HK Going Downhill

I have been to HK 5-6 times over the past ~5 years. This time, things seemed to really be going down hill. First of all, the parking on the US side jumped from $18-20 last year for 24 hours to $40 for 24 hours. WTF?! I may need to start parking at the trolley station and riding down to San Ysidro. A bit more of a hassle, but $40 is getting to be crazy.

Next, if you are staying at Hotel Cascadas (next to HK), they have some annoying new policies. First of all, they now ask for a photo ID and really scrutinize it. They act all weird if the name on your reservation doesn't match your ID. I used to be able to show a printout of the reservation email (with a bogus name), pay for the room in cash, and walk to the elevator.

I also showed up with a backpack this trip; after I successfully cleared the metal detector, the hotel security dude spent 10 full minutes going through EVERYTHING. He opened up my toiletries bag and went through every compartment, took out my toothbrush, toothpaste, condoms, cash, etc