NURI & best of hk

Having postponed my flight to singapore in order to shoot until 1a.m. the other night in winter clothes on the streets of hk, I was ready to fly out early the next morning. And then something happened...for the fourth time since I got here...a typhoon hit. Nuri was her name, level 9 was her rating (highest of the 4 i've witnessed); she cancelled my flight and left me stuck inside all day yesterday. I slept most of the day away, leaving me utterly insomnic last night. Maj and I caught the 4am airport express train to the airport from the city and I am currently camped on a marble slab counting down the hours (three) left until I can stand in line at the flight counter and try to get the next flight out to singapore on ghetto airline Jetstar. Meanwhile, Maj gets to fly on cathay. damn her.

So to pass the time I figured I may as well write a little memo on the best of hk;
eat/drink: Life, Bookworm Cafe, Mix (also the best/only? place to take wheatgrass shots)
sweat it out: the hills of Hong Kong Island (innumerable trails), Pure Yoga (multiple locations)
read: Page One (Times Square in CWB)
hook up to the internet: Pacific Coffee
explore: CWB (shopping, dining), Mongkok (flower and bird markets, cheap, crowded shopping), SoHo (galleries), Sai Kung (seafood restaurants and off the main streets, small-town vibe), Lamma Island (totally chill, good seafood, many artisans reside here), maybe...ALL OF HK
get inspired: Giant Buddha (especially if you go on a rainy day when its way less crowded and just as spiritual...but what matters more than the weather is your attitude and state of mind)
cheapest sightseeing: a ride on the tram ($2 hk, equivalent to less than 30cents cdn)
inhale second hand smoke: D-i on a crowded night, Volar always

p.s. Despite being SEVEN HOURS early for my flight today and the FIRST PERSON to check in, after calling various jetstar numbers a DOZEN or more times, being sent back and forth between terminals THREE TIMES, waiting AN HOUR to find out which gate I was supposed to board from, and FORTY FIVE MINUTES going through security (I attempted to ask for help but the man only told me 'everybody same today everybody same'...as if everyone else's flights were scheduled to leave half an hour before they got midway through the line), I MISSED MY FLIGHT. I was then given the complete runaround by even more jetstar staffers (as if the first five who'd given me faulty instructions weren't enough)and after wasting inumerable HOURS of agents' time from vancouver to hk to singapore, eventually ended up having to pay the full price for tonight's flight out...20 hours after arriving at HKIA. eff jetstar. I'm not a violent person, but I totally wanted to strangle them with their tacky purple neckscarves.