FEBRUARY 26, 2003
to
MARCH 4, 2003
Unfortunately, we had no such luck with the next leg of the flight. After about 1 hour in Vancouver (we couldn't get off the plane), we headed for Hong Kong with a totally full plane. 13.5hours in very cramped conditions. Nice flight though. Watched movies, did journal notes, slept and ate too much (so what else is new). My hiking pants barely buttoned when I tried them on this morning. I'm sure they won't fit any better in Hong Kong. Oh well, we will start doing lots of hiking when we get to New Zealand, so I'm sure I'll lose the extra weight pretty quickly.
Shari just told me what she put in her journal about being seat sore, having a stiff neck and a bloated belly and I feel about the same right now, but no where near as bad as I expected to feel almost 23 hours into the trip. Only 5.75 hours to Hong Kong. Wow! We are very lucky to be staying with friends of Bob Dollard (who I worked with at Mellon). We will stay with Jeff and Peter at their house on Lantau Island. We can do hiking on the Island and it is only a half-hour ferry ride to central Hong Kong. By the way, it is now the 28th, because we crossed the International Date Line a while back.
2/28/03: The last section of the plane trip was uneventful and we landed on time at 8AM. Got through customs and got our bags with no problems. We followed Jeff's directions (Bob Dollard's friend) to get currency exchanged and then got on the bus to Discovery Bay. We got the 9:30 bus and Jeff was there to meet us when we arrived in Discovery Bay Disco Plaza. We then took a cab up the hill to where Jeff and Peter live. Jeff and Peter have a great apartment overlooking Discovery Bay, 2 dogs, Angus and Rush and a helper named Joe who cleans, cooks, etc. They made us feel so welcome, asked what we wanted for food and got us all settled in. Peter showed us a map on how to get to Mui Wo which involved a hike up and over some high hills, passing through local villages, so we decided to do that hike. We left about 11AM. Peter walked with us for about a half-hour which was good because it seems like you are walking through people's yards as you go along the pathway. There are lots of paved pathways and steps, up and over the hills and mountains to get from one section of Lantau Island to another. Lantau Peak is the highest point on the island (3,086 feet) and we will hike that on Sunday. It took about 2 hours to get to Mui Wo. We wandered around the town, taking in the sights and trying to decide on a place for lunch. Prime criteria was an English menu, so we could figure out what to order. After lunch (a cheeseburger, not very exotic), we decided to walk behind the town to see the Silvermine Cave and Waterfall. It was fascinating to walk through the streets behind town, filled with small shops and people sitting playing Mah Jong. The shops are crowded, dirty, and don't seem to carry many items for sale. I think they are mostly a gathering place for Mah Jong, which is a game played with tiles on which are carved Chinese characters. I don't know how the game is played, except the players slap their tiles down in the center of the table quickly and loudly, and it was really neat to listen to as we passed by. The cave and waterfall weren't much to see, but the walk was great. We then took the ferry back to Discovery Bay and walked up the hill to the apartment. Jeff and Peter told us some friends were coming over for a barbeque that evening. It was so nice to be able to shower, change clothes, have great food and visit with new people. We sat on the patio overlooking the bay, drinking margaritas under a clear sky with Jeff and Peter and their friends - Liz and 2 of her boys, Leslie and her two children, Sasha and Craig. Jeff and Peter have been so wonderful, and I feel so lucky to be staying here for the start of the trip.
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