In the last couple of years, I've been to Chek Lap Kok airport more than some of my favorite restaurants. Being in Kong Hong, one must constantly take advantage of its close proximity to other Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Japan, etc. Unlike being in the states where a typical flight is usually domestic; in HK, every flight is international. Wherein lies the benefits of flying in Asia.
Here in Asia, I don't feel like the airline industry is in turmoil like I do in the states. There's no extra charge for baggage check or carry-on. Every time I fly, it's international and that means a full meal is served and on top of that, they offer beer, wine and sometimes whiskey. This is just in economy class! In the states, all I get is a bag of pretzels or peanuts on a coast to coast flight. An extra $5 charge, I get a snack pack! It's going to take some time to adjust to flying in the USA again *sigh*
On a recent flight back to HK from Hangzhou, China for a friend's wedding, we were lucky enough to have been upgraded to business class. Thanks to the wife for racking up a ton of miles from her business trips.
As we boarded the plane and on our way to business class, a tall, good looking mid-30s Asian guy was apparently sitting in her seat. I was trailing her when she handed her ticket to the flight attendant who then asked the guy to take the aisle seat since the window seat was hers. Immediately after he got up, she asked him if he'd trade seats with me. I had a window seat but it was in the last row of the business class section. He hesitated but was willing to give up his seat.
This is how it went down...
He - "Sure. I don't want to deny two love birds from sitting together."
She - "Thank you so much."
He - "No problem."
(5 secs later as I was putting my backpack in the overhead bin)
Me whispering - "Hey. I think that guy is a HK movie star. He looks really familiar."
She - "Yeah. He's kind of cute. I should have sat with him instead of you." *ouch*
(Throughout the flight, I couldn't figured out who he was. I kept stalking him during the flight to see if he was a really a HK pop star)
Me whispering again - "Hey. He dresses like a star and he's wearing shades on the plane. All signs of a mystery movie star."
She whispering back - "Looks like he's wearing Dolce & Gabanna outfit"
Me - "Yeah. He's wearing knee high boots! What kinda guy wears that?!"
(Still very determined to figure who he was, I devised a plan to trail him during the de-boarding. The opportunity came during the shuttle bus ride to the arrival gate)
Me - "Hi. Thanks a lot for trading seats with me. That was really nice of you."
He - "Sure, no problem"
(2 second silence as I thinking of my next line.)
Me - "You probably get this a lot but you look really familiar. Are you in the HK film industry?"
He - "Yeah. Yeah, I'm." (pretty humble guy)
Me - (without hesitation) "Oh. I'm Nam Cheung. What's your name?"
He - "Hi. I'm Michael" (I still had no idea who he was!)
(By this time, I was totally focused on acquiring more info. I had no idea where the wife was. For that matter, she might of been on the plane still :)
I chatted with him for the entire ride. Found out he grew up in the Burlingame area. He has family there still but he works in HK now. He was in Hangzhou to sign a film contract. China is where most of the funding is now in the film industry so HK movie stars are in China more often these days.
I found the wife when we got off the bus. We continued to chat on our way to immigration and baggage claim.
(At baggage claim)
Me - "Hey, honey. Here's our bag."
He - "Well. Great talking to you. Good luck"
Me - "Michael, what's your last name?" (Still with no shame but I felt bad for not really knowing who he was)
He - "Oh, Tong. Michael Tong"
Me - "Well, nice to have met you. Do you mind if we get a picture together? Hey honey, how about if you take a picture with Michael?"
This is Tong Mun Long (AKA Michael Tong). Not a top tier star like Andy Lau but he has bay area connection! :) He turned out to be a really nice guy. After baggage claim, he was actually on the same Airport Express train with us. He made sure to wave good bye to the both of us on his way out of the train. Really nice guy! That was a nice surprise with the upgrade and meeting Michael Tong.
Here are some pictures of Hangzhou. The city is built around a beautiful lake.
