I've just been on the phone booking a hotel room for our stop-over in Hong Kong. The man on the phone used the word "actually" four or five times, and never in a really appropriate context. I've noticed this liberal use of "actually" in non-native speakers from all over the world. I wish they wouldn't do it.

Since we last landed in Hong Kong (ten years ago), the old Kai Tak airport has been closed and replaced by an eight storey build out on Lantau island. The airport was in desperate need of refurbishment, but the new location is a great shame. Landing at Kai Tak was surely one of those great travel experiences (if I'd reached out, I could probably have brought in some washing from the balconies as we flew through the skyscrapers at an alarming angle).

Not that I had my eyes open......