Scott and I at Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island
Gentle Readers...
Well... here we are in Hong Kong! Special thanks again to Paul for getting us to the airport... and for Audrey's concern for my sanity while packing and getting on the road!
In my front yard, right before we left for the airport...
The flight was almost 16 hours, with us travelling directly from Detroit Metro to Hong Kong. Scott and I chose to have aisle seats directly across from each other so that we could each have aisle leg room to stretch out on the flight. Although I considered viewing Gone with the Wind on the long flight to help pass the time, I ended up watching old episodes of ER and House that I'd never seen. Scott listened to Pat Metheny and viewed a science fiction film called The Moon. It's bizarre that just a few years ago, everyone on the airplane watched the same movie on a big screen. The huge collection of stored videos is now much more personalized, but you lose some of that "plane cohesion" in the process. Well, I guess not everyone wants to bond with their fellow passengers, anyway...
*******************************************
A Direct Connection
We selected aisle seats
directly across from one another
when planning with Becky
our Chinese travel agent in Rochester.
And she advised on a long flight
like the one from Detroit
to Hong Kong
that we would appreciate
the leg room
and maybe even the personal space.
That we could stretch out our cramps
and not have to crawl over other passengers
when we needed to stand
or flex our calf muscles
or find that mile high bathroom in the sky.
But I wanted nothing more
than to rest my head on Scott's shoulder
when I was listening to james taylor and carole king
harmonize to "close your eyes,"
or to spoon in next to him
when my eyes were ready to sleep.
It's surprising
how very much that hand
reaching across the aisle
touching mine
means
so high above
even the clouds...
****************************************************
The flight itself was relatively uneventful, except for one medical emergency call. I thought for a moment I had caused the emergency, as I had my foot out in the aisle, was pretty much dozing, and then felt someone trip over my foot. Immediately, the call for a medical professional came over the loudspeaker, and I thought the person who had tripped over me was injured. I soon realized that the person who tripped over me was a flight attendant running madly down the aisle trying to assist a person who had some sort of medical condition. We never did discover what was ailing the woman, but several kind souls came forth to assist her. All is well.
The path from the plane to actual immigration was convoluted in the massive Hong Kong Airport. As always, I am impressed with the way crowds move in such a cooperative, collaborative way. We even had a young college student who had been studying in South Carolina take us under his wing. He was born and raised in Hong Kong and expressed great pride in his home, letting us know Hong Kong is the best place to go in all of China. He was very familiar with Mainland China, but he clearly had a special place in his heart for Hong Kong. What follows are a few photos from the airport in Hong Kong. Although we did see a Burger King, most of the food places were offering healthy vegetable snacks, stir frys, and juice concotions that were extremely healthy... The emphasis on recycling and its importance is clearly everywhere --- from divided bins for trash to advertisements that focus on not only "recycling," but "upcycling." The ads for commercial products, especially jewelry and cosmetics, oddly, tended to feature Western women, perhaps to appeal to tourists who might be considering such purchases. It reminded me of the mannequins in Nepal who, in the middle of a market in Kathmandu, were caucasion design models donning very Eastern clothing.
Most signs, as you can see, are in both Chinese characters and in English. This makes it fairly easy to get around in Hong Kong... plus, most people we chatted with spoke both Cantonese and English. Our few phrases of Mandarin don't communicate all that well here, but they help a bit in getting around. Seems like most folks here are very forgiving if we use common Mandarin phrases, rather than the Cantonese.
All in all, the airport wasn't nearly as shoulder to shoulder as I had imagined. Everyone was very helpful, and we found our way to our shuttle to the airport with very few hiccups.
Sorry for the double posts of some images. The directions for the blog are actually in Chinese, so I'm fumbling around and guessing a bit as I go. Thanks in advance for your patience!
Namaste,
Marianne / Bai Ling
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