We left San Francisco on our way to China by first flying to Vancouver. We left Vancouver  about 2:30 Tuesday afternoon flying north to Hong Kong. We reset our watches to Hong Kong time and the plan was to go right to sleep but they were serving a hot meal featuring oven proof bread, a handy salt substitute (we think) and red wine.

Then we went to sleep, missing most of the mysterious landscape over Alaska and Russia.

Finally, we landed about 6 PM  Wednesday evening at Hong Kong’ gorgeous, new, almost empty airport. And then took the nicest train I have ever been on into Kowloon. The train was quiet, fast, clean, and had this nifty arc of LEDs over the door that told you where you were on the trip.

We got into and out of our hotel – modern, clean, smart – and stumbled around Hong Kong for a while, it is a strange new world. Strange – among other reasons – because in many ways it seems almost like here.

By then, we were ready for our first dinner.To be safe, we went to someplace familiar, Cheers. We ordered pork, chicken (the one without the head), and veggies. All of it was very good and almost all of it was more identifiable than I expected. It was sort of Chinese food as if it were served at TGI Fridays.

What has most struck me about Hong Kong – through jet-lagged eyes – is how modern it is. We expected frenzy, but not modern, clean frenzy. Check out these steps with a TV on the risers.

-S