Scott Clayton

Arrived two nights ago by Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur. The driver from the Hotel Pacific was there at the airport...but we had trouble finding him. An obliging taxi driver called the hotel and got his cell phone number and found him. We gave him 100 taka ($1.42 U.S.), which was too much I now realize, as baksheesh. The traffic jams are unbelievable. It took us maybe 2 hours to get to the hotel. Interesting to see the city on the way in though. Lots of kids and others running among the traffic selling popcorn in bags, books, other unrecognizable food and begging. One of the books was Hitler's Mein Kampf?! All of the buses are battered and bashed from numerous accidents. Hotel Pacific is okay. We upgraded to the "VIP suite" at 2500 taka ($35) ... read more

Hong Kong On the road again with my 18-year-old son Andrew. Arrived tonight in Hong Kong. The new international airport doesn't have the excitement of the old Kai Tak airport on Hong Kong harbor. That was a single 3,390 metre-long runway made from reclaimed land on the north side of Kowloon harbor stretching out into the water. Planes flew in low over buildings avoiding mountains for a heart-stopping landing. We're staying at the Novatel Hong Kong Citygate. Over our budget at $1111 HK (US$143) but it's right near the airport. We're taking a roundabout route to Bangladesh using Air Asia....but you save a lot of money with that airline. You book online through their web site. For example, we're flying from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur (the Air Asia hub) and then to Dhaka and back ... read more