Welcome to my world of double crossing, secret meetings, undecover agents, and evil hitmen. My expertise is delivering invaluable packages completely undetected! Ok, maybe I'm not a secret agent (YET!), but I have been entrusted by my company to hand-deliver some microchips to validation teams in Malaysia for next-generation parts. What kind of microchips are these you ask??? If I told you, I'd have to kill you. The less you know the better -- It's for your own protection!
So, my company put me on a flight out of SFO Monday, April 6th at 1 AM heading for Hong Kong to transfer to Penang, Malaysia via Kuala Limpur. This was my first international flight and I was sitting in Economy. Last-minutes bookings mean middle seats and I spent a good 15 hours in that seat; luckily my spy training as given me the mental fortitude to withstand any amout of torture so I endured. Nothing too notable happened on the flight as we flew during the night and I mainly slept or read. I did use an airplane bathroom for the first time after 8 years of flying (note the bladder of steel).
I arrived in Hong Kong around 7 AM on Tuesday morning (Hong Kong time -- HKT). I felt pretty good. I had the metal briefcase still handcuffed to my hand; so far so good. Going to the bathroom with that briefcase sure is a pain! Eating is no picnic either. Ok, just kidding about the handcuffs and metal briefcase ... gotcha! They just implanted the microchips under my skin. They're so small it's really the easiest way. Gotcha Again! :)
Ok, back to Hong Kong; I had a 8 hour layover so I decided to scope out the city -- I took care of some essentials at the airport first (go through customs, lock up the microchips, get cash, and figure out transportation. Everyone was really helpful and the airport was very English-friendly. I hopped on this ultra-sleek train (Airport to Hong Kong Express) which was $100 HKD (~$14 USD) for a round trip. I was impressed with the train; it rode smooth, was completely automated, and like the rest of Hong Kong, was immaculate.
I experienced a great mixture of cultures in Hong Kong City; Eastern and Western cultures are both readily observable; I heard a lot of Chinese and English being spoken and saw a wide variety of ethnicities. I would compare the city to a bigger, more commercial, cleaner San Francisco. I mainly stuck to the touristy shopping areas but did find my way to the street market, which was awesome. There was a lot of fresh food, fish, clothing, jewelry, and other goods. A huge mix of people too ...
I ate lunch at a local noodle dive joint. No idea what I ordered; I think it was some kind of noodle bowl with beef. It was pretty tasty, and only cost $25 HKD (~3.5 USD). It easily filled me up for lunch.
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