Day Last

The weather on this tour has been fantastic (save for the pollution, of course). We have had sunny days with temperatures in the 70s every day, with the exception of the Great Wall fiasco. I say this because today in Hong Kong scattered showers are predicted in the afternoon. And then rain will continue into tomorrow but by then I will be heading home on “Ambien” Overseas Airways.

Our breakfast was again eclectic in our Hong Kong hotel. From Japanese noodles and fried fish to Indian curry, dim sum, fried rice and eggs, the buffet style presentation was wonderful. But because of the gut busting half pound burger and fries last night I could only manage a glass of ice water, coffee, some lox, a croissant and, of course, bacon. With the bacon each morning and the bacon cheese burger last night I am making sure that my arteries are not getting flabby but are staying as hard as rocks. I was worried since we have been eating a lot of that healthy stuff – vegetables and fruit – which make the arteries soft and unmanly. A bowl of Cheerios with non fat milk will just not do it for me any longer for breakfast. Ann will have to start getting up very early to prepare this kind of breakfast for me before I head off for golf. She is retired, you know.

Today was our day to see Hong Kong from top to bottom. I thought that a subtropical area on the South China Sea would be immune from the ravages of pollution. I was wrong. This was more in the sense of a smog alert day in LA than the truly world class, industrial strength stuff in mainland China. But any vista was obscured by the grey haze. Hong Kong has not struck a chord with me. It is a big city with little in particular to distinguish it from any other big city. I certainly would not travel half way around the world just to see it.

I never really “got it” when I heard about the Asian pollution. I could not ever come to the full realization of how bad it truly is. As time passes it will only worsen. I think living in Washington has obscured what this unhealthful air is like and does to the lungs. Seventeen years after leaving Bakersfield has also separated me from smog. Ann is again using her inhaler, my eyes are burning and red, we both have a dry hacking cough. The people here who use dental masks are wise although most likely it’s from necessity but of questionable value. I cannot wait to get back to LAX to begin breathing better air. I never thought I would say that. Then to Seattle and pristine air. OK, pristine wet air!

Now that this trip is almost over I still do not know what I think about organized tours. On one hand advantages are numerous: Easy access, brainless traveling, better hotels, no hunting for food, tour guides (that may or may not be good), meeting new friends and luggage transfers. But on the other hand I could not choose the itinerary; I did not have the flexibility to move around as I wished. I could not make last minute changes to see something that struck my fancy. I was told where to be and when to be there. But on the other hand, China would have been a nightmare without someone leading us through the maze of meaningless (to me) Chinese characters on all shop signs, menus and traffic directions. This was the only way to see and get the most out of China. Joy, our tour guide, made China come alive in both its history and how its real citizens live their daily lives. She was, as her Western name indicates, a "Joy".

Thought for the day: Seventeen days in China was a perfect amount of time.