Mid Autumn Festival Part 3 - The Fire Dragon

Mid Autumn Festival Part 3 – The Fire Dragon

Another Mid Autumn Festival favorite is the dance of the Tai Hang Fire Dragon. This is a very local tradition that has something to do with the people warding off the plague with this giant rope dragon thing with a head made of incense. Oh yeah and the “Fire Dragon” is so long it takes hundreds of people to hold it because as it winds the streets in a continuous unbroken length.

I went to see this annual event because it sounded pretty cool. The event is held in this neighborhood called Tin Hau which is a much older part of HK. Not a lot of westerners venture to see this because it is relatively off the beaten path. As a matter of fact I have yet to meet a local who has been to this event, but make no mistake there were still a billion people there.

I have to say I was feeling pretty okay despite the fact that as the dragon head was getting closer the crowd was really pushing in on me. And without stereotyping, it is fair to say the Asians love their cameras, what they do not love are giant American women blocking their view of the fire dragon. A particularly insane gentleman with a camera larger than he was just was not satisfied with not being able to see over the crowds. And the next part of the story is almost hideously unbelievable: This Lilliputian man with his enormous camera actually put his foot on the back of my calf trying to boost himself up and shimmy up me like a damn set of monkey bars!

OKAY – now this is the part where someone out there starts trying to tell me about densely populated areas and personal space, blah blah, blah… before you try and educate me save your breath and your jibber jabber for someone else. Under NO circumstance is it ever appropriate to try and climb a total stranger. There is no way to handle this type of situation graciously so I elbowed him as hard as humanly possible and clawed my way back out of the crowd. I just couldn’t take it. At the end of the day I never did see the head of the fire dragon, and I hope that I don't get the plague as a result. I walked away satisfied none the less because I'm sure the rude little monkey man missed his money shot, shaming his family and displeasing his ancestors.