Safe in Hong Kong
I wanted to let you know that I arrived safely in Hong Kong last night.
My flight got in on time, but by the time I got my luggage, cleared customs, and found my pick-up i was running late for the dinner that I had arranged with Joseph Chang. I ended up getting to the place where I was staying and having to just drop the luggage and run because I didn't even have time to change!
The restaurant that we ate at was very nice, we had a private room for a party of what turned out to be 10 people. It was a wonderful opening to what I'm sure will be a long month, with people joking, telling stories, and even discussing politics and language all in Mandarin. It reminded me how rusty my mandarin has become, but simultaneously encouraged me to continue to speak and practice and learn. What an enjoyable experience!
Today I am focusing on getting up to speed in the city: Getting money, a subway pass, Internet, and Phone. In the afternoon I hope to explore around and get a feel for where I am and where I've been before, to try to consolidate my disparate recollections of the city into a contiguous map so I won't always be getting lost for the remainder of my stay.
So, clearly the fact that I am sending this means that I have found Internet access - I am writing this email from the Hong Kong Central library, only a half hour walk from where I'm staying. I expect to be checking email daily here at the library, but I'm not entirely certain of their hours. I'm sure that I can find a fallback location if needed.
I also got a local SIM Card for my telephone, which should be pretty helpful for setting things up locally. My number is 6399-0124. I'm not sure if there are area codes or anything, but that is what shows up on a local Hong Kong Caller ID if I call them.
My flight got in on time, but by the time I got my luggage, cleared customs, and found my pick-up i was running late for the dinner that I had arranged with Joseph Chang. I ended up getting to the place where I was staying and having to just drop the luggage and run because I didn't even have time to change!
The restaurant that we ate at was very nice, we had a private room for a party of what turned out to be 10 people. It was a wonderful opening to what I'm sure will be a long month, with people joking, telling stories, and even discussing politics and language all in Mandarin. It reminded me how rusty my mandarin has become, but simultaneously encouraged me to continue to speak and practice and learn. What an enjoyable experience!
Today I am focusing on getting up to speed in the city: Getting money, a subway pass, Internet, and Phone. In the afternoon I hope to explore around and get a feel for where I am and where I've been before, to try to consolidate my disparate recollections of the city into a contiguous map so I won't always be getting lost for the remainder of my stay.
So, clearly the fact that I am sending this means that I have found Internet access - I am writing this email from the Hong Kong Central library, only a half hour walk from where I'm staying. I expect to be checking email daily here at the library, but I'm not entirely certain of their hours. I'm sure that I can find a fallback location if needed.
I also got a local SIM Card for my telephone, which should be pretty helpful for setting things up locally. My number is 6399-0124. I'm not sure if there are area codes or anything, but that is what shows up on a local Hong Kong Caller ID if I call them.
posted by Me at 7:10 AM
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