River Hongbao

It's been a long time since I've been to this event. My parents used to bring me as a child and I dont even have a clue as to where it was held or what exactly happened there. I only remember the falling flakes of gold that flickered all around as we approached the statue of the God of Fortune. It always seemed to rain when we went. Or at least that's the way I remember it.

This year was no different. It rained practically all day! Ben and I went ahead with the plan anyway cux there wasnt anywhere else to explore really, on the first day of CNY. The carnival was at the floating platform right beside the esplanade and you could spot it from miles because of the lovely bright lights. There wasnt even a crowd because, I suppose, of the weather and the timing, and that was a good, good thing.

The decoration was pretty. Flowers, cranes, neon, LED. As the sky got darker the lights grew even brighter and it began to look like a little floating Las Vegas.

The deco was one part of it, but of course the food was the other. There was a tent with a bunch of little stalls all scrunched together and practically everyone gathered there because of the shelter, warmth and the lovely smells. We had a turkish kebab ($5 and yums!), a bacon wrapped pork sausage ($3.50 piping hot sausage, crispy wafer-thin bacon. sold.), mua chee ($2.50 as tasty as mua chee gets!), mala tofu and fishballs ($3 spicy like toot!) and bird's nest drink ($2.50 normal). yea we ate a lot and it was good.

Watched people play carnival games for a bit then tootled off. A short experience but a feast for the eyes and the stomach nonetheless!