Time and light

The 777 flight from Vancouver was great, but the plane is never in darkness-daylight the entire time. Air Canada has a great selection of movies, including some, like the Book Thief, which we missed in Olympia. I watched 4 movies, and 2 episodes each of Big Bang Theory and Modern Family. The 13.5 hr trip didn’t seem so arduous. The food on Air Canada was plentiful but ghastly, the only negative.

Once you cross the International Date Line, it is the next day. And, oddly, the time difference with the west coast is 15 hrs, but only 12 hrs to Cleveland!

Kowloon

We are staying in Kowloon, Hong Kong’s more modest neighborhood across Victoria Harbor, at the Park Hotel. It’s a great place, and the neighborhood, Tsim Sha Tsui (TST for short), bustling. Of course, this is the most densely populated place on earth. Walking anytime of the day or night is in a HUGE crowd. Unfortunately, there are predominant types of shops in Kowloon-jewelry and electronics, making much of the area feel a lot like Times Square on steroids.

The best part of the neighborhood is Kowloon Park and dim sum. The park is elevated, behind an historic mosque, and full of gaggles of cute schoolchildren, Tai-Chi and music. The old Banyan trees are fabulous.

Dim sum is, of course, fantastic. Some classic stuff and some unusual things. These lamb pancakes were stuffed with meat.

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The last dinner was at a fine classic Chinese place overlooking Victoria Harbor, called Above and Beyond in the Hotel Icon. It’s the first time I’ve had fresh abalone since Tadich restaurant in 1973 in San Francisco

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