Arriving in Hong Kong

My flight left Kansas City at 6:40 a.m. After a very turbulent decent, we arrived in Newark at 10:15 a.m. Five hours later my flight to Hong Kong began. After nearly 16 hours in the plane, I arrive in Hong Kong at 8:30 p.m. It was pretty exciting to be landing in Asia for the first time! With only about 4 hours of sleep on the plane, but I was definitely tired. By the time I got through customs and got a shuttle to the hotel, it was 11:00 p.m. when I got to my hotel room.

But then it was New Years Eve in one of the world's biggest cities, and things were hopping, so it wasn't time to sleep yet! A jumbotron (Times Square style) just a block from the hotel was displaying Chinese pop star performers. Thousands were gathered there to ring in the new year. Across the street from the hotel, the harbor was filled with boats, waiting to see the fireworks display that ignited from the sides and top of two skyscrapers. Pretty cool!

It was a very festive and celebratory ringing in of the new year. The crowds were huge and the excited, but also very orderly. The police presence was strong, but they were friendly and focused on keeping everyone safe. I should point out that while people were celebrating, there was not apparent drunkeness, as one would unfortunately tend to see in the U.S. Very refreshing.

Happy New Year!