On Chinese New Year’s Eve Eve, we were invited for a meal at Lan Kwai Fong for 9.30pm. Given it was to be a late dinner (for us anyway, late meals are not uncommon in HK), we decided to go to the New Year’s Fair and Flower Markets at Victoria Park first.

This is so popular that if the goal is to see things rather than jostle for position, it is important to get there earlish. In HK, that is before about 9pm. To give more of an indication of how crowded it gets, there are lanes marked in the park so people know which direction to walk in, are guided by corrals similar to what is used on farms to guide cattle and further direction is given by police! On top of that, only ‘small’ groups of people are let in at each time and the queue winds around an entrance the size of Hyde Park’s pathway.

We encountered none of that though it was still busy when we arrived. Mr Shallot decided to introduce me to a taste sensation that he had become familiar with while he was here by himself. Take a Belgium waffle, margarine, peanut butter, condensed milk and sugar, fold in half – oh wow is all I can say! That was enough to have me bouncing off the wall for a while until I discovered the first fairy floss of my HK experience. Happy days! Interestingly, the waffle mixture was made in a large container on the ground with electric beaters – and for some reason, four people were needed to do it.

The Fair sold mostly inflatable toys (pigs mainly given that it is Year of the Pig, but also things such as giant Chopa-chups) and some other odd non-inflatable gadgets such as the three-sided toothbrush. I don’t understand the fascination with these toys given that all the fairs that I had been to previously, you would need to enter some kind of competition to win things like this and they would be thrown out within the week.

The paths were divided to guide you down flower lanes and toy lanes alternately. Walking down the marked paths, people were shouting from everywhere about the features of their products yet down the flower aisles, it was surprisingly quiet.

The Flower Markets provide a one-stop venue for the Chinese to ensure they have flowering plants in their house for the New Year period. This is to symbolise rebirth and new growth. It is considered hugely lucky if you have a plant that flowers on New Year’s Day as it is indicates that the next year will be prosperous.

They looked stunning and smelt even better. The main flowers were the Cherry Blossoms, daffodils and orchids as well as a few African violets. There were some huge cumquot and orange trees too (these are also considered lucky). Bamboo was grown in some unusual designs and we wondered how people got the larger trees home with them given that public transport is the main way that people travel.

From Victoria Park to Lan Kwai Fong – Chinese to Western. This area is where a lot of westerners tend to hang out and pay western prices for western food and alcohol. It is ridiculously expensive along the main road but apparently there are a few side streets where a good deal can be had. Next time I’ll be going there instead! I can’t believe that I come all the way from Sydney to eat at a place called Woolloomooloo, complete with Driz-a-bones and acubras hanging on the wall. I have never seen that apparel in Woolloomoloo before even on a rainy night.

Each day until the next moon (15 days) has a tradition attached to it. The second day of Chinese New Year / Spring Festival sees fireworks over Victoria Harbour. Yay!