Tag Archives: Hong Kong

Rolling Okie Airfare

Rolling Okie Airfare

Rolling Okie Airfare

Look for a fare of less than $850 offered by American from Dallas (DFW – NLX7HP3M) and Amarillo (AMA – NLX7HP3M) and to Hong Kong (HKG) for the fall of this year. That’s a great deal. There appears to be a rumor of an exceptionally good deal on Bristish Airways from Dallas (DFW – QLXNCNAA) to Barcelona (BCN) for a little over $600. The only problem is that the fare isn’t effective until late October but runs until some time in December. Continental is having a reasonably good fare, a little over $1,000 from Dallas (DFW – KKXT3BM0) to Beijing (BJS) for the fall of this year.

Air Asia Ride

Air Asia Ride

Air Asia Ride

This is the plane I took from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur. How many times have I flown into and out of Kuala Lumpur? After this trip a couple of dozen times. I even know which toilets flush well and which don’t.

Time To Shower

Time To Shower

Time To Shower

Need a quick shower while you’re on-the-go at an airport? Many of them have them. They’re a little pricey, though. How much was the oen n Hong Kong? I’m not real sure, but I would guess it would be somewhere around $10.

Sleeping at HKG

Sleeping at HKG

Sleeping at HKG

This is the Hong Kong Airport hotel. Notice the word hotel is not capitalized. That’s because it’s not really a hotel. The airport does have sleeping quarters, but, nothing in Hong Kong is cheap, relative to the rest of Asia. These people are sleeping on the benches. I’m assuming they are sleeping here because their flight arrived in Hong Kong late at night and the had to catch an early flight out of Hong Kong and the amount of time that they could actually spend sleeping in a bed would be minimal, all things considered, So they just crashed on some chairs. That’s what I did.

Me In HKG

Me In HKG

Me In HKG

Yes, it is me. Yes I am in Terminal 1 in the Hong Kong airport and behind me is some of the main boarding counters. The question you need to as is "What’s wrong with this picture?" The answer is that I’m alone. Or, relatively alone. Way down at end are a couple of security guys. Why aren’t there thousands of people around me? Because it’s 3 AM in Hong Kong and everyone is either at home or sleeping on the benches. Me, I’m just wandering around looking for trouble…
Yes, it is me. Yes I am in Terminal 1 in the Hong Kong airport and behind me is some of the main boarding counters. The question you need to as is "What’s wrong with this picture?" The answer is that I’m alone. Or, relatively alone. Way down at end are a couple of security guys. Why aren’t there thousands of people around me? Because it’s 3 AM in Hong Kong and everyone is either at home or sleeping on the benches. Me, I’m just wandering around looking for trouble…

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Asia 2011 Itinerary

Okay, I’m going back to Asia for another two months. You might ask what I’m going to do when I go there. Well, I intend on going to Laos, India, Australia and Bali for starters. Sometime in the next week or two I intend to start booking flights with Air Asia to move me around the Asian continent. I plan on spending a few days here and a few days there and a few days somewhere in between. My goals are to spend some time in about 8-10 different counties while I’m there. If I get to ten, the count may be up to 100 countries that I’ve visited. Here’s hoping… So why do I want to spend time outside of the United States? If you have to ask that question then whatever answer that I give probably wouldn’t satisfy you. But I’ll try – the Pyramids of Egypt, Chichen Itza, Pompeii, Mont St Michel, the Great Wall of China, Petra, the Taj Mahal, Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, St Peter’s Basilica, the Egyptian Museum, Dubrovnik, the Uffizi Gallery, Hong Kong, the Sistine Chapel, Angkor Wat, the Louvre Museum, the Canals of Venice, St Mark’s Basilica, the Kremlin, Chambord Chateau, the Acropolis, Jerusalem and Hagia Sofia. If the mere mention of any of those terms creates a stirring of any kind inside of you then realize that there are some people in whom that stirring is more intense. I’m one of those people. The ticket is paid for. The money is in the bank for the trip. Now I all I have to do is stay alive.

Tsim Sha Tsui Map – Hong Kong

Tsim Sha Tsui Map - Hong Kong

Tsim Sha Tsui Map – Hong Kong

This is a subway map found in the bowels of the earth in Hong Kong. As I looked at it I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland, underground and trapped. I must add, however, that the maps were really good and they listed all of the necessary information to allow me to move freely about the area around the subway station that was depicted on each map. Hong Kong has a really good public transportation system.

Hong Kong Apartments

Hong Kong Apartments

Hong Kong Apartments

Notice the apartments? How could you not notice them. They were everywhere. They were large. They are the kind of place that makes me worry about the future of mankind. Will our species someday be all about living in little structures shut off from locations where the buffalo roam and lions wander about? Probably. Significance? Look at those things. In Asia they’re everywhere. I can understand them, I’m just not sure I like them. I could never get my wife to even consider living in one. Me? I could deal with it, but I think I‘d miss my Lawn-Boy.

Peak Tram – Hong Kong

Peak Tram - Hong Kong

Peak Tram – Hong Kong

It was a disappointment. Okay. I know it’s an obligatory ride. I know it only costs about $4.50 round-trip, but it was still a disappointment. The #15 bus was a lot more fun and I got a lot better views. Yes, the Peak Tram is a lot faster to get up the hill, but not if the line stretches outside the tram station for a couple of miles. I’m just saying that I might be more appreciative of the Peak Tram if I hadn’t ridden on the #15 bus first.

Hong Kong From The Peak

Hong Kong From The Peak

Hong Kong From The Peak

This is Hong Kong from Victoria Peak. It’s not a very good shot. The weather has never really cooperated with me during any of my stays in Hong Kong. One thing I will say is that I’ve decided to make Hong Kong the World’s Best Skyline in my list of places in the world to visit. Victoria Peak also becomes one of my Top 100 Places to Visit in the world. Of course I haven’t actually made a list, but if I had one this place would definitely be on it. It might even be on the Top 10 list, but I’d have to say this view would be in a pretty tight race with the view from the Empire State Building if only because of Central Park in New York City. Significance? Huge urban cities like this are the future for mankind in the next hundred or so years. Hong Kong is, at the very least, interesting. I’m glad it’s a gateway city to SE Asia. It gives me the chance to get back to the city for a couple of days when I go to the continent.