hong kong - day of travel
i am now in hong kong, landed, refreshed after a night of must needed sleep. looking outside the window, there are clouds covering the top of the mountains. dozen of identical apartment towers stand crowded together. i can see in so many people's condos. i should have brought my binoculars.
---
yesterday, the day of travel, was very long. up at 8, i was at the airport by 10 only to learn that my flight had been delayed by 2 hours. victor had forwarded me - flight ac7 is always late. so i ate a big breakfast and killed some time. i even managed to get some shut eye before boarding the plane. on the plane though, it was a different story.
my re-acclimatisation to china started right there, in my seat. i had managed to remember and forget, at the same time, that the chinese do not have the luxury of space or inhibitions. every man for himself, the 3 kids behind me kicked my seat non-stop and even managed to shove their tiny hands in my hair. the gentleman next to me decided that reading a newspaper is a great way to keep busy on a flight - but forget about folding the pages first! when all the pages had been read, he leaned over to my side during an entire movie and during his many naps, i was scared that his head would end up on my shoulder. and it did.
the food was bad, the flight was long and air canada did not have the kindness to provide us with personal tv. ah well.
we landed in hong kong at 8:30, 1.5 hours later than scheduled. upon exiting the airplane i was rediscovered the charm of propaganda - tsing tao was telling me to "live your life" and the hand towel dispenser in the restroom suggested that i "save the environment and use less paper". even the voice in the shuttle train offered that i consider taking the elevator upon exiting.
hong kong airport has got to be the most efficient airport i have ever been to. i never had to wait for much of anything and everything was clearly indicated. the custom officer even had bowls of candy in front of their window.
i then hopped on the airport express (because after such a long flight, who cares about the HK$100 - CAD$15) and met up with victor, my friend from vancouver who is nice enough to put up with me and my bags for the duration of my stay. we headed right away to his place and that's where i've been ever since.
so, i'm now off to take a shower and to explore "central" for the day! i hope that i don't get (too) lost!
---
yesterday, the day of travel, was very long. up at 8, i was at the airport by 10 only to learn that my flight had been delayed by 2 hours. victor had forwarded me - flight ac7 is always late. so i ate a big breakfast and killed some time. i even managed to get some shut eye before boarding the plane. on the plane though, it was a different story.
my re-acclimatisation to china started right there, in my seat. i had managed to remember and forget, at the same time, that the chinese do not have the luxury of space or inhibitions. every man for himself, the 3 kids behind me kicked my seat non-stop and even managed to shove their tiny hands in my hair. the gentleman next to me decided that reading a newspaper is a great way to keep busy on a flight - but forget about folding the pages first! when all the pages had been read, he leaned over to my side during an entire movie and during his many naps, i was scared that his head would end up on my shoulder. and it did.
the food was bad, the flight was long and air canada did not have the kindness to provide us with personal tv. ah well.
we landed in hong kong at 8:30, 1.5 hours later than scheduled. upon exiting the airplane i was rediscovered the charm of propaganda - tsing tao was telling me to "live your life" and the hand towel dispenser in the restroom suggested that i "save the environment and use less paper". even the voice in the shuttle train offered that i consider taking the elevator upon exiting.
hong kong airport has got to be the most efficient airport i have ever been to. i never had to wait for much of anything and everything was clearly indicated. the custom officer even had bowls of candy in front of their window.
i then hopped on the airport express (because after such a long flight, who cares about the HK$100 - CAD$15) and met up with victor, my friend from vancouver who is nice enough to put up with me and my bags for the duration of my stay. we headed right away to his place and that's where i've been ever since.
so, i'm now off to take a shower and to explore "central" for the day! i hope that i don't get (too) lost!
posted by Magalie at 5:13 p.m.
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