So they decided to throw the safety video on loop.  After the third playing, they finally figured out how to shut it off.  On top of a 3 hour delay, not the best way to start off a United flight, but at least we are airborn, red wine is still free in economy, and I can still stomach the food.

This Chromebook has worked out very well for me.  Offline editing in Google Docs syncs up fine once reconnected, although there are some quirks to starting a document.  I also figured out that you can connect your phone as a media device and grab pictures off of the SD card.  At 11 inches and a 9+ hour battery life, my back is much happier with this instead of my 17 inch geeked out photo editing laptop.

Decided to write up a summary of my trip, more for my notes than anything, and because I’ve seen all the movies on this flight from my Taiwan travel.  The Grand Budapest Hotel is still a great movie to play in the background though.

Hong Kong is a great place if you’d like to go to Asia for the first time.  It’s a very safe city, everyone understands English if you’re worried about language barriers, and the public transportation system is awesome and cheap.  It’s a huge city so you’ll find your typical tourist traps, as well as lavish and expensive restaurants, but what’s nice is that you can still find great chinese food, better than most upscale restaurants, at very inexpensive prices.  Dim Sum is a must here.  If you’re interested in visiting other locations in Asia, I’d recommend taking a direct flight to Hong Kong for a 3 day layover first, to enjoy the city and get over any jet lag you experience.

I found a cheap last minute ticket on United, direct to Hong Kong to Newark.  I still like United and am loyal to their frequent flier program.  And yes I admit, these flights will bump me up to Gold status for 2016.

I had planned to use my Holiday Inn points to stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Soho, but even with points/cash, it didn’t seem like a good deal.  Two days before I left, I found a good deal on Tingo and reserved a room at Butterfly on the Waterfront, a boutique hotel a few blocks away from the Holiday Inn.

Rooms were small, but this is typical for any place in Hong Kong as space is at a premium here.

The main thing for me was that this hotel was a 2 minute walk from a subway stop on the island line.  I could get anywhere in Hong Kong for next to nothing in about 20 minutes.

If you’re going to Hong Kong and plan on using public transportation, definitely get an Octopus Card.  It’s similar to a Metrocard and you can use it on the subway, buses, 7-11’s, convenience stores, and most coffee shops and cafes accept it.  It’s also perfect for the Airport Express train to Hong Kong once you land.

One additional feature of this line of hotels is that they provide you with a smartphone with unlimited local calling and 3G data.  This worked out great for using Google Maps and the internet while wandering around new locations in the city.  Don’t get me wrong, this is a nice to have, but not a must for this city, as there is free WiFi almost everywhere if you really need it, and there is something to be said for “disconnecting” when on vacation.

All in all I’m happy I took this last minute vacation.  Now I have a bunch of pictures to develop in Lightroom/Photoshop, and will post here once I’m done.

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Watching Terminator Genesys.  Captain comes on and says to buckle up for “moderate turbulance”, then the movie screen goes blank and this pops up.  God I hate flying.