How does it feel to be thrown out of a plane? For once, I felt like Gandhi... remember, he too was thrown out of a train. Infact mine was worse, he was at least thrown out in a foreign land, but I... in my own country!! Okkkk... that's taking things a bit too far, but it is wierd to be at the check-in counter only to learn that you do not have bookings for the flight.Next day, my flight connections were such that in case any one of the flights on the way to China got delayed by more than 20 minutes, I was doomed. And as Murphy would have it, the first flight started an hour late!! So I missed a couple of connecting flights only to find myself stranded at the Hong Kong airport, with over 16 hours to kill. Now, for the first time I felt nice about having a 'blue' passport in a foreign land. Indians do not require a visa to enter HK... yipeeeeeee!! So I contacted customer service, picked up a couple of tourist guides and was out exploring HK.
The main attraction of HK is the Hong Kong Island. It reminded me of Manhattan... concrete jungle, and a lot of life. It seemed that the entire city lived on the streets... people moving about, each one in a hurry of her/his own. The only difference being that most of the people looked Asians... unlike Manhattan where one is blown away by the sheer diversity of the people around.
Everyone seemed in a hurry here. It wasn't easy stopping someone to ask for directions. For those that I did manage to stop, it wasn't easy communicating. It gave me a teaser of what to expect in mainland China.
Key attractions of HK include (these are the ones that I could manage)
1. The peak tram: this tram runs right up a hill at an incline of upto 27 degrees... yes, cutting through the mountain. And to think that they have this running since 1888...unbelievable!!
2. View of the city skyline and the Victoria harbor from the peak: One sight, I must say. A very colorful skyline HK has. The mild breeze just adds to the romance of the sight... and to think that I was there all alone (RR... where art thou?) ... one depressing moment that was! I left the place quickly.
3. Ferry ride around the Victoria Harbor: another soothing ride – just like any other ferry ride… it could do with some music.
I reached Hang Zhou at 11 in the morning. The cab driver did not know a word of English. The hotel people could just about make out what I was saying. Language is gonna be a big issue for me here. For starters, in order to get to the TU office, I need to ask the reception to call my contact person in the TU office, who in turn will ask a Chinese person to talk to the receptionist in order to explain to her where I need to go. The receptionist, in turn, will take me to a cab, and give directions to the cab person. In case of any goof-up, I repeat steps 1-4
I am sure I am in for some adventure…
