Hong Kong, Day 1
My flight from SFO was uneventful. There was a headwind that added over an hour to the flight time, so I got in a little late. I didn't check any baggage, breezed through immigration and customs, bought my train ticket with cash I had leftover from the last trip, and got to the W Hong Kong in Kowloon around 8:00pm. Nice hotel . Friday night it was littered with models. There were tons of photographers with "Press" stickers on their jackets. I asked the check-in clerk what the special event was there that would attract all the models and papparazzi and she said "Friday night."
I cleaned up quickly (nice room, btw)...
...and caught a cab to Lan Kwai Fong (party central) to meet up with some friends. I found Rob and Austin, but Evan and Leo were missing. No big deal, they have my phone number and they can find me. Rob and Austin and I head out and have a Thai dinner and a few beers. Leo calls - he found Evan - and we head out to meet them at a bar called "Lux"
When we got there, Leo had already ordered up some Long Islands - super! Leo had some of his HK/SZ crew with him that I met the last time I was there - Adam and Will. There were also about a half-dozen other Leo faithful that I hadn't met, so the crew was getting some critical mass. A round of Manhattans came next, followed by something called a "Flaming Lambourghini." Right about that time, we decided to head to another spot, called "Pi". This next place had a line and some kind of selective entry policy, but one of Leo's crew (Kat) had an in, so through the rope and up the elevator we went.
This place was loud and trendy and it was fun. It's a dance spot, but really too crowded to dance. I hadn't been in a club like that since the 80s. Feeling wide awake and in a mood to celebrate, I had a vokda soda. We hung around at Pi for a while, and then it got late (2:30am or so) and Rob and Austin and I decided to get a snack and call it a night. We went to a kebab place and I had some curry. We were discussing where to catch a cab and then Leo, Evan, and Adam came by - surprised to find us still in LKF. We all got into the cab discussion and then Austin and Rob took off and I was going to take a cab with Leo and Evan. But first, they (and Adam) wanted....a snack! OK, 3:30 now, or so, and we head to a fast food kind of spot where they get pizza and poutine. I had a 1664 beer. I hope you're not counting! I felt fine. We finally break at around 4:00am. Evan comes back with me as he's crashing at my place the first night (he's in town from Chongqing, his girlfriend arrives tomorrow - err, today).
Today I am going to hit some golf balls, get a local prepaid SIM card for my cell phone, the join up with Leo, his gf, and Evan's gf for some bowling. Evan will be in Macao in a poker tournament. I thought about going there instead of bowling and actually might. It'll be a game-time decision.
I feel pretty good, it's 10am, I got a little bit of sleep. We'll see if the jetlag kicks in. So far, a great start to the trip!
I cleaned up quickly (nice room, btw)...
...and caught a cab to Lan Kwai Fong (party central) to meet up with some friends. I found Rob and Austin, but Evan and Leo were missing. No big deal, they have my phone number and they can find me. Rob and Austin and I head out and have a Thai dinner and a few beers. Leo calls - he found Evan - and we head out to meet them at a bar called "Lux"
When we got there, Leo had already ordered up some Long Islands - super! Leo had some of his HK/SZ crew with him that I met the last time I was there - Adam and Will. There were also about a half-dozen other Leo faithful that I hadn't met, so the crew was getting some critical mass. A round of Manhattans came next, followed by something called a "Flaming Lambourghini." Right about that time, we decided to head to another spot, called "Pi". This next place had a line and some kind of selective entry policy, but one of Leo's crew (Kat) had an in, so through the rope and up the elevator we went.
This place was loud and trendy and it was fun. It's a dance spot, but really too crowded to dance. I hadn't been in a club like that since the 80s. Feeling wide awake and in a mood to celebrate, I had a vokda soda. We hung around at Pi for a while, and then it got late (2:30am or so) and Rob and Austin and I decided to get a snack and call it a night. We went to a kebab place and I had some curry. We were discussing where to catch a cab and then Leo, Evan, and Adam came by - surprised to find us still in LKF. We all got into the cab discussion and then Austin and Rob took off and I was going to take a cab with Leo and Evan. But first, they (and Adam) wanted....a snack! OK, 3:30 now, or so, and we head to a fast food kind of spot where they get pizza and poutine. I had a 1664 beer. I hope you're not counting! I felt fine. We finally break at around 4:00am. Evan comes back with me as he's crashing at my place the first night (he's in town from Chongqing, his girlfriend arrives tomorrow - err, today).
Today I am going to hit some golf balls, get a local prepaid SIM card for my cell phone, the join up with Leo, his gf, and Evan's gf for some bowling. Evan will be in Macao in a poker tournament. I thought about going there instead of bowling and actually might. It'll be a game-time decision.
I feel pretty good, it's 10am, I got a little bit of sleep. We'll see if the jetlag kicks in. So far, a great start to the trip!
posted by Free Buffet at 6:39 PM
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