Arrived in Hong Kong

Many of you have asked that I chronicle the journey out as frequently as possible so you are aware of our safety. Rest assured, we are safe in Hong Kong. Los Angeles was a zoo, and the benefits of business class exhibited themselves quite clearly. We checked in with Cathay Pacific and received a "fast pass". Basically, we did not stand in line at security. There was a side door with a security guard. We went to him, he checked us, we had our bags scanned, and off we went. Total time savings - 30 minutes.

Had we not had this opportunity, we would not have been able to spend time in the business class lounge. The trip out is always the best part. I get the lounge in LAX and the lounge in Hong Kong. Drinks, food, showers, internet - all in, usually, a fairly quiet and subdued atmosphere. Not this time. The lounge was absolutely packed. There were no places to sit. We finally grabbed a dirty table the minute someone stood up and I tracked down an employee to clean it for us. Food was good, though, and we needed it to be - it was our dinner.

Of all the people in my travel party - myself, my wife, our daughter, my mother-in-law - I'm the only one who had ever flown business class. I'm not sure if I explained it with enough detail for everyone, though they all seemed quite pleased. My daughter, especially, liked the service. She sat in her big chair with her own personal TV like a little princess. When the stewards came around offering champagne, water or orange juice, they asked her if she wanted orange juice and she very enthusiastically said "Sure!".

My daughter wanted to watch Peter Pan 2 as soon as she saw the option, but fell asleep during take off. When she awoke, the first thing she did was call out for "Daddy!", because she did not really know where she was. I was half asleep myself at this point, but shot up and looked over the wall to see her sitting up on her bed. She looked up at me and said "Can I watch Peter Pan now?" Good memory.

I had seen all the movies already, so I didn't watch any of them again. Instead, I read a little of my book, and finally finished a play I've been writing the last several months. That's something I plan to do a lot more of while we're in Indonesia - write. I have probably 10 novels and plays in various stages of completeness and another 10 or so that are just ideas in my head. Without the distraction of television, I hope to complete them all in the next two years.

Thankfully, we did not sit on the upper deck for our flight. Those seats are a little more difficult to keep track of everyone in your party - plus you have to climb a flight of stairs. The flight was, for the most part, uneventful. It could have been quite an interesting flight, however. A few hours in, they asked if there was a doctor on the flight. Apparently, one of the passengers in business class (two seats behind my wife) needed medical attention. There was not a doctor on the flight, but there was a nurse. This gentleman was in bad enough condition that he required an IV. The nurse was lucky enough to receive an upgrade from coach to business class, so I'm sure she was happy. I only hope that whatever this guy has wasn't dangerous and contagious. We're flying from LA, so it can't be anything to exotic, I would imagine.