No energy. Stay in bed all day. Hazy and cold outside. J meets me for dinner in the evening. Good to get out for a short while and get some more food to eat. We go to XXX restaurant, the "home" of "Peking Roasted Duck". According to their electronic sign, they have cooked more than 100 million ducks since 1864. Somehow I think that's a lot of quack! But regardless of how many ducks have had their goose cooked here, it must be said that the duck is very tasty, and the service excellent. The restaurant is a large and busy place, elegantly decorated, but the back room is the original (or replica) serving room of the restaurant, and it is still used. After dinner I take a taxi back to hotel and go to bed. I want to get over this cold quickly.
Wed.
Sleep late. Cool and overcast. Breakfast at Starbucks. A bit more energy today. Sore throat completely gone. Just drippy nose, and not full energy yet, but improving. Stay in room most of day, working on this journal, watching HBO, snoozing.
In the evening J and I go to Wanfujin Street area, and eat at the food court of the Dong An Market, which is a fairly new and shiny shopping mall. I wish we had come here sooner. The food selection is great and the prices are incredibly low. I realize this might be a trend--also in HK the food court at the mall has the best prices and selection. So, if you want to eat well for less in Asia, just go to the mall. After walking around and looking at the various selections, J and I each get a fish dinner--a whole roasted fish, rice, greens, soup, another veggie--for 12y each. And it was a really tasty meal! The payment system is similar to what I encountered in Seoul. There are several food counters, each offering several dishes. You select your dish, and the worker gives you a ticket with their booth number and the price indicated. You take the ticket to a payment window, where you pay and get back part of the ticket stamped paid, which you take back to the booth. They then prepare your food. This method seems to reduce the lines at the booths, since all they do is prepare and serve the food. Also, drinks are sold separately at a drink cart. After a nice dinner we walk back to the hotel, J catches a taxi home, and I go back to bed.
Thurs.
Last day in Beijing. Sleep a little late. Feeling more like a person today. Weather is cold and grey, some say it will snow tonight! Breakfast at the Starbucks in the mall where I had dinner last night. Slowly eat my muffins and sip my coffee, and watch the people go by. Mall is pretty slow, but it is only 10:00AM.
I go back to room, and G calls me. We agree to have lunch together. About 12:30 we meet and walk back to the mall (yes, I really like the place!). This time I have a bowl of rice, veggie, and beef, for 8y. The serving is large, and I cannot eat it all. G has a chicken meal which also looks very good. The food court is packed with lunch customers. We walk back to hotel and say goodbye. G will probably travel to California next spring. I go back to room and take a nap.
Later J calls and we agree to have dinner. Yes, we go back to the mall. It has started to snow, and it is quite windy. It is not freezing, perhaps 3C, so the snow is very wet and heavy. The walk to the mall was challenging with some slippery footing, along with the usual traffic. We are relieved to reach the warm and calm air of the mall. This time I have a dish supposedly from India. It is a large thin crepe fried on a flat griddle with egg and green onions. It is very good, and quite filling. Cost was 15y. J has a noodle and veggie bowl, 8y.
The walk back to the hotel is even more challenging. The snow is slushy on the sidewalk, and I am wondering how the airport will be in the morning. If it freezes overnight traffic will be a nightmare, and there will be many flight delays. Well, let's just hope for the best. J and I say goodbye and I start to pack. Even though I had purchased another suitcase, it is a real struggle to get everything into two bags. Yes, I could have used 3, but I wanted to make it easier, especially when I am taking the MTR home tomorrow. But, I finally manage to squeeze everything in, and go to bed.
Up at 8:00. Breakfast at McDonalds. Looks like there was about 3 or 4 in. of very wet snow. The sidewalks are treacherous, some with ice under the snow. A man is shoveling snow in front of a store. He is working hard--the snow is very heavy. It is not snowing now, and the sky is looking brighter.
By 9:15 I am in the taxi on the way to the airport. Traffic is not too bad, and we arrive at about 10:00. Total fare--85y. Boy, did I get ripped-off when I came into town. Ouch! By the time we arrive the sky is mostly blue, and the snow is very pretty on the trees alongside the airport expressway. Some of the tree branches have fallen into the roadway under the weight of the snow. This slowed traffic a little, but not much.
Upon entering the international departure terminal I find a confusing pandemonium of people and lines. First there is a health form to fill out; then you go to the post office and buy a departure tax ticket; then you go thru customs; then you find your airline counter (no sign telling you which airline has which counter); you check-in and get your boarding pass; then you fill-out a departure card; then you go thru immigration. Yes, it all happens and it does not take me that long, but I am wondering what will they do when the Olympics comes. This process will result in very long lines and very frustrated travelers. I hope they add more facilities and streamline the process.
I get to my gate by about 10:40, boarding is not for another hour. Well, it turns out actually not until about 12:15. Our aircraft is parked on the tarmac, and we take a shuttle bus, and walk-up the stairway to the doorway. Find my seat--44k--no problem. 8 across seating 2-4-2. Then we wait about 30 minutes for the de-icing machine to come to the aircraft. We finally take off at 1:12, more than an hour late. Good thing I do not have any urgent appointments in HK! Take off and we go over the mountains near BJ. Very pretty--snowcapped spiny ridges. Lunch soon served. Chicken, rice, chinese greens, roll, butter, cold veggie dish (kim chi?), drink, chocolate ice cream for dessert! Great! Sit back and enjoy the rest of the ride, and work on this journal.
My friend Y from Chicago is in HK. She works for an airline, and is meeting vendors. We hope to meet for dinner tonight, depending on our schedules. After my few days of chilly weather I am really looking forward to warm HK! I might go to one of the islands again this weekend. We'll see. And, I must still arrange my hotel in Taipei. So much to do, so little time!
I think about my trip so far. 6 weeks, 42 days! I think I am doing OK, but the illness in Beijing was very inconvenient. I hope I don't have that kind of problem very often! It was a bit depressing, stuck in a hotel room, feeling lousy. I hope the sunshine of HK will perk me up and restore my energy! Well, this is the last of my long trips--the first one to Japan and Korea; the second one to Shanghai and Beijing. Each of these were about 2 weeks, and involved moving from place to place. Next week in Taiwan I will stay put in Taipei, and it is only a 5 day trip. Very easy (I hope).
We arrived in HK at about 4:00 PM, and by 5:00 PM I am sitting in the lobby bar of the Airport Regal Hotel sipping a club soda with lime waiting for Y. But my wait was in vain--Y soon called and advised that her meetings were running late. So I took the Airport Express train and went home. Ahhhhhhhh.
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Hong Kong Part 3