Flying away

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Greetings from Da Nang, Vietnam. Here’s the down and dirty of day one of my trip as told through photographs.

On the road to Manila. My regular driver was ill, so he sent his son. He got us there for 7000 pesos.
Swan and I both had to pay the 1350 pesos to leave the Philippines.

And then AirAsia charged me an additional 2,400 pesos to check my bag.

We arrived at the airport five hours prior to our scheduled departure time. Hey, better early than late. The Manila airport isn’t known for its comfort levels, so we went looking for an “elite” lounge to spend the time.

We found one for “only” 4000 pesos each to enter.

We *almost* managed to get our money’s worth when our outbound flight was delayed for two hours. They never told us why.

But we finally were able to board and get on our way.
Goodbye, Manila!
You look better at altitude than on the ground.
Our first international trip together.
I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow, it’s clouds’ illusions I recall, I really don’t know clouds at all.
Land ho!
I’m impressed.
Seeing Hong Kong for the first time.
Hong Kong International Airport is almost as impressive as Incheon.
The bag I paid for arrived safely.
I went to the money exchange and traded in some old hundred-dollar bills that no one in the Philippines would take. Got a little over 7 Hong Kong dollars for every American one. Feeling wealthy again!
A luxurious room at the Marriott Sky Hotel

Me being me, we went downstairs to check out the hotel bar.

It was quite elegant.

I asked the bartender what beers were available, and said I drink San Miguel back home. He grinned and said, ‘I’ve got some San Mig, but you’re in Hong Kong now.’ Why not try something different?

And so I did. It was fine, so I had another. Then I looked at the label and noted it was 6.5% alcohol volume. That’s double what I usually drink.
So, I finished up with a taste from home.
I’ve never had a bar table more than a thousand dollars before. Luckily, they were Hong Kong dollars.

Which is not to say things were not expensive. I pay around 100 pesos for a beer in Barretto. That’s less than two bucks. That local beer was 635 pesos each, or about twelve dollars. Even the San Miguel Light was almost five times more expensive than the PI. Well, I was spending money that no one else wanted, so why not go a little wild? I’ll be returning to HK on Saturday to spend the rest of it.

And that was pretty much it for day one of my week out of town.

Seeing as I’m in holiday mode, I’ll spare you the usual content I post here until I return home. I’ll update you on the journey to Vietnam tomorrow.

8 thoughts on “Flying away”

  1. Having a fun while you’re abroad! Just make sure you’re a guy when you come back.

  2. Too bad the messed up flights stopped you from exploring HK. Been a while since I have been there, but an interesting city in which to spend at least a few days.

    Maybe another trip on the horizon for you. LOL

  3. McCranberries you silly fool! Go to Kowloon and live it up instead of blowing your dough in hotel bar you doofus!

  6. Kevin, welcome back! I had to go re-read my post to see if I’d f’d up and said “abroad” instead of “aboard,” but now I see the joke you intended. As for becoming a broad, this ain’t Thailand, so I should be okay.

  7. >Brian, I’ll be back on Saturday for a day. Any “can’t miss” suggestions?

    Are you staying by the airport or getting a hotel on the “mainland”?

    Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island
    Tram to the top of Victoria Peak (or if you want a real workout Ala your time in Seoul, skip the ferry and walk up)
    Hollywood Road is a fun walk (as well as Tai Ping Shen street)
    Some cool things up in the New Territories, but these are a bit more difficult to get to.

    Anyway, lots to see and do.

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