Hong Kong

As the plane approach Chek Lap Kok for landing on Flight CX720, I fastened my seat belt , made my seat upright, sat back and pondered when I was last in this vibrant city. And it suddenly all came back to me as clear as day. In 2003, I was part of the Malaysian delegation of travel and hospitality trade that spearheaded a 'visit' to Hong Kong right in the middle of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) Virus outbreak pandemic. It was a ballsy idea mooted by my Client, China Airlines who's bread and butter route was HK and Taiwan. So when the SARS outbreak hit the region, the travel and hospitality business took a big hit the city of Hong Kong was the hardest hit. Nobody was travelling, let alone travel to Hong Kong, the SARS outbreak area. But we Malaysians organised a plane load of travel agents and hoteliers and flew into a near empty Chek Lap Kok international airport. When we landed then, we were regarded as heroes, celebrities who were 'crazy' to come to Hong Kong during those times. The press and TV crew were there to receive and interview us, and later that night had the news, interviews telecast all over HK and the world. But they were also very touched that we landed to show the world that it was safe to go to Hong Kong. That trip ended a great success with many a deals made with our delegation and HKTA and it was much needed to jump start travel tourism in the region. That was the only time I saw Hong Kong a little less vibrant. But this time around, the airport was abuzz with human traffic. Lots and lots of them. The unbelievably long queues at the immigration counters were agonizing. Once cleared, the highly efficient airport delivered your baggage without a hitch and customs were unobstrusive and the whole airport was alive with activity. What vibrance. And this time around, my trip was a stop-over mainly for the food en route on my maiden trip to Shanghai for a business meeting.

#HongKong #SARS