Hong Kong Diary part one

Hong Kong was my first trip abroad and was a memorable one..

Left Bangalore by Jet Airways on 16th MArch. Flight was scheduled at 2030 but got delayed and left at 2140. Reached Mumbai at 2330. Connecting flight to Hong Kong was at 0030 hrs. It got delayed at the immigration counter as an Mumbai immigration official refused to accord priority when a Jet oficial requested him to do so as i had a flight at 0030 hrs. He deliberately made me wait for ten minutes and when an VIP arrived with hs wife he was straight away entertained and got clearance.... Indeed it is India and we are a democratic country... Anyways i made it to the flight at 0035 hrs and was the last person to board the flight.

The view of Mumbai from the flight was stunning. The lights on the streets and buildings added color to the night. No wonder its called a dream city.

The journey was pleasurable and the food served during the journey was good. It had an inflight entertainment program with screens embedded into seats and there were lots of movies (hollywood, bollywood, regional ) to choose and i watched Das Vidhaniya.. It was really good and the trust of the movie was to enjoy life the way you want to and i am completely in sync with the theme... Reached Hong Kong at 830 AM local time. Hong Kong is two and a half hours ahead in time from IST.

Hong Kong International Airport is amazing. Its so huge. I thought Bangalore was prety big but Hong Kong its huge.. Hong Kong airport has been voted as the best managed airport in the world in a survey and i could see the reason. The immigration clearance was smooth. The guy asked a few questions about where i am working and why i have come. Stamped the free 14 day Visa on my passport and i was done with the process.It took 2 minutes.

Had already booked the hotel near the conference venue and took the bus to hotel and reached at around 11 AM...

Return journey from Hong Kong to Mumbai was good and on time.This time watched Dostana. It was an average kind of stuff. Reached Mumbai at 2300 hrs on 20th March and was supposed to board flight at 0315 hrs to Bangalore. But to my surprise they told me that the flight is cancelled and i need to catch the next flight at 0640 hrs. So had to wait from 0000 hrs to 0600 hrs at Mumbai Chatrapathi Shivaji Airport.

Tips for those who travel by air:

Carry only the necessary items in your carry bag. This should include passport and air tickets. If you are carrying a laptop keep it with you. Baggage can carry a maximum weight of 19 kg and ask for a direct check in to destination if you are making a transit at some place. You can then colect the baggage at the destination. During security check in they will ask you to keep all electronic gadets separately and then do the screening. The security screening takes time but its worth the pain as they all do it for our safety. So have patience... :-)

Its 21 st March, 0500 hrs now and i am scribbling this blog from Mumbai airport. But the problem is i cannot post it as the WiFi connection is not working here in Mumbai airport where as at Hong Kong it did. Will go home and post this blog. Will be leaving for Udupi tonight from Bangalore.

Do not conclude that i have started criticising India after my trip to Hong Kong. There is nothing wrong in being appreciative about the system in a different country as long it is good. That becomes the benchmark for us to achieve.

I will talk about the conference and the places i visited in HOng Kong in my next blog.