TToT # 3: HONG KONG ...

Carpet Burn/Shuttle Bus/Transfer

Another Qantas 

Delays - the best way to deal with them

DELAYS are inevitable. Dependent upon your personal mindset, they can either be endured or enjoyed.  After a slower start than planned and 10 or so hours in the air, we arrived at Hong Kong to learn that yes, our replacement flight was also delayed. In fact, this flight was delayed later than the one we should have been on originally. Hard to follow? Imagine how we were coping! Queue or not to queue? Sit, stand or slouch? Too many questions and not enough functioning brain matter to decide. Our decision? Imagine if you will - long snaking line, mad trolley collecting lady - people disperse like skittles for fear of retribution by this pint-sized pee-wee. With that, we returned somewhat tired, over heated and a tad over-it-all to our earlier position of carpet next to the nearest bin. NICE! Oh, what a fall from business class. 

Time to BOLT….

Lounge 

SO with the prospect of a repeated numb-bum and more carpet fluff than was becoming even for the most intrepid explorers, we decided to say Hong-Kong to it all and find the nearest Business Class Lounge. K, limping with impressive dexterity to avoid more chafing of the new shoes led the way. YES - a quick flash of some snazzy boarding pass and we were in! Sigh. I could really get used to this. With my 17th coffee today in hand, I noted the tan leather armchair and soft lighting decor.  Photo number ’99' duly taken, I took myself for a wander to find the shower facilities. Not that I was going to be diving right in but it would be rude not to check it out - right?  This corridor was extraordinary.  Polished marble, blue hues of neon lights…. sigh. Yes please.

For those of you who know me well, I am a SUCKER for lights.

Is it still SUNDAY?

So, 7:00pm and we are still somewhere in the bowels of Hong Kong airport. By now, we probably should have actually been in Shanghai but hey, what are you to do?  With that thought, the voice from above announced our flight and we had to leg it (well, for K a-leg-and-a-limp) back to Gate 511 which seemed to have been relocated even further away since our first visit there an hour ago.  Queuing - that old habit again  -to show our passes and bowled over once more by someone smaller than me. Seriously? I look behind me - no-one! I look in front - yes, a half empty shuttle bus. Gee - what is the rush? 

Tired and less tolerant but still pumped to jump aboard DragonAir 

in the bid to reach Shanghai before the ITLM begins for K. 

Yes - short bus ride. Funny sign. 

Don’t stand inside the yellow box. 

Slight hysteria rising. 

Into our next seats and - oh my god - the flight is still delayed and we cannot take off! 

Please be advised that we are in a QUEUE! I thought that I had left the Brits behind…. 

45 minutes later and TAKE OFF. 

Some in-flight entertainment with the highest number of public announcements possible. 

Are you SERIOUS?         

May just have had this ice cream with someone in mind...

But HEY- we made it….