Notting Hill Carnaval

Our flight to London was uneventful. We watched Duplicity on the plane over. I found it formulaic and with no spark between Clive Own and Julia Roberts. But it passed the time.

When we arrived the the weather was very nice. We had a car meet us at the airport (Heathrow) and drive us to our hotel in Mayfair.

From London, August 2009

The driver told us that the Notting Hill Carnaval was going on that day and the next (it was a Bank Holiday Weekend) so we decided to head on down to Notting Hill to see what that was all about.

It turns out that this is the "Biggest Carnaval" outside of the Caribbean. It was jam packed with people, noise, and stands selling hotdogs and jerked chicken.

From London, August 2009

There must be frequent violence at these festivals, however, as many windows in the area were boarded up.

From London, August 2009

We didn't stay too long.

We went back towards the hotel, ate soem bad fish and chips (It can be good!) and went to sleep.

Flying from Oslo to Houston. Incomprehensible Service

I have had nothing but easy travel for quite some time now. So I guess that it was time for me to get annoyed and bothered, or at least delayed on my last trip.

I left Houston for Oslo last Wednesday, via Amsterdam. I was returning on Saturday, via Newark. The weather looked like it would be dicey, and I thought that I would not get home on time, even thought it was late flight – not landing in Houston until 7:30. (I usually get home about 2:00 PM. I missed the flight connection in Amsterdam, and was forced through Newark because the US is not on the same Daylights Savings Time schedule as the rest of the world that moves to Daylight Savings Time. Thanks Congress! You are evil!)

Flying through Newark is always a problem anyway. Luckily I was not checking bags (I have stories about THAT in Newark!) but I was worried about immigration. But I get ahead of myself.

As usual I did not get much sleep Friday night in Oslo (it is my second night there, and I am flying out the next day. When I wake up, I watch movies. Not a big deal. I saw part of Beverly Hills Cop II, and part of Master and Commander. I had seen the later, but not the former, previously.) so I was up and ready for breakfast when the breakfast room opened at 7:00 AM. (Eggs, bacon, and pickled herring. Nothing like fish for breakfast!). I read from my Kindle (The Big Rich. An excellent book about Texas Oil Men. I recommend it) and then went up to my room to finish packing. That done, I wandered over to the train station to grab the Flytoget train that goes to the airport.

I arrived at the airport a scant 30 minutes later and ambled over to the Continental ticket counter. (I had check in online, but had no boarding pass) There was a family with complicated passport issues in line in front of me, but I had plenty of time so I did not worry. I finally got my ticket and got through the relatively short security line without any issued (remember this for later)

I had to buy some chocolates for My Sweet Ever Lovin’ (Lindt chocolates. Lordy, they are so good the make you want to slap your mamma!) and was able to do that in the (very crowded, oddly enough) duty free shop.

Since this was a flight out of the EU, I had to clean immigration. There were two lines at the immigration counter. One was for “All Passports” and one for “EU Passports”. One of the PGS employees was a couple places in front of me in the “All Passports” line. There was nobody in the “EU” line, though there was an immigration official. Well, in front of me step three Norwegians (in the “All Passport” line) with immigration issues. Why they chose to wait in line, instead of go DIRECTLY to the front of the other line is beyond me. (Reminds me of the sign that they used to have when leaving the Denver Airport. Everyone had to pay at for parking at what looked like a big toll plaza. Probably about 25 booths. The sign said “Use Shortest Lane”. I always thought that was the funniest thing. Having to tell people to “use shortest lane”. But you do. People are foolish) in any case, I had to wait behind this couple with immigration issues as well.

Little did I know that those two lines were a harbinger of things to come.

The flight was largely uneventful. I never said two words to the fellow who was sitting next to me for 9 hours. That was fine with me. We landed and made it down to immigration with no problems.

At immigration, a miracle had occurred. There was nobody in line! I waited for maybe 30 seconds and was sent on to Customs.

