Clear & Bright ... and Hot

I'd planned to go to a nearby cemetery to photograph the goings-on during Ching Ming, but two things intervened: the heat and the crowds.

On the way home from my morning workout, the train was choked with people carrying bags or pulling carts filled with offerings for the dead: food, drinks, Hell money, and joss sticks. As I was knackered, the thought of joining the throng in 28C heat killed my enthusiasm. Other than photography, I have no personal reason to take part, unlike so many Hong Kongers:

It is indeed hot this year and it is tough to climb uphill, but when I think of the hardship my father went through when he worked so hard to feed us all, I feel fine," Mr Chan said. The Chans spent more than $1,000 to buy offerings and food for a family picnic including lobsters, crabs, a roasted pig, a chicken and fruits and drinks.

Even my mother-in-law said she'd rather wait for a few days to avoid the crowds.

By then all the annual hill fires will be extinguised, and the air won't be as thick with incense.

As for photographs, there's always the Hungry Ghost Festival.

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