs of stopping more than two hours after it started and we had a reached a point of sensory overload and headed home.

Still, the spontaneity of the day was probably good for us. We experienced a cultural event we probably would have avoided had we known about the crowds and chaos. That being said, I don’t know that I’ll be brave enough to venture out at all on the real National Day!