The Cathay Pacific 10,091 km flight from Vancouver, Canada to Hong Kong, China takes approximately 12 hours. I was lucky enough to upgrade our seats from Economy to Premium Economy, a decision which made a very long flight a lot more comfortable. Perks included: pre-boarding champagne, a blanket and pillow, a convenience kit (that included ear plugs, eye mask, tooth brush and fresh socks), and noise cancelling headphones to watch the 84 free movies or browse the 200 TV shows.
We set down in Hong Kong at 6 AM, for our 33 hour layover. There was a level 3 cyclone when we arrived, but that only translated into driving warm rains and big gusting winds.
I booked a hotel at Novotel Citygate. The earliest they could check us in was 10 AM, but they kindly let me use the guest facilities (translate showers and gym) to freshen up. After that long flight and limited sleep, that shower felt amazing.
After I showered, we walked over to the mall that was attached to our hotel to grab a bite to eat. Things got a bit lost in translation, and instead of a noodle bowl, I ended up with congee. It actually tasted pretty good but the texture was like porridge soup.
We fared a bit better with dinner. The soup with the undetermined vegetable, was delicious.
The following day, we made our way to the Honk Kong International airport.
The sheer size of this airport is hard to even describe. There was a slight mishap with a changing gate but since we had time to spare, it was a non-issue. My one piece of advice for when you travel a huge international airport is give yourself the gift of time.
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