Hong Kong

We arrived in Hong Kong under cover of darkness with light rain at 7:06 PM Friday night.  That's about 4:06 AM back on the west coast.  It was a long flight, but not that bad.  The seats were more ergonomically designed than most found in economy class.  The entertainment was hard to beat:  Over 100 movies, 350 TV shows, and a multitude of CD's and radio available.  A small screen in the seat just ahead proved much more interesting than the same movie shown to all.  The food was nice too.  Lunch consisted of salmon with mashed potatoes along with a glass of white wine.  Dinner was equally enjoyable...so far removed from the small airline sandwiches we've paid for on the way to Hawaii.  We only slept for a short time during the flight.

We met up with some of the other families upon arrival at the airport.  Four families have adopted previously and three brought their girls with them.  This is quite a large travel group compared with most previous ones.  About 30 families all together.  The CCAI rep who met us at the airport, JoAnn, told us most groups have been much smaller.

We had our first interaction with the locals outside of our group last night at about 11:00 PM.  Next to our five-star hotel is a large bus station with a 7-11 next door.  The 7-11 probably measures all of 15 x 15 feet, including the cash register.  It was very busy.  We ventured there in the light rain and darkness, searching for bottled water to take with us today.  We had previously exchanged some USD for Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) at the hotel.  The rate is about $100 USD to $730 HKD.  We bought eight bottles of water for $56 HKD... or a little less than $8 USD.

It's almost 6:00 AM on Saturday morning over here.  We're getting ready to have breakfast at the hotel restaurant.  After that, we're leaving for a tour of Hong Kong from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  Somewhere along the way, we'll enjoy a dim sum lunch.