Read before you go

Plan to travel? Then read everything you can find about your destination.

I was asked recently about my favorite place among my travels to Asia.

That was easy after I gave it some thought. Hong Kong is probably my favorite. I spent a year reading about the places I planned to go.

It’s easy to travel to Hong Kong. There’s no language barrier. English is the second language. After many years under British control almost everyone spoke English.

The colony is now under Communist Chinese control and many of its attractions have been changed.

Everything I read promised that visitors would find Hong Kong safe. Information stated that items left in your room would not be disturbed and that merchants would send things you buy.

I found all of these things true not only in Hong Kong but also in other countries I visited.

I decided that I would test some of this out. When I left my hotel, I would put some U.S. bills (not a lot) on the dresser. I never lost a dime. Those that entered my room to clean or straighten the bed left everything as I left it.

Hong Kong is a great place to buy gifts or collect interesting articles. I would give the merchants my mailing address, and sure enough when I returned home, or shortly afterward, packages started arriving. I never lost a thing.

I found a place where I could have a suit tailored to fit. After a couple of fittings, I left wondering how this was going to play out. The suit arrived home before I did.

In Thailand, the hotel had a floor boy watching your room. He sat at the end of the hall and watched the entire floor of rooms. I was told that it was a good idea to have contact with the floor boy. I met him and gave him a little money and he made sure that no one entered my room except those who made up the bed and cleaned the room.

My traveling was many years ago, but my guess is that most things are the same.

But it paid off to get acquainted with customs, currency, and transportation before arrival. This is true whether your travels are domestic or overseas.

I must mention that food in Hong Kong is the best I found anywhere.