It didn't rain in Hong Kong on handover day. It deluged. The northeast monsoon, stirred up by zephyrs apparently from distant El Nino, hit Hong Kong so hard that that rain appeared to be falling upwards. Raindrops hit Hong Kong pavements with such force that they bounced vertically.
People scurrying along wet streets, thinking they were well covered by umbrellas and raincoats, were surprised to arrive at their destinations with lower garments sopping wet.
It wasn't just the weather that was out of kilter on June 30. There was a kind of madness in the air.
I asked a group of revellers in Lan Kwai Fong: 'Why are you partying? What's the actual reason?' 'I don't know,' said one member. The others were momentarily silent. Then the bouncer at a nearby disco opened a door and suddenly they were gone.
There was an air of celebration, but also an undercurrent of insecurity.
My group was grateful to have something positive to focus on, to wit, the official Lai See handover party to raise money for orphans in Hong Kong and in Guangxi Province.
