Thursday, September 15, 2005
True to our word, Vance and I slept in today as we recovered from our two hot days at the park. I got caught up on email and photo downloading and then got ready for our last trip into town. First up was the Hard Rock Cafe. It is a traveling staple for me and I had to pick up the obligatory souvenirs for Kevin and Gary. The food tasted good, but I think the shock to the system was a bit powerful as both Vance and I got a bit of the rumble from it.
One of our shopping goals was to get Vance a silk shirt. We had wanted to go to the Temple Street Market, but the guidebook said it was only good at night. Due to the fact both of us were still tired, we found a shirt around the corner from the Hard Rock. I still had to get dad’s Fauxlex so it was off to Mong Kok and the Ladies Market again. I found a stall that was selling them, and after a bit of haggling and a little of the “this is all I have” speech, I managed to get one for a little over $20. Mission Accomplished! Vance then decided to get another bag for all the Hello Kitty merchandise he had to truck home for Kacie.
We then headed back to the condo to begin the long journey home. As we were walking from the bus stop, Michael waved to us from the cast shuttle. We walked with him from his stop back to the condo and had a chance to say thank you and goodbye. As we got settled, Matt walked into the condo. Apparently, he was on the same shuttle as Michael, but got off at another stop. We then got to say goodbye all over again and get some last minute info for getting a cab etc. Vance and I headed over to the 7-11 to get some water. Most of our friends who were in Hong Kong were heading to a special Task Force party. On our way back from 7-11 we managed to run into almost everyone we knew or met. I thought it was cool because we were able to say our thank yous and byes to people we probably wouldn’t have had a chance to see.
It was finally time for us to head out to the airport. The lady in the entry hall of our tower called us a cab and despite some hesitancy on our behalf about whether or not a green taxi could take us to the airport, we were off. It was a quick trip and relatively inexpensive. Hong Kong airport is a beautiful place – bright, open, and airy – a stark contrast to the chaos that was the Tom Bradley terminal at LAX. Gosh, I hope we can get a new airport one of these days. Check in took us 5 minutes and we didn’t have to wait an hour line to get our bags x-rayed. We had time to leisurely walk around the airport as well as get some food.
Much to our delight, the plane was not nearly as full as when we came to Hong Kong. The person behind us lucked out and got the whole 3 seats to himself. Vance and I still had to contend with a third person, but it was still way better than the outbound flight to Hong Kong. Before we knew it we were back at LAX and we whisked through customs after waiting forever for our bags. It was a quick trip home and then Vance and I parted ways. It was time for me to relax and he had to get ready to go to Florida tomorrow for a wedding.
Another memorable trip has concluded and time to get those photos up!