Greetings from the Philippines! My third country in a week! So, Day 7 of the vacation spilled into Day 8 as I didn’t arrive home until a little after midnight. I don’t remember the last time I was out and about (other than to the toilet) that late. I guess I should be thankful that my AirAsia departure was only thirty minutes late, rather than two hours like my outbound flight. Anyway, not a whole lot to say about what was essentially a travel day. Since my plane was supposed to leave at 6:15 p.m. I arranged a late checkout at the hotel. That still didn’t leave me with enough time to venture back into Hong Kong, so we explored on foot the Sky City neighborhood where we were domiciled.

Downstairs for breakfast at the hotel restaurant:

Then it was time for a walk. There was a lot of construction, a boat dock that apparently serves the boats that transport folk from mainland China to Hong Kong. Sky City has a ghost town vibe about it, at least during my visit. I mentioned the deserted Asia Expo building in yesterday’s post. This huge building was the most interesting thing I saw on the stroll:

What intrigued me was that there was no activity or people around. Was it abandoned? When I got back to the hotel, I Googled to see if I could get the story. The Wiki link posted above says:

Airport Authority Hong Kong announced on 2 May 2018 that New World Development had been awarded the tender for the SkyCity integrated development, which comprises retail complexes, dining areas, hotels, entertainment facilities, and offices. Under the agreement, New World Development will design, construct, finance, and manage the development on sites A2 and A3, adjacent to HKIA’s passenger terminals.^[7]

On 23 November 2020, New World Development had announced the official name of the project––11 Skies, operated by K11 under the New World Development’s portfolio.^[8] Scheduled to open in phases from 2022 to 2025, the 3.8 million-square-foot complex will contain 2.66 million sq. ft. dining and retail space, 570,000 sq. ft. experiential entertainment facilities, and 570,000 sq. ft. grade A office space. There will be over 800 shops, including more than 120 restaurants

Apparently, things didn’t go as planned. Weird.

When it was time to check out from the hotel and head for the airport, we caught the convenient shuttle provided by Marriott. We arrived too early to check-in with AirAsia, so we grabbed some lunch.

After a goodly wait, we were finally able to check our bags and get our boarding passes. We still had two hours before our scheduled departure. What can we do to pass the time?

I checked the monitor and saw that they had finally assigned a gate for our flight, 201. I saw signage that seemed to indicate Gate 201 was just an escalator ride away. So, I felt no rush to finish my beer. Still, being the prudent traveler that I am, I left my stool behind at 5:30, giving me plenty of time to reach the gate that my boarding pass said closes twenty minutes before the 6:15 departure time. So, then I took the escalator downstairs, and the signage led me to yet another escalator descent. And then one more. Which put me on a platform to catch a train to my gate. And my gate was at the end of the line (two stops). Then it was up three levels on the escalator only to discover that my gate was at the far end of the terminal. I didn’t run, but I double-timed it to the boarding area. It was ten minutes to six, so I was still within the specified window. I didn’t see any passengers around the reception desk and thought they must have already boarded. Nope, that agent advised they had not yet begun, and I should take a seat and wait for the boarding announcement. Once I was seated, I noticed there was no plane at the end of the jetway and knew my flight was delayed once again. The plane finally arrived at the time it was due to depart, and I was surprised they managed such a quick turnaround, minimizing the delay.

We arrived in Manila at nine, and after doing the immigration, baggage claim, and customs, we hooked up with my driver for the ride back to Barretto. It was Monday morning when I arrived home for the first time in over a week. I enjoyed my vacay, but it is good to be back on familiar ground.

One journey ends, and another resumes. I’m talking about my trek through the LTG archives. I had to look to see where I left off, and it was February 2010. This Blast from the Past post recounts the story of meeting the love of my life, losing her, and how a seemingly minor impulsive decision changed my life forever. It is one of my favorite stories.

Have you been missing the YouTube video segment? Well, today we have an interesting history lesson about the Philippines. I enjoyed it, maybe you will too.

And yes, I’m going to restart the lame humor section as well:

Sorry about those. I’ll try to do better going forward. Meanwhile, it’s time to reacquaint myself with the normalcy that comes from routines, starting with a Hash this afternoon. I’ll be back with the story tomorrow.