Now, keep in mind that I had been out of the country for only three nights. I had only one carryon bag, my computer, and a duty free bag with the chocolates. As I got up to customs, they told the pilot in front of me that he had to go to his left for an ag-check (agriculture check) and they told me that I did, too!

Think about this – there are almost no farms in Norway. I was only out of the country for three days, and only had chocolate. And I was chosen for an ag-check! Talk about a waste of time.

Of course they found nothing, and then off I went to clear security to get back to the gates.

Here is where the real fun began.

I noticed an empty belt and walked right up to it. That was a big mistake. There was obviously some tyro reading that x-ray. I put my stuff through, walked through the metal detector, and was told they needed to do a “bag check” What the heck! This was the fourth x-ray that this bag has been through on this trip, and they have a problem? OK, being the good citizen I am I just stand and wait while they open my bag and take my shoes out (my shoes?)

They run the bag through again, and STILL see something they don’t like. So they rummage around again in my dirty underwear and shirts. I offer to take some stuff out of the bag and I am sternly reprimanded. At which point I just sit down and let them spin their wheels.

And what happens now? They put the bag through again, and they STILL see something they don’t understand. Well, this is the rich part: They then tell me to repack my bag and be on my way!

What?

So they found a problem, never identified it, and just sent me away? Doesn’t that sort of defeat the whole purpose of the check?

TSA. American Stasi, only Dumber.

But wait! There is one more piece of joy left in this day of Kafkaesque air travel.

In spite of the TSA’s actions, I was able to get to the President’s club about 2:20. I was scheduled for a 4:30 flight to Houston, arriving at about 7:30. There was also a 3:00 PM flight to Houston.

So my PGS buddy and I visited the counter to see if we could get on the 3:00 PM flight and save a couple of hours. Jerry had a cheap coach fare, but had been upgraded to Business Class on the 4:30 flight. I had a Business Class fare. They looked at Jerry’s ticket, and immediately gave him a seat (in the back) on the 3:00 flight. No fee, no questions They dickered around with my reservation for a while and then said I had to go to the gate.

So we walk down to the gate, and the gate agent tells me that the business section is full. I say no problem, can they get me a seat in coach. You bet! They start looking at my record, and the woman has to make a phone call. That is never a good sign.

I hear her asking about class of travel, and how to book the change. She hangs up and calls another person. Again, questions about Z and Y and all sorts of other codes are being thrown about.

She says, “OK, that will be a $250 change fee and $37.50 for the transaction.”

I express incredulity as calmly as I can.

Of course, I politely declined their offer. Now, keep in mind that I am a Platinum Elite flyer with Continental, and have been an elite member for each of the past 15 years. Most of the time, that has been Platinum, occasionally gold, seldom silver.

Don’t you think that they would want my business?

This story would have been better had they actually cancelled my 4:30 flight. Luckily for me (but not the story) they didn’t.

So in the end, I got home right on time.

Crazy.

meat pie

Dubai – Singapore.

I lived in Singapore from January of 1995 to October of 1996. During those 22 months I flew to Houston 18 times. Each one way trip was at least 24 hours in the air, and two stops with at least 2 hours between flights, so in real time each flight took at least 30 hours. So 18 (flights) x 2 (round trip) = 36 trips. 36 x 30 (hours) = 1,080 hours spent in travel just to Houston during those 22 months. 1,080 hours is 45 days. 45 days! And that doesn’t count the trips to China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, India, Vietnam, Bangkok, or Brunei.

And then people ask me why I hate to travel. I think that the answer is obvious. I have not been back to Singapore since I left. I still have some people I keep in touch with occasionally, and will try to meet with them. I am not sure if it will happen.

I am reading a book called The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell. I am not sure how far it goes, but it opens in Singapore right before the Japanese overrun Singapore in WWII. The book focuses on the truly myopic view of the war and the Japanese by the local British community. This is one of the more embarrassing episodes in British Military History. Incompetence and cowardice by the military leaders. Courts martial ensued if I recall correctly.

