the joys of travel

Travel can be so hit-and-miss or up-and-down, and the last 24 hours have been no exception.

- There was no one sitting next to me on my flight to San Francisco, which was awesome. That made it easier to stretch out, especially because I was sitting in coach. The only downside to the flight was that it was an hour late.

- I flew business class from San Francisco to Hong Kong, which meant I got access to a business class lounge (British Airways, in this case) while I waited for the flight. This meant free internet access, free drinks, free snacks, comfortable chairs, etc. My experience was only marred by the old dude who chose to sit on my side of the lounge while he proceeded to talk loudly on his cell phone for over an hour about live animal tests or something like that.

- I got settled into my seat early (again, the benefits of business class), but we ended up sitting at the gate for three hours before getting cleared to take off (apparently the crosswinds "exceeded tolerance for the Boeing 747" or something like that). However, it wasn't like the horror stories you hear about on the news. We were offered snacks and drinks multiple times. I don't know if that happened for the people in coach, but if I know Cathay Pacific, it did.

- Cathay's business class seats are interesting. You get a pod of your own. Size-wise, these pods were probably designed more for someone of typical Chinese size than American size, but they certainly did have benefits. The major benefit was privacy. The pods are slanted rather than side by side, so you don't actually sit next to anyone. This meant that I didn't have to have any awkward conversations or listen to anyone blather on about their business--a frequent occurrence, based on my previous business class experiences. The other major benefit to this seat was that it reclined so that it was perfectly flat. I think I slept like six hours, which absolutely rocks for a flight.

- Cathay has good food and wonderful service. Meals typically had 4-5 courses, and included tablecloths, alcoholic drinks if you wanted them, hot towels before and after, etc.

- You gotta love the Chinese response to swine flu, SARS and the like. Most of the airport workers were wearing surgical masks, which was funny and creepy at the same time.

- When traveling in Asia, it always seems like white people get through immigration faster than everyone else, and tonight was no exception. All the Asians from places other than HK seemed to be taking forever to get through. Immigration officers were asking questions, challenging answers, etc. When my turn came up, not a word--my passport was quickly stamped and I was waived on. I observed similar experiences for my white brothers and sisters.

- HK's public transportation system rocks. There's nothing like being able to take a quick subway ride from the airport into the city (on a train designed for people carrying luggage, no less), and then a short taxi ride from the subway station to the hotel. The total cost for both was less than I pay for a taxi ride in Minneapolis, despite the fact that it took 3-4 times as long.

- HK taxi drivers. Still fairly rude. I think that's normal for most HK people until you get them to open up, though.

All in all, so far so good. My late flights only resulted in my having to cancel dinner plans with an old friend, and I was able to easily reschedule. Four hours of delays could have been much, much worse.

Tomorrow: Hong Kong Consumer Electronics Fair. Woo hoo!