vip in the city

Arrival: Hong Kong

So 24 hours after leaving my parents’ house, I arrived in Hong Kong. Not much to be said about the flight, other than that it felt rather cramped and very, very long. On the SFO-HKG leg of the journey, the plane’s audio system went out, and the passengers were forced to sit through “Hoodwinked,” “Wimbledon,” “Tristan and Isolde,” and “King Kong” without the benefit of sound. Could have been worse: none of the films were particularly high on my must-see list, and King Kong (which I’d already seen during its theatrical run) suffered suprisingly little in dialogue-less form. The crew distributed adjustment forms to everyone in the cabin, so we could each receive restitution for the snafu. Will be interesting to see how the “inconvenience” of missing out on Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany gamely uttering such lines as “Love means nothing in tennis” will translate into goodwill mileage points.

E. and B. met us at the airport and accompanied us via the spotless and efficient airport shuttle into Central Hong Kong. From there, it was a quick ride in one of Hong Kong’s ubiquitous red taxicabs to the hotel… and it was there where I suffered the first casualty of the trip.

And boy, was it a doozy. After settling into the room, I went to grab my trusty camera, hoping to snap a few Hong Kong nightlife shots after dinner. And yet, it was nowhere to be found. Pocket? Nope. Tote bag? Nope. A casual search became increasingly frenzied and desperate, and after retracing all my steps I came to the heart-sinking realization that after I toting my camera halfway around the world, I’d left the darn thing in the taxi, five minutes away from the hotel. %$#@!.

In the interest of bright-side seeking, I will allow that if such a thing is to happen — such a stupid, thoughtless thing — it’s infinitely better to happen on the first night of a trip rather than the last. And truth be told, it wasn’t all that nice a camera (though I would have much preferred to part ways with it on my own terms.) Tomorrow morning, I set out to find myself suitable replacement.

So sadly, no pics tonight. The travelogue will now be missing my shots from the HK International Airport, including the temperature check station at Customs, but otherwise, not much else.

Here’s someone else’s photo of the Causeway Bay shopping district, where my hotel is located. Yes, I realize this is cheating.:

More tomorrow… with photos (I hope.)