The return flight for this trip included a 12 hour layover in Hong Kong. Knowing this in advance, I made reservations at the Marriott, and fully intended to tour the city as much as possible given the limited time.
When I arrived at the hotel, I asked the concierge where to go. He recommended taking the train to Hong Kong and then to the Lan Kwai Fong district. The train station was in the conference center adjoining the hotel, so it was easy to catch. 100 Hong Kong dollars (about 15 US dollars). Since it was dark (10:30 pm) when I started, there wasn’t much to see until I got downtown 30 minutes later. The train station is near the high-end shopping district (Prada, Louis Vitton, Coach, etc.) which were all closed.
Even though it was late, there were still a few people walking around in the area. As I got closer to the district, though, more people were around. It was really apparent when I arrived. The concierge had told me it was the night-life district, and he was right. It looked like a huge street party all the way up the hill, with music blaring from every bar. It seemed to me like the bars were competing to see which one could play the music loudest. I paused at a Ben and Jerry's to get a scoop of Chunky Monkey, and ate it all the way up the hill. After a little while, I decided to join the revelry and had a beer at one of the bars. The first one I went to (called Insomnia) had a sign out front for "over-25s", saying that under-25's had priority, and that "snappy dress" was required. So I moved on. I didn't think my jeans would qualify as snappy. I went to a bar across from Insomnia (perhaps it should have been called "sleepy" - hah) and had a beer where I could watch. It was lots of fun. Saw one girl hang from her knees on a bamboo scaffold. Pretty hilarious.
So, after my beer, it was a little after 1 am, so I decided I should go back. When I got to the train station, the customer service told me that there was no more trains. Uh-oh… now how to get back? I found a taxi, but all I had left was HK $100 - he said it would be 300, but he would take me to an ATM. Well, I eventually got back to the hotel (around 2 am).
One other interesting memory: When was on the way to my room, a woman (probably older than me) came down the hall apparently having trouble opening their door. So, nice guy that I am, I went to try to help out, even though I don't speak Chinese. Their group included an older man (her father perhaps). I took her key and it opened on the first try. So I was their hero for the night - a nice American.
The next morning, I met a girl in the airport who had been there for 11 hours. She didn't opt to get a room, so she was tired. She told me that she had been going to school in Shanghai, then a semester in Bangkok. More information than I needed - I suppose she felt "safe" talking to me.
A travel note: the Cathay Pacific flight to NYC used a Boeing 777-300ER. This is one of the newer models, and has lots of passenger goodies. It has personal video screens (like all 777s) with many movies and shows. There is a camera under the fuselage which allows you to see what's going on outside. Also, each seat has a power plug that allows you to plug in your computer with a standard power supply. Very nice. Cathay Pacific service is very nice. They even have a video on exercises to do in flight.
