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Part V: Farewell to Sri Lanka, a stop in Hong Kong and, finally, home |
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Feb.
28: There was an
optional tour today but Jim and I felt like we just could not
manage another full day on the coach so we opted to stay at the hotel
instead. We went to breakfast
late, strolled around the grounds, watched guests arriving for a wedding,
sat by the pool in the shade sipping Cokes.
It was nice to have a slow day because we must head for the airport
about 10 tonight. Spent the late afternoon packing and getting ready for
departure. Our farewell
dinner was on the beach tonight. It
was quite an affair. The
appetizer was similar to deviled crab, then we had soup, then a grilled
seafood plate with shrimp, very spicy calamari and several kinds of fish
along with rice and vegetables ending with baked Alaska for dessert.
It was a very large meal. We were on the coach by 10:30 p.m. headed to the airport for our 2:30 a.m. flight. Confusion reigned supreme at the airport. Our guide was not allowed to come into the facility with us. First we stood in a line to x-ray the baggage, and then we went down a long hall with no indicator signs to a huge room teeming with people. There was a semblance of lines where our bags had to be opened for inspection, but after we removed all the locks, they didn't even look in the bags. So we had to hurriedly re-lock everything and get in a check-in line as the crowds of milling people were getting bigger and bigger. At check in, I purposefully asked if we could have aisle
seats. I was assured that we
did, but we really did not. Next
we had to pass through immigration and passport control.
Finally we went into a holding area till it was time to board and
by then it was already the first of March. March
1: We finally boarded our plane around 2 a.m. and since the
plane would not be full until we picked up passengers in Bangkok, we were
able to spread out a bit in order to sleep.
Finally we reached Hong Kong and went through controls
there. Waiting for us was
Hans, a German fellow who worked for the company that provided our
transport, etc. while in HK. The
drive to the hotel was very interesting as we passed through a lot of
high-rise buildings and new construction.
Quite different to anything we saw in Sri Lanka.
More in line with what we saw in Bangkok. The Hotel Kowloon Shangri-La was palatial (http://www.shangri-la.com/eng/hotel/index.asp)
but we had to wait in the huge lobby for quite sometime before our rooms
were ready. We were told that
tourism is up but the actual amount of money spent by tourists is down
because many of the tourists now come from mainland China and they don't
spend as much as tourists from foreign countries. It was 3 p.m. by the time we got into our room.
When we travel on our own we do not stay in 5-star places.
This was quite plush! We
heard from my Travelzine contact, Judy Love Eastham around 3:30 as she was
coming into the city to meet us for a short get-together.
She made it to the hotel by about 5 p.m. and we took off on a run
to see a bit of the Hong Kong waterfront.
Judy and I met on the Travelzine list.
She and her husband live in the countryside outside of Hong Kong
and are originally from Canada. He
is a college professor and she does consulting.
Judy, Jim and I walked the waterfront to the Star Ferry dock, took
the ferry across the harbor, saw the parliament building, looked around a
bit and took the ferry back to our starting point.
Then we practically ran back to the hotel so that we wouldn't be
late for dinner. We managed
to stop long enough for a picture. It
was wonderful to meet Judy even if we only had a short time to spend
together. She invited us to visit her home when we come back to Hong
Kong. And come back we will
because it is a vibrant city and we want to see more than we got in the
24-hour time frame we had on this stop.
There are things about Hong Kong that remind me of Paris.
We certainly moved as quickly as we always moved in Paris.... so
much to see and so little time. Dinner was at the Kam Kong Chinese Restaurant within walking
distance of the hotel. Delicious
dishes, and the restaurant was hopping on this Friday night.
The lights of the city were dazzling as we walked to and from the
restaurant. Back in the room I was ready for a soak in the tub and Jim
was ready to head out with the video camera to capture some of the night
lights. We were in bed by
10:30 and went right to sleep which is understandable since we had spent
the previous night in an airport and on a plane. March
2: Breakfast at
the Shangri-La was out of this world.
A buffet, the likes of which I'd never seen.
Fortunately it was included in the price of the room because the
menu listed it as $200HK which is about $30US!
I don't think I could ever bring myself to actually pay $30 for
breakfast! We boarded the bus with Hans to see a few of the Hong Kong
highlights in the short amount of time we had.
Up to Victoria Peak, out to Repulse Bay and over to Aberdeen to see
the local fish market which was very interesting.
There were little sampan-like boats at Aberdeen to take tourists
for a ride among the fishing boats so we hopped on.
It was fun to get a taste of the city and what it has to offer.
I would definitely like to return for a longer stay. Getting to the airport and through check-in was not
difficult although Cathay Pacific had changed all the seat assignments
around and we did not have aisle seats as we had been promised.
I think CP Airlines needs to work on their communication problems.
The flight was overbooked so there was no possibility of getting
the seats changed. After a 15-hour flight we finally got to LA only to be
dumped on the tarmac and herded onto buses.
Four international flights all landed within 15 minutes of each
other! There was a very long,
slow line to get through passport control, then an even longer wait for
all the luggage. We got
through customs and had to then go through an underground maze to re-check
our luggage. I have never
seen such a teeming mass of humanity all pushing and shoving.
This reconfirmed our resolve for traveling with only one bag each.
Some in our party had oversized bags and not just one.
Having to deal with that sort of weight after being on a very long
flight and working against time to make connections is just too
debilitating for me. It was
almost as bad as the experience we had on the outbound standing for over
two hours in the security line. I do believe that LAX is off my list of
places to change planes any time in the near future!
I'd just rather not subject myself to this experience again!
We finally got through the melee and over to the domestic terminal.
Things were a bit calmer at United's check-in counter. Arriving in Denver we found that it was 20 degrees F. and
there were six inches of snow on the ground.
Back to reality and winter clothes, for sure. It's halfway around the world to Sri Lanka and although we will probably never visit there again, we are very glad we went. Our horizons were widened and so was our circle of friends. |
(Click thumbnails for larger versions)
Judy and Ruth Marie in front of a fabic display for the Chinese New Year.
The skyline of Hong Kong.
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