Saudi Arabia

We got to the Dubai airport about an hour and a half before the flight. That is tighter than I usually cut it, but what the heck. I am trying to relax about these things.

We got in line to check in for the flight, and got to the counter. The agent told us that we could not check in there, since we had business class tickets. We had to move to a different row. “The one with the Red Carpet”. So we checked in and walked through security. Not a big deal, less security than I am use to in the US (No need to take off your shoes. No need to remove your laptop from the bag.) Everyone was very gracious.

We stopped for a while in the lounge (there was a soccer game on) and waited for the flight.

The very first thing I saw when getting off the airplane was several men at their prayers. That sort of set the tone. Saudi Arabia is very devout. Saudi Aramco had a driver meet us at the airport, and the hotel was all ready for us. The town (Dammam) was the location of the first field discovered in Saudi Arabia. It seems like an unlikely place for a headquarters, but that is why.

The work meetings went well, and as we were coming back from lunch I asked if the Saudis felt lucky that Mecca was in their country, and if they had been on The Haj. They laughed and said yes to both. One of the guys that I was meeting with had been on The Haj five times!

As we were driving back to the airport, we saw camels walking in the desert. Camels! I guess it really is like Lawrence of Arabia.

Dubai

After a while every flight feels close to every other flight. You wait to get on the plane, you wait while the plane loads, you wait to take off, and you wait to land. You watch a movie, you eat something. Eight hours or so later, you land.

Most flights I take these days has a map that shows the progress of the plane. It shows current position, and then the cities you are flying over.

Today, I glanced over to the map, and was startled – The first city name I saw was Kirkuk. We were flying over Iraq! Then I looked more closely. No – that is Tabriz! Tehran! We were flying over Iran! Now I knew I was going somewhere I had never been before.

Airports, too, tend to be rather generic. Except here you have about half the men in gutra and thobe. There women were in hijabs, or bare headed. I think that will be different when I get to Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Around the World in the interest of Commerce

I am heading around the world in a couple of hours, trying to do my best to reduct the US Trade Deficit.

I start in Dubai for an evening. I get there via London.

Then I go to Saudi Arabia Friday evening, back to Dubai on Saturday evening. I am hopeful that we will sell some software to Saudi Aramco sometime this year.

On Tuesday I head to Singapore (non-stop). This will be my first visit to Singapore since I moved away in October 1996.

On Friday, I leave Singapore to Houston, via Tokyo. I get here four hours after I leave (calendar time)

I gain a day by going around the world eastward. Though my sweet ever lovin' pointed out that the day I saved will be spent on an airplane. Oh well.

I have my camera, and hope to post some interesting photos.

Hong Kong on the flop

On the way back home we had one more night in Hong Kong. This time, we stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. It is on Hong Kong island itself (the Peninsula is in Kowloon) and one of the other great hotels in town. We were greeted by a nice German girl at the front counter who was planning a trip to Cambodia herself. We gave her a few tips as we went up to the room.

The room was done in a very modern style. It was nicely done, but not necessarily to our taste. We wandered about the city a bit before a bath and then off to dinner.

We started with a nice coup of champagne in the bar on the top of the hotel. As we were heading up to the bar, we happened to run into the sommelier for the Pierre Garnier restaurant that is located in the hotel. We asked for a recommendation for a champagne, and he gave us great one that they import solely for their own use.

After the champagne we headed to the Peking Kitchen for Beggar’s Chicken. We had to order this in advance by at least 24 hours. We had arranged this meal before we left Hong Kong for Cambodia.

Now, Beggar’s Chicken is quite good. But for some reason they didn’t ask us to order anything else! I guess they thought “these dumb quai lohs don’t know what the heck they are doing with the Beggar’s Chicken, never mind!” But it is pretty good. You take a chicken, stuff it with some muchrooms, some meat, and then wrap it with lotus leaves. You then cover the lotus leaves with wet clay and back the darn thing. It was quite good. But we could have used some rice, or maybe baby kalian, or something or other.

The next day we headed to the central train station (we took the train rather than getting picked up by the hotel on this leg) so we could check in and hope for lucky transportation. (they have a check in counter at the train station, which is nice)

I had handed over our passports and the guy behind the counter typed our names into the computer. He then stopped, made a phone call, and handed me the phone. Now THAT can only be bad news!

The Continental Concierge told me that we really did have a confirmed seat on our flights. But if I would be interested, they would re route us through Narita (Tokyo) and get us to Houston 5 hours earlier than our original plan. Not only that, but that meant that we would avoid Newark and almost certain delays. We said “You bet!” and were told to hop to it to the airport. They had to get us on a JAL flight that was leaving an hour before our Continental flight.

We got to the airport and were met by a JAL and a Continental person. They hurried us through all the official procedures, and told us we would not be able to sit next to each other on the four hour Hong Kong to Tokyo leg. We were both in center seats, one behind the other (I was behind Doreen). But the seats were very comfortable, we had on demand video, and a pretty good Japanese meal.

We got to Narita and had to proceed briskly to a different terminal. We once again had seats in different rows, but one in front of the other. We were able to secure a trade once onboard, and that is where we are now. Doreen is sleeping, and I am not.

Tonle Sap

The last day in Siem Reap we did not have a temple pass, so we decided to tuktuk down to Tonle Sap lake with Mr Phaunna (the sad driver). It was about 17 km. quite a ride, and when we got down there we had to buy a boat to take us out ON the lake. It was different than anything we had done before. This is the largest lake in Asia, and its size changes from a 3,000 diameter to a 1,000 km diameter. This is because of the monsoon flooding upstream in Thailand and China. It is one of the few “inundated forest” ecosystems (the only other one I know of is in the Amazon basin) where the trees are underwater for about ½ the year, and exposed the other half. Fish thrive in this environment, actually eating fruits off the trees. Spectacular.

We were there just as the rainy season had ended, so the lake was starting to recede. There are many people who live on the lake, and as it recedes, they follow the water in their houseboats. So we saw several boats being towed to deeper water. We even saw a Catholic Church being towed to the lake!

Even here, the tourists are a way to make money. There were many boats trying to sell soda, beer, and fruits. On the lake itself a boat came alongside with a momma, poppa, and young girl (maybe 5?) with a baby Burmese python (my guess on the species). She was playing with this snake, it was very docile. I took some photos and gave her a small rial bill. She immediately put it in her pocket and climbed on out boat. I took the snake (I am pretty sure that there were going to eat it when it got to big to be cute) and the boat driver took our photo with the little girl. She flashed a peace sign (the second time I saw this when a photo was snapped) and then she got back on her boat and they drove away. There was another boat with another family, and another snake waiting nearby as we started our way back to land.

That night, our last in Cambodia, we ate at one of the fancy restaurants in Siem Reap. Fittingly, one of the courses on the tasting menu we had was “Pounded Dry Bar-b-Que Snake”. Snake or no, the meal was great. The next day we headed back to Hong Kong.

Siem Reap.

We arrived in Siem Reap after a short 1/2 hour flight on Siem Reap air. The flight was mostly empty. We got to the hotel, another Raffles and checked in. We didn’t like the room we were given and asked for another. They said none were available, but Doreen persisted, and they found us one with a better balcony overlooking the gardens, not the pool. This sort of set the stage for our relationship with this hotel. While it wasn’t a bad hotel by any means, everything seemed just about a half beat off. Nothing was horrible, but plenty could have been better.

The hotel had arranged for a tour guide to get us to Angkor Wat the next day. We left about 8:30 and made it to the temple after buying a three day pass to the ruins at a very efficient waystation run by the richest guy in Cambodia (who we were told is Vietnamese).

The temples are something. You can see my photos in my Picasa albums. I won’t try to describe them here, others have done a better job than I could even start to do. I would recommend visiting these places to anyone who can take the travel.

