Hong Kong

May 3-11, 2007

I Left Geneva for London on to Hong Kong. Once again the TSA's at Geneva Airport push me right through and give me the rock star entrance. The British Airways (www.ba.com) flight to London was cushy and really comfy. The crew was really cool and helpful. I was on an Airbus A-320 which worked out well using a straight back to get me on and off. The first class lounge in London for American Airlines rocks! I grabbed some food... and boy, does a 20 minute massage help your flight and attitude. There is a whole lot of shopping in London Heathrow Airport (www.heathrowairport.com). It is like a shopping mall there and with a 5 hour layover I figured I would wander around. A lot of high end shops like Omega watches and Dolce and Gabanna.

I have now officially been spoiled beyond belief. I have now ridden on a Boeing 747-400 in first class. From London to Hong Kong straight is like 12 hours, but it is over night. The first class cabin is great. I did have to use a straight back to get in. Even my skinny chair couldn't quite fit down the isles. The staff on the flight was awesome. And English tea with milk and biscuits first thing in the morning rocks! Not to mention a bit of Mudvayne in the MP3 player to charge you right up.

I checked into the Conrad Hotel (http://conradhotels1.hilton.com/en/ch/home.do) with a room on the top floor. All the way up to 61 I go. Nothing but rock star so far. The first night I am there I hit a great little Italian cafe called Solo Mio and was treated to some killer pasta. Then on to Wild Fire, down the street, for some tasty mojitos. On my way down one of the steepest sidewalks I have ever had to traverse I met a group of people that invited me into a pub for a few drinks, and who was I to refuse. After a couple drinks at the Peak Bar we moved the party to a club called Dragon I, which was great. An elevator up from the lower street level and we rocked out.

I even got to hang out with one of the DJ's of the club, this cool chick GeGe. Most everyone wanted to call it a night but a few of us die-hards continued on to Fo Lar, but the bouncer and the manager wouldn't let me in. Dig this. After 15 minutes arguing with them and 3 different excuses for not letting me in, the bottom line was they didn't want me in there because I was in the chair. And neither one of them would even look me in the eyes. No worries, we've got a lot of other places we can go, so off we head. We ended up at this all hours nightclub called "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" where we danced to a bunch of American music covers by a pretty good band. We decided we had enough of that place and headed to the next. Little did we know it was already daylight. Oh well, we kept on to the next place called The Bridge. Now the night is really starting to wind down and only the true rock stars and insomniacs are out still. I left the club around 8 in the morning and slept for a whole day to recover from my jet lag and the night of drinks and dancing.

The next day I headed off to Stanley Market on the other side of the island and wandered though the touristy shops and found an Irish pub called the Smuggler's Inn. I inhaled a fantastic plate of fish and chips and washed it all down with an ice cold Guinness. Who would have thought I would find great Irish food in Hong Kong of all places.

Stanley Market was actually really accessible with ramps everywhere and lots of flat ground. That night I took a cab up to the Peak and rode down the Peak Tram to the city again. The Peak tram takes you back and forth from the highest peak on the island. The staff was a bit overly-helpful, but at least they were there to help. That seems to be the general trend of the whole island, but I am not complaining.

After the ride on the tram, I took one of the ferry boats across the channel to mainland Kowloon. The stations on both sides have plenty of ramps and lifts to get you anywhere you wanna go. The ramps are a bit of a tough climb though, so I had to be careful. On the mainland side of Hong Kong I had dinner at a restaurant called Felix. This place was really cool and very low key with great food. On the way back to the hotel my buddy Jim and I stopped at an interesting little club called Club Superstar and had a few drinks, becoming a private party all to our selves and the girls working the bar.

After another long night I took another day of rest. Hong Kong is turning out to be a day on/day off pace.

The next day, I had lunch with one of the ladies I had met one of the nights before at the hotel, and then went for a tour around the city with another lady I had met. I had another bite to eat at a Chinese restaurant with all the people that work at the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (www.hkyaf.com). Then I got a chance to see the inner workings of the foundation and meet all the organizers there.

The next day I really stayed in the hotel getting work done and following my scheduled every other day rest. I did get a chance to go to the Foreign Correspondence Club (www.fcchk.org) for dinner with Jim and some of his old coworkers. The place had a nice side entrance to the restaurant with only one step and the usual overly helpful staff. Good meals had by all with a variety of different foods.

The last day there I spent getting my bags packed up again and preparing for my 9 hour flight to Melbourne Australia. The flight leaves out of Hong Kong Airport (www.hongkongairport.com) in the evening and gets into Melbourne Airport at the crack of dawn. Gotta love overnight flights! Cathay Pacific (www.cathaypacific.com) treated me like a king once again in first class. The flight was almost diverted to Sydney due to the thick layer of fog sitting over the runways, but, luckily we got to land at our true destination.