Culture Shock .. Moving from Nepal to Hong Kong.

After 35 days in Nepal and about 50 days on the road, on the trail or in the air, we finally left Kathmandu last night.

The China Southern flight from KTM to Guangzhou leaves at 11:15 pm, landing you in CAN at about 5:30 am.  We've done this route before, three years ago, and had to cool our heels in the airport for 9 hours before we could connect to Vancouver.

This time, because of the Tibetan component, we really needed to get back to Hong Kong.  It was involved.  Like many components of this trip, there were many moving parts.

First, we fly KTM to CAN (Guangzhou).  The plane leaves early and there must have been a tail wind, because we arrived at Baiyun International Airport at about 5 am.  Getting our bags and going through customs consumed another 45 minutes.

We then used the subway to get from the airport to the China hotel.  The airport is a ways out of town. So that took 30 minutes.

Walking around the back of the China hotel, there is a CTS bus kiosk.  For about $20, we get a 4 hour ride to Hong Kong, which includes almost an hour going through the border between China and Hong Kong.

We then take the Hong Kong metro for 3 stops to get to our hotel, not far from the harbour near the end of Nathan Road.  We are also just 3 more stops from Hong Kong station where we can take the Airport Express on Friday. 

Space is at a premium in Hong Kong, and our room is no exception.  Rooms are advertised by the number of square meters.  I think ours is about 9 m3.  With shower (not hot), toilet paper, air conditioning, fridge, TV....  Quite modern, actually. 

To top it off, I'm sick.  Somehow, in the last few days in KTM, I developed a cold.  I went looking for acetaminophen,  walking a surprising distance to find a drug store, given the number of shops and herbal remedy outlets I passed along the way.

There's not really much to say about Hong Kong.  It's a big city.  It's busy, crowded, clean and surprisingly quiet (especially compared to Kathmandu).  We took the ferry across to the main Hong Kong island and walked around.  It could have been any big city, anywhere in the world.

We found the botanical gardens and zoo so strolled around there for a while.  Very neat, very organized.  None of the chaos of Kathmandu.  The air is cleaner.  Just a big, crowded city.  And it certainly isn't a model for any post-consumer society.  All glitz and glitter, high-end watches, clothing, bags, all fashion, all the time.

Anyhow, in less than 24 hours I'm outta here. Off to the airport.  Only decision, bus or train.  Back to something a bit sedate.  And, thanks to the magic of time zones and the international Date Line, I will actually get into Vancouver earlier than when I left Hong Kong.