Fri, Nov 7 Hong Kong, China
Now comes PART 3 of of our fabulous adventure: China!
We are primarily independent travellers, but today embarked on one of the very few "guided" tours we have ever taken, this time with a company called Smartours, out of New York. We had priced making our own arrangements to a couple of cities in mainland China, but the Smartours package - with 5 internal flights, a group coach in each city, 5 star hotels, most meals, some evenings of entertainment, and fully guided - was nearly the same price, (and endorsed by 2 sets of friends), so we grabbed it.
But first, we had to get from Phuket to Bangkok, to collect the 3 luggage bags we had stored at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, then move it all to Hong Kong for storage there. Our China tour permits only ONE bag each on the internal China flights, and although it starts further north in Shanghai, it ends in Hong Kong, so we planned to leave all our excess luggage at the termination hotel while we wereaway. This time we had to store 5 bags!!
We were not in Hong Kong (or more specifically, Kowloon) for long. Our flights from Phuket to Bangkok (1 ½ hr + 4 hr wait), and Bangkok to Hong Kong 2 ½ hr + 1 hr into the hotel) meant we arrived in Kowloon after dark. The Regal Kowloon Hotel was a block off the harbour and in the middle of malls and stores… and a Starbucks. Good coffee is rare anywhere in Asia so far.
Now comes PART 3 of of our fabulous adventure: China!We are primarily independent travellers, but today embarked on one of the very few "guided" tours we have ever taken, this time with a company called Smartours, out of New York. We had priced making our own arrangements to a couple of cities in mainland China, but the Smartours package - with 5 internal flights, a group coach in each city, 5 star hotels, most meals, some evenings of entertainment, and fully guided - was nearly the same price, (and endorsed by 2 sets of friends), so we grabbed it.
But first, we had to get from Phuket to Bangkok, to collect the 3 luggage bags we had stored at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, then move it all to Hong Kong for storage there. Our China tour permits only ONE bag each on the internal China flights, and although it starts further north in Shanghai, it ends in Hong Kong, so we planned to leave all our excess luggage at the termination hotel while we wereaway. This time we had to store 5 bags!!
We were not in Hong Kong (or more specifically, Kowloon) for long. Our flights from Phuket to Bangkok (1 ½ hr + 4 hr wait), and Bangkok to Hong Kong 2 ½ hr + 1 hr into the hotel) meant we arrived in Kowloon after dark. The Regal Kowloon Hotel was a block off the harbour and in the middle of malls and stores… and a Starbucks. Good coffee is rare anywhere in Asia so far.Our main task this night was the repacking exercise, leaving the hot weather clothes and the formal clothes behind, and preparing to survive with 1 bag each for the next 16 days of cooler China weather.
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