Since we stayed in Siem Reap for five nights, we had quite a time arranging transportation and food. We were lucky with the food. We used several resources to uncover some interesting places to eat. The Robert Parker bulletin board (ebob) was extremely useful in getting ideas of places to eat. Doreen got a bunch of ideas from Patricia Wells (we love her recommendations for Paris) and the hotel as well.

The food ranged from fancy cooked by creative Australian Chefs to a local kitchen where we could not spend much more than $10 if we tried, but the food was outstanding.

The geegaws in Siem Reap were much more expensive than in Phnom Penh. I think that was because there are so many more tourists. The shopkeepers were less willing to negotiate as well.

You had your standard contingent of dissolute ex-pats and hippies in Siem Reap. You could find places to stay for under $5 a night! And some of these people were odd, and some of them sort of mean. I saw one guy negotiate with a little Khmer kid until he started to cry (the kid, not the hippy). We saw another couple go to a café, (which served food) then proceed to pull out a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter and make sandwiches and comment on the local (male) talent.

But the strangest thing about Siem Reap is how you developed a relationship with your transportation. As in Phnom Penh, the tuktuk was the most common way to get along. And once you used a tuktuk drive, you were his, and he was yours. You were expected to use that same guy whenever you saw him (or more like, he saw you). The good thing about that was you could honestly answer you had a tuktuk waiting when the others came by to bug you. You had better remember his name, though. Because they would ask. (we used number 555 for a while, but our favorite was Mr Phaunna – he was one sad looking guy. But he was a good driver. One night I negotiated a different guy too low for his preference, so he got drunk when we were eating dinner. You have not lived until you have been driven around Siem Reap by a drunk tuktuk driver)

Phonm Penh, last full day

The next day we decided to go to the Royal Palace, and then the Russian Market. Lunch would be leisurely and we have a quiet afternoon. So after breakfast we walked outside the hotel to negotiate with the phalanxes of Tuktuks for a daily rate. We sat in two (it is important to be able to see out the front of the Tuktuk, we discovered. It makes the ride much more enjoyable) and negotiated a day rate with Pol, one of the few drivers who uses a helmet.

We told him the plan and started down the road. We got to the Royal Palace and were dropped off. Pol told us he would wait across the road. We walked in and tried to buy tickets (One of the few places with prices in Cambodian Baht – it was B/.25,000 – or $6.25US – also one of the most expensive places.) and were told that Doreen could not come in. She was wearing a top that had very short sleeves (see photo) and that was not allowed. We went back out, grabbed Pol and were headed back to the hotel so she could change.

We decided it that we ultimately wanted an FCC t-shirt, so we turned the tuktuk around and rode to that bar. We bought her an XXL shirt so that I will be able to use it later, and headed back to the palace.

This time they let us in with no problems. We walked in and the place looked like it is some third world country’s idea of what a palace grounds should be. Plenty of buildings with fancy roofs, and some of the buildings you needed to take your shoes off before you walked in. The coolest place was the Silver Pagoda, which housed a “crystal” Buddha. It had a silver floor! Yes, a floor made out of silver. They did not allow photos in there (so we had to sneak some).

Another interesting building was a wrought iron building built by the French to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal. Then Napoleon III decided to give that building to King Norodom. And it was shipped to the palace grounds. Go figure.

We then went to the Russian Market – so called because so many foreigners shop there and there was a time when the only foreigners here were Russian. And because Russians are so cheap, they have the best prices in town. We looked at silk and picked up a small Buddha, but mostly just wandered around.

Then back to the tuktuk and on to The Metro for lunch. It was a great lunch with pork and beef satay, green beans and bacon and chicken wings. The best chicken wings in the world, by the way.

More Phnom Penh

On our second day in Phnom Penh we started with breakfast at the hotel. We then took a tuk tuk to the National Museum to look at some statues that had been rescued from around the world and reunited (bodies and heads). It was interesting.

