Good Guy Mike

To Hong Kong, China

A cramped and stiff riding bus picked us up outside our hotel this morning. There wasn't much to choose from in terms of food, so we got what we could, some yogurt and what passes for orange juice in these parts -- a sweet and unnaturally orange drink with an unexpected dose of pulp. I can't quite figure out if it's just flavored water with pulp or actually has real juice in it.

It turned out to be a good day for traveling as it rained the entire way to Danang. Clearly, folks are used to the rain and take it in stride -- just toss on a poncho, hop on the moped and away you go.

The flight to Hong Kong was uneventful and simplified by the fact that we'd pared down or belongings to a couple day packs for the weekend. Since T-Mobile would work in Hong Kong and we wouldn't need new SIM cards, the only “new country” chores were just to make our way through customs and then pull out some Hong Kong dollars from the ATM. Easy peasy.

By any measure, Hong Kong is an enormous, but modern, clean and organized city. We were impressed with the huge housing complexes often with twenty or more of the same tower all plopped down next to each other. When we arrived at the Sha Tin Marriott, good guy Mike was there waiting for us in the lobby. It had been a busy but productive week for the Intuitive crew, so he and the others had just gone out for a celebratory dinner. Our tummies on the other hand were growling, so we quickly decided to take advantage of the Mickey D’s downstairs. No doubt, the hotel and room accommodations here will be among the nicest of our world tour. In no time, the kids had piled into bed and found a National Geographic show on the flat screen TV. Ahh, luxury.