Asia Pt I: Hong Kong

Tuesday 31st Jan: The long plane flights are getting easier, Sydney to Hong Kong passed in no time (actually 9 hrs). I read the paper, watched a horrible movie (The Transporter - so bad it was funny) and a few doco's and started speaking with the older lady in the window seat. I'm usually not a talker but she didn't have the strongest bladder, so she was up and down often and apologizing each time for making me move, so we got to talking. Anna is psychiatrist in Tel Aviv and has childeren & grand children in Sydney. What a story - born in the Netherlands, her family fled first to Potugal away from the Nazi's and then to Indonesia away from the threat of Franco, in Indonesia they were imprisoned for three years during the Japanese occupation. After the war they eventually moved to Spain, she married a Moroccan Jew, who was a lawyer but because of his dark skin found it hard to get work. They had family ties in Australia so moved here, started a family and lived here for 30 years. He died, her children were grown so she took the opportunity to move to Jerusalem to teach in the University, her apartment was damaged during a suicide bombing so she took the opportuntiy to move into private practice and to Tel Aviv. As Gwen Stefani says "the shit is bananas", it definitely helped pass the time but I was thinking at one stage that given all that has happened to her I am not too keen to be flying on the same plane let alone sit next to her.

The train into the city from HK airport is great - quick and easy. Jumped a cab to my motel (Le Meridien Cyberport - new & funky), I had to wait an hour for the room so they upgraded me to the suite - a waste, I was wishing Kel was there to enjoy it with me. Met my colleague Alan and his family for dinner and got to work at the MS offices.

Wednesday 1st Feb: I'm trying to lose a couple of pounds for the wedding and running out of time. It doesn't help when the comp breakfast at the hotel is a buffet that includes shrimp dumplings and pork sticky buns. On the way back to the Central we passed an awesome cemetary looking down to the sea, I wish I had time to stop and take photo's (next time). Checked my bag at the airport express train station then jumped a local loop train to Causeway Bay to have a look around in the 30 mins I had spare. Lots and lots of shops, nothing too appealing although I bought some DVD's at a very handy price (could they be pirated :) ). Back out to airport and guess what... there is Popeye's chicken at the HK airport ... a few legs and then on the plane to Incheon.