This was my last day in Hong Kong. I was a bit sorry that my stay here was so short. I would have liked at least one more day, as I had originally be up to doing more things. But fortunately this morning my cold was nearly gone, so that was good at least.
I had to get to the airport for my flight to Taipei, so I had the breakfast buffet for the final time and went up to pack up my stuff. I checked out and just as I was finished the shuttle bus for the Airport Express pulled up so I was able to hop right on. The best part of the Airport Express is that on outbound flights you can check in your luggage right at Kowloon Station, get the boarding pass and pay the airport tax right there. (For those who tax being paid as part of the ticket cost, but in foreign airports you often have to pay in cash when you depart, either to the airline or to a government as the lines here are very short, making it even more convenient!
Since I was flying business class again, I got another pass to the waiting lounge. At HKIA, United operates a common lounge for all the Star Alliance members of which Thai is one of them. Like the rest of the airport, the lounge is quite nice compared to other world airports.
Unfortunately the first level 3 Typhoon alert of the season was up while I was departing, due to tropical storm Penny which was approaching Hong Kong. While Penny was not very strong, it was bringing a good bit of rain and wind to the area, so we ended up leaving a good bit late. We had a smooth flight though, and arrived about half and hour late in Taipei. Fortunately Bonita was also late, so I ended up getting out of customs about 5 minutes before she arrived.
I then got to meet her friends Jen (a guy), and Yvonne. Yvonne was on her way back to Hong Kong where she lives, so we all had some tea and snacks in the airport and then saw her off. Then it was time to drive into Taipei which took close to an hour.
First we dropped off our bags at the house which is on the second floor on very nice looking shop that is somewhat European in style with lots of wood trim and detailing. It looks very nice and inviting. Apparently Maggie did the design of the shop herself. Bonita said that the girls who work in the shop had seen pictures of me from the wedding and thought that I look more handsome in real life. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing but a girl's haircut. I guess some guys must like it, but I don't like it mother.
Then it was off to a Thai food restaurant for dinner. The one thing I recognized was something like Panang Beef. We also had raw shrimp in a salad with a vinegar chili covering (yum!), a fish covered with a ton of garlic and chilis (yum!) and some fried shrimp cakes. For desert recognize. It was just me, Bonita, and her mom at first for dinner, and
Ko (a girl), and Jeffrey. Jen was also there. They were playing a game similiar to what I know as Dai except that twos were high, and the suit order was different. Also you score based on how many cards you have left, which makes strategy a bit different. They called the game "Big Twos". We also tried some other games as well. I had some sort of plum drink that was very delicious.
I kind of surprised them at one point. I was watching them play and noticing that what they were playing like Dai. They were talking in Chinese to Bonita which from the context seemed like they were asking Bonita if I would play. Bonita looked at me and was saying something that ended with something like "ting bu dong" which was one of the phrases Jenny had taught me before I left which means "don't understand", so I asked Bonita much to her suprise, "What do you mean I don't understand?" which everybody laughed at.
and her son Roy (later I met her husband Benjamin). They were staying here while their home is being remodeled. Before going to bed I gave my presents that I brought for Maggie, Bonita and their mother, and the gifts that Jenny sent. Unfortunately I