Sundays in Hong Kong

I am enjoying another lazy Sunday in Hong Kong, once again recuperating from being sick this week. Arghhhh! I’m convinced there’s an evil parasite living in my belly and I’ve finally seen a doctor to get to the root of it, so I hope this is the last time I write about being sick.

Since I’m enjoying my Sunday today, I thought it would be a good time to write about how the rest of Hong Kong enjoys their Sunday. Sunday’s are very special days for some groups of people in Hong Kong and they take over the city.

Family Day in Hong Kong
For many local Chinese families, Sunday is family day where several generations get together, go to church, followed by a dim sum brunch at a local restaurant, and then an afternoon hanging out together. I see these huge groups of families every Sunday as they wander aimlessly around the local grocery stores and shopping malls together. Age ranges from zero to 100 (I’m not kidding) and men are not excluded from the shopping fun. My mother would love this tradition since I imagine her heaven would include a day of church, eating out and shopping with the entire family. Since most of the stores are clogged with these slow moving, window shopping families, I try to stay out of the stores on Sundays or risk severe impatience.

Amah Day in Hong Kong
The next impressive group of people that enjoy their Sundays is the “amahs” which is another term for nanny, maid or housekeeper. It is very common in Hong Kong for families to have live-in housekeepers and nannies and Sunday is often their one day off each week. Thousands of amahs congregate in the parks, sidewalks and any public area in central Hong Kong each Sunday and it’s an amazing site to see when you first come across them. Many of these women spread out a blanket on the ground, have a picnic lunch with friends and pretty much spend the day socializing. When Mark and I first arrived, we saw groups of women arranging cardboard on the cement and relaxing. We wondered if they were homeless, but realized they were too well dressed, had boxes of delicious looking food, chatted away on cell phones, played cards and gave each other manicures and pedicures. Very carefree and happy. The most common language heard is Philipino and the thousands of voices and laughter floating through the city almost sounds like excited clucking to the average native-English speaking person.

I’m not sure what everyone else does on their Sunday, because they are no where to be found. They have either left town or are hibernating in their apartments. Many young, partying expats no doubt spend their Sundays hung over after a Saturday night in Hong Kong’s infamous clubs. Other adventurous new residents use Sunday as a day to explore the island’s many hikes and tourist attractions.

As you browse through this blog, you’ll see that so far, our Sundays are spent at home recuperating and building up energy for the next week, which is exactly what I’m doing now. This next week will bring my first ever trip to Taiwan and Mark and I are hoping to do some site seeing next weekend if my health permits.