When I peak out of my airplane window as we are about to land, the first image I get is a larger than life San Juan… tall buildings, blue water, as far as the eye can see. The airport is like any other huge North American airport… Starbucks and McDonald’s everywhere. The H1N1 flu is top of mind here… fill out Health Security cards; what seat were you sitting in on the plane? Where can we contact you in the next seven days?
It is not until I clear customs that I begin to smell it… the pungent and thick smell of fried food. This is what Hong Kong smells like to me.
A nice subway/train ride later and I am in Kowloon. Kowloon is a little island right next to the island of Hong Kong. A verbose family of four from Marseille sits next to me on the train. Hard to feel like a foreigner! A free shuttle goes from the station to the Hotel. The shuttle takes me alone… which surprises me considering that there are supposed to be over 13 000 people per square feet here, making it one of the world’s most heavily populated surfaces.
It is not until I clear customs that I begin to smell it… the pungent and thick smell of fried food. This is what Hong Kong smells like to me.
A nice subway/train ride later and I am in Kowloon. Kowloon is a little island right next to the island of Hong Kong. A verbose family of four from Marseille sits next to me on the train. Hard to feel like a foreigner! A free shuttle goes from the station to the Hotel. The shuttle takes me alone… which surprises me considering that there are supposed to be over 13 000 people per square feet here, making it one of the world’s most heavily populated surfaces.
The buildings reach the sky; Globalism is apparent everywhere… Lacoste, Chanel, Hugo Boss, Starbucks, Starbucks and more Starbucks. As I watch the Chinese women walk down the street, I think of Harajuku girls and am reminded of the unusual fashion sense of a population trying to blend cheap with American… lacy cotton leggings covered with Jean skirts, hoods and costume jewelry, heavy colorful make up….
90 minutes after landing I reach the hotel. The décor is magnificent… picture mystic and eclectic; Alice in Wonderland meets Buddha meets luxury.
Hard to understand what the receptionist is saying… she speaks English but eats her words, so my mind draws a blank. Her sentences end with questions… I just say yes to everything; how can I make a bad decision? Turns out what she is saying is that the Hotel is overbooked, and we have been upgraded to the Safari Suite for one night since Laurent is a repeat guest and is staying for more than 12 days…The receptionist escorts us to our Suite…
I catch my breath as the door to the suite opens… in all of my worldly travels, never have I seen something so beautifully decorated! It feels like a luxurious safari tent under a starlight sky; literally! There is an orange veil covering the ceiling and under it are hundreds of blinking stars….and hues of light moving around slowly…
A giant living room, a luxurious king size bed, orange walls, safari cushions…a lovely Cube Nespresso machine with 6 little capsules to experience different flavors of coffee… so much for my plan to get off the Java!
I watched four movies on the plane and slept the rest of the time. I can’t however not enjoy this sleep. So at 3pm I take a shower, and I jump under the luxurious sheets… and I sleep for 15 hours straight (except for when the lady brings 2 panda cookies as a pre bedtime treat).
I wake up at 6am local time, have a good breakfast, and now its time to explore the city….
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