Cathay Pacific is as good an airline as RyanAir is a bad one. The new 777 300 is a marvelous machine. Better than a 747 in myriad ways. More legroom in economy class. TV screen for each seat. 100, that’s 100 movies to choose from (I watched 4) and the 15 hours flew by. The airline just has a different approach from United, Delta, etc., which seem intent on pushing the cramped space, bad food, and overall mediocrity to almost the breaking point. All right, all right…
Made my way to the Royal Plaza Hotel, where I thought I had a reservation, but somehow did not. After 20 minutes, they gave me a room on the Executive Club floor. Woo-woo! I have seldom been in such a luxurious place. It’s excessive, and a bit embarrassing. The breakfast buffet is unreal. The towels are giant. A button opens the curtains. 4 huge pillows. TV, radio, CD player, game player, on and on. This is Corporate World International. OK, OK… Am I beginning to rant in my old age?
The printing plant (Paramount) is wonderful. From the first whiff of ink, the noise, the hustle, fork lifts flying around, the stacks of paper and printed jobs stacked on pallets, I’m in heaven. And here was the tiny homes book. We made a few adjustments on the first 8-page signature (backing off on the red), and from thereon the press men nailed it. I signed “OK” on each signature and by 10 PM last night I felt confident enough in the process and the guys to get a partial night’s sleep. Checking out of luxury headquarters this morning, will spend tonight in a small room at the printers and watch the signatures roll today and tonight. Oh boy! It’s good to be alive. I watch the incredible complexity of the process, in this case Mitsubishi sheet-fed 4-color presses, and the sorting, stacking, binding and trimming in disbelief. A big difference these days is the computer-controlled color adjustment.
Hong Kong is a spectacular city. Coming from San Francisco, I feel a kinship. Both cities on the water, both with a sparkle (although this is 7 times bigger). The verticality here is striking. The apartments are cities in the air. The subway stations are on many levels.
Lunch with 5 guys from the plant yesterday. Them to me: Do you use chopsticks? Hey, I’m a regular from Yee Jun’s and Sam Wo and sushi bars as I reach for the dim sum. There’s a difference between these guys and the press guys in mainland China (where I went for the printing of Home Work in 2004). They’re happier. They smile a lot. The guys on the floor of the plant all wear these brown shirts with Chinese lettering front and back and I’m trying to figure out how to get one.
Time to exit hotel, ride the subway, try not to get lost, and meet my guide Trevor, a HK native, who is chaperoning me through the process. More to come…
