A 06:45 start to finalise the packing and check out of the Woriburi Khao San Inn at 07:30. We took the first taxi we came across to the International Airport and successfully checked in to our Hong Kong flight. We spent our final TBT 400 on breakfast and wrote our journals.
Some staff and passengers were wearing surgical masks at Bangkok airport and as we arrived at the gate I was told that I would be able to get one onboard the aircraft. We were 30 minutes late boarding. We had a Boeing 777 aeroplane and the fifty or so passengers onboard made it a very quiet and pleasant flight. The aircraft was so empty. There was no such thing as a toilet queue on this flight! We took off at 10:45 and arrived 2 hours 20 minutes later, at 14:05 local time, 07:05 BST. The flight was very smooth and comfortable and the service on Thai Airways was very good. We are pleased to be flying with Thai again to Seoul. As we boarded we were handed surgical masks and donne them straight away. Ian and I pretended to be doctors and nurses throughout the flight. The masks made eating and drinking quite difficult, mind you, and it wasn't until I had been wearing mine for 2 hours that I found the wire portion across the nose which allowed me to customise the fit, but then I had had mine on upside down... The aircraft was sprayed like it was on the flight into Johannesburg.
At Hong Kong International Airport our baggage had been offloaded before we reached the luggage conveyor belt and our passage through passport control and customs was quick and smooth. We had had to complete health declarations regarding symptoms of SARS and my admission of having a cough didn't raise any alarm. We arranged accommodation in Newton Hotel in North Point and a shuttle bus ride to the hotel doors. About sixty per cent of people in the airport were wearing the surgical masks, most of the staff were, and the bus driver too. The bus ride was extremely smooth and comfortable, the bus had dark green leather reclining chairs and I soon fell asleep, only to wake as we approached the hotel.
The sky in Hong Kong was very grey and foggy with drizzly rain. During the journey we saw some giant container ship floating dry docks and other vessels in the harbour.
At Newton Hotel we had to complete similar health declarations as at the airport and again my cough declaration didn't raise any alarm. The SARS virus had deterred travellers to Hong Kong. The arrivals hall and the shuttle bus were virtually empty and as a result we were able to upgrade our room to one on one of the five executive floors. There are twenty four floors to the Newton Hotel, we are on the nineteenth. The room is delightful. Extremely tastefully decorated, with a feather duvet, a soft carpet and a wonderful view overlooking the harbour. The window is a bay with a window seat. This is the most luxurious accommodation we have had so far on our trip. I love it here. The lighting in the room gives it a lovely glow too. For this reason alone I'm very glad we came to Hong Kong.
After catching up with developments in Iraq and planning our activities for the next two days, we walked 1.5 kilometres to Times Square in Causeway Bay and wandered about the electronic and home entertainment shops on the eighth floor before ascending to the twelfth floor for some dinner.
We wanted to eat Chinese food so that limited us to four or five restaurants. We chose the second one we looked at, following the local trend too, and sat down in Water Margin. We made an excellent choice. The service throughout the meal was very attentive. The decor was exquisite, very dark wood throughout, tables, chairs, panelling and doors. There were private eating rooms off to the sides where the sliding doors have been left open to create a popular atmosphere. The food was delicious. Boned lamb shanks, shredded fried duck on crispy vermicelli and carrot dumplings with spicy pork. The dumplings were more like ravioli and were extremely fiery! The duck was delicious but we had ordered too much food and it was the duck that remained at the end of the meal as we admitted defeat. It was the nicest duck I've had though and there was plenty of it! Just before we left the restaurant we used the facilities and even they were worth visiting if only for a look! The cubicles were constructed of bamboo cane, the doors two folding doors made of dark wood. The sink bowls were standing on a large plate of granite or slate and the fixtures were a simple brass design. It was quite dark in the toilets but the lighting was appropriate. The Water Margin is definitely worth a visit.
We walked back to our hotel and enjoyed the luxury comfort of our room. We played a couple of games of bao, to which I had the winning streak this evening, and then I introduced Ian to Bantumi, a game I have on my mobile telephone which I tried to adapt to our bao board. It resulted in lots of laughter on my part.
It's very pleasant to have the use of western style toilets again!
Copyright 2003 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.