View from above...

We are staying in Hong Kong the first few days of our trip.  We are on the 20th floor of the hotel.... just like home.  The flight was horrible...just kidding.  Fourteen hours is a long time.  I like to break the time up into manageable segments...and so did the airline.  We were served two meals and a snack and had four movies and two segments of pre-recorded television.  Dave and I both traveled in and out of sleep throughout.  I don't think I watched one full movie or show.  For the snack, we were provided a bowl of "ramen noodles" from the Asia menu I guess?

Our room at the hotel is probably about 150 square feet!  The bathroom has a glass wall with "magic glass".  There are several switches that turn the glass from clear to frosted.  The beds are twin size and shorter than normal.  Dave's feet hung off the end.  But, no complaints, we were sleeping horizontal!  The time difference is 14 hours ahead of SLC and 12 hours ahead of NYC.

More to come.
PS.  Due to travel, we lost a day.  Normally, this would not be a big issue, but that day was October 15th.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY SALLY!  We did not forget your birthday, even though we lost your day.

PPS.  Dave just blew out his razor...half-way through his beard trim....bye, bye beard.

(our airplane in SFO)

(Dave's meal: chicken, stuffing, salad, roll and a brownie)

(view from our hotel room, bay in the distance)

The Wild Blue Yonder

Welcome to this trip journal. I am creating this so that friends and family can check in on Emily and I while we explore "the near east". I chose the term "near" east instead of the traditional "Far East". I did this because of the feeling here. We spend our whole lives in the dark about this place. Technology has really turned the "far" to "near". I was able to Skype Celeste immediately when I got to the hotel. Video chat makes it feel as though we are only in the next room.

The 14 hour flight from San Francisco really wasn't bad at all. Although, I intermittently slept for about 10+ hours of it. Sleeping well on a plane is a strength that i have honed for years since I have severe motion sickness. Sleeping makes the time pass much faster and keeps me from puking up ginger ale on everybody around me. They fed us 3 times. Can you believe that? I can't remember the last time I was on a flight that fed me anything. It was a nice change from the half full ginger ale accompanied by one or two biscoff cookies. The seats WERE cramped. I was pinned against the window. This is what I like though. It helps me sleep. Meal 1 was rosemary chicken and veggies. Meal 2 was cup'o'noodles rebranded as authentic chinese noodles. Meal 3 was a hot turkey and swiss sandwich with stuffing. They were all really pretty good. It made me long for the days when travelers were treated as welcome customers not just paying suckers that help to bulk up the income statement. Serving a meal was part of the product not a line item to cut when investors are demanding higher profits per share. It was no time before 14 hours turned to 9, then to 6, then to 2 hours. Finally we had landed in Hong Kong.


I must admit my public education hasn't prepared me at all what to expect here. Chinese culture and history is glossed over very quickly in all levels of school. Subsequently I was left to my own imagination as to what it would be like here. For those who don't know, Hong Kong is our first stop. Are there tera-cotta soldiers and karate suits everywhere? No. Are there communists rallies with soldiers marching down every street? No. As far as I can tell it is exactly like the US here. Granted, Hong Kong was under British rule for about 150 years so the western influence is very very strong. Imagine taking New York City and dropping it on Seattle and add New Orleans weather.....thats my first impression of Hong Kong. Today we will be doing a business visit to the consumer electronic electronics show. Link here: http://www.hktdc.com/fair/electronicasia-en/electronicAsia.html?404;http://electronicasia.hktdc.com:80/index.htm I can't wait too see this stuff. Apparently the asians keep all the good electronics for themselves before it gets released to the US. I shall seek to confirm.

Well I am off to breakfast and my first day in Hong Kong. Emily will also be posting on this site to give a 2nd point of view. I hope you enjoy. I know we will.

-Dave