Noodle bowls and a Typhoon

We flew into Hong Kong during a category 8 typhoon. They didn't mention this during our flight, where they distracted our stomachs and minds with classic styrofoam noodle bowls and only briefly mentioned the presence of extra turbulence, but in fact we flew in with the storm.

After we happily found all seven pieces of checked luggage and made it through customs, we met up with the business manager of the seminary who informed us our transportation options were limited, "because of the typhoon." OK. What typhoon? Apparently only the airport and hospital workers have to stay at their jobs during a category 8 typhoon, so somehow this meant that we had to get all our stuff on the bus. A public bus. I heard something about taxis having the right to refuse us because of the storm... it's dangerous? Panic set in, or maybe just fatigue, but I couldn't figure out how we were going to fit all of our pieces on a regular bus or even how we were going to manage to carry all of them at once? And should we be outside if everyone else has been advised to go home and stay there? Ah, the joys of moving to a new country...!

But we were in good hands: the buses leaving from the airport are special, there are places for luggage, and really having everyone else off the roads made the trip much faster- nothing like a tropical storm to eliminate rush hour congestion. And the storm wasn't too bad, it sounds much more romantic than it was. But it did remind me of the first chapter of James Clavell's Noble House, a great adventure novel set in 1960's Hong Kong, which also, coincidentally, opens with the main character driving to his new job in fabulous typhoon. The classic MG he drove would have made for a sexier entrance, but public transport is earth-friendly (and we have to save our carbon points for a vacation in Thailand or something!)