Only hours before I was to go to the airport to catch my flight to Auckland and then to Hong Kong, I received an unwanted call from Air New Zealand. The customer service representative explained that the plane that I would be flying on that evening had experienced mechanical trouble and although the flight would still go, they were replacing the original aircraft with a smaller one. The customer service representative painted a picture of hundreds of people now needing to be rerouted because there weren’t enough seats on the smaller aircraft for everyone and I was one of those lucky people. I responded that I really didn’t want to be rerouted because I wanted the time in Hong Kong, and although they still would not put me on the original flight, the routed me through Shanghai and then on a Chinese Airline to Hong Kong. However, my travel agent told me a different story when I contacted her. She told me that there were only a few people being bumped and that I should get to the airport early to see if I could get onto the original flight.
I arrived at the airport early, but anyone who has checked in for an international flight on Air New Zealand in Christchurch can vouch that quick is not a word that one would use to describe the agents that check people into international flights. I waited for a while and when I did get to the desk, I tried to get on the original flight. The agent walked me over to ticketing to see what could be done, but to no avail, I was going to Shanghai and would arrive in Hong Kong with only a few hours to spare before my next flight. (I have made my peace with Air New Zealand since then, but it was really disappointing at the time.) The agent was very nice and she even offered me access to the lounge to make up for the problems which I appreciated. I must say, if you ever get the chance to go to the lounge in Christchurch, definitely do it. It was a really nice series of rooms made with wood and stone materials. There were scrumptious pastries, small snacks, coffee and lots of wine for the customers to help themselves to during their stay. In the rush to get to the airport, I had forgotten to eat dinner, so I was very happy with the spread.
My flight to Shanghai departed at 11PM and I arrived in at 8AM. I have never shown up in China without a visa before and never expected to do so, but it wasn’t an issue since I was only staying in the airport. When I reached the immigration officer, I was asked to wait to one side until I was collected by another officer who issued me a transit visa. Unfortunately, I was only in Shanghai for four hours, so I didn’t have time to take the Maglev train into the city which would have been a treat. Instead, I checked in for my China Eastern flight and discovered that although Air New Zealand has put a hold on the seat for my flight, they had failed to give China Eastern the billing code or something like that and so my reservation had been canceled. Unless something could be done, I would be stuck in Shanghai without a flight. Fortunately, China Eastern got me on the plane which was otherwise fully booked. Unfortunately, China Eastern put a new luggage tag on my bag that was only to Munich, not to Istanbul, something that would later haunt me. So, after just a whistle stop in Shanghai, I was off to Hong Kong.
The last time that I was in Hong Kong was seven years ago when I broke my ankle while teaching in Yantai, China. WorldTeach, the organization through which I was teaching, flew me down to Hong Kong to see a specialist because I was getting mixed diagnosis in Yantai. My visit at that time was only for a few days and being on crutches had reduced my mobility a bit. This trip unfortunately would be even shorter, but so I was just hoping to eat some dim sum, to look at the architecture in Hong Kong, to take the ferry to Kowloon and then to wander the streets until it was time to go. However, due to the stop in Shanghai, I did not arrive in the city center until close to 3PM.
To get from the airport, I took the Airport Express train which makes the trip from the airport to the city center in only 24 minutes. In addition to the main line, there is now also a spur to serve Hong Kong Disneyland which opened in 2005. The special, Disney themed cars can carry up to 10,000 people per hour. Hong Kong Disneyland is the smallest of the five kingdoms and the resort was built with many settings following the rules of Feng Shui. However, the park is expected to expand over the next fifteen years to reduce the complaints of overcrowding.
