China 2007

After some controversy regarding the flight time, we figured to go along with what the tickets said. 12:50 was our departure time, which allowed for a late wake-up call and then some. We got to the airport two and a half hours before our flight, and the place wasn't even open. We sat in a pre-check-in waiting area and filled out departure cards. I played hearts with Emily, Riley and Will, losing miserably to them all. We eventually got to check in, and despite the strict warnings we had all received, we were all overweight and we all got away with it. Except for Riley and Will - Riley's ten-dollar, perfectly real sword from Tibet was a no-fly. Will, right behind him in line, was the victim of suspicion due to a legitimate metal object in his suitcase. We proceeded through security free of a few dozen kilos each, with still two hours to kill. Everybody bought Pringles at the convenience store, except for one or two people - but those of our group who bought multiple each made up for them. We nearly ran the store out of their stock.

My hunger couldn't be satisfied, so I chose to blow some yuan on a ten-dollar Häagen Dasz ice cream bar that Riley claimed to taste "orgasmic". So the minute-and-a-half I spent with it wasn't so guilt-ridden. Finally our Dragonair flight boarded, consisting of the most cramped seats but possibly the nicest service we had yet to encounter in China. The flight was also one of our longest, just over two hours. The landing in Hong Kong was a nostalgic one, for me. Just three weeks earlier I had parted with this very scenery, same weather, and a glimpse of things to come.

Our exit was quick with the exception of our lack of immigration documents, partly Dragonair's fault. It was a joy to have a big bus again, and especially in the traffic of Hong Kong. The door-to-door service made us feel like royalty, especially in my memory of the trouble of getting to and from Disneyland.

We arrived at the Majestic, not nearly majestic at all, looking upon the glorious wall of a tenament building. Our guide, Erik, explained our options for the free evening. We, in groups as always, could take the Star Ferry, watch the light show, see Harry Potter in Mong Kok, shop Nathan Road (of which our hotel was right in the middle, a mile from the harbor), or do whatever. Along with Paulina, Peter, and Mrs. Grey, I decided to see Harry Potter 36 hours or so before anyone in the States could dare to do so. I had plotted our route via MTR, bur Mrs. Grey insisted on taking a taxi. So, after so communication difficultues, in which Peter's Mandarin came in handy, we found ourselves at a theater right on the bay. It had three or four screens, each featuring about 100 seats. An interactive seat map displayed on a big screen above the counter, and the moviegoer could pick exactly which seats he or she wanted. Since there were no more than a dozen tickets sold as of yet, we got center seats near the front. In fact, there wasn't a soul in front of us.

We had an hour and a half until the showing, so we set off for dinner. The street was filled with Prada and Coach stores, until the first restaurant we found, the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a sporty little place, with a big shop and restaurant upstairs, hundreds of TVs as usual, and free wired and wireless internet for customers. The hand dryers in the bathrooms looked like something out of Star Trek. The food came in all varieties. I had chicken fajitas. Why not.

The theater wasn't even half full. It was a long, narrow room with not much height from front to back. The screen was a dumpy little thing, and the sound wasn't "surround" per se, but it was still impressive. Chinese subtitles are something one gets used to, I found out. And they don't just exist on the bootleg DVDs. The theater only offered sweet popcorn, or even sweeter popcorn - caramel corn. Something about the Cantonese taste...

The movie had few previews, most of which were in Cantonese. It lasted just over two hours, but didn't feel like it.

We had given in to the adult of the group, and took a taxi back. It took twice as long, seeing as we passed the hotel three times before our driver realized it, but we got home. As usual, I was out before anyone knew what happened.