After a great visit to Ho Chi Minh City, my son and I left the Sheraton Towers for yet another hair-raising taxi ride back to the Tan Son That International Airport. Upon arrival, we checked in at the Cathay Pacific Business Class counter for our flight to Hong Kong. We promptly received our boarding passes and an invitation to the Rose Lounge, a contract space shared by a number of different airlines. It’s located after Security on the second floor of the International Terminal. This airport has fairly limited lounge options for overseas travelers and most are non-airline, independently run operations, so I wasn’t expecting much. As many of you know, most contract lounges are normally overcrowded with poor offerings and unhelpful staff. The Rose Business Class Lounge was a pleasant surprise! This lounge was bright with plenty of natural light and offered great views of the gates and the runway beyond. The food and beverage stations were plentiful and seating included comfortable booths, couches and cushioned chairs. Wi-fi codes were printed out and placed on each table and the business center, although small and lacking complete privacy, was more than adequate for those who needed to work.
Boarding for our 11:15a flight began about one-half hour before departure and we were booked on an A330-300 aircraft with Business, Premium Economy and Economy classes. One of Cathay Pacific’s very friendly flight attendants warmly welcomed us both onboard and directed us to Seats D and G in Row 12. These were actually the 2 center seats in the second row of the forward cabin with each row arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. This section featured 7 rows and 3 additional rows of Business Class seating were also located behind the forward galley. These lie-flat seats featured a very generous 82" pitch and 20.2" in width with an easy-to-navigate control panel, a rather large ottoman and good counter space. This flight was only scheduled for around 2 and 1/2 hours but the efficient cabin attendants managed to serve a welcome drink and lunch. The meal service concluded about 40 minutes prior to our very smooth landing at the Hong Kong International Airport.
Having been in commercial operation since 1998, this airport is an important regional trans-shipment center, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in China (45) and the rest of Asia. Hong Kong is the world’s busiest cargo gateway and one of the largest passenger airports to be found anywhere. It’s also home to one of the biggest passenger terminal buildings in the world. An important contributor to the regional economy, pre-COVID the airport employed approximately 65,000 persons. More than 100 airlines operated flights from Hong Kong to over 180 cities across the globe. In 2015 alone, HKG handled 68.5 million passengers, making it the 8th busiest airport worldwide in passenger traffic and the 3rd busiest by international passenger traffic. The airport was built to replace the former single-runway Kai Tak Airport built in 1925 and located in the densely built-up Kowloon City District. The outdated airport (which tested many a pilot’s landing skills) had far exceeded its original capacity. The new one was built on a large artificial island formed by reclaiming nearly 3.62 square miles from the adjacent South China Seabed. It actually added nearly 1 per cent to Hong Kong’s total surface area!
I’ve had the good fortune to travel to Hong Kong many times and so I was very confident in finding our way into town via the Airport Express Train. It’s one of the world’s leading airport railway systems and offers the most direct connection between the airport and downtown. Trains operate every 12 minutes from 5:50a to 1:15a the following morning. A round-trip ticket to the Kowloon Station was only $185HK ($23.86), far less expensive than taxi fares and much faster with a journey time of around 20 minutes. The trains are relatively quiet and virtually spotless with comfortable seating. Luggage racks are located next to each door and each seat is equipped with its own loudspeaker for current news, advertisements and announcements shown on LCD televisions in front. Wi-Fi is available on all cars while charging stations are limited to the first and last cars. Upon arrival at the Kowloon Station, we took a free shuttle bus to our hotel (bus service is provided to all the major hotels). Although we were going from the airport into town, passengers on flights with selected airlines traveling in the opposite direction can receive their boarding passes and check their luggage at the start of their journey. Each train has a dedicated baggage car and the luggage is scanned in bulk by a mechanized automatic explosive detection system. I’m a big fan of airport train travel and believe we in the US lag far behind many airports in Asia and Europe in providing such a travel-friendly experience for our visitors.
