Lost Horizons

Ju Dong

Winter solstice has arrived, which means the shortest day and the longest night. I read somewhere that people celebrated the winter solstice, just in case the days didn't start to get longer again, and carried on getting shorter. The Mesopotamians had a twelve day festival, designed to help the god Marduk tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.
The main thing, it seems to me, here in Hong Kong, is that we all get to go home early - my office will close at three o'clock. This is the first time I have been in Hong Kong close to Christmas, and its certainly different to the UK.
For instance, in England you can't get close to a bank or ATM on the last weekday before Xmas, because of the crowds; here, I have never seen my local HSBC so quiet.
In England you have to put up with Cliff Richard singing "Mistletoe and Wine" only when you venture out to the shops, or if your local boozer has a totally naff jukebox. I am sure that that song has been banned by most radio stations. Here, we are constantly subjected to Christmas tunes, not only in the shopping malls, but even in the toilets in my office block.
But the main thing for me, is how quiet the place is. I suppose a lot of people travel back to their home countries to be with their families, or just go on holiday.
That is what I will be doing; tomorrow I fly to Phuket with the recently restarted Dragonair service. Why am I going back to Phuket. Well for me, Patong is a bit like Blackpool on steroids, but I have learned that when you venture aq short distance away from the tourist traps and tacky souvenir shops, you will find wonderful seafood restaurants ( I use the term loosely ), a really relaxing atmosphere, and a great beach. However the real gem of the place is the wonderfully friendly people. I have been to Phuket many times both before and after the tsunami, and I would say the place has improved a lot since the tsunami. I am glad to see that the tourists are returning to this nirvana, so that the people can make a living there. And I am even more glad that there is a direct flight - thank you Dragon Air!

posted by Luke @ 2:01 PM