Hong Kong.

My introduction to the fabulous city of Hong Kong was slightly more hectic than originally planned. I came in Monday morning and the day started ahead of schedule. I dropped my passport off across town and made my way to the trade show by 10am-a full half hour early. My boss and I ran through the isles of booths and electronic goods and ended up at the Ritz for lunch. After eating, we met up with our art director and finished the show. We headed to a meeting, also a half hour early and when it ended at 4.3o, I had a full 2.5 hours before I needed to get to my ferry. Well, here is where it starts to go down hill. I jumped on the MTR (hk public transit) and arrived at the travel agency at around 5.30. After sitting around for 30 mins, my visa finally arrived. I stopped off at the local expat grocery and picked up the November Vogue (very important since I can't find English magazines anywhere in my area-especially ones with good fashion). After finding my literary treasure, I walked along the streets, samples and catalogs in hand. About 1o minutes later, my feet were so tired from the days events I decided to head over the ferry, which was supposed to be only 5 minutes away. I popped into the nearest taxi and asked to go to the ferry. The driver said,"ok" and sped off. I arrived in a chic little port area and tried to find my boat to the mainland. Unable to locate the signs for my desired destination, I asked the nearest police man...who did not speak English. After sputtering out a few sentences and garbled questions in Mandarin, the policeman pointed down the walkway saying my boat was down 'that way." They mostly speak cantonese in Hong Kong, much to my dismay. I picked up my samples and catalogs and trekked along the water...which was absolutely beautiful. If I wasn't in such misery, I may have enjoyed it more...but I was in a hurry, tired, and hungry. 15 minutes later, I stopped asked a random police man and asked where the boat to Shekou was...he looked and me and said, "you're at the wrong port." WTF!? I jumped in a taxi and sped across town to the right terminal only to discover I had missed the boat by 10 minutes. What did this mean, you ask? I had to jump in a taxi- samples, catalogs and purse in tow, and go BACK across town. One hour later (time being 8.00pm), I had my ticket to Shekou in hand and sat down to eat in Mc Donalds (only place to get a decent salad in the entire terminal). I shipped off at 9.00 pm and stumbled into my apartment at 10.45pm. Basically, it took me 6 hours to get home. Wow, that sucked-but at least I got to see Hong Kong at its best!