And Now We Head Home

I woke up around 5:00am and couldn’t get back to sleep so I just laid there and at 5:45am I decided to get up and get things ready to head home. Thomas got up as well and we both showered, dressed and finished packing. Once we were done we went down to breakfast and relaxed, ate and had coffee. After eating we went up to our room and read until about 8:20am. Then we decided to go and look for a letterbox that I thought might be close to our hotel. So we followed the clues and we found some of the landmarks but some were gone. They are doing construction in the area that won’t be complete until February 2019. We couldn’t get close enough to check the final landmark but looking at the construction I doubt if it is there. So we returned to our room and I worked on pictures and journaling. Then at 9:15am I went to Starbucks to get some coffee since we still have a while until we go to the airport. On the way back to the room I saw Arnold, Jeff and Jen in the lobby, they were getting ready to head out. So I said goodbye and went back up to the room. I continued working on photos and journaling until around 11:10am we got our things and we headed down to the lobby. When we got there Paul and Mary were already waiting. Thomas got us checked out and shortly thereafter Matthew showed up with the van to take us to the airport.

It took us about 35 minutes to get to the airport – thankfully it was Sunday and no traffic. At the airport we said goodbye to Matthew and then got in line to check in. The line was moving slow, there was only one person working at the time. Finally, a second person came up and things went faster. We checked in our bags, got our boarding passes and headed to security. Security went pretty fast and the first thing we did was check the board for our gate number. None was assigned yet. We had been in the airport for about 45 minutes and we decided to find a place to sit and wait for the gate to be announced. Thirty minutes later a gate number appeared on the screen. We are on American Airlines flight AA126 (seats 39AB) departing from Gate 40. We had to ask for directions (the signs were so confusing), down the escalators two flights and a train to the first stop. Finally, we arrived at the gate and we got settled for the hour we had to wait until boarding. The time went fast – we both read and before we knew it we were boarding. This time we didn’t have the row to ourselves but that wasn’t too bad. But the flight might have the worst we have ever had. There was turbulence (at times really bad) for most of the trip, the food was horrible and the flight attendants were anything but attentive. I read for a while, watched three movies (Christopher Robin, Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy 2) and then I slept for a while. Thomas was really uncomfortable for most of the flight but thankfully he was able to get some sleep as well.

Fourteen hours later we landed in Dallas and I have never been so happy to be off a plane in my life. Once off the plane we stopped at the bathroom then headed for customs. We stood in line for a while and finally got to a kiosk, where we scanned our passports, filled out a questionnaire and got a printout with our picture on it. Then we had to get into another line and go through an agent. He looked at our passport and took the printout. Next, we had to pick up our luggage at baggage claim and then wheel it fifty feet and then turn it in again – stupid! And finally, we had to go through security again, thankfully, we had TSA Precheck and then we were into the terminal. It only took us an hour and a half – it was a good thing we had a four hour layover. The departure board said our flight was departing at Gate 31 so we headed there. No sooner had we gotten settled they changed the gate to 36 – not too far so we headed there. Then we decided to get something to eat. We had a quick meal at McDonalds and then returned to our gate. I did some pictures and journaling and got some things uploaded to Facebook and my blog. We are on American Airlines flight AA2698 (seats 23DE. We are both ready to get home and all this flying is tiring. We boarded and got to our seats and when boarding was complete we were happy to find that we had the row to ourselves. So we spread out and we both went to sleep. This made for a quick flight and before we knew it we were landing in Albuquerque. We got off the plane and stopped at the bathroom, then went to baggage claim. Our bags were there and first thing is we took our jackets out and put them on – colder here than in Hong Kong.

Then we made our way out to the shuttle and then to our car. We paid our fee and we were off to Santa Fe. It was around 11:00pm when we arrived home and we were both hungry so we had something to eat and then we showered and it is now time to head to bed. This trip has been a dream come true and the trip of a lifetime. But as is usual with our trips we are always glad to be home. We didn’t get to see the dogs tonight, it is cold and Bruce kept them at the other house. Tomorrow hopefully we can get back to normal.

A Day in Hong Kong

Our alarm went off at 6:00am and we immediately got up and got dressed. After organizing the room a bit we went down to the restaurant for breakfast. We had a nice relaxing meal and drank some coffee. Once we were done we returned to our room and got our things for the day. At 8:30am we went down to the lobby to meet our group for a day out in Hong Kong. Leaving the hotel we drove through a tunnel under Victoria Bay over to Hong Kong Island. We made our way up to Victoria Peak. Up at the peak we had time to walk around and get some views of the city. There was a haze so it wasn’t the greatest of views but it was nice. After about 45 minutes here we headed back down and went over to Stanley Market. We only had a short time here but is was enough – Thomas and I weren’t really in the mood to shop but we did end up getting a couple of t-shirts. From the market we made our way to the harbor and we took a 20 minute sampan ride and then ended up at Jumbo Floating Restaurant. We had a dim sum lunch which was really good. After lunch we headed back to the hotel.

