While most of our friends and relatives in the US have been gripped in a winter so epic it will go down in history, you should be aware that Hong Kong has been suffering through a similar cold snap.  At least you would think so, given the complaints and cold weather warnings here.

Cold ahead! Good thing it will only be “rather cool” on Saturday morning.

It has been “cold” in Hong Kong, when you understand that HK is subtropical and unused to anything even approaching freezing.  Cold Weather Warnings abounded last week and this week.  With night time temps hovering around 9 degrees Celsius (for all my fellow Americans – double and add 30 to convert to Fahrenheit), it feels pretty chilly for a city used to complaining about punishing heat. It does not feel chilly enough, mind you, for my kids to switch to long sleeves or ditch their shorts in favor of pants.

However, many others here embrace the “cold” as an opportunity to wear winter fashions best suited to those in the middle of a polar vortex.  Boots, furs, puffy down jackets, mittens, trapper hats – I’ve seen more winter sartorial statements here than I have in Truckee. If you don’t know Truckee, it’s a town famous for its proximity to Donner pass, where the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism after getting trapped in the snow.

Better still are the Cold Weather Warnings, issued by the Hong Kong Observatory and earnestly reminding residents to protect themselves from the elements.

50 degrees above or 50 degrees below – it’s all relative.

I know it’s been a lousy winter for you all, but consider us here in HK.  Do you know how cold 46 degrees can feel?  Oh wait, you probably do.  Just remember, if you must go out “please avoid prolonged exposure to wintry winds”. Because for most of you this winter, that’s actually good advice.