Having been one of the other "runners" in this story, I figure I might as well jump in.
First, I second the thought on the benefits of meeting people from FT. It definitely added something to be able to meet up with someone else on the trip.
When first hearing that you didn't sleep at all on ORD-HKG, I figured you for crazy! Especially during the 10 hours of snow!
The biggest difference between Chinese food and Chinese food in the U.S. is that, in China, the food isn't slathered in sauces.
Don't forget that in America, we don't get a cooked chicken head with our roast chicken!
After dinner, we wandered around to an area with a bunch of bars. We bar hopped for a while and checked out the scene. A lot of the people in these bars were ex-pats from one place or another.
In case anyone's interested, the name of the district where we hung out is Lan Kwai Fong. If you're looking for nightlife, this place has it.
That being said, great trip report. Enjoyed meeting you and hope to meet up with others on future runs.
[This message has been edited by coyote (edited 04-25-2001).]