I got up in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I got everything packed and ready for the flight today and got out at 6am to look for breakfast and have a last walk around Hong Kong’s streets. My plans were quickly foiled by rain. There was nothing open on the street except for a restaurant I tried but didn’t like and McDonald’s. So for the first time in years I went into McDonald’s and had an arteries-blocking meal of egg McMuffin and hash brown. At least I picked something that I never tried before. I’m going to have to run a few kilometers to lose the weight (and guilt) gained from eating this meal.
On the way to the airport I arrived to Central Station at a very busy time. It was probably the morning rush. I was so amazed at how quiet and civilized that rush is, that I had to take this 15 seconds video. Notice how you can hear the footsteps of the passengers walking quickly in and out of the station.
I got to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) using the Airport Express train, which was a treat (it’s more expensive than the bus, but much faster and easier.) HKG is the cleanest, quietest, most accommodating and among the biggest airports I’ve ever been to. For example, carts are free of charge and there’s free WiFi everywhere. There are no boarding calls so in the terminals there is about one message per hour. Apart from that it’s absolute quiet. In the gates there are a little more messages, but not like in other airports I’ve been to – no “keep an eye on your things” type of messages, for example. The airport also has many shops and restaurants and is simply a pleasure to pass through.
Bangkok airport, on the other hand, is one big mess. So noisy and crowded. When I saw it I decided to ditch my plan to spend the night at Khoa San Road just so that I won’t have to be back to Bangkok airport tomorrow. I booked a flight to Koh Samui and immediately boarded it. A propeller plane took me there. Now usually I doubt the airlines’ claims that cellphones interrupt the flight or communication but for this flight I wanted to turn my cellphone off. It went fine and now I’m in Koh Samui after getting a room. It was 33 degrees Celsius when we landed and it’s still hot although the sun already set.
I’m in deep culture shock again. So far I only had to deal with western civilization. I hope I’m going to enjoy it here. Anyway, tomorrow I’m taking a taxi boat to Koh Phangan to find a place for the next few days.