Jet Setting Hello Kitty style

Hello Kitty is ubiquitous in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and of course Japan. You can find everything from Toasters to steering wheel covers with that moniker. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to fly on a Hello Kitty plane on my recent trip to Japan. Eva Air operates a Hello Kitty Jet on various international flights including Taipei to Paris, Seoul, Hong Kong and various Japanese cities.  I flew on this plane during my return flight to Hong Kong from Japan.

Eva Air's Hello Kitty commuter plane traveling between Taipei and Japan; and Taipei and Hong Kong (Photo: CathC)

Aside from the plane, there's a clear Hello Kitty theme at Taiwan's Taoyuan Airport--like the public telephone booths and waiting area. The trip back to Hong Kong included catching a connecting flight in Taipei. The connection in Taipei was hilarious. CharK and I didn't care where we were sitting on the plane and booked the same seats for both the Tokyo-Taipei and Taipei-Hong Kong flights. We got off the plane in Taipei, and literally took a loop around the waiting area. We went through security again just to get back on the same plane and sit down where we were for the last 3.5 hours!

Although, it was nice too see the crew did a pretty good job cleaning the seats (removing the initial stickiness off arm rests that was there when we boarded in Tokyo).

Waiting to board the plane from Taipei back to Hong Kong (Photo:CathC)

Many of the amenities you'd find on a plane were done in the Hello Kitty theme, including pillows, snacks (nuts), cutlery, even the vomit bag! With so many airlines operating these short commuter-routes, the Hello Kitty theme seems to be smart method to win-over passengers, especially those with children.

It was nice to see what the fuss is all about but I can't say I would purposely schedule my flight plans to flew on this plane again. It was odd to see the hand moisturizer bottle disappear half way through the flight...

The decked out Hello Kitty plane  between Taipei-Hong Kong (Photo: CathC)

But I was impressed by the attention to details with this theme down to the boarding pass and luggage tags. I loved the cute playing cards that were available on board.

The cutest luggage tags I've ever seen (Photo: CathC)

The flight home on the Hello Kitty Jet was a fun way to wrap up our trip to Japan.Many airlines boast their luxurious seating designs or amenity kits. But these are mostly exclusive to First or Business class. So I wonder if this type of themed planes will catch on with other airlines? Incorporating a popular theme seems to be an inexpensive way to make the flying experience a little more special for the common flyer.

Hiking in the clouds

My friend from Toronto and her sister flew in for a visit a few days before New Year, and together we hiked up the Ngong Ping 360 Rescue Trail towards Ngong Ping Village.

This trail follows the cable car path for most of the way and I could hear the excited visitors inside their cabins as they passed overhead. The view of the Chek Lap Kok international airport was pretty nice from up here.

The steep rocky steps of the Ngong Ping 360 Rescue Trail (Photo: CharK)

The cable cars were about 80% full even on this foggy day (Photo: CharK)

One of the hardest part of the trail was the steep stair climb up towards the lower cable car stop (Photo: CharK)

I've never hiked in the winter before and since the day was a bit foggy, I felt like walking through clouds during parts of the hike. Usually I can see the surrounding islands from the mountain but the foggy weather made the view into a different isolate world. My friend described it as being like "Lord of the Rings". Being a rescue trail meant it's a nicely paved path. But some of the wooden planks were quite slippery. In fact some of the other hikers we saw had to pull each up to keep from falling down. 

I loved hiking through this foggy mist. There was actually sign warning "beware of very steep trail ahead" (Photo: Chark)

 It was a very strange feeling to feel sweaty and cold at the same time because the temperature was below 12 degrees Celsius near the peak. But we finally made it to the Ngong Ping Village right before sunset. I was so happy that I was able to catch a glimpse of the Tian Tan Buddha even in this fog.

The Buddha and Po Lin Monastery off in the distance (Photo: CharK)

 It was a very strange feeling to feel sweaty and cold at the same time because the temperature was I was suprised to find the Ngong Ping Village was closed so early in the evening. It was about 6pm when we got there and pretty much all the shops and restaurants were closing. The only place still opened was Starbucks. So we picked up some drinks and walked around briefly before heading back down to Tung Chung. 

So this hike was my pre-New Year resolution to to exercise more and turned out pretty successful...Now I can check off of Lantau Island as another hiking destination!

~Happy New Year~