Park Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong
We landed in Hong Kong before the sun rose, and arrived at the hotel around 8:45.
The adventure began back in Toronto about 1:30 AM when we were waiting to board our plane. People were lining up to go down the ramp to the plane but the announcement that we heard was not for boarding but to inform us that the flight would be “delayed for operation reasons”. We later learned that one of the crew had called in “sick” at the last minute and the airline was not able to find a replacement for them. We were told to pick up a voucher and leave details of where we could be contacted when the rescheduled time was known. We had to pick up our bags and take a taxi home. The airline agreed to pay for the taxi to our home and back to the airport.
When we arrived home about 5:AM sleeping was the first thing on our agenda. After about 6 hours of sleep we decided we had to go out for breakfast since we had carefully arranged to leave the fridge empty while we were away. The notice arrived saying the flight would depart at 21:00.
As we were riding back to the airport in the taxi about 17:00 another message arrived. Your flight “will depart at 1:20. Thank you for using notiFLY.” When we checked in at the counter for our boarding passes and presented the taxi receipts, were were reimbursed in cash and given vouchers for $35 each to use toward a meal while we waited for the new departure time.
Meanwhile, we contacted our travel agent who had arranged a hotel, airport transfers, and tours in Hong Kong for us. She was able to notify the tour company, and they were able to delay one of the tours by a couple of hours.
We were in our room by 9:00 and had time to get ready for our 10:25 pickup at the hotel. even had time to take a picture from the hotel window.
Here is a map of the tours we had booked. The first was a half day tour of Hong Kong Island. The second was a one day tour of Lantau island. Watch for more posts on the different stops on those tours.
Before leaving Kowloon for Singapore, I took a couple more pictures from the street at the corner of the hotel. Too bad we were a day late in arriving. We were not able to explore the city around the hotel. It was in the middle of the 2016 New Year celebration (year of the monkey) and the traffic was lighter because many return to their homes in the country to be with family.
Charlie Brown and friends have a place in Hong Kong. (and where is waldo?)
So, what happens when you call in sick at the last minute? Do they cancel the flight until the next day? Do they pay for taxi rides for 300 passengers and buy them dinner? You will have to keep working for the company for a long time to repay all of that.
