The Lantern Festival

---

It’s so hot as I step off the train at Britomart, Auckland’s answer to a space age station. It’s super modern and I doubt that any young people are able to hang out for long at night without being told to “bugger off”. It’s spotless and you could eat your dinner off the floor whereas in most stations it looks like someone already has. I head straight for Albert Park and the place is seething with people. Along the way are a couple dressed in colourful sequined costumes of red and gold and looking for all the world like mutant Mad Hatter with Alice. They are stilt walkers and talented too, but I can’t help wondering why they are European and playing out a scene from Alice’s tea party. There must be plenty of Chinese stilt-walkers, I’ve seen them on the telly. Why do Kiwis do that? I’m fully expecting to bump into a bouncy castle any minute now.
I come across Princess Street which divides Albert Park from the Auckland University, but for now has been transformed. The full length of the street is packed with food stalls mainly on the right and novelty stalls on the other side selling Chinese hats and a large variety of things that you pin to the lapel and they flash in those special places starting with Santa in a bra to Mrs Thatcher without one. What market are they selling to?…… as if in answer to my question I turn around and everyone has got one on!
Chuckling to myself I make my way along the row of food on offer and don’t really want to settle on the first thing I see but it’s a long street and I’m hungry. Half way now I see an authentic stall called East and order noodles. I only wait a short time and they’re ready. I pick them up step aside to look back once more at the sign….. East. I remember now they have a noodle bar in Auckland’s Ponsonby Road.. run by Europeans!! Funny how I ended up at this stall.. it’s the old bouncy castle syndrome again.
I look at the time and find that I have none left to spare here. I hope to return after dark for some good shots but not sure how long I’ll be away. I wash the noodles down with home made lemonade and set out back across the park.

---