This might surprise people considering how often I’ve done it.  I don’t actually like long distance flying.  It’s not a fear thing or cabin fever.  It’s not other passengers who’ve hit the booze too hard (as almost happened on my trip out) or screeming babies (as happened on my flight back).  It’s the fact I just can’t sleep on planes, which can make me grumpy, and this flight was just typical.  I did try to sleep, even spent an hour trying to relax to soft music (Brian Eno’s Music for Airports 1), but all that happened was I got a sore shoulder and felt even more tired.  Still aside from the lack of sleep and the crying/screaming kid (who quietened down after about half an hour then only became a nightmare over short periods towards the end) it was a pretty uneventful trip.  Still could have been worse.  Was sitting next to a girl who works for DFID.  She’d come from Vietnam (though with a 2 day stop over in HK on the way back, not the way there) and was heading back to her present base, Sierra Leone via Heathrow.. Continue reading →

An interesting an busy day lay ahead of me.  I wanted to buy some snackage for my family, maybe head back to Wong Wa street to see if one shop was open and also to see if I could find a cafe that’s rated as one of the top places for dim sum in HK, then collect my new and adjusted suits and hea to the airport. Continue reading →

There was a chance I would meet up with Ida once more as she had to be back from Taiwan for work tomorrow (leaveing Timo and the kids over there), however she pinged me to me know she was now not due back till ~10 pm so it was lonesome dining time. Continue reading →

When I first started coming to Hong Kong Tsim Sha Tsui (normally called just TST) was packed full of places targeting western tourists who were after cheap tat and pirated goods. Sine the last time I was here things have changed due to a number of reasons. Continue reading →

So the light show has now finished and it’s time for food (well I am me).  For tonight I’ve looked up and taken note of a few good scorers on TripAdviser in the TST area.  In the end I settled on Spring Deer in Mody Street.  Being at the Chatham Road end I wandered along that way rather than navigating the crowds on Nathan Road, especially having survived the hord leaving the Symphony of Lights.  From the side I came in the restaurant is easy to miss, being on the 1st floor of a building – from the Nathan Road side there is  clear sign to see.  Inside it’s not obvious until you reach the first floor at which point you find just how large it is. Continue reading →

The one problem I had when I got my original suit was that while my measurements were throughly taken twice, there was no chance of a fitting.  So different being near the tailor.  The evening started with me wandering over to get a first fitting on the new suit – some alterations made, then alterations measured on my existing jacket and trousers (sleeves lengthening slightly and trouser waist reduced).  What this means is the measurements they have stored for me in their customer books will not be accurate so in theory I could just email them with a request for a new quit. Continue reading →

Well the start of today saw in in work shirt and shoes.  I’m not sure if friends and colleagues realised I was serious about going to my tailor while over here.  Sandy goes across to the UK twice a year for regular and new clients, plus for Harrow Boys School where he does the tailored school uniforms.  I was told about him by two different, unconnected people and so got my first suit from him in November 2010.  At the time he made the trousers too wide and the jacket sleeves were not long enough for my taste (I prefer half cuff visible, not full).  Anyhow my first stop was three minutes walk from the hotel as he’s based in the office area of Star House, by the White Star ferry terminal.  I was remeasured for a new 3-piece suit (plus spare trousers) to find that I’m actually slightly slimmer than last time (not that I had noticed).  I’ll be going back this evening for a first fitting.  If I’m lucky the suit will be ready before I head back to Blighty, else he’l send it on.  My old suit is presently with him so that the trousers can be taken in and the jacket sleeves lengthened.  I’m not sure how prices may have changed in the last four years, but Sandy has charged me the same as last time. Continue reading →

An interesting flight.  On one of the new airbuses.  BA allow small electrical items to be on now during take offs and landings, just with phones/tablets in airplane mode.  There’s also (in World Traveller+ class) two charging USB sockets in the back of the chair below the entertainment screen, Continue reading →

Every journey starts wi a beginning, so while do they call the start point a Terminal, it’s some what final. Perhaps it’s the fact that unless you’re in a lounge with free drinks and snacks, you just can’t wait to get out of there. Heathrow Terminal 5 is shiny, but the shops are the usual assortment designed to pass time browsing while suckers pay over the odds. At least I can get 45 free minutes of wifi – better than many airports I’ve been to (though I believe HK has free for as long as you’re there). Continue reading →