As excuses go, this is probably one of the flimsiest I have offered. Last time I met up with my "fellow" scouts in Hong Kong, they were talking about a planned "Grand Union." I said I would come if the timing is correct. Indeed, GR2 started on Saturday November 8, and for some dedicated folks the event would end with a multi-day trip to Taiwan. My plans are to attend a few get-together meals during this week.
Friday 11/7. My flights to HKG were the exact same ones we took in March. A 6 am flight meant I could at best get a couple of hours of sleep the night before. And I couldn't fall asleep except perhaps dozing off every now and then (Apple Watch couldn't get any sleep data). I started to get ready at about 3:20 am, and Anne got up at 3:40 pm, all so that she could drop me off early enough.
I also chose to bring over two bottles of wine for Tim. The Touchless ID drop off line was long, but the 1K counters were quite empty, and checking luggage there didn't take long at all. Just to jump ahead, the wine survived the trip.
I bought economy tickets but used my Plus Points to get on the upgrade list. For UA2434 (EWR-LAX) there were many empty seats in Premium Economy, and I was reasonably high on the list. At about 5 am I began to notice people getting upgraded, but they all seemed to be people behind me in the queue. I got the last seat just as I was about to board, and it was 22E, a middle seat. Not ideal, and probably not much better than an aisle seat in Premium Economy. They do serve meals in the cabin, and - as last time - I was served two eggs meals.
A lot of people behind me on the upgrade list were cleared. I got the last empty seat in Premium Economy. Not sure what happened.
Breakfast was being served at the LAX United Club, and I had more eggs. It was a lot more crowded than March, though.
The LAX United Club was very busy today.
UA152 (LAX-HKG) was fully booked with only a few upgrades and a long list of waitlisted passengers. I stayed in coach, and it felt reasonably okay as I had an aisle seat. The flight, at more than 15 hours, did feel a bit long. Again didn't get much sleep on the plane - the Sleep APP showed "no data." I watched two movies: Jurassic World Rebirth and Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning. The two combined lasted over five hours.
I had some problem with the USB charger on the plane, so it is important to always bring along a fully charged battery pack. (TIP/HINT)
Saturday 11/8. The plane arrived on time, and luggage showed up soon afterwards.
Joe T was at a conference nearby, so we met up and had dinner at the airport (some Japanese restaurant), and he drove me to Causeway Bay.
I slept well tonight. The Sleep APP gave me a first ever Excellent score.
Sunday 11/9. Tim and Whitney picked me up around 10 am, and we went for a boat ride to Lamma Island, joined by a couple Raymond and Carmen, whom I had met before. We all did the walk from Sok Kwu Wan to Yung Shue Wan, about 3 miles, a little over an hour. It was easier than I remembered. Lunch was at a Dim Sum restaurant in YS Wan, a place where the customer has to go grab the dishes as they come off the kitchen.
After returning to Causeway Bay, I went to the optical shop to have a lens replaced to accommodate my "new" eyesight after cataract surgery.
"French Toast" served at Glee Cafe next to the optical shop.
Dinner was leftover lunch, supplemented by a trip to Cafe de Coral. I ended up eating many meals at various CdCs.
Monday 11/10. As she did last year around this time, Pauline L plans to be in Hong Kong for most of November to be with her parents. We met up for lunch at Hika Causeway Bay. While dinner can be pricey at this restaurant, the set lunch menu is okay price-wise, and offers a variety of food items.
Pauline and I have known each other for about 30 years.
Of the 45 or so scouts attending the re-union, 12 showed up tonight for a Christian fellowship. We shared our life stories, and had communion together. The event lasted close to four hours (5:30 pm to about 9:15). People shared their joys, their regrets, their struggles, their journeys in faith, and their insights.
While DBS is an Anglican school, I don't remember encountering many Christians during my years there. Indeed more than 1/2 of those present became Christians after high school.
The Christians among the GR2 participants had a dinner together for communion and fellowship. It is interesting that no denomination issues came up at all.
Tuesday 11/11. I met up with Arthur for coffee at Fineprint Happy Valley. He was quite positive about his health, and hoped that he would be visiting the US in the coming year. I have known Arthur since my college days.
I went to Central Plaza in Wan Chai to meet with some bank personnel.
