Tuesday, January 31, 2006

We're Here!

Woohoo! This will be a short post as we're only in the room to shower (ahhh...fabulous water pressure) and then we're meeting M and P to get some lunch and explore (the less time spent in the room, the less temptation to fall asleep!)

But, we have arrived! And so far it's going great. The Cathay Pacific flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong was freakishly empty, and for the first time in my life I got an entire row of four seats to stretch out in, happily doped up on Ambien and snuggled under some blankets that had come hermetically sealed in plastic, to my great satisfaction. Bizaarely, 15 and a half hours passed very quickly, since we were probably sleeping for more than half of it, and the rest of the time I flipped channels on our individual seat tellies and read trashy mags. Oh, I had a bit of culture: I finally read the Annie Proulx novella "Brokeback Mountain," something I've wanted to do since seeing the amazing movie. And then David and I watched "March of the Penguins" on his laptop, and I call this culture because it was made by two Frenchmen with very cute accents and they lived a full year of lonely privation in order to film these "enchanting" birds.

Hong Kong seems to be an almost scarily polite city. Everyone from the Airport Visitor information gal to the the free shuttle driver to the hotel bell hop can't do enough for us, or in a shorter amount of time. There also seem to be an amazingly large number of uniformed personnel just standing around in various stations for the sole purpose of waving a welcoming hand towards confused tourists. And this would be more understandable if we'd been someplace that actually seemed to have tourists: we have seen the airport, the train, the train station, the shuttle and the hotel lobby, and we seem to be the only ones here. So much for giving up our personal space in China! I guess that will come later. In the mean time, this is clearly a cosmopolitan, chic city with a lot to look at, and look we will this afternoon, with a smidge of shopping thrown in now that we know our baggage is not overweight!

Oh, one last note: I'm feeling really proud of myself for suggesting we take public transportation from the airport to the hotel--we saved the cab fare and it went without a hitch!

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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad to hear that your miraculous journey had such a wonderful start! Now, when do you get to pick up that little miracle of yours??? -Kim

Anonymous said...

It's so amazing that you're finally there! I'm so excited for you and so glad your journey has had such a marvelous beginning. I hope it only gets better! ~Caroline

Anonymous said...

Hey Tab, thinking of you so often. Enjoy Hong Kong - its an amazing place to spend a few days. Looking forward to the updates and you actually meeting Jarrah! - Lou

aaryn b. said...

hey you guys. i've been thinking of you since your flight left. glad you got to stretch out AND sleep on the plane. that's rare! and extremely important under the circumstances. remember we're with you in spirit and will be having a sip of champagne at 4pm on sunday night (so cal, time) to celebrate your newly expanded family. give kisses and hugs to little ruo-ruo from ruby. in peace and anticipation! :)

Mary said...

Hi Sam!

I am commenting from the Business Center, because our computer isn't working! Isn't Hong Kong great?!!!! We had a fabulous day with you guys!

Love,

Mary

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you guys are there. Enjoy your sightseeing. It won't be long now and your family will be together!!

Alleen

Anonymous said...

Hope you're having a ball! Thanks so much for bringing us along on this wonderful, amazing journey!
Best, Gail

Anonymous said...

I am so glad to see you on your way. Closing in on the big day. I cant wait to hear all of the details. Love and hugs! Denise

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam and David, Mary and Paul,
I have been thinking of you all non-stop since Monday. Enjoy every moment of this amazing time in your lives. With love, Karol

Anonymous said...

We are so beyond thrilled for you two - soon to be you three! :-)
Cannot wait until the 6th to see lots and lots of David's pics and read Sam's fabulous account of the big day!
Laura and Mike

Anonymous said...

I am so excited for you! Please let us know how you and the R's are doing. I will be checking as much as I can.
--Martha

Anonymous said...

Wheee!!! More blog to read!!!! I'm totally addicted! Congratulations on completing a leg of your journey. Those international flights can be rough on the body, but it sounds like you all did great! Looking forward to more news and possibly pictures. Have a great time!

-Lisa G.