My Arrival

Everyone's probably wondering why I took so long to post my first update, since I've been in China for 15 hours now. Well, it seems that China censors it's citizen's internet. Who would have thunk it? A communist nation blocking users from internet sites. It looks like they have made it very very difficult for the people here blog or read blogs. I guess they're afraid they might find out something dangerous. OK, that's as far as my politics go, but you're probably wondering how HKJIM got past the Chinese censors. Well, that's a subject for another blog.
Now if you are traveling abroad right now, there is one word you will get intimately familiar with: QUARANTINE. Every international flight is carefully screened for the flu. The Hazmat crew, as I call them, come on board and aim this gun-like instrument at you to see if you have a fever. Then you have to fill out some paperwork about your whereabouts before and during your stay, and EVERYONE MUST BE SCREENED before anyone can leave. Much fun was had by all. Aside from that adventure, the 16 hours of plane ride was pretty unadventurous. I had three square meals, some sleep and I arrived safely without drama. I haven't slept in about 18 hours but I am jet lag free, and my first business day is done.

So after I departed the plane, I went looking for the hotel. I stopped at a little juice bar in the airport and it was there that I received my first lesson in currency conversion. My friends, please remember this: Do the conversion before you buy something or you may end of paying 12 dollars for a glass of carrot juice. I'm just sayin'. So I found the hotel, and I didn't pre-book, so I'm thinking, "here's another opportunity for those sly ole' Chinese to rip me off". The clerk says that all the rooms are filled and there is "only one room available". I do not want to be dragging my tired behind back through the airport looking for another hotel so I take it. I paid $150 which was higher than I wanted to pay, and I figured they were going pulling one on HKJim again. As you can see, I took pics and I'll let u be the judge....

















Two room suite with 2 flat screen TV's 1 1/2 baths, and all the luxury of any 5 star hotel for $150. 00 Not bad huh?


UPDATE: The hotel people actually did manage to rip me off after all. They charged me 2 yuan/minute for internet access. What is that all about? A 5 star hotel charging for internet? Hmmm. I see a trend here...