We were staying at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers located in the bustling Tsim Sha Tsui area of South Kowloon. This 5-star, luxury hotel offers 782 guest room and suites and is located along picturesque Victoria Harbor in the heart of the area’s business, shopping and entertainment district. As guests in the Towers Section, we checked in at a private Reception Desk on the 16th floor and also had access to the exclusive Towers Lounge where every day of our stay we enjoyed complimentary Continental or full-American breakfast along with evening cocktails and a variety of hors d’oeuvres which rotated on a daily basis. One additional advantage of the Towers Lounge was the great view it afforded of the “Symphony of Lights.” This is the daily light and sound show from the Central District. It’s the world’s largest permanent light and sound show according to Guinness World Records involving some 42 buildings. It’s organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and comes alive at 8:00p every night (weather permitting) with a wonderful orchestration of music, decorative flashing lights and laser-light displays. Fireworks are added on special occasions or holidays like Christmas and Chinese New Year. It really is something to see and we had ringside seats!
Hong Kong is an incredibly busy place. There’s a vibrant energy about this city and its more than 7 million residents. They all rush about in all directions all the time. After a while, you do yearn for some peace and quiet and we found it at the Peninsula Hotel located directly across the street. We could see the hotel and its twin-rooftop helipads from the pool deck of the Sheraton. This “Grand Dame of the Far East” dating from1928 is the flagship property of the group and the only hotel in the city to offer helicopter service to and from the airport or aboard separate sightseeing tours. Nothing represents Hong Kong better than the acclaimed Classic Afternoon Tea at the Peninsula. Served daily in The Lobby, it’s long been recognized as one of the most elegant meeting places in the city. This relaxing daily tradition plays out to the classical sounds of The Lobby Strings, performing from the Mezzanine Level with all members of the ensemble clad in tuxedos. It was a welcome respite from the near constant hustle and bustle.
The "Pearl of the Orient" is known for its food scene and Dim Sum reigns supreme. The classic Cantonese small plates are typically enjoyed from morning to early afternoon. They're more than just a meal here, they’re part of daily life. Dim Sum, available in 5-star hotels and neighborhood restaurants throughout Hong Kong, is a Cantonese style of steamed dumpling prepared in small, almost bite-sized portions. The typical menu includes dumplings with a range of fillings and ingredients from pork to prawns and chicken to vegetables. The art of eating Dim Sum is called yum cha, which translates to “drink tea” and you can find locals doing plenty of that throughout their meal to aid digestion. The Sheraton concierge recommended we have lunch at the Seventh Son and we were pleased as we enjoyed our meal along with groups of business people and office workers. The place ran like a well-oiled machine with efficient service amidst what appeared to us to be utter chaos. We were happy to discover the senior staff spoke enough English to give us some good Dim Sum suggestions for lunch.
On our final day in the city, we headed off to Macau. The China Ferry Terminal was located at the far end of the nearby Harbour City Mall but we simply couldn’t find the correct departure point despite repeated attempts. I was ready to give up but my son was determined to press on. Thanks to him, we were finally successful! It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the scenic 1-hour journey westward crossing the Pearl River Estuary. Macau is a former Portuguese colony and was handed back to China in 1999. And the attraction? Gambling is legal here and it’s known as “The Las Vegas of Asia.” The familiar names are all here - Sands, Venetian, Sheraton, Four Seasons, St. Regis and Wynn. Opulent casinos were to be found on nearly every corner. The Sands Hotel & Casino was closest to the ferry terminal and we walked over. Superlatives just didn't do it justice. The complex included a 229,000 square-foot casino as well as a 289-suite hotel! There were more than 200 gaming tables and over 1,000 slot machines. It was all very lavish and a bit overwhelming. Although I didn’t choose to gamble on that particular day, I was happy my son did well at the blackjack tables ending up with several hundred dollars to his credit! For a change of pace at mealtime, we stopped at the hotel’s Portofino Restaurant, a traditional Italian trattoria, before enjoying the sunset on a return ferry ride back to Kowloon in the early evening.
Home was next on the horizon and I’ll tell you all about our return journey in a future post.
Until next time…stay safe.
Very evocative story telling George, and it reminded me of the time I was travelling on business and staying at the Shangri-La hotel - where the costs were so high that they "broke" my credit card! I never got to Macau but it sounds just like Vegas...