Friday, October 19, 2018

We go to Hong Kong today, or old home for many years

As usual once you know that you must get up early and you set three alarms you just seem to wake up an hour earlier and wait for the alarm to go off and that is what happened to us. So at about 0400 we were thinking about what to do but then it was 04.30 and so first of all the important cup of tea.
We finished packing the bags and got some airport luggage trolleys, checked out of the Hotel and off we went for the five minute trip to the Hong Kong Airlines Check in.
Is it a bird or a plane, no its Hong Kong Airlines
Being aware of the ticket problems rather than raise the matter we left them to find it and clearly they did . We almost got checked in and while she was scanning the passports she obviously noticed the missing middle names and called a supervisor and and then a phone call to somebody and all the time apologising for the delay. After about five minutes of scanning the passports and playing with the computer she said there was a problem with our booked seats, Oh No I thought here we go, but she said that the Inflight entertainment system was not working on the pre assigned seats and would we mind moving. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Lie flat beds in Business
We did the usual security stuff where you stand in a glass bowl and a machine whizzes round you and takes naked photos of you I think.
To be frank it wasn’t until we were sitting in the aircraft and taxiing away that we thought that was lucky, so lets see what happens on the same e-ticket to Manila, but I must get the Etihad Tickets change as we don't want any worries about our final flight home.
The seats and service on Hong Kong Airlines was very good indeed and the staff were always smiling and and helpful. The breakfast served to Jennifer looked excellent and I could only look on and be jealous whilst eating my yogurt and two bread rolls. The flight left at 07.00 on time and it was a 3 hrs 40 minute flight to Hong Kong where we landed at about 09.50 local time. Within 40 minutes we were through immigration and collected bags and in a taxi to the Hotel in
Hotel Cordis Kowloon Hong Kong
Kowloon where we arrived at just after 11.00 . The room on a lower floor was ready but the guy suggested for a better view of the city if we would not mind waiting a couple of hours we could have a room on the 22nd floor which would provide very different views. We were given coupons for a drink and then at about 13.30 the room was ready and by this time Noel had had a hamburger in the coffee shop and although they said there was not garlic and onions I was not so sure.
We had a relaxing afternoon before going to met some friends in a huge complex called the Elements which is a combination of Ice Rink, Kowloon Station and Shopping Mall and finally an open air area where there are loads of restaurants with a live bad and you can sit out side in the warm air. We had an absolute brilliant night before one couple had to leave for the airport to connect with there 000.30 flight to Milan.
The elements at night

So then a taxi back to the Hotel and though the back streets there was trucks and fork lifts moving fruit of all kinds and like an open air roadside Covent Garden food market, there were boxes of fruit all over the road and with trucks and taxis and forklift all over the place it was a marvellous piece of chaos, if only I had brought my camera.,
Oh well there is always tomorrow