The evening was the "main event" of GR2. More than 50 people were in attendance, with many from overseas (about 10 each from the US and Canada). The gentleman I sat next to is three years ahead of me. He offered to take me back to Causeway Bay so we could chat some more. He lives in Yau Yat Chuen, which is only a few minutes away from school, taking me to CWB was quite a detour.
We all signed our names on this scarf. I botched mine, but did put down my year next to my name (1969).
This set of steps leading down to the field is a popular location for photos.
This is at the GR2 dinner. Seated in the middle is the current headmaster, and next to me is Crystal, the official (but unpaid) historian of Kowloon Troop No. 6.
I picked up my glasses with one lens replaced to accommodate the cataract surgery. It was frustrating as my two eyes didn't seem to coordinate properly (or was it my brain). I hope the brain can eventually adjust. (Actually things were better the next day, still not perfect, and I have to be extra slow, and extra cautious, when coming down a set of stairs.)
Two projects across the street on Caroline Hill Road started at about the same time. The one on the left is a commercial project, it's now over 20 storeys high. The one on the right is basically still a hole in the ground. One thing it doesn't speak to is government efficiency, for which the HK Government used to be well-known..
For HK$81 I got these two trays' worth of food. (Behind the covered soup there was half a salted egg.) Quantity, but not necessarily quality.
Wednesday 11/12. I spent half a day in Stanley Market, to get the Chinese name of Maisie written out in "flowery script," and to buy some clothes for the Garsson kids. I also bought a small drone for the grandchildren to play with.
Tim gave me hyaluronic acid injections in both knees. Today the shots were painless.
Thursday 11/13. The GR2 event of the day was a hike on Lamma Island, in the reverse order I did on Sunday. I decided to not go for the hike, but would meet up with them for dinner when they got to Sok Kwu Wan. A ferry ride from Central to SKW takes a little over 30 minutes, with the ferries cruising at about 20 mph. Lamma Island is very quiet on a regular weekday evening, and we were the only table at The Lamma Mandarin Seafood Restaurant (I think that's where we ate, one of the few that are not part of the Rainbow chain in SKW). There were 8 of us (7 of them did the hike). A couple of restaurants down were quite a few DBS alumni from class of 1975, celebrating their 50th reunion.
Lunch at Pepper Lunch in Hysan Place.
View of HK skyline (Northwest part of island) from the Ferry.
West of HK Island. Queen Mary Hospital can be seen in the background.
Photograph taken together with people attending the 1975 class reunion. This was at Rainbow Restaurant, Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island.
Friday 11/14. Joe Tang and I had lunch at Luk Yu Tea House. I must have written about the place before. For some, this old restaurant, which opened in 1933, hold a specific nostalgic value. For others it is just a place that is snobbish and serve overpriced dim sum. We ordered only a few dishes, and the bill came to about HK$700.
After lunch we took the Central Escalator to Robinson Road, where Joe and Alex live. Liliana will be celebrating her 100th day birthday (evidently that's a thing nowadays) on Sunday. They had a family photo session, so they picked up Eden from Kindergarten early to drive to Saikung.
Tea (kind of like a cover charge) costs HK$42 per person.
With Lilianna. In Joe's new apartment.
The Kindergarten Eden goes to is run by the church Anne attended as a teenager. I ran into someone who claimed she remembered her and some of her fellow St. Paul's Coed students.
I had no plans for the afternoon, so I decided to give Yuen Long a go. Many years ago Alfred started a restaurant there; it soon closed. Today it is a home for the elderly, if I go by the address.
A home for the elderly is now at Cafe-a-Roma's location.
Dinner was at a Chiu Chow Restaurant. Alyson and Johnson joined us.
Saturday 11/15. Considering it's been close to a week, it was about time I mixed up some time zone differences. Indeed I called into an Ember meeting scheduled for Saturday evening Boston - thus Sunday morning Hong Kong. That would mean I had a completely free day.
I started out at around noon, and first took the MTR to Hang Hau. I spend a couple of years of my childhood in Hang Hau, although I really have no recollection of the place (Mang Kung Uk specifically). In any case, Hang Hau is quite developed these days, with modern looking shopping centers. After spending some time there, I caught Minibus No. 16. At first I was going to stop by Clearwater Bay or Tai Wan Tau, but decided to ride the bus to the terminus - Po Toi O. It's a small, sleepy village. As today is Saturday, I guess this is as busy as it gets.
Sign inside a Minibus. Singapore calls itself a fine city; Hong Kong wants to do even better. To be fair, wearing a seatbelt in these minibuses is not a bad idea.
Quite a few boats moored in the area. But the village was very quiet.
Po Toi O Chuen Road is the main (and only) road through the village.
This used to be a common sight when I was a kid growing up in Hong Kong. Indeed Luk Yu was often frequented by bird lovers who would bring these cages into the restaurant. This photo was shot at Po Toi O.
When we were here this past March we bought octopus cards for Ellie's family. I returned them for credit on my card, it was about HK$750.
Sunday 11/16. Today is my last full day for this trip. It started with an Ember BoD meeting.
It was then a mad dash to Wan Chai, and I made it on time for the GR2 farewell lunch. About 24 people showed up. I sat next to this person (Paul) who sells horses for a living. He buys yearlings (mostly in New Zealand and Australia), raises them on a farm in NZ, and then sells them to prospective horse owners when the animals are three years old. Some interesting numbers: there are about 1200 race horses in Hong Kong, the upkeep is between HK$50,000 to $70,000 per month; each race day sees about 140 in action (14 per race, 10 races); horses typically retire at age 6; he has 55 horses in New Zealand (so that means he sells 25 to 30 a year); and there are more people who want to own horses than allotments. It is fascinating how specific industries work.
Alex and Joe Tang had a dinner to celebrate their child's 100th day - a custom I wasn't aware of until now. They originally planned it for lunch today, and I thus couldn't come. He texted me to say it is now a dinner event, and they could squeeze me in. (It indeed was a squeeze, see photo below.) The venue is University of Hong Kong, which the MTR now reaches. HKU has a sprawling campus, but Google Maps did a reasonable job of navigating me there. I got to meet quite a few people I know through Hope HK, and some of Joe's and Alex's relatives. There were quite a few small babies there, but overall they were quite well-behaved.
Nathan and Sharon were going to take a taxi back to Happy Valley, so I rode along with them.
Today's Senior Appreciation Day, those with the applicable cards got their charges waived. (Well, it's HK$2 per ride otherwise.)
I started packing this afternoon.
At the 100-day celebration for Liliana. There was a time of prayer and worship during the dinner.
I see some of these people quite often, at Hope HK events.
Joe T calls this "HOPE's original team reunited with babies." Sadee is the baby's name.
Monday 11/17. My flight HKG to LAX was to depart at 11:25 am. I woke up early enough to think I would have a lot of time. Somehow I managed to have only about 10 minutes for a quick bite at the Chase Lounge at HKG.
One reason was I hesitated between Uber Taxi and Uber. For rush hour Uber is a safer choice. Another nugget is that JoyYou card holders get 50% off Airport Express. (HINT/TIP)
A hastily assembled - and consumed - breakfast at HKG Chase Sapphire Lounge.
For UA153 I got upgraded to Premium Economy (I think there was only one seat left). It was a middle seat again, but at the bulk head, making stepping over the aisle passengers relatively easy. And I conclude (perhaps again?) that the 787 is a better plane for economy and premium economy passengers. The person sitting next to me started his day in SGN (same plane); we shared a bit of our travel stories.
I didn't sleep much - if at all - on this flight. Watched two movies - Superman (2025) and Captain America: Brave New World. I am quite sure I had seen the second one before.
All seats were taken in the business cabin (this screen shot is the front half; the rest of the cabin was also full).
Yet this would indicate there were still 14 available seats. Similar situations with other flights I checked.
The flight touched down early (7:30 am arrival, scheduled for 8:05) but had to wait about 1/2 hour for a gate - so it was technically on time, but somehow still managed to get customers quite frustrated. The MPC lane was slow today; the officer said Lanes 65 and 66 would have worked better. Not sure why the line agent didn't tell us that. All said and done, it was 9 am when I got to the UA Club in Terminal 7; well, waiting and then giving up on the transfer bus didn't help.
UA2127 worked a lot better, even though I was in coach. It landed at 6:03 pm, but again had to wait a little for a gate. So I was at the curb just a bit before Anne showed up to drive me home.
It was good to be home. Anne had bought some food from a nearby Panda Express.
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