You really need to understand how traffic works here. First of all there are millions of scooters on the streets. Many have two people on them. Several have three people on them. And some even have four. We did see one with FIVE people on it, but two of them were babies. Few people wear helmets, and many of the women sit side saddle. Doreen even saw a gut texting while driving, with his girlfriend sitting sidesaddle in the back reading what he was texting. That is skill!
The tuktuks are like little open air cabs pulled by motorcycles. They are everywhere, and they are cheap. To make a left turn they will pull into oncoming traffic, and then slowly wind their way across the traffic flow. Don’t ask me how, but it is quite an efficient way to get around. Scary, but efficient.

We had a light lunch and then went to the Genocide Museum at the old high school where the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed so many people. It was extremely sad and disturbing. It didn’t help to see some idiot wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. As we walked by I said that Che would have really understood that museum. It was just want he wanted.

It was also disturbing to see a waterboarding table, as well as a dunking table. Horrible that we, the USA, would think that things like that are OK. Trials without juries, secret evidence, punishment without due process. This is the end result of such actions. We should make everyone in Bush’s administration come here and look at this.

Then we came back to the hotel and relaxed by the pool a bit. Some bigshot (no doubt here to do good deeds) came to the pool with his 18 year old Cambodian girlfriend, his bodyguard and his Personal Assistant (who was wearing a suit and tie)

We got up to leave. Doreen is now getting a massage.

Phnom Penh day one

Leaving Honk Kong was as uneventful as arriving. The queues were short and all the officials were efficient. We boarded the plane on time, we left on time, and we arrived in Phnom Penh on time.

But when we got to Phnom Penh, we knew we had entered the third world. We were the first off the plane, and we had our visa forms all filled out. Now, I had a photo (as required) but Doreen did not. So I said we did not have the necessary photos. The official muttered something about us needing to pay an extra $1 (which we knew. Thank you Jack!) and they passed us down the line.

You need to think about this line. Picture a cafeteria serving line except on the other side of the line there are eight officials dressed in uniforms. Some men, some women. All sitting down looking at something in front of them (which you cannot see). You proceed to the end of the line where you have to pay your $20 entry fee. The first person attached a visa to your passport and hands it to the next person in line. The next person stamps the visa and passes it to the next person in line. The next person writes something on the visa, perhaps the expiration date and passes it down. Well, you get the idea. By the time it reached the end of the line (about five minutes) it was completely processed. But they don’t come in order. Two people’s passports came before ours did. Then you pay your $20 (each)

You then take your duly authorized passport to the immigration line. There, then check to make sure you are not a bad fellow, and they take your photo! (remember the $1 fee?). But they take EVERYONE’S photo. It goes pretty fast and by that time your bags are already on the belt. You grab the bags, walk through customs (no problems there) and proceed to every third world airport in the world.

The airport is teeming with people. Some are holding signs, some are milling around. They are all behind a barrier. The official Airport Taxi people are on our side of the barrier. So we grab one ($7US into town) and proceed to some small Toyota taxi into which I get shoe horned. I cannot sit upright in the Taxi, but of course he wants to be our tour guide for the week. We say no thanks.

We get to the hotel and it is very nice. We are greeted with a welcome cocktail of some tropical fruit juice. John Spooner, the Guest Relationships Manager meets us as well and tells us a bit about Phnom Penh. Our friends Jack and Bruce had been to Cambodia this past summer and met John up in Siem Reap. He is now working out of Phnom Penh and gave us some nice hints about the city.

That night we grabbed a tuk tuk ($2US) and drove into the city. We started at The Metro Cafe and wandered down the riverfront. We ended up eating at the Foreign Correspondents Club. We started with a couple of beers on their great balcony overlooking the street and the river. Nothing ever stopped while we were watching. We had some treats and then tuk-tuked back and called it a night.

Hong Kong last outbound day

During our last day in Hong Kong we took the tram to The Peak and walked around the mountain. It was about an hour’s walk, and had some very spectacular views. It was very scary for me, being afraid of heights.

