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Published: June 25th 2010
Cheesy brat and chips
My last meal in the US before departure, courtesy of the ONLY restaurant I could find inside my terminal.Everything seems to have settled down for the moment. I landed last night without any hassle, got change for the bus (by purchasing an only-in-Asia can of "7Up Bite", whose flavor I can only describe as "Spree"), and headed for for the bus pick-up. Leaving the airport was like walking out of hell's refrigerator. They were blasting the AC inside, and now I knew why. Even at midnight, it was 90+ degrees and 90% humidity. Welcome to Asia.
This time, I knew where I had to go and I was determined not to end up in Hong Kong's version of Inglewood. However, I didn't count on Hong Kong's street signs being impossible to read at night, especially from the seat I had on the bus. Fortunately, most people were getting off at the same stop I was, so I just had to follow the herd. I got to my hotel in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon at about 1:30am, only 30 minutes later than I expected.
I checked in at the office on the 7th floor, and was led to my room on the 4th floor. Here's where I got my first taste this year of the craziness
Hong Kong Island
You can just make out the famous waterfront from the train station. of China (not counting the Spree soda). The night manager said we'd take the elevator down to the 5th floor, then go down a flight of stairs to 4. He explained that the elevator on the left only stopped on even floors, and the elevator on the right only stopped on odd floors. Oh, China, I've kind of missed your bizarre Lewis Carroll logic.
The room I had booked was listed on my reservation as "Single Private, Shared Bathroom," which usually means I'd be in a room with my own bed, but the showers and toilets would be shared among a whole suite of rooms. Instead, I turned out to have my own bathroom after all, complete with sink, toilet, and flexible-head shower! Not bad for HK $180 (about US $25).
I walked downtown this morning to find my train station, and collect my ticket for the train I'm taking all the way to Shanghai. I leave at 3:15 this afternoon and I'll get at 10 tomorrow morning, where (in theory), Mike will be waiting for me at the train station and my 4-day travel marathon will be over (well, after I take another 45-minute train to Suzhou).
Kowloon
The peninsular side of Hong Kong territory, just north of Hong Kong island. Somewhat embarrassingly, I ate breakfast/lunch at McDonald's at the train station. I didn't intend to wimp out like that so soon, but after hiking to the train station I was hungry, and wasn't in the mood to walk around to find something more authentic. I don't think I plan to eat western food often, but it was a nice way to ease into what will probably be an unpleasant gastric transition process (that's "traveler's diarrhea," for the un-squeamish among you).
I also located a grocery store inside the mall next to the station, so I can buy some food for dinner, breakfast, and snacks on my 18-hour train ride. There's hot water available on the train, so I'll probably grab a sandwich and a prepackaged bowl of noodles, along with a lot of bottled water. I'm about to head out with my stuff back to the train station, so I'll check in again tomorrow, inside the PRC's totally awesome censorship firewall. See you in Suzhou.
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Melinda
non-member comment
Hong Kong
The weekend before you left, Dad and I watched a travel show on PBS that just happened to be in Hong Kong. I briefly considered calling you, but figured that there was no guarantee that it was scheduled at the same time on your local PBS station, and it was after midnight, anyway. I'm glad that you've gotten to where you're going so far, and pray that your travel continues to be smooth. And I hope that you packed some Immodium for that "gastric transition process."