Nigel, Judy & the four Canadians are the only members on our
group sharing the midday flight to Bangkok, so, following some quick farewells
and promises to stay in touch, we board a van for the transfer to Siem Reap
international. This is a small airport, and we have to cool our heels and
get beverages from the Starbucks before the Thai Airlines ticket counter
opens. Happily, we meet Duc and Ngok, who are catching their flight back
to HCMC.
The counter agent warns us that we will have a quick connection in
Bangkok, and gives us blue stickers for our shirts and "priority"
tags for our luggage, advising that an employee will meet us as we disembark,
to ensure we make our connection. Things are looking dicey when our
turboprop flight is delayed almost 1/2 hour and we stop at the tarmac to
disembark in front of a bus. Kudos to
Thai Airlines who had a couple of employees holding up "Hong Kong" signs to gather a small group of us and herd us into a small van which speeds to the terminal building. We are quick-marched through the terminal, then clear security where, fortunately, there is no line-up. Then we are told to jog to our gate, arriving almost exactly at the posted boarding time. It turns out this second flight is also delayed, so we sit and sweat at the gate for about 20 minutes.
Thai Airlines who had a couple of employees holding up "Hong Kong" signs to gather a small group of us and herd us into a small van which speeds to the terminal building. We are quick-marched through the terminal, then clear security where, fortunately, there is no line-up. Then we are told to jog to our gate, arriving almost exactly at the posted boarding time. It turns out this second flight is also delayed, so we sit and sweat at the gate for about 20 minutes.
The flight to Hong Kong is uneventful, and we have no problem at
immigration, although we are required to hold onto a “landing card” which we
complete on the flight giving our name, date, passport #, duration of stay,
etc. The authorities will demand that
when we leave.
Waiting at the luggage carousel, an airlines agent approaches us,
checks our names, and advises us our bags did NOT make the flight with us and
will be arriving in Hong Kong on a later flight. We have the choice of waiting another hour or
more, or having them send the bags to our hotel. She warns us that customs will likely search
the bags if that is our choice, in which case they may not arrive until
midnight. We choose the latter option.
A Hong Kong dollar is worth about 17 cents Canadian, and the long
taxi ride to the Mira Hotel costs only $273 HK.
The Mira is centrally located in Kowloon, just off Nathan Rd, which is
the busiest thoroughfare. The lobby and
lounges, restaurants, etc. are very posh, but our rooms are pretty tiny. Dan & Nadine’s has a disagreeable odour,
and management promises to look into it while we wander around outdoors.
It’s now about 9:30 pm and we’re enjoying the bustling traffic,
bright lights, and exotic sounds & smells.
After some debate we settle into a place called the “Kowloon Tap Room”
which specializes in craft beers. Sue is
not a beer drinker, but she’s content to settle for a Coke, while the other 3
quaff a beer then spot a menu choice that includes a taster flight of the 10
beers currently on tap. Sounds like an
apt challenge for the Canadians, and we find some interesting brews, including
ones with citrus, pine, and even blackberry flavours. We enjoy some excellent
poutine and nachos. Dan & Alan are
impressed enough to purchase a T-shirt from the place.
We get back to the Mira to discover management has moved D&N 7
floors up, to a better smelling but no larger room. We are then notified that Cathay Pacific has
left a message with the hotel indicating customs would not clear our bags until
morning, so we can expect them by 11 am.
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