Monday, 12 November 2007

Last day in Hong Kong

Today's our last day in Hong Kong.  Our itinerary for tonight & tomorrow looks something like this:

  • 11pm tonight: go to bed
  • 1am tomorrow: wake up, wide awake!  woo-hoo!
  • 1.05am: sit in chair
  • 1.10am: look at Facebook for too long
  • 3am: write / not write blog as preferred
  • 6am: go back to bed, fall into deep sleep, possibly deeper than ever experienced in entire lifetime
  • 7am: alarm goes off, feel horrific
  • 7.05am: pour Red Bull directly into eyes
  • 7.10am: fall asleep in shower
  • 7.11am: rescued by Vicky who is awoken by crashing noises coming from bathroom
  • 7.12am: run bath (safer)
  • 8.30am: wake up in cold bath
  • 9am: awoken (still in bath) by phone ringing, taxi is here
  • 9.01am: start packing
  • 9.15am: unpack; find clothes; get dressed; re-pack
  • 9.20am: arrive reception
  • 10.05am: get to front of queue, check out of room
  • 10.06am: offer alternative credit card after card is declined
  • 10.07am: repeat previous step
  • 10.08am: get into taxi - meter already at HK$16,480 (£1,029) - taxi driver mis-understood and has been waiting for us since he dropped us off last Tuesday
  • 10.40am: arrive at airport, taxi driver presses magic button and fare increases to HK$24,130 (£1,507) to "cover extras"
  • 10.41am: get bags out, run away from taxi (fancy my chances against taxi driver, who I believe it the same one who got beaten up last week near Thai Orchids)
  • 10.45am: arrive at check-in desk
  • 10.46am: leave Vicky at airport, take taxi back to hotel
  • 11.10am: arrive at hotel, collect passports from room safe
  • 11.35am: arrive back airport
  • 11.36am: check-in desk now closed
  • 11.37am: visit ticket desk and book ticket for later flight
  • 11.38am: offer alternative credit card after card is declined
  • 11.39am to 11.45am: repeat previous step 6 times
  • 2pm: awoken at gate by airport security staff
  • 2.01pm: board plane, leave for China
  • 4.30pm: awoken by air stewardess, leave plane
  • 4.40pm: join China immigration queue
  • 6.35pm: pass through China immigration
  • 6.36pm: wonder whether hotel limo driver will still be waiting for us
  • 6.37pm: join taxi queue
  • 7.10pm: arrive at hotel, pay taxi driver; ask hotel concierge to ensure that taxi does not wait outside hotel for duration of stay
  • 7.15pm: hotel reception staff deny all knowledge of booking
  • 7.16pm: start to cry
  • 7.17pm: book room at "standard rack rate"
  • 7.18pm: offer credit card as guarantee
  • 7.35pm: finally find a credit card which is accepted
  • 7.50pm: order room service (too scared to go outside hotel)
  • 9pm: go to bed
  • 11pm: wake up
  • 11.05pm: try to connect to internet; seems to work, but some sites strangely inaccessible
  • 11.10pm: start writing blog

We come back to Hong Kong on Saturday.  If all goes to plan, we'll have time to come back to HK Central for afternoon tea before flying back to the UK late on Saturday night. 

Those sausage sandwiches can't come soon enough.

No comments: