Welcome to HK.
Sunday 22nd June. Leaving Israel was somewhat sad. Arriving at Ben Gurion Airport 5 hours early gave me enough time to check in, make sure I got my aisle seat (this time at the back of the plane) and wait for 4 hours at the boarding gate. Jee I’m a fussy person when it comes to flying.
At the check in I was told that the flight was overbooked but I had a seat but would I be willing to catch a later flight via Bangkok getting me to HK 6 hours later than my original flight but also being offered either $300 (US) or a free flight from Tel Aviv to HK return. Considering my options and feeling like a contestant on Deal or No Deal I chose to take my original flight so I could get there as soon as possible and enjoy the sufficating humidity of HK.
The 11 hr flight again avoids those scary arab nations by going around the top, through Turkey and Khasikstan and over most of mainland China.
The El Al Boeing 777 was a full plane full of Israelis, Aussie tourists, Chinese tourists, some pilots and a handful of hosties.
At sunrise, religious Jews pray for a breakfast that doesn’t look like rubber eggs.
That’s China down there. Brown river, can’t you tell?
Hong Kong Airport is a very big place. So big that they have a train that takes you from the arrival gate to the main hub where you collect your bags.
The train ride to Hong Kong Island takes about 30 minutes and drops you off in the centre of the town. Cousin Jacob met me here.
This was the first time I met Jacob. He is my mothers cousin’s son. So really he is my second cousin. That’s good enough to get just the cousin label. I don’t like labels. But better to call him my cousin than my distant relation.
Jacob. Looks a bit like mums father.
Where Jacob lives.
The neighbourhood.
Jacob has his own television production company called Aiya TV. They do a show similar to the MTV show Jackass. He’s a busy boy.
The man hard at work.
Arriving into HK in the afternoon I was rather tired but made an effort to stay awake till the evening to get back into the rhythm and beat jetlag (that evil woman!!!). Jacob took me for a walk around the area. I was surrounded by lots of people (mostly Chinese), lots of food, markets, smells (some good), shops, people (more Chinese), chopsticks, more markets, tall buildings and heaps of people (those Chinese!!).
A mother with her twin boys, Johnno and Davo Wang.
Locals gather at a shopping mall resting at a fountain/toilet trough.
One of Hong Kongs tallest buildings. 74 floors of yum cha restaurants.
We got up to signal 8 overnight. The weakest wind and some rain. I’ve seen bigger storms back home.
Some Collon before bed.
Don’t mess with Tony Toupee. He’ll pop a wig in your ass!
