Made it

Well I made it in the end. The flight was ok, although I did not manage to sleep. Snoozed for a bit, but managed to get in four movies...

NZ is cold, and wet. Had a pie for lunch today - mince and cheese of course! And I (with much assistance from Kyla) have made my special brownies for dessert tonight. The extended clan will be here for dinner...

Boarding

At the gate, waiting to get on board the plane... Lots of people so I suspect it is going to be a full flight. Funny to hear so many NZ accents.

Mmmm

A chocolate sundae. Not really duty free, but very yummy. After all, who knows when I will be fed next? (probably in about an hour and a half - just after takeoff, which is 6pm). Still, I need to ensure that I do not fade away before then. Or faint from lack of energy...

The airport

Just got through immigration and security. Checking out duty free shops now. I wonder what I will find...

On the road again...

Well, the trip has commenced. I write this while sitting at HK station, waiting for the airport express train to arrive. Have just checked in my bag, which weighs about 27kg. Must be all of those presents. Oh to be a sproglet again... We were lucky enough to get a very cheap upgrade to Premium Economy, which will be the first time for me. Apparently it is a seat that is somewhere between economy and business, plus business-class meals. I will have to report on that later.

HK has continued with the theme of hot and wet. Today dawned bright and sunny, and the temperature started climbing immediately. This is a bit of a change, as the past 7 days or so have been fairly consistently wet. Probably because of this recent history, the weather decided we needed a brief reprieve from the heat, and so it rained around 2pm. For about 20 minutes before starting to heat up again.

More as the trip progresses.

Questions

These questions are hard! For example... Which black and white movie finishes with the words "well, nobody's perfect"?

Rain

Not the Korean pop singer, the wet stuff.

It is pouring again. Just got home after an appointment, and it is raining heavily. Not such a big deal, except that there is nothing to eat at home (I have been eating down the cupboard in anticipation of flying to NZ tomorrow). I was planning to walk to the supermarket, but when it is raining like this and I don't have an umbrella? I do not think so! Instead, I have ensconced myself in a seat at an english-style pub a few doors up the road. As I write this, I await my beef and guiness pie with chips (no mushy peas!). Watching the rain outside, and some cricket game - england is playing someone or other. And a guy has just announced that tonight is Pub Quiz Night, starting in two minutes exactly. Bonus! This should be a bit of a laugh...

Ok, one more

A bit of a giggle

Remember Ally McBeal and the dancing baby? (we've been rewatching the original series on DVD):



And here's a different take on the baby dancing to the Bee Gees:



And of course who can forget the alien singing "I will survive"?



And finally, do you remember the crazy frog?

HK Weather Report

Well in addition to getting hot, it also started bucketing down yesterday afternoon. Heavy rain in the evening, which should have cooled things down. However I think someone forgot to turn the rain on from the cold tap, and instead used the hot tap... Then last night and into early morning, thunder and lightening. Very cool.

Now it's back to being sunny, with temperatures rising...

Hot

Well it is officially hot here in Hong Kong.

Hot enough that the air-conditioning has been on most of the day, along with the fan that I've been using to keep the air moving. Every time I came in the door today (after meetings, gym, etc) the temperature was up around 29 degrees. And that was inside the apartment, where it felt cooler than outside.

This gives some cause for concern, as we are not at the hottest time of the year yet...

Cool designs

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/100-really-creative-business-cards/

Bangkok

Well I spent the second half of last week in Bangkok, although the place is just getting into the rainy season so there was no sitting by the pool this time.

I flew in on Wednesday morning (plane over half-full), getting suprised at the checkin counter when I was informed that my Qantas card has been downgraded. Haven't been flying enough, I guess. The flight itself was uneventful. That evening I met a couple of business colleagues who are setting up a business providing call center services.

Thursday and Friday were both busy, with coffee with a business contact each morning, followed by the gym.

Friday night Sonia and I went out to a casual restaurant and watched a group of guys playing pool against some Thai girls. It was quite entertaining, as the girls were clearly quite good and were fleecing the guys (20 baht to play a game). I'm pretty sure that the guys weren't unhappy to with the attention.

Saturday involved the gym after breakfast, then out to a spa for a massage. Sonia has taken to the Thai massage - the one where they poke, prod, and bend you into all sorts of yoga-esque shapes. Then off to one of the other hotels for dinner - not bad, with a range of tapas on offer.

Then yesterday we went to the DVD/CD shop to stock up. Including all 3 High School Musicals to bring back to NZ for the sprogs to watch.

When I got back to HK last night, it was 30 degrees at 9pm. So I guess we are now hitting the higher temperatures. Does not seem so long since I was writing about how cold it was... And we are not at the hottest time of year yet.

Eating - The Postscript

In response to Sharon's comment:

We got to the restaurant at (I think) around 11:45am. We finished at around 3:00pm. Of course we paced ourselves over this time, but it is true that we (well, me at least) consumed a fair amount of food.

The foie gras station was one of the best bits. Although the Peking Duck one was also pretty good. And the sushi station, where they make the sushi in front of you.

For desert they had two chocolate fountains - one white and one normal. Sandra would love it. I managed to skewer a macaroon and cover it with white chocolate. Nice.

The End

Well, much to Sonia's chagrin, we made it to th end. She was so sure that we would be good after a couple of hours. Instead, we left at 305pm!

A Problem

Just been warned that we are down to the last 10 minutes for the buffet. But I cannot fit any more. Not sure that we have got mtr money's yorug. Wonder if the would do takeaways for the last round?

Lunch continued

Feel like we have eaten a week's calories in one meal. And we have another 45 minutes to go. Time for another round of dessert before it is too late...

Lunch

At the Intercontinental Hotel lunch buffet. Have been here (and eating) since 1130. The buffet finishes at 3pm. Only 1.5 hours to go - better get eating!

Amusing advertisements

This set is for a Mexican beer.

Introducing the most interesting man in the world:


and


Should you go rollerblading?


Or wear tight pants?


And when to use pickup lines?

Trip

Well I am now booked to visit NZ at the end of May and start of June. Just me, no Sonia. I admit this is not the best timing, what with winter on the doorstep. Still, it will provide a nice counterpoint to the rising temperatures in HK. Last night when I got home from the gym the inside temperature was 27 degrees. Some of that is because Sonia had kept the windows shut and the air conditioner off, but it still gives you an idea of how quickly things have heated up. For round the house I have a couple of pairs of shorts - baggy things that we got from Stanley market. One pair are Billabong, the provenance of the others is uncertain...