Our First Day In Hong Kong

Sunday, November 11th

Very few of us have traveled in one flight for 16 hours in the past.  This was a new experience.  Because we were advised to take a 1am flight we found, with great pleasure, that the airport was quiet, the security check-in system was smooth and the TSA attendants were quick with a joke.
We had much  of our terminal to ourselves for a number of hours and used the time to consume mountains of junk food and use many of our digital devices.  We easily loaded into the plane and were soon off into the friendly skies.
Amazing was the level of calm in all of our travelers.  They settled into their seats very quickly, spoke with a few folks around them and off we went.  The routine of movies, video games, more snacks than I am capable of counting and intermittent sleeping easily got us through the first nine hours.  When the realization hit that we still had seven more hours to do, we dug down deep for a bit more sleep and more movies.
Filling out the customs form for entrance to Hong Kong seems to go smoothly.  We deplaned and headed through into Hong Kong after checking in with immigration folks who had little interest in our band of merry travelers here to explore so many interesting sites for the first time.  Oh well, their loss.  Suit cases come together and we are leased out into the main part of the airport to be greeted by Chris Geary and Cheriese Chan who will be our guides from BSD Academy for the upcoming week.

Here we are walking through Hong Kong airport together.

Anyone who knows our Hill Top students will not be surprised to learn that the conversation quickly moved from typical tourist banter to the geopolitical scene in Hong Kong, the relations with Mainland China and opinions of our President Trump.  We talked about the historical implications of the natural views of mountain villages and huge 80 story apartment buildings around us prior to the addition of then new airport.  We chatted about the political structures in the small districts and that they are elected in a relatively democratic process and how that differs from electing the top officials of Hong Kong and how much personal and corporate money, along with input from China gets those folks elected.  We also spoke about the factors of mass transit transportation, purchasing food, distance from the main downtown area,  the beaches, and recreational attractions nearby can affect the price of housing by 50 - 300% for similar square footage.
We dropped everything off at BSD and got our bearings, receive our gifts from BSD and then headed out a walk and some breakfast and then some lunch as our rooms wouldn't be ready until 2pm. During the walk we came across some graffiti that included Donald Trump.  Our students spotted this right away. 
Another surprise was the walk down to the governmental square of Hong Kong for a Remembering Ceremony (similar to our Veterans Day Parades) which was offered and enthusiastically agreed to by all travelers.  We took the local tram (a system in place for over 100 years).  down to the governmental center and watched the presentation of wreaths at the war memorial, listened to the regimental band music and then walked over to see the bronze lions in from of the local Hong Kong bank that were damaged during the war from enemy fire.
Walking back to the BSD office, to pick up our materials, a lunch at a very local chinese restaurant for more chopstick practice we came upon a snake vendor.  There were many cages full of live snakes and tables in the back of the shop where customers could consume the prepared meat or blood of the snake for medicinal reasons.  I was told that men are especially attracted to the fresh blood of the snake.  When I asked why that is, there was a smile and the little old man responded with, "viagra".  Here are some snakes waiting for their fate

and then we went off to our rooms for a much anticipated shower (dont let any of our students tell you that they don't crave showers), a change of clothes and a bit of a rest. 
While walking around we visited the Min Mao Buddhist Temple.  This is a fully practicing temple with many locals who were there for afternoon prayers while we were there.  The students wanted to group picture in front of the prayer wheels and incense to
show Mr. Cohen that they were still learning about Eastern Religions
Dinner was with our hosts again.  We walked about 10 minutes which involves hills and stairs much like you see in San Francisco. We are constantly climbing up and down.  We will not need about gaining weight no matter how many sweet rolls we consume and will have calfs and thighs of marble!!
Bedtime came early and with great relief for all concerned.  This was an amazing day filled with, as one of our chaperones said, "with a week of activities" and has set the tone for an exciting week of travel and new sights, sounds and experiences.