On the Road: First Week in Asia
When I awoke in Kowloon harbor at 4am, I knew it was a good sign.
The previous day I had flown 13 hours from San Francisco to Hong Kong with only a brief nap on the flight. Arriving at 8pm local time, I went to my hotel, settled in, and crashed out well before midnight. I’ll need more than five hours sleep most of the time, but five hours on the first night in Asia is a great start. With any luck I’ll take a couple of short naps today, maybe one tomorrow, and then I’ll be good to go for the rest of my trip.
Much of this trip is free or close to free, thanks to my latest infusion of Frequent Flyer miles and points. I flew Cathay Pacific, my favorite airline, to Hong Kong and am going on to Malaysia on the same awards ticket. My hotel last night was booked with points, as are a couple of others over the next week. When it’s time to head home, I’ll return on Singapore Airlines, another great carrier, once again on an awards ticket. Yes, travel hacking really works!
It feels good to be back in the region. After waking at 4am I made tea, and by 5am I had my gym clothes on and was stretching on a yoga mat in the fitness center.
Rise and shine, traveler.
An hour later I had breakfast and walked outside. It was raining, but no matter—I like the rain. I walked down to the harbor and looked at the cargo ships.
I’m experimenting with slow travel, or at least my version of it. I used to visit six cities in a week. I’d fly around the world in ten days.
The new plan is to take is slow… ish. For example, a few months ago I went to Istanbul, a city I had visited briefly years ago but didn’t really explore. This time I went and stayed there without going anywhere else for three full days.
Now I’m doing the same thing on an island a few hours from Hong Kong. Tomorrow I’ll fly there and stay there, changing hotels a couple of times during the week but otherwise remaining in one spot.
How does it feel to have the world stretch out before you?
You own this moment. This feeling is yours. The future is bright. Onwards.
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Image: Slack12
