Pollution. That smell associated with cross-country pre-season 2009 when the sun burned red in the sky, as ashes fell like snowflakes from forest fires, and health warnings were issued to stay indoors. Breathing outdoors is a bit of a hazard, I feel. And the visibility is pretty low, perhaps 50 m or so.
We are staying at the Taj Palace. This place is swanky! My room is spacious, with an awesome shower, mirrors, bathtub. Staff were super friendly, and gave us a `welcome ritual.' A lady gave us a red dot on our foreheads, from some powder on a platter surrounded by peach rose petals, and then gave us a necklace as well. Getting settled in, staff came to deliver luggage and tea. Showered off the deet and travel grime, and then slipped into a bed. I woke up a couple of times throughout the night - my internal clock is confused as ever.
Today I am wired but tired. Feeling a nap in the afternoon. Breakfast was pretty delicious - dosas, India scrambled eggs, chai, omelets, yokalt, yogurt, and a variety of other hot foods.
The tea ceremony is tonight. It's endearing to see my parents so excited, and I'm excited to see them in their Indian garb.
SFO --> HKG --> New Delhi.
The first leg was smooth, and I managed to grab some shut-eye between meals. Traveling with parents has its perks - I managed to score an entrance to the Cathay lounge before the flight.
After deplaning in HK, we checked the octopus card balance, and headed to Aberdeen on the A10. Got a quick haircut before heading over to visit popo in the senior folks home. Her face lit up when she saw Mom, and then her eyes popped open wider and mouth crinkled unmistakably into a grin when she panned over to see Dad and me standing there as well. She was in the middle of lunch, with no appetite. We took her downstairs to the cafe - she loves coffee, and we had some lunch.
Next was the mad rush back to the airport. Security wasn't terrible, and they opened up a new line as we were going thru, so we didn't have to wait long. They did, however, change the gate. This we discovered when we reached the original gate. HKG is super confusing with its signage - all signs point in different directions. Pro-tip: if signs point in different directions, just start heading downstairs. We made it to the gate, only to find the flight was delayed. Apparently the original aircraft was out of service, and the new one was delayed. Once on board, there was another hour of sitting on the tarmac, waiting for air traffic control. This was all fine - made headway on my book :).
