Hong Kong, I Love You

Well, I arrived into Hong Kong without issue. The best part of the trip occurred after getting off of the plane. My luggage was the first to pop out onto the carousel, which had me looking around for Alan Funt and his Candid Camera. Then, there were no lines in customs and I got through in about five minutes. To top everything off, my limo driver was waiting for me in arrivals.

Bottom line: I was in bed at my hotel within an hour of landing, which is impossible.

At 2:30 pm, a real, live person called me to wake me up. "Goddess, it's time to open your eyes." Well, he may not have said that exactly but you get the point. After a shower, I went across the street to our Asian office. The good news is that my friend, TC, had to go to a corporate dinner which meant I was free until the evening. So, I went shopping.

The first stop was the Harley-Davidson boutique in Tsim Tsa Tsui. It was the size of a postage stamp and just as overpriced as the stuff is at home. Of course, I had to buy some shirts because they have Hong Kong embroidered on them. Hopefully, the Beijing store will be better.The mall is located beside the Ocean Centre and it is massive. Everybody had some retail space in there. Jimmy Choo, Versace, Valentino, Jill Stuart and a fabulous Donna Karan couture shop were represented. For a mere $3800 US, I could have been the proud owner of a DK cashmere mumu. I passed on the tent but my Visa took a beating anyway.

I walked back to my hotel and stopped for dinner at a placed called Sticky Fingers. The name is wretched but they have great curry and since I knew that the next several days would be exclusively Chinese fare, I was thrilled to have my face burned off by some of the best Indian food outside of Jaipur. While I was dining, a man at the bar sent me a drink, which was unexpected but I was enjoying the solo, iPod mood and besides, I had to leave to meet TC. Must be the damn pheremones, again.

If today is any indication of how this trip is going to go, I'm feeling pretty fortunate. Tomorrow we're off to Guangzhou and the Canton Fair which is like the NYC subway during rush hour. After a few days, I fully expect to be muttering to myself like Rainman.