We had lunch at a great place called The Pearl at The Peak. It was Sunday, so they did a brunch. We started out with a beer, then a glass of champagne. We had a Seafood Platter (crab, oysters, two sorts of clams, a small conch like thing, some crabs) and then we each got the “Toasty” which was a poached egg inside a yeast roll with salmon roe on top. It was great! We also had two seared Japanese scallops on the side.

Finally, there was some sort of dessert stuff. I didn’t partake. We had a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to go with the food. It was all quite nice.
That evening we went back to the Spring Deer and had dumplings and some sort of a crispy chicken. It was all good.

The next day we checked out. It was a nice hotel with great staff. As we were leaving the clerk asked us where we were heading next. We told him we were going to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

“Cambodia!” he said. “Wow. That is exotic!”

And here I thought that Hong Kong was exotic.

a Toasty

This is a Toasty from the Peal at the Peak, a restaurant at the Peak in Hong Kong.

It is a poached egginside a toasted yeast roll that is then covered with a garlic mayonaisse and topped with salmon roe.

It was accompanied by seared Japonese scallops and a dry New Zealand SB

Delicious!

(I took this photo of a neighboring table's toasty. They were expats from the UK, Oz, and the US. more on them later)

Hong Kong Day Two

We slept rather fitfully last night, in spite of taking some Melatonin for relaxation. We both woke up about 4:00 AM, after getting to sleep about midnight. We lounged in bet until about 7:00, and then got on the road about 8:30.

We stated off by taking the Ferry (HK$2.20 each) to the Hong Kong side of the island (we are staying in Kowloon). Once there, we walked and walk for several hours. (Check out some of the photos by clicking on My Picassa Albums to the right). We saw some interesting antiques, and some interesting fake antiques.

We ate lunch at a Dim Sum place called Victoria Seafood. It was good (Hairy Crab Coral Dumplings – both steamed and fried) but not great. We took the ferry back to the hotel.

Doreen is having a spa treatment. I am reading.

Fancy dinner tonight

Asian Adventure - Hong Kong

We had the good fortune of arriving in Newark on time, en route to Hong Kong. The first flight was normal, and we arrived in Newark about two hours before our scheduled departure
.
The Newark airport was crowded at the gates. There was a family that was particularly annoying as they were trying to get on an earlier flight than they had booked. The kids were screaming, the parents were whining and yelling. Let ‘em walk.

Our flight left about an hour late, but that time was made up in transit (!). We flew on a 777, which are now beginning to show their ages. Neither my seat nor Doreen’s worked that well. They had to substitute one movie for another (The Simpsons for Harry Potter. Good for us! “Spider pig, spider pig. Does whatever a spider pig does. Weave a web? No he doesn’t. Because he is a spider pig”)

This flight flew over the North Pole and over Russia. I looked out the window while over Siberia. It was very clear, and it was very white. There was no sign of life.

When we arrived we were greeted by two little (short) women from The Peninsula. They took our claim passes and guided us to Customs. There was about a 20 minute wait there, and then we were scooted off to the hotel.

It is an excellent hotel, and we have a harbor view. Click on My Picasa Albums to the right to see some of the photos.

We went out to eat at a place called The Spring Deer and had Peking Duck. It was a very large place, and the food was great. Crispy duck skin with abundant fat. We also ordered some Baby Kai Lan with Garlic. I bet we STILL smell of garlic this morning. This is a Food City!

More later.

Fixin' to leave

We will be packing in a couple of hours, and are taking off tomorrow morning at about 9:00 AM. We will land in Hong Kong about 6:30 PM on Friday, November 2. Remember – Asia bound, add a day. State bound, subtract a day. Flight time is about 19 hours, elapse time is about 22 hours.

When you start a trip like this you surrender your free will to the airline industry. You can’t make any changes, and you pretty much have to just do what you are told. It is not that much fun, but at the same time it is not really time “lost” because it is more like you are in suspended animation.

We will be picked up by the hotel (an indulgence, indeed. But this is a vacation!) at the gate and escorted through all the complexities of immigration into Hong Kong.

SO think of us winging our way over the North Pole tomorrow. And the day after that.