Joe Jr had planned to travel to Hong Kong for spring
break more than six months ago. We were
happy to tag along as we love any opportunity to spend time with the grandkids
(and the grown up children as well.)
Meanwhile, we had gone to Hawaii and visited Hong Kong, returning about
three weeks ago.
Thursday 4/13. I had some problem with booking EZ Way
Parking on the web, so instead I booked a space at Vista Parking. We go there at around 1:40 pm, but were
turned away, despite our reservation. We
drove to another parking location, Long Term Airport Parking, which was also
full. The attendant there was at least
helpful enough to suggest the Airport’s Economy lot. While it is a lot more expensive ($18 per day
versus Vista’s claimed rate of $8.5/day,) we at least found a space close to a
bus stop. It was past 2:30 pm when we
got to the Gate – and it was a good thing we were assigned TSA pre-check. Group 3 was already boarding, thankfully we
managed to find overhead space for our luggage despite coach being full.
The flight was late getting off by about an hour, with a
mechanical issue being the culprit. I
managed a couple of movies and several TV episodes, but didn’t manage to get
any significant sleep. We got in on time
(would have been an hour early had it not been for the mechanical issue), and
did the usual quick bite at the airport before heading to Causeway Bay.
Friday 4/14. We got in about 20 minutes late (would have
been an hour early had it not been for the mechanical issue), and did the usual
quick bite at the airport before heading to Causeway Bay.
Accommodations during trip: Causeway Bay Apartment (10
nights).
Saturday 4/15. Joe Jr and family left Boston early Friday
morning (1:40 am) and got in before 5 am today.
It was so early that the Airport Express was not running yet, so they
took a taxi into town. After settling
them in, Anne and I went to Southern Restaurant Café to get breakfast. They all managed some sleep after the meal,
and we were at the Aberdeen Boat Club at 1 pm to get on Tim’s boat. It was a short ride to Stanley, where we had
lunch (Chung’s Cuisine), walked around a bit, and bought a chop for Emmie and
Harrison – the carving took about 15 minutes – before heading back to Aberdeen.
Everyone was awake
enough to go on a boat ride.
Three Cheungs at
the Stanley Promenade.
The subway system recently was extended to Aberdeen, and
we took it back to CWB. Joe Jr and
family went to meet up with Larry Jr and family; Anne and I had dinner at
Warren Restaurant. We did a bit more
shopping at Wellcome, the line at checkout was very long.
Sunday 4/16. Everyone was suffering from jetlag today, so
we took it easy. We did go to Din Tai
Fung at Regal Hotel for lunch.
Monday 4/17. It was about 10:15 am that we set out for
Disneyland. It took a little over for
the subway ride from CWB to Disneyland.
Today was probably a busy day as there were some rides with more than 30
minute wait times. After a bit of
convincing, we got Emmie to go on the “It’s A Small World After All” ride. Turns out Emmie doesn’t like the Rhinos’
large blinking eyes, but she was okay when a grown-up covered up her eyes
during the ride through “Africa.” We had
lunch and dinner there. Harrison managed
a long stroller nap, Emmie just hanged on through sheer will until she got to
the subway as we returned to CWB.
Emmie was reluctant
to go on “It’s a Small World” ride, the large blinking eyes of the rhinos scare
her. Jess covered her eyes when we were
in the Africa section. She gathered up
enough courage to do it twice.
Disney gets a lot
of use out of the Dumbo ride mechanism.
This is the Orbitron.
It was about 8:30 pm when we got back to the apartment, a
long day for a child.
Disneyland seems to be a smaller version of the magic
kingdom in the US, although here in Hong Kong there are displays and rides
showcasing characters from various Disney movies such as Toy Story and Little
Mermaid.
Tuesday 4/18. I had breakfast with Alfred at Festival Walk
this morning, getting an update on his situation. We talked for a couple of hours before I left
to get to Hello Kitty Dim Sum Restaurant, where all the dishes carry the Hello
Kitty image. The food was okay, a little
expensive compared to a restaurant of similar quality. Afterwards Anne and I just took the MTR to go
to Tung Chung to have coffee at McDonald’s.
