Mid Autumn Festival

Mid Autumn Festival

On October 1st we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival here in Hong Kong. For us that meant a 4 day weekend!!! But, there is much more to this festival than that.

The mid autumn festival is also known as the Lantern Festival, the Moon Cake Festival or the Moon Festival. The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese Calendar close to the Autumnal Equinox.

There are several popular traditions that accompany the Mid Autumn Festival. One of which is moon cakes. Below I have posted some pictures of traditional moon cakes which are, to be blunt, disgusting. The first time I tried a traditional moon cake I took a huge bite and wanted to spit it out. I didn't realize that the big yummy looking center was an egg. The combination of sweet outside and an egg yolk center did not compute with my taste buds. They also have "icy moon cakes" or "snowy moon cakes" which are delicious. They are kept frozen or refrigerated and have a variety of flavored centers that include chocolate, red bean, and hazel nut. These are in fact down right delicious. Many parents brought moon cakes to the teachers at school. The "icy moon cake" varieties are not cheap.

Another part of the tradition is lanterns. At school there were lanterns hung on the ceiling for the children. There were many different types that included Hello Kitty and Garfield. While at Victoria Park we witnessed many families spending time with each other with lit lanterns and candles.

Traditional Chinese attire and Dragon Dances also happen during this festival. It was very interesting to see the amount of people at Victoria Park. It was extremely overwhelming just to cross the street to get into the park with the amount of people walking around. A friend we were with has blonde hair and a family stopped her to ask if she could take a picture holding their baby. It is said that blonde hair is like gold!

Mong Kok

Nate and I live one MTR (the Mass Transit Railway, what they call the subway) stop away from an area called Mong Kok. Legend has it that the word in Cantonese is Wong Kok but somebody put the sign upside down.....I'll have to verify this. We have been told over and over that this is the most densely populated neighborhood in the entire world. I certainly would not doubt this. It does not matter what time day or night, there are massive crowds of people everywhere. It is quite difficult to cross the street as there is a giant swarm of people coming right at you trying to cross themselves. You can find anything and everything in this area. There is an area called the "grey market" because the electronics they sell may or may not be exactly legal....We have had to go on this street to buy a phone and SIM cards. I instantly turn into a grouch the minute we step foot on this street. There are so many people going in every direction, it is complete sensory overload!

The great thing about Mong Kok is Langham Place. This building has been
me and Nate's refuge. We have a membership to Pure Yoga and Pure Fitness located in the Langham Place building. Their emmenities are superb. Free Wifi, sitting areas, sauna, steam rooms, excellent locker rooms, etc. Each cardio machine has a DVD player and TV with a giant wall of DVD's to check out. There are full seasons of some great shows that include House, Mad Men, Sex in the City as well as movies. They have a huge variety of workout and yoga classes. By far the nicest gym I have ever seen. This giant building is also a mall and is connected to the Mong Kok MTR. There are department stores, grocery stores, food courts as well as a theater located in this building. Anything we need is right there! Right down in the MTR there is an awesome Fro Yo place! H&M is also attached. Like I said before, anything you could ever need is located there.

A down side to Mong Kok is the smell. Because there are so many bakeries, literally probably five different bakeries on every block, you will get a lovely wafting of sweet smells followed abruptly by the most horrid smell known to man. I cannot even describe this putrid stench. I think maybe it is some of the intestines hanging on the streets in one of the food stops. I still have not been brave enough to try some of the different "street foods". I am working my way there. There is also something called dried seafood stores. This is also not a great smell to encounter. One evening we were walking home from Mong Kok and I heard a loud shriek. There was a giant cockroach making a run for it over some poor girls feet. I have seen approximately ten cockroaches on the streets. Some are HUGE. Nate was right, I should NOT wear flip flops!