Today was the Dragon Boat Races and Festival. It's a public holiday here so the kids were out of school and everything. It's a celebration according to the lunar calendar. And that's all I know.

To compete in a Dragon Boat race you need to field a team with about 30 people, rent a dragon boat, decorate it, order uniforms, and practice a few times. Some teams take it very seriously and some teams are just there to have some fun and go rowing. It was a ton of fun to watch!

There are different locations to go watch races throughout Hong Kong (and other places in Asia too) so we felt very lucky we could take part in the festivities right here in our neighborhood.

G's school sponsored a boat and so we knew several people rowing for that team and lots of people just hanging out to show support. B was so sad he wasn't on the team and out there rowing! I got the participation sheet in G's backpack the first week she was in school. Practices had already started, I had no idea what a Dragon Boat Race even was and I had no idea if he'd be off and in town to show up on race day. I didn't turn the form back in. I don't even think I told him I got it until like a week ago. Oh well--there's always next year.

So it was a hot, humid, partly rainy full day of outside play around here. I was happy it was a little rainy and not full on sunny. We would have never been able to spend a full day outside if the sun had been out the whole time. And G still fell asleep sitting at the dinner table. No joke.

Summer is upon us and the humidity is getting intense. It's almost indescribable.

Speaking of indescribable things, I went to shop at the markets in Sham Shui Po yesterday and I wish so badly that I could find words to explain this area to all of you. It's where you go if you are shopping for fabric, buttons, jewelry making supplies, toys, tools, electronics, electronic components/parts, clothes, magnets, batteries, light bulbs and light fixtures, seasonal trinkets like pool toys/swim wear, toilet seats and on and on and on. I kid you not there was a hawker selling kitchen sinks. Everything and the kitchen sink. Literally.

I enjoy Sham Shui Po because it is so local around there. It's a little further outside the city. At street markets in Wanchai or Central you can market shop till you drop then pop out and find a couch in Starbucks or shift gears and head inside to shop in a swanky mall. This is not as likely on the Kowloon side especially the further north you get. You'll find swanky mall shopping and abundant coffee in TST in Kowloon. But if you find yourself a little further out of town all you've got is a 7 Eleven every 50 feet and McDonald's with no McCafe.

And public bathrooms that do not stock toilet paper. But thank God public restrooms are there at all!