Our flight arrived into Hong Kong slightly after 0600 and it was about 0800 by the time we go to the Novotel in Wanchai. We showered and slept till 1100 when I rang Rosalind, a friend from school for our catch-up arrangements.
Rosalind and another school friend, Mary turned up and we walked a few steps down the road to a Sichuan restaurant situated in somebody’s home. Such arrangements are called private kitchens. The food was great and the conversation interesting.
Soup with numbing Sichuan peppercorn. Cold noodles.
Spicy prawns.
Mary was a former flight attendant while both Kim and Rosalind still fly . There were lots of stories being exchanged around the table eg:
- we hardly ever have to buy soap and shampoo
- the Japanese hotels have the best shampoo
- Kiwi aircrew buy their bathroom fittings in Hong Kong while Hong Kong crew buy theirs in Frankfurt!
- there are stories of crew whose home carpets have been “sponsored” by hotels … cut from under the bed. Urban myth maybe.
After lunch, Mary’s driver took us to the mall … a bit of window shopping for us but for the girls it was the usual handbags and shoes.
Kim and I then patronised the massage-reflexology centre near the hotel. It was about EUR7 per 45 minute session, thanks to mainland Chinese workers. My neck and back was so stiff the little Sichuanese lady resorted to walking on it and digging her heels into my sore muscles … even with her hands and fingers it was sore. I had to grab the massage table and clench my teeth a few times and I have a very high threshold to pain when it comes to massages.