I began my trip to Hong Kong today with a quick jump to DFW, and a very LONG flight from DFW direct to Hong Kong...16 hrs! Since I left DFW at 11 am, I did not want to sleep right away, so I watched two movies, got fed another meal, and read for a while. Finally around 7 pm Wichita time, I thought I'd try to fall asleep. I dozed for a while, got woken up for another meal, then finally managed to sleep for about 6 uninterrupted hours. I was feeling pretty good by the time we hit the ground. I wasn't sure what to expect, know that HK had been British until 1997 and had continue to develop after that (can you say "shopping mecca?") , I knew that it was likely to be very modern. That was indeed the case.
The airport express train to the center of the city was plush and comfy, and very fast (24 mins from airport to city center with just 2 other stops). Many public trains have electronic signs that show you where you are and what the next stop is, but this one actually had a little moving line to show you how close you were to the next stop (kind of like the progress bar when you are downloading files).
After making it to the center of the city by train, I transferred to the city metro. Also very modern and comfortable. I had not yet set foot outside of air conditioned space at this point. As you can see, there is no danger of falling onto the tracks, a plexiglass wall with sliding doors separates you from the track and train. I figured out later that this must be related to keeping the stations and trains somewhat airconditioned. They are moderately cool. However, when the glass doors open to let you board the train, you feel a gust of very hot air from the surrounding tunnel (very much like the entire Underground system in London which is NOT air conditioned at all).
Inside the metro train. Its all connected, you can walk from one end to the other. I was not riding a peak hours so there was plenty of room, but I did notice that were not a lot of seats, so it must be a standing room only during busier times.
This yellow sign (on the right) might look familiar to anyone who has visited London before. I was not really expecting it here. (And it didn't really make much sense because there was basically NO gap between the platform and the train).
The metro station tunnels felt weirdly like the Underground in London (but with higher ceilings). Took me about 10 secs to realize I was walking on the wrong side of the tunnel - walk to the LEFT! I even noticed the same raised track (on the right) that is found in the Underground. I'm pretty sure this is for the visually impaired for navigation of the stations.
I managed to buy a visitors metro pass and make it to the station near my hotel with no problem. I took the nearest exit, not really knowing which one would be the best, and made my way to the street. This was my first step outside and it was MUGGY!!! About 85 degrees with 95% humidity. I was dripping just standing there. I knew which street I was on from a map and which way I needed to go, but the only way to get there was down a narrow set of stairs between two buildings with no obvious signage at all. There was no sidewalk along the street, so the stairs were the only option. With my suitcase in hand, I began the trek down the stairs. I came to another street with "low gear" signs for cars. I needed to use low gear myself to avoid a runaway suitcase. After about 100 stairs, I came to the block where my hotel was, and directly next to it....was a second exit from the metro station. Lesson learned for my next trip beyond the hotel!
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