The journey got off to a great start – just when we were ready to push back from the terminal the pilot realised he had 2 flat tires – it took two hours for them to replace the wheels. It doesn’t help when you have an off duty Cathay Pacific Pilot (I was flying Cathay Pacific) beside you who makes the comment, “that should have been picked up ages ago, I hope they did the rest of the flight check properly”.
Arrived into Hong Kong, after twelve hours of regular “severe” turbulence, but only one hour late, and was whisked away by my counterpart in Hong Kong, Major Yoo Mi-Hae, to my accommodation, Booth Lodge (an Army owned Hotel). The building consists of Command Headquarters, Kowloon Central Corps, Officer accommodation and the Hotel.
First impressions of central Kowloon: very busy, advertising hoarding everywhere the eye can see, very tall shabby residential buildings, narrow ‘dodgy looking’ alleyways. A plethora of smells emanate from a smorgasbord of pleasantly filled restaurants. As you walk down the street the sweet and spicy smells mix with the diesel from hundreds of vehicles and the refuse of the restaurants.
Right in the middle of this wonderful chaos is a little oasis ‘a rest garden’ which surrounds the beautifully adorned Tin Hau Temple. The garden is home to some of the city’s homeless, and as I walk past they are tidying up there claim as the city cleaners wash the paved courtyard.
More to come…
