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I left my house at around 7am on Friday, May 28. I arrived in my apartment in Hong Kong at around 4pm on Saturday, May 29. In total, I spent 21 hours in various modes of transportation, from cars to planes to trains to walking. It was a relatively smooth, albeit long, journey.
There was no traffic on the way to JFK International, so I got there with plenty of time and boarded Cathay Pacific flight CX841 fairly early. I got a window seat, which was great, but a few minutes after I sat down, a six-year-old kid plopped down next to me. I figured his (very) Asian mom would hold him in check, so he wouldn’t be a nuisance. I was wrong. He made high-pitched whee!s non-stop while playing asteroids. When he went to sleep, his feet found their way onto my lap and laptop. Even when he was awake, he still ended up kicking me. Fortunately, it wasn’t so frequent as to make the sixteen-hour flight a nightmare, but it was annoying.
The little kid aside, the flight wasn’t bad. Cathay had a HUGE selection of movies/TV shows, so I watched bits of Avatar, Hitch, Dodgeball, and all of Couples Retreat. Then, about 4 hours into the flight, I realized that the green glowing light behind my tray was, in fact, an AC port. The laptop got pulled out, and I rewatched (500) Days of Summer along with about 13 episodes of Two and a Half Men. That, along with about 2-3 hours of sleep, 4-5 Sudoku puzzles, and 2 halfway decent meals, took me to Hong Kong. The Cathay seats were comfortable, but I didn’t really like the recline. Instead of actually reclining the back of your chair, it shifts the padding on the chair downward to create the reclined position with some cushion. It was comfortable, but did limit legspace, which was already being invaded by a certain six-year-old. Altogether, though, the flight was better than most trans-Pacific flights. Cathay is definitely a fantastic airline.
Customs and baggage claim was surprisingly swift. The baggage barely went around once before I got both of my bags. Then I took the (super cool!) Airport Express to Hong Kong Island, and then the regular metro rail to my apartment. The metro stations were clean, unlike New York City’s, and the subway cars themselves were breezy and somewhat odorless, again unlike New York City’s. It was just one ride, but so far I’m impressed.
My apartment is pretty sweet. It’s a pseudo-hotel, so we get our sheets/towels/carpets/whatnot cleaned twice a week. Two bedrooms, a full bath, a full kitchen, and a rather large living room–I’m satisfied. Frank and David (my roommates for the summer) aren’t here yet, so it’s kind of cold and lonely here. I’m going to go explore the shopping mall and see if I can get a phone.
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super excited to follow this for the summer :)!
Ahh, I took Cathay Pacific the last time I went to Hong Kong, loved the flight. Hope you have an awesome summer!
The important thing in life is to have a great aim , and the determination to attain it. (Johan Wolfgang von Goethe , German Poet and dramatist)
Whoa, good publish.Thanks again. Amazing.