flight across the world

dec 20th saturday

finally, it was the day before the much anticipated trip to hk. lee and i both woke up early get the day started. even with this early start, to my dismay, lee was totally unprepared in that he, as of saturday afternoon, have yet to pack his luggage. but we were able to complete all of our last minute shopping, which was achieved under extreme stressful circumstances. that night, we went to ada ee's house for dinner, a gathering for our group of friends for a family style dinner. the food was amazing, we had steak, lobster, mushrooms, and fried rice. the dinner was super fun and filled with laughters. i couldn't ask for a more enjoyable way to spend my last evening in toronto for the next bit.

dec 21st sunday

lee and i having gone to bed late saturday night from packing and all the pent up excitement, woke up really early to get ready and to head out because of the impact of the snowstorm, which could potentially delay our schedule. alex came over extra early to pick us up, we got to the airport a little bit later than expected but we got through customs and security super quickly just like the trip to disney. thus, we were waiting for an hour and a half for our boarding time. as expect because of the weather conditions we were delayed for about 2 hours. our flight was suppose to depart at 11.30 but we weren't able to board until noon. by the time we arrived at newark, it was already pass the boarding time, once again we were dashing through the newark airport just like disney to our gate. when we got the the gate to ask the man about boarding. his reply to us was, "what? hk? this is a flight for honolulu. i think the gate for hk is down there." thankfully, the gate for hk was nearby, and they've only just finished boarding for first class, otherwise with this sudden switch-a-roo, we could have been in such a doo doo situation.

dec 22nd monday

the flight to hk was quite uneventful. as usual time spent in the cabin was like a sauna, everything just got super dry, and i learned the art of putting on cream like a mad woman. lee and i also realized that when someone is hungry enough, airplane food can actually taste decent. since there was no time in between our flights, we were unable to get a lunch from the early morning in toronto to the afternoon in newark. to put it light, we were beyond famish. the last meal before we landed was kind of strange. we got the omelette "breakfast" along with our meal was a little packet of soy sauce. i looked over to lee to see if they simply made a mistake in giving the soy sauce, maybe it was supposed to be a ketchup packet. but no, lee got a packet of soy sauce too. so i aske lee whether he ate omelettes with soy sauce, he no, and i definitely don't eat omelettes with soy sauce. so i asked him, so why the hell did they give us soy sauce? do they like expect us to feel all foreign and excited about the exotic-ness of asia by giving us soy sauce with our order of omelettes? and to this moment, i am still baffled.

tuesday dec 23

having not really slept at all on the flight to hk, i was able to manage the whole jet lag situation fairly well. since when we landed in hk, it was night time, and i was exhausted from barely sleeping at all during the 15 hour flight.

the today, i woke up at 7 to get ready for my appointment to get my updated hk id. the bus ride to the building was quite exciting. having to sit and wait around for people to call your number totally sucks, the people working there was way rude, and i was just generally confused with the sudden increase of chinese everywhere. after going through the entire bureaucratic process of getting a new id, tim, lee and i began our afternoon of wondering around the dragon centre (this huge 9 story mall) and the streets nearby. it was fun and such a struggle getting food, looking at a menu that contain no english, and trying to figure out how to pay for the meal. wondering around was also exciting, crowded but exciting nonetheless. it just nice to just be browsing through street vendors and stores, not really into shopping today because it was really hot and stuffy. the subway ride home was really neat, both lee and i are rather impressed by the extensive public transit system here in hk.

on our way home, we made stops at my old primary school, asbury methodist primary school. for the first time in my life i learned the name of my school in english. we also stopped at my old kindergarten. things have definitely changed a lot, in my memory, my elementary school was like a super shady and child-enslaving kind of school. yet, going back today the school was all renovated with pretty colours, real doors, and an actual ventilation system with like a/c and heat. the school building itself was also enlarged. as lee said, i was seeing my childhood through adult eyes, every was different. many of my childhood views about even the most mundane things are challenged. things i used to think were huge are now tiny, and those that i think is amazing is no longer as incredible. as well, things i never knew before are coming into my realm of knowledge. so many things in my mind is changing all at once, this feeling is overhelming to say the least.

after relaxing a little at home, i headed out again with my aunt lisa to do grocery shopping for the night. it was really cool walking through a traditional style grocery market. the place we went to had like a different level for different food groups, like a floor for veggies, meat, and seafood. as usual it was crowded, and instead of saying excuse me and sorrys, people just shove and push to get to where they want to be. i think i am too polite for hk. overall, it was nice to do grovery with my auntie. the smells of the grocery market brings back memories. so far this trip is turning out even better than i could ever anticipate. obviously, talking with kelly again in person is as always super awesome.