During my prior visit, I had found a fantastic dim sum restaurant that was multi-floored and each floor was bustling with people. Waiters would wander though the restaurant with carts of wooden baskets of dim sum with different treats inside and you would simply indicate that you wanted a basket to have it added to the pile on your table. Each basket held three or four dim sum, depending on what was wrapped inside. I had wanted to return to the same restaurant and although I had an inclination as to where it was located I was so hungry by the time that I arrived that I decided to go to a restaurant near the train station that the guide book had highly recommended. The dim sum in the restaurant I chose was unbelievable, but I had arrived mid afternoon just as the bustle was ending and so at one point I was the only one in the restaurant. And this restaurant had its patrons order off a menu rather than a cart, so it was not as much fun as the time before, but still good.
After breakfast / lunch, I walked along one of the many overhead walkways that connect the buildings in Hong Kong till I arrived at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSHC) headquarters which opened in 1986 after seven years of construction. The building was designed by Lord Norman Foster and was based upon the principles of Feng Shui as are many of the buildings in Hong Kong. According to Feng Shui, the old Government House should be accessible in a straight line by foot from the main point of arrival on the island, the ferry terminal, but the location of the HSHC building would interrupt this line. To prevent this violation of Feng Shui, the entire HSHC building was designed to be raised off the ground and supported on eight groups of giant pillars so that people can walk under the building. One can stand under the building and look up through the glass floors through the large atrium that occupies the first three floors.
Because the area under the building is protected from the strong afternoon sun, it has become a very popular meeting place for the Filipino house cleaners on Sunday, their day off. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, there were people sitting on blankets or mats which covered every available square centimeter of the shade with the exception of clearings where people could walk. People chatted, ate, had their hair done and generally enjoyed their day off.
From the HSHC building, I wandered over to the tram going up to Mt Victoria which offers fantastic views of Hong Kong and Kowloon on nice days, but was met by a huge queue. The last time that I was in the city, I was able to walk right up to the tram to get on, but that was a rainy weekday. I would have really liked to have gotten views of the city from the peak, but my short schedule prevented it and I would have to be content with my photos from before.
I made my way down to the Star Ferry which has been described as one of the “greatest ferry rides in the world” by the Rough Guides because it offers great views of both Hong Kong and Kowloon as it makes the seven minute journey across the very polluted harbor. Once on the Kowloon side, I went over to the observation decks on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront where crowds were taking photographs of the Hong Kong skyline. Every night on which there is good weather, at 8PM, there is an orchestrated light and laser show featured on buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbor. The show is called Symphony of Lights and is put on by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and has been declared by Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest, permanent light show. Unfortunately, I had a geocache to find and then I would need to be making my way to the airport and so I didn’t get to see the show.
I stopped by the tourist information office to inquire about the station for the train to the airport and learned that there was a free shuttle to the station from a nearby hotel. Free shuttle? I was on it. The woman in the office marked on a map where the station was located and I set off in search of a quick bite to eat. Fortunately, I decided to pursue the station stop first because it turned out to be impossible to find. I was on the correct street and I actually saw the shuttle twice, but I could not find the stop. I walked all over looking for the stop with my heavy backpack on my back and fear of arriving at the airport late on my mind, but to no avail. I broke down and started to inquire in the various hotels nearby as to where the station was as the time that I had planned to catch the shuttle drew near and then passed. In a panic because I do not like showing up to the airport late, I decided to cross back to Hong Kong where I knew the location of the train station. I was walking along one street when I just happened to spot a sign for the bus I wanted. The sign was inside the parking garage of one of the hotels which clearly explained why I had not seen it before. I allowed ten minutes for the shuttle to arrive before I ran out and grabbed a cab, but it came and I made it to the train station.
The airport train is really well setup because as soon as I entered the station, I was directed to a check in counter for the various airlines. I went up to the Lufthansa counter to check in and fortunately inquired about the destination of my checked bag which was still at the airport. As I feared, the bag was only going to Munich, not to Istanbul. The woman behind the counter was very nice and called baggage to ask if they could find my bag and to put a new baggage ticket on it to make sure that it went to Istanbul. I waited for about 20 minutes after which I received confirmation that my bag was found and I hopped onto the train.
