The Hotel and the Surroundings

I am staying at the Harbour Grand Kowloon hotel in the Whampoa district of Kowloon, Hong Kong.  It has a dazzling swimming pool on the roof and great views of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island from most rooms and the many lobby restaurants and bars.

There is no 4th or 14th floor in the hotel, just like some  high-rises in the United States have no 13th floor.  The pronunciation for "4" is "sa" which is the same as the Chinese character for "death".

The hotel won me over when they surprised me with fresh fruit left in my room on the second day.  They must know that most visitors from the US are usually completely jet lagged.  There is a 12-hour time difference between New York and Hong Kong.  I was lucky to sleep like a log every night since I first got here. 










The hotel is on the water's edge and surrounded by a residential area, in the midst of which is a ship-shaped shopping mall.

My office is on the 17th floor in a building which is conveniently located literally next door to the hotel.  Being outside for long is very unpleasant because it is extremely hot and humid here in August. 

The best meals so far were a sushi feast at the world-famous Nobu Japanese restaurant and a lunch at a Chinese restaurant where I couldn't read the menu.

It's Saturday morning and I'm off to explore.