After resting a bit, the six of us walked over to the
Food Court of Hysan Place to have dinner.
Wednesday 4/19. Anne, Joe Jr and family went to the Country
Club to meet up with Elaine. The kids
could also make use of the pool and children’s playroom at that place. Joe Jr used to hang out there a lot when we
were living in Hong Kong in the early 1990s.
Things haven’t changed all that much, except now the place is a little
more friendly for the mobility impaired.
I joined them for lunch at the Garden Café. Afterwards the family went to Ocean Park,
Anne could get in for free, I didn’t want to pay the full admission, so I went
back to Causeway Bay, stopping by Warren Restaurant to have a French
Toast. I really enjoyed this last month,
today it was only so-so.
Dinner was just Anne and I, this time at Matchbox Café.
Thursday 4/20. Joe Jr took Emmie to Disneyland to make use
of the second day of the 2-day ticket, Jess chose to stay home with
Harrison. Anne and I went to Shatin
Hyatt to have dinner with Vivien, who works with former drug addicts in the
Northern Guangdong area.
For dinner we went to the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Club
Restaurant to have dinner with Daisy and On-Ching, friends we have known since
our earliest NJ days. They have lived in
Hong Kong for the past 12 years. Their
daughter Lois was visiting with her three children, and Lois, Joe Jr, and Jess
were at Cornell at about the time.
Including Daisy’s 92-year old mother and her maid, there were 14 of us
around the large round table.
We have known the
Yues for close to 40 years, and our children know each other well. Dinner at the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Club.
Friday 4/21. I tried to meet up with the rest of the group
for lunch, but they were done when I got to IFC – a most confusing place. Anne stayed with me to have lunch at Café de
Coral and snack at Wing Lok Yuen. Here
the French Toast tasted better than the one at Warren.
Larry and Elaine invited us to dinner at the Jockey Club,
and sent their car to pick us up.
Dinner with Larry
and Elaine at the Gallop Restaurant in the Jockey Club.
Saturday 4/22. I met up with Joe Jr and Anne at around lunch
time at IFC, but they already had lunch.
We just walked around a bit before returning to Causeway Bay. Joe Jr and family would fly back to Boston
later today.
I was in the Boy Scouts at my high school (Kowloon Six)
and had forgotten all about it. Those
who were in the troop in the 1970s recently set up a chat group which I
joined. Although I left Hong Kong in
1970, I was a Boy Scout instructor when a lot of these people first joined,
although I frankly have little memory of specific events. Folks are now scattered all over the globe,
with Hong Kong, Canada, and UK being the most “popular” places. The few that were in Hong Kong decided to do
a hike on Lamma Island today. I didn’t
join them, but did meet them for coffee after they finished their hike. It was interesting, and good, to reconnect.
A reunion of sorts
of my high school Boy Scout days. I was
probably the instructor for many of these men, but had forgotten them in the
intervening years.
We attended a Hong Kong Philharmonic concert conducted by
Jaap van Zweden. Mahler’s Tragic
Symphony was in the program. While HK
Phil is a good orchestra, this may have been a bit too amboitious.
Hong Kong
Philharmonic performed Mahler’s Sixth Symphony (Tragic), conducted by Jaap van
Zweden.
Sunday 4/23. Anne went to service at the Congregation House
down the street. Dinner was at Jockey
Club with Elaine and Larry, this time in the cafeteria.
Monday 4/24. Our trip home. Both Anne and I had empty seats next to
us. The flight was delayed by over three
hours because of “operational difficulties.”
It was good that we got the notification the night before so we could
take things easy in the morning.
According to the map on the screen, the actual number of miles flown was
over 9360, which exceeded by the “air miles” of 8060 by a considerable
margin. It was easy enough to get back
to our car in the Economy Lot, but the parking cost over $200.
The airmiles
between Hong Kong and Newark is 8060, we logged many more today – having to
hold for a while didn’t help. We were
riding a good Jetstream, and the ground speed exceeded 700 mph at times.
This is the record of our flight as recorded by Flightaware.com. The actual miles flown was 9719 miles! The greatest speed according to the log was 715 mph. Some people don't care, I find this fascinating.
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