Port Angeles to Hong Kong

Sunday March 11th 2018

Rocket Transportation driver Chris, showed up just a few minutes before our scheduled 3:50 – 4 PM pickup.  It was a beautiful drive to our only other pickup in Port Townsend. Chris is a military veteran and we had some great conversations.

Our Port Townsend passengers were two friends who were builders/contractors and carried on a “not so quiet” conversation for the remainder of the trip to our drop off point at the departure gates. It did not seem possible that they aware that not everyone was interested in their conversations. I for one, found it hard to concentrate and maybe impossible to catch a couple of winks.  So I tried using earplugs to mitigate their voices – not even close …. so I broke out my brand new Bose noise canceling headphones, yet they still came through, it was only when I played piped music into the mix did I achieve success.

Earlier in the day, our son Chris preached one of the best sermons I have heard in some time, and something he said, concerning confrontations proved to be my answer.  I have an Apple Music playlist of gospel and praise music in my iPhone and as I relaxed and let God speak to me through his music an obvious calming effect took over and drowned out the “clanging bell”.

Our arrival at the EVA checkin counter was unavoidably early so for the next two and a half to three hours we cooled our heels waiting for the process to begin. Surprise …. one of our three checked bags was overweight, as well as both of our carryons.  I think our saving grace was an understandable passenger representative and the fact that we were allowed four fifty pound bags at no charge.  I seriously can not remember a time when we ran into this situation as Barbara is super careful in her packing process. Thankfully that was the exception and not the rule for the boarding and the ensuing twelve hours of being”trapped in a tube”as we bored holes in the sky’s over the North Pacific.

One observation that interested me between Seattle and Hong Kong, is how the elderly Asian men and women take advantage the “wheeled service” offered at airports, which also extends to the privilege of early boarding. Even to the extent of allowing them and their assistant to cut cues. Now, who is more handicapped?  Someone who  has been waiting hours in a cue or someone who has a wheeled chariot and driver? Just saying…

I was having a real love affair with EVA Air until we were boldly “slapped in the face” by the boarding process in Taiwan for our flight to Hong Kong. Instead of the advertised boarding by “Zones” it was a cattle call” was we rushed boarding gate #3 to be shepherded into busses to take us to our waiting Airbus somewhere out there on the tarmac, where along with the thundering herd, those previously “wheeled” handicapped, had to climb the steep stairs to board the aircraft – it soon became apparent that they were not too handicapped after all. Though the aging Airbus 321 got us to our Hong Kong destination it was probably one of the earliest production models –  what no USB ports?

Our hotel package in Hong Kong came with a pickup limo and driver at the airport and a bus transfer to our ship the next day.  Though we did not originally pay for a room with a view of Hong Kong Harbor, we were offered an upgrade for an additional $75, which was certainly worth it.

 

I’ll close with “the view”. 

Written Tuesday Marth 13th

Jack W Cummings Far East Adventure