Thomas and I went to our room and put some stuff away and then decided to go for a walk. We walked along the harbor for a while and then made our way to the Hong Kong Museum of History. We spent about an hour at the museum and then returned to the hotel. Once we were back in the room we decided to take a nap and we ended up sleeping about 45 minutes. Then we spent a little time packing some things and getting organized. Then at 6:00pm we went down to the lobby and met the group and we all went out for dinner. We ate Enjoy Bar & Grill outside and had a great last visit with the group. After we ate one couple went back to the hotel but we went with another couple and to the ferry platform and watched the ICC Lightshow and Music. This was a short ten minute light and music show that was okay – nothing spectacular. After the show we decided to take the ferry over to Hong Kong Island just to see the skyline at night from the harbor. So we had to go over to the other side and get off then get back on again to get back to our side. It cost about one dollar each for both rides.

By this time it was around 9:00pm and we made our way back to the hotel. We needed to get some last minute things packed. After taking showers we packed everything we didn’t need in the morning and now it is time for bed. We fly home tomorrow and it will be another long day of airports and airplanes.

Our Last Stop - Hong Kong

I was up early again this morning. I woke up around 4:00am. Since I couldn’t sleep I edited the photos I took yesterday and then worked on journaling and my blog. By 7:00am I was done with everything and all caught up on my photos and journaling. Then I got up and got dressed and packed my things. Thomas got ready as well and around 7:30am our bags were outside our room for the porters to pick up (this had to be done by 8:30am). After putting our bags out we headed down for some breakfast. We had a quick breakfast and then returned to our room to relax for a while. At about 9:00am we headed down to the lobby to meet everyone. Around 9:30am our local tour guide handed out our lunch boxes and then we got into the bus for our drive to the Guilinbei Railway Station. It only took about twenty minutes to get to the station and there we said goodbye to Christine. Then we went through security and made our way to the waiting area. Our trip number is G2901, we board on platform 11, we are in car 03 and in seats 9AC. We were let onto the platform at 10:30am and the train left the station at 10:55am. We got settled and the train left the station and quickly got up to 240 km/hr. During the train ride they gave us a snack box and we already had our lunch box. We saved both of these until around 1:00pm. We opened one of each box and ended up sharing just the one box which meant we had to carry the other box with us off the train when we arrived in Shenzhen. Thomas read and took a short nap and I read and worked on some journaling. The trip was about three hours and the train reached a speed of 304 km/hr. The train was really comfortable and had lots of room. It was a great way to travel and was much better than spending time in another airport and on another cramped airplane. Also, we got to see more of the beautiful hills in the Guilin area as the train left the station and headed for Shenzhen.

It was just after 2:00pm when we arrived in Shenzhen and we quickly made our way to our waiting vans. We had to split into two groups because all seven of us and all our luggage couldn’t fit into one van. Thomas and I rode with Arnold in one van with some of the luggage and Jeff and Jen rode along with Paul and Mary in the other van. We drove for about 45 minutes from the train station to the border. We first had to get out of the van and walk through customs. We had to show our passports and a departure card to the agent. He then took the departure card, scanned and stamped our passport and then we were good to leave China. Even though we weren’t really leaving China, we were just going into Hong Kong which is technically part of China. Then we got back into the van and drove just a short distance to the Hong Kong border where we had to show our passports and a arrival card. They took one copy of the card and gave us back our passports and a second copy of the card and we were free to enter Hong Kong.

Then it was another 40 minutes drive to our hotel – Kowloon Shangri-La. The drive into Hong Kong was interesting. Lots of tall buildings all clustered together which was similar to the cities we visited in main land China. But then there were lots of buildings and other things that made it seem like we could be in any large city in the world. It just seemed so metropolitan where the large cities in China like Beijing and Shanghai still has a more local cultural vibe. It felt like we had reentered a world that seemed more like ours. The past 18 days felt like we were in a totally different world than ours and now it feels more like home. I am not saying one is better than the other just that it is now more familiar.

Once at the hotel we got checked in and got our room keys – we are in room 1801. We had a little time to go up to the room and get settled, use the bathroom before we needed to meet in the lobby for a walking tour of the area. Our local tour guide here in Hong Kong is Matthew. He walked us down Mody Road to Nathan Road. He talked about shopping, restaurants and bars and gave us an orientation of how to get around. After about 30 minutes we returned to the hotel. We had about a half hour to relax and then we all met across the street from the hotel for dinner. We were on our own for the night so the six of us went to a place called Rocco’s Pizza. It was nice not to have Chinese for a night. We all had pizza and drinks. Thomas and I each had a salad. We had a nice relaxing meal and a good visit and about an hour later we returned to the hotel and called it a night.

Once we were back in our room we took showers and Thomas read while I journaled. It Is now time to get some sleep so we can see more of Hong Kong in the morning. This trip has been a busy one and a long one. We are now ready to return home and have some normal time but I think we can manage one more day before leaving on Sunday for home.