Monday, Feb 19, 2007 - Happy Chinese New Year from Hong Kong

We left from SFO on United around 12 noon on Sunday, Feb 18 with greetings of "Gong xie fa tsai" from the United crew. Our adventure was officially underway! 15 hours later (and several movies, meals, and sleeping in few hour spurts thru out) we arrived in Hong Kong exactly on time at 6:50 pm, Mon, Feb 19. It was dark upon landing, misty, comfortable temperature with tangible humidity. We got chauffeured in one of the legendary Rolls (part of a fleet of 16) from the Peninsula hotel. Arriving in the midst of Chinese New Year celebrations and fireworks taking place along the Kowloon harbor causing that entire part of the city to be shut off to cars and traffic posed a challenge for transporting our luggage to the Pen. Some initial anxiety was quickly allayed but the all-so-efficient staff from the Pen. They had it all worked out. The ride in the Rolls itself was an experience (my husband is quite worried now that I may never want to ride in anything other than a Rolls!) The smoothness of the ride and British carmaker's attention to the finest detail was in a class that cannot be rivaled. The Rolls took us to the outer perimeter of the roped off areas--we were then escorted by a most pleasant young man named Chris Wong, valet extraordinaire, who skillfully walked us thru the utter chaos that is Chinese New Year in Kowloon. We somehow made it completely unscathed thru an over 300,000 people mob scene to arrive at the sanctuary that is the Pen. And somehow the very abled bodied porters were able to transport our luggage without us even seeing them so that the luggage arrived in our room about the same time we did. We saw glimpses of the fireworks being fired from boats along the Victoria Harbor that started at 8 pm and ended at 8:30 pm. We got to our room soon after the fireworks ended--our room has an astounding front and center view of the the entire Victoria Harbor--would have been the best seat in the house to watch the fireworks from if only we had gotten there in time! Never mind, we would have plenty of other chances to see the fireworks that would repeat themselves every night this week. The lighted skyline of the Hong Kong harbor was in a white foggy haze. Wonderful weather--more humid than SF with foggy mists created from sprinkling rain hitting the warmer temperatures.