Mama said I should take the local trains to the airport instead of the express, because it would be about $20 cheaper, and if I could have figured out which train to take from among those going to a myriad destinations, I would have been just fine, but of course, I got on the wrong one. Anway, after a few tries, I finally got to the airport barely in time to pick up my boarding pass, 1 minute late instead of 60 minutes early.

- I’m sorry, we don’t have any more economy class seats available …
- (Aaaaargh. Pleeeease. Noooo. My ticket is not refundable. I hate local trains! I’m never getting on one again, never-never-never!)
- … would you mind going by business class?
- (Would I mind? Are you kidding? Wow! Thank you, God!)

So, I boarded before all the poor folk, who had to wait until I got comfortable.

- Miss Smith, would you like something to drink?
- (Wow, they know my name?) What do you have?
- Water, tea, blah, blah, blah, champagne, cocktails, blah, blah, blah.
- Umm. Champagne, please.
- Maybe you would like to have a mimosa?
- What is it?
- Champagne and orange juice.
- Yeah, that sounds good.

My mimosa arrived. And then the economy class started filing in. After one issue of PC World, a couple more cocktails, and a movie, I fell asleep.

Hong Kong … the heat and humidity were beyond bearing. The air was so thick that breathing it loaded my lungs with water as I pushed my way through. I walked 5 minutes and my T-shirt stuck to my skin, slick and sweat-soaked. For 10 days, I wandered the streets, hungry and lost, riding buses and trams, taking pictures.

Thanks to Mary-Katherine, I had a royally refrigerated room to sleep in at night. I met some of her friends, and their friends. She also introduced me to mint chocolate martinis, my new favourite drink, usurping the place of an iced Tully’s latte spiked with maraschino liqueur.

OK, so I wasn’t lost and hungry the whole time. Whenever I found food, it was like a dream. Forget the stuff they call Chinese in Japan or America. The real thing is entirely different. You know we will be eating Chinese food in heaven for all eternity … and chocolate, of course.

On Sunday, I went to St. John’s Cathedral. It was beautiful and practically empty. There were fewer than 10 people at the service. Afterwards, I bought a calfskin leather bound edition of the Book of Common Prayer.

All in all, it was a good trip. Next time, I’m going to take a guidebook.