Being my second time in Hong Kong, I knew to look after the immigration form that I was issued upon arrival because I needed it to leave the country. Once I was through security, I had to get to my gate. Hong Kong is a really big airport with 80 gates in a row. I had forgotten this fact and I really had to walk quickly to finally get to my gate as my plane was boarding. The flight to Munich would be an overnight flight and I would have a few hour layover before taking my next flight to Istanbul the next morning.
I arrived at the airport early, but anyone who has checked in for an international flight on Air New Zealand in Christchurch can vouch that quick is not a word that one would use to describe the agents that check people into international flights. I waited for a while and when I did get to the desk, I tried to get on the original flight. The agent walked me over to ticketing to see what could be done, but to no avail, I was going to Shanghai and would arrive in Hong Kong with only a few hours to spare before my next flight. (I have made my peace with Air New Zealand since then, but it was really disappointing at the time.) The agent was very nice and she even offered me access to the lounge to make up for the problems which I appreciated. I must say, if you ever get the chance to go to the lounge in Christchurch, definitely do it. It was a really nice series of rooms made with wood and stone materials. There were scrumptious pastries, small snacks, coffee and lots of wine for the customers to help themselves to during their stay. In the rush to get to the airport, I had forgotten to eat dinner, so I was very happy with the spread.
My flight to Shanghai departed at 11PM and I arrived in at 8AM. I have never shown up in China without a visa before and never expected to do so, but it wasn’t an issue since I was only staying in the airport. When I reached the immigration officer, I was asked to wait to one side until I was collected by another officer who issued me a transit visa. Unfortunately, I was only in Shanghai for four hours, so I didn’t have time to take the Maglev train into the city which would have been a treat. Instead, I checked in for my China Eastern flight and discovered that although Air New Zealand has put a hold on the seat for my flight, they had failed to give China Eastern the billing code or something like that and so my reservation had been canceled. Unless something could be done, I would be stuck in Shanghai without a flight. Fortunately, China Eastern got me on the plane which was otherwise fully booked. Unfortunately, China Eastern put a new luggage tag on my bag that was only to Munich, not to Istanbul, something that would later haunt me. So, after just a whistle stop in Shanghai, I was off to Hong Kong.
The last time that I was in Hong Kong was seven years ago when I broke my ankle while teaching in Yantai, China. WorldTeach, the organization through which I was teaching, flew me down to Hong Kong to see a specialist because I was getting mixed diagnosis in Yantai. My visit at that time was only for a few days and being on crutches had reduced my mobility a bit. This trip unfortunately would be even shorter, but so I was just hoping to eat some dim sum, to look at the architecture in Hong Kong, to take the ferry to Kowloon and then to wander the streets until it was time to go. However, due to the stop in Shanghai, I did not arrive in the city center until close to 3PM.
To get from the airport, I took the Airport Express train which makes the trip from the airport to the city center in only 24 minutes. In addition to the main line, there is now also a spur to serve Hong Kong Disneyland which opened in 2005. The special, Disney themed cars can carry up to 10,000 people per hour. Hong Kong Disneyland is the smallest of the five kingdoms and the resort was built with many settings following the rules of Feng Shui. However, the park is expected to expand over the next fifteen years to reduce the complaints of overcrowding.
During my prior visit, I had found a fantastic dim sum restaurant that was multi-floored and each floor was bustling with people. Waiters would wander though the restaurant with carts of wooden baskets of dim sum with different treats inside and you would simply indicate that you wanted a basket to have it added to the pile on your table. Each basket held three or four dim sum, depending on what was wrapped inside. I had wanted to return to the same restaurant and although I had an inclination as to where it was located I was so hungry by the time that I arrived that I decided to go to a restaurant near the train station that the guide book had highly recommended. The dim sum in the restaurant I chose was unbelievable, but I had arrived mid afternoon just as the bustle was ending and so at one point I was the only one in the restaurant. And this restaurant had its patrons order off a menu rather than a cart, so it was not as much fun as the time before, but still good.After breakfast / lunch, I walked along one of the many overhead walkways that connect the buildings in Hong Kong till I arrived at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSHC) headquarters which opened in 1986 after seven years of construction. The building was designed by Lord Norman Foster and was based upon the principles of Feng Shui as are many of the buildings in Hong Kong. According to Feng Shui, the old Government House should be accessible in a straight line by foot from the main point of arrival on the island, the ferry terminal, but the location of the HSHC building would interrupt this line. To prevent this violation of Feng Shui, the entire HSHC building was designed to be raised off the ground and supported on eight groups of giant pillars so that people can walk under the building. One can stand under the building and look up through the glass floors through the large atrium that occupies the first three floors.
Because the area under the building is protected from the strong afternoon sun, it has become a very popular meeting place for the Filipino house cleaners on Sunday, their day off. When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, there were people sitting on blankets or mats which covered every available square centimeter of the shade with the exception of clearings where people could walk. People chatted, ate, had their hair done and generally enjoyed their day off. From the HSHC building, I wandered over to the tram going up to Mt Victoria which offers fantastic views of Hong Kong and Kowloon on nice days, but was met by a huge queue. The last time that I was in the city, I was able to walk right up to the tram to get on, but that was a rainy weekday. I would have really liked to have gotten views of the city from the peak, but my short schedule prevented it and I would have to be content with my photos from before.
I made my way down to the Star Ferry which has been described as one of the “greatest ferry rides in the world” by the Rough Guides because it offers great views of both Hong Kong and Kowloon as it makes the seven minute journey across the very polluted harbor. Once on the Kowloon side, I went over to the observation decks on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront where crowds were taking photographs of the Hong Kong skyline. Every night on which there is good weather, at 8PM, there is an orchestrated light and laser show featured on buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbor. The show is called Symphony of Lights and is put on by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and has been declared by Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest, permanent light show. Unfortunately, I had a geocache to find and then I would need to be making my way to the airport and so I didn’t get to see the show. 
I stopped by the tourist information office to inquire about the station for the train to the airport and learned that there was a free shuttle to the station from a nearby hotel. Free shuttle? I was on it. The woman in the office marked on a map where the station was located and I set off in search of a quick bite to eat. Fortunately, I decided to pursue the station stop first because it turned out to be impossible to find. I was on the correct street and I actually saw the shuttle twice, but I could not find the stop. I walked all over looking for the stop with my heavy backpack on my back and fear of arriving at the airport late on my mind, but to no avail. I broke down and started to inquire in the various hotels nearby as to where the station was as the time that I had planned to catch the shuttle drew near and then passed. In a panic because I do not like showing up to the airport late, I decided to cross back to Hong Kong where I knew the location of the train station. I was walking along one street when I just happened to spot a sign for the bus I wanted. The sign was inside the parking garage of one of the hotels which clearly explained why I had not seen it before. I allowed ten minutes for the shuttle to arrive before I ran out and grabbed a cab, but it came and I made it to the train station.
The airport train is really well setup because as soon as I entered the station, I was directed to a check in counter for the various airlines. I went up to the Lufthansa counter to check in and fortunately inquired about the destination of my checked bag which was still at the airport. As I feared, the bag was only going to Munich, not to Istanbul. The woman behind the counter was very nice and called baggage to ask if they could find my bag and to put a new baggage ticket on it to make sure that it went to Istanbul. I waited for about 20 minutes after which I received confirmation that my bag was found and I hopped onto the train.
Being my second time in Hong Kong, I knew to look after the immigration form that I was issued upon arrival because I needed it to leave the country. Once I was through security, I had to get to my gate. Hong Kong is a really big airport with 80 gates in a row. I had forgotten this fact and I really had to walk quickly to finally get to my gate as my plane was boarding. The flight to Munich would be an overnight flight and I would have a few hour layover before taking my next flight to Istanbul the next morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment