Fly Asia

I bought a 'Fly Asia' pass from Philippine airlines when I first arrived in Manila for about $1,000 for 6 short trips to various destinations in Asia to visit home, friends, to eat great food, and to practice my photo-taking skills.  Last week, my weekend trip kick-started, but Philippine airlines was on strike!  As I waited in the long queue to fly to Taipei, I doubted my ever-so-brilliant idea, when the plane delayed, I was sure that I had made a big mistake.  But the Hong Kong trip this week changed all of that!

This week, my expectation was more realistic than that of that last week.  I brought a book expecting 'unexpected' delays.  I lined up in the shortest line instead of the line that was designated for Hong Kong having learned from last week's experience and I got to the immigration desk faster.  This time, I had my immigration form filled out ahead of time with 750 pesos so I can skip the form-filling line and pay the airport taxes than those that were not as prepared.  Everything went smoother and faster even though the plane was still delayed.  With the preparation and expectation, I had time to read and shop at duty-free for famous Filipino deserts!

Manila to Hong Kong takes two hours by flight.  As soon as we landed, I could tell that I was in a different city.  In contrast with Manila, everything moved faster in Hong Kong including people.  People in Hong Kong are less patient but very goal and task oriented and super efficient.  The no nonsense Hong Kong culture permeated the air as we waited through immigration.  I, for once, appreciated the Hong Kong efficiency after having lived in Manila for almost two and half months.

I visited Kim, Derek, and Samantha while I was in Hong Kong.  I had my first Hong Kong "high tea" at the newly opened Ritz on the 100+ floor.  Ships, barges, and helicopters moved gracefully below us as we sipped our tea and enjoyed our finger-licking yummy deserts.  Afterwards, Kim and I window-shopped, chatted, caught-up on a year's worth of life-changing experiences while we weaved through the city for photos.  The next day, we lined up and ate at the Tim Ho Wan Michelin star dim sum shop, rested, and I left the Yan's on Sunday afternoon.

It was a short, compacted, but fun trip! Now, I am looking forward to my next flight this coming weekend!