It's history, right? And whether you're going to celebrate the red dawn with Tung Chee-hwa at the handover ceremony in the Convention and Exhibition Centre, commiserate the loss of colonialism with Chinese characteristics at the Long Bar of the Hong Kong Club, or traipse the streets (while dodging hordes of journalists) to get a feel for the atmosphere, June 30 and July 1 are two days you probably don't want to miss.
Unless, of course, you're Jonathan Collins. Or Julia Tso Yei-mei. Or Henrietta Summers. Or the mother of six who was so concerned about publicly speaking her mind - 'How can I celebrate the end of personal freedoms and democracy?' - that she pleaded for her name not to be used.
For a variety of personal reasons, they and thousands of other Hong Kong residents have scheduled their leave to eschew the fireworks and speeches, to avoid the outpourings of patriotism and pessimism, and fly far from the territory-cum-Special Administrative Region during its transition.
'With all the public holidays, the place will be shut down, anyway,' said one Chinese-American. 'It'll be like Chinese New Year, but with many more tourists.' Travel groups including Westminster have been cashing in on the sentiment by promoting 'handover holiday' packages, though many more people than usual are determined to stay put in Hong Kong for a string of public holidays.
'There's not been a huge demand compared with our usual long weekend in June, but we've still been able to attract good business,' said product manager, Eldrick So. 'A lot of our competitors are doing the same thing.
'Bali is still the most popular destination for people who don't want to see the handover. I'll be going to Thailand - but I'm waiting until July 2. I can't go any earlier because seats aren't available. And I also wanted to see the handover. It's good for Chinese people.' But Mr Collins, a British lawyer with a penchant for golf in tropical climes, reckons the events happening around June 30 will all be a crushing bore.
