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Sitting at Hong Kong airport with (as usual!) a glass of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc in hand (Kim Crawford this time) we sit and hope that our flight will eventually appear on the board.
Today did most definitely NOT go according to plan. We woke to find that a Typhoon 8 signal had been hoisted since 5 am. The storm which had caused such havoc in the Philippines had been expected to pass at a reasonable distance but had moved closer than anticipated during the night. So much for all the plans we had for today and all the things we were going to achieve! When the T8 is up then everything in Hong Kong shuts down. Offices and shops close and there is no public transport.
At first due to pass through by around lunch time, the typhoon stayed in the area and the T8 was due to be up for most of the day. We cancelled plans to check-in in town and decided to take a taxi direct to the airport. Easier said than done!! Taxis are very hard to come by during a T8 and, in any case, are not insured. We ordered one which didn't turn up and eventually had to go in search of one as time ticked by. Luckily the rain had stopped for a while so we didn't get soaked to the skin.
Luckily we found a cheery chappy who was willing to take us and set off through the almost deserted streets. As we passed through Central we saw a huge plate glass windown lying in the middle of the carriageway. It had fallen from high up in an office block and we were really glad that we weren't passing by at the wrong moment!
Because of the typhoon and high winds the taxi had to use the lower level of the Tsing Yi bridge. This was an interesting experience as you usually only go that way when you are in a train! We reached the airport without incident and here we are in the bar with the afore-mentioned glass of Sauvignon Blanc in hand. The signal has just lowered to a T3, so hopefully we won't be away too late. Auckland here we come!!
Today did most definitely NOT go according to plan. We woke to find that a Typhoon 8 signal had been hoisted since 5 am. The storm which had caused such havoc in the Philippines had been expected to pass at a reasonable distance but had moved closer than anticipated during the night. So much for all the plans we had for today and all the things we were going to achieve! When the T8 is up then everything in Hong Kong shuts down. Offices and shops close and there is no public transport.
At first due to pass through by around lunch time, the typhoon stayed in the area and the T8 was due to be up for most of the day. We cancelled plans to check-in in town and decided to take a taxi direct to the airport. Easier said than done!! Taxis are very hard to come by during a T8 and, in any case, are not insured. We ordered one which didn't turn up and eventually had to go in search of one as time ticked by. Luckily the rain had stopped for a while so we didn't get soaked to the skin.
Luckily we found a cheery chappy who was willing to take us and set off through the almost deserted streets. As we passed through Central we saw a huge plate glass windown lying in the middle of the carriageway. It had fallen from high up in an office block and we were really glad that we weren't passing by at the wrong moment!
Because of the typhoon and high winds the taxi had to use the lower level of the Tsing Yi bridge. This was an interesting experience as you usually only go that way when you are in a train! We reached the airport without incident and here we are in the bar with the afore-mentioned glass of Sauvignon Blanc in hand. The signal has just lowered to a T3, so hopefully we won't be away too late. Auckland here we come!!
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