Flying Over the Bering Sea
According to the animated map on the video screen at my seat, we have just flown past the International Dateline, about halfway from LAX to Hong Kong (via the northern circle route). So far the flight is very smooth, and I am lucky enough to have an aisle seat with an empty window seat beside me in the Premium Economy section. As I look back at my blog from January of last year I discover that this is the exact same seat (33C) I sat in then—I wonder if it's the same plane? There are 13 passengers occupying the 36-seat section of the plane, with a dedicated restroom.
Departure from LAX was delayed about 30 minutes, but the captain expects to make up that time en route. Fortunately, Cathay Pacific sent out messages last night that the flight was delayed, so I didn't have to rush to the airport quite so early. Wheelchair service was very efficient, and at the gate I sat next to a friendly HK resident who was returning home after visiting her children and new grandchild in California. She travels on a Canadian passport because her parents moved first to Melbourne and then to Toronto before she was six years old. Her husband and eldest son manage a business in HK, and they live in a high-rise tower on Hong Kong island—I can just imagine the views they enjoy.
Once on the plane, a hot breakfast with egg soufflé accompanied by roast potatoes, bacon, and veal sausage was served. I watched Lily Tomlin in “Grandma,” a small but well-reviewed film from last year and napped intermittently during the next few hours.
As I write this and move to the present tense, I am enjoying lunch/dinner: marinated baby shrimp with quinoa salad (who knew it tasted so good?); lightly breaded sweet and sour pork with rice and baby bok choy; Hagen-Das vanilla ice cream; Godiva milk chocolate with caramel. I am now “writing to the moment,” as Samuel Richardson’s Pamela would say. On the ground it is Tuesday morning, but up here at 35,000 feet, it is still Monday at 6:30pm. I won't get to post this until I reach my Hong Kong hotel so I may have more to add later.
22 March 2014
Hong Kong
I am preparing for a good night's sleep at the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel. Although we left LAX 30 minutes late, we made up 20 minutes of that during a very smooth flight. I plan to take advantage of my full day in HK tomorrow, so I will have more to report in the next entry.
Hong Kong
I am preparing for a good night's sleep at the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel. Although we left LAX 30 minutes late, we made up 20 minutes of that during a very smooth flight. I plan to take advantage of my full day in HK tomorrow, so I will have more to report in the next entry.
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