Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012 - (Page 34)

Fa l l i n g i n l o v e w i t h . . . Gucci stores along Canton Road light the procession like a thousand capitalist suns, as a giant billboard overhead wishes the crowd of millions “plentiful money and fortune.” It’s all a Sino interpretation of Vegas, I suppose. Korean beauties sashaying past the crowds dressed as showgirls; dancers in satin Hong Kong Jockey Club uniforms popping and locking on a giant horse float. The things this culture can do with pink wigs, giant lollipops and ribbon dancers is nothing short of astounding, but the loudest claps come, oddly enough, for the competitive rope skippers, wielding their jump ropes like calisthenic instructors from the British era. Ornate lion dancers follow in their wake, shimmering in sequins and fringe, yapping and batting their eyelashes furiously as giant red and gold banners decorated in New Year’s wishes unfurl from their giant mouths. As martial artists close out the parade, onlookers flood the surrounding streets, following a giant dragon carried on poles as it winds through the back streets of Kowloon toward the hotel. My exhaustion finally bests my exhilaration, and I quit the masses for the welcome quiet of my bed. I wake mindful of the advice of Chinese custom chronicler Rosemary Gong. Gong’s own Auntie Lao says the following must be observed on New Year’s Day: Don’t wash your hair, or you’ll wash away your fortune; don’t use knives or scissors, or prosperity will be cut away; and wear jade. I forgo my shower, fasten my grandmother’s jade pendant around my neck and steer clear of the cutlery at breakfast. Then it’s time to speed off to a temple renowned for granting fortune to those who beat its ancient drum and spin its golden wheel. People line up for hours under the banyan trees and green tiled roofs of the Che Kung Temple, littering the ground with gold paper, and lighting so much incense that the statues of Taoist elders literally disappear in the thick haze. As the drum beats, I’m ferried along by the coil of people past the giant gold statue of General Che, past the stands selling lucky pillboxes, past the vendors selling glittering pinwheels. People come here before venturing to test their New Year’s luck at the Sha Tin horse track nearby, and so will I. I’m handed lucky envelopes with gold characters for good luck in health and money. These will be my betting funds. But first, to lunch. I begin with shark fin soup for prosperity. Next, I dine on a whole fish — or yu, which sounds like the word for “abundance” — making sure the head and tail remain perfectly intact for good luck from the start to the finish of the year. Then comes a dish of pork knuckles, Night Fever From top: Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour; an inflatable dragon; a dancer on one of the 50 parade floats; a dragon decoration on sale at an outdoor market. ORNATe LION DANCeRS fOLLOw IN THeIR wAKe, SHIMMeRING IN SequINS AND fRINGe, YAPPING AND BATTING THeIR eYeLASHeS fuRIOuSLY. 34 w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Hong Kong
Design
Auto
Technology
On the Boulevards
Shopping
Jewelry
Watches
Palm Beach
Wellness
Santiago

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012