July 2nd-3rd: Travel day – Denver > San Fransico > Hong Kong

DEN to SFO to HGK. Crossing the international date line for the first time. This trip started with a phone call a few days before I was supposed to leave saying my flight to Hong Kong was cancelled. After saving miles for years and having this reservation for probably eleven months, this threw a little wrench into the plans. Originally I booked my flight on EVA air and found out later that EVA employees had gone on strike. United would only book me on United flights and not Star Alliance partners. They offered United Business Class on both legs (I didn’t have from DEN to SFO) and sadly, they did not live up to expectations of business class. I’ll be writing a review separately for my experience flight and lounge experiece with United. Let’s just say, save your miles or money and fly another airline internationally.

The flight landed at the Hong Kong airport just as the sun was setting. The islands surrounding Hong Kong island were peeking through the parting clouds showing the high rises jetting out of the hills with the setting sun casting a golden color over the land. It made the first sight of Hong Kong magical. Seeing the land I’ve wanted to visit since 1986 was a dream come true. After planning for two and a half years, it’s finally here…I’m finally here.

Hong Kong Airport

The airport was very easy to navigate. All the signs have English, as this was a British colony until 1997. Immigration was fast, customs was a breeze, and into the terminal. First stop was tourist information just as you exit customs. Picked up some maps and got the info on getting the Octopus card for riding the metro, buses, trams, etc. and deciding on which mode of transportation I would take to get to the hotel. There were three choices: bus, MTR (metro/subway), or taxi. I decided on the MTR even though I had two big suitcases and a carry-on in tow. Next stop was ATM, a little cash in the pocket and then on to picking up a Hong Kong 5 day tourist SIM card and Octopus card. I’ll be posting about SIM cards and my experience with them in a separate post.

Octopus Card

Octopus cards have to be the easiest way to get around Hong Kong. In addition to the mass transit options, the card also works for the Star Ferry, at 7-11’s, and some other places listed on their website. The card has to be purchased with cash and you have to have a deposit on them which is refunded along with any balance when you leave and turn the card back in. The deposit is used if you try to get off transportation and not have enough money on the card. Learned that when I didn’t put enough on the card to begin with and had to pay the balance and then put more money on the card to use the card for the rest of my stay.

Free Hotel Buses

The MTR station is right in the terminal and after an adventurous walk up a ramp to the MTR platform with my luggage in tow; I took the MTR to Hong Kong station. Once there, I found the free shuttle buses to hotels around Hong Kong island and found the one to the Courtyard Marriott. All in all, the airport and transportation was pretty easy to navigate considering I’ve never been here before.

I was originally staying at an AirBnB overlooking Victoria Harbor, however when they cancelled my flight, I had to leave a day earlier and with the help of my son and his friends and family discount, I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott the first night.

Courtyard Marriott

By the time I arrived at the Marriott, it was dark and I navigated the broken sidewalks with my luggage in tow. A short block from where the bus dropped me off. Once I was at the driveway of the Marriott, the attentive staff quickly came and help with my luggage and guided me to the front desk. Check in was smooth and I was shown to my room which was on the 9^th floor and to my surprise, they upgraded me to a harbor view. OH MY! Victoria Harbor was spectacular! Everything I thought it would be. Sitting and overlooking the world below was memorizing, watching all the harbor traffic motor by, the skyline all a glow with their lights and the fog and rain rolling in and passing by. I could have sat at the floor to ceiling window the whole time. I originally thought I would be in the air on the Fourth of July so I didn’t plan on anything for the next day. I decided what more American thing can I do but to visit Disneyland Hong Kong on Fourth of July. Having worked at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, I was looking forward to visiting, but now it was time for a shower and bed. But not without watching the boats travel by into the night for a few more minutes.