Hong Kong (D+2)

So we have been safely deposited in the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong. I would have written something early this morning when we arrived but I thought that we had to try to get to bed so we could get used to the timezone.

We are about exactly on the other side of the world from home and we took about 30 hours to get here. Now you can imagine how tired, frumpy and dazed we were getting off that Japan Airlines plane and waving goodbye to the crosses between Geisha girls and large Japanese Porcelain Dolls that served us as stewardesses during both our flights with JAL. Well you are going to be surprised when I tell you that the best part of the trip so far was the period from getting off the air bridge or if you are British the Jetway, to the point where we were left in hotel room by the bellhop and the concierge staff at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Now think about that last statement. What I am suggesting is that navigating one of the largest airports in the world, being processed in a customs hall that was the size of a CFL football field, finding our luggage in a cavernous bay that contained 12 baggage carousels for wide-bodied jets, finding where our pre-arranged ground transportation was situated, making our way 45 kilometers to the hotel in one of the most densely populated cities in the world and then going through the hotel checkin procedure was the best part of the trip. You would say,  "bullshit!". Be honest, this set of circumstances is not normally pleasant. Our experience was swift and unmarred by any unpleasantness. It all unfolded like a pleasant dream and that is because I paid about $125 Canadian to let the Four Seasons concierge desk look after it all.

We were met at the air bridge by an agent hired by the hotel, whisked down the long corridors to the baggage area in a power cart, picked up all of our luggage immediately, guided through customs by the agent and transferred to onsite Four Seasons staff who handed us off to a Four Seasons chauffeur driving a new model Mercedes limo. I will stop there and say two things; we had not waited in a line yet and we were in the airport for about 20 minutes tops. Upon pulling into the hotel entrance way we were unloaded and met by the Bellmen and Reservation personnel who took us straight to our room to register (no front desk). The whole experience from air bridge to room was 1.5 hours tops!

Once in your life make a reservation in a Four Seasons Hotel. It is a little pricey but you get what you pay for.

Our harbour view is non-existent this morning as the whole city is bathed in a thick fog.