Friday, September 28, 2012

So I made it back to Tokyo. Also the Park Hyatt. Even less time on the ground this trip - less than 24 hours. But still it was enough to get me thinking about toilets. Specifically Japanese toilets. The hotel room toilet was pleasantly heated. There was also at least 6 different buttons I could choose from for my hygiene and comfort. Spray size, strength, temperature. Air dry. Have to admit I tried a setting - and would try more if I stayed longer. The public toilets were very polite - they obscured any rude sounds you might be making with gently flushing sounds the whole time you were sitting. Wonder how the urinals work? Are they more private than in the USA? Any added noises?

My co-worker took me for another lovely lunch. Both times it was to restaurants in the building up on 52nd floor or so. This time it was for "traditional Japanese" - as opposed to "tofu". It was similar in that we each received a tray of the same items - 7 or 8 of them. I have no idea what all I ate although I did ask at the time and snapped an iPhone photo. I remember the familiar ones like sashimi and tempura and miso soup but there were more unfamiliar ones as well that were quite tasty.

I stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong for 2 nights at the start of my trip, then a night in Tokyo (which is NOT next door to Hong Kong), then back to the Grand Hyatt for 2 more nights. First 2 nights I was upgraded to Club Level (or whatever it was called). Breakfast up on the 33rd floor or so and dinnerish things and drinks in the evening. Kind of Ritz Club Lite. Food wasn't quite as nice as the Ritz but still quite good and I really liked the dark chocolate mousse. I only managed 1 night there as it was already too late my first night. Two days in Hong Kong I was treated to lunch. Typically travel is a bit of a lonely affair and I sit at a Club level table watching the boats go by below and the lights twinkle or call up Room Service and am thankful for English speaking TV channels. But sometimes I get lunch with a co-worker or business associate which I always enjoy. This trip a local took me to a very fine Chinese restaurant and proceeded to try to give me as full a range of food as possible. It was much more food than either of us needed. Soup, egg rolls, rice dish, dumplings, veggies, shrimps, fish, pickles, cucumbers, jelly fish, other food. You could have rolled me out. Very good. Another day was more just fine dining. I had a duck breast with fig and balsamic sauce. Excellent. Even better when they presented us with two dishes of chocolate chunks at the end - one milk and one dark. I was very sad leaving behind so much yummy chocolate but didn't feel I could scoop it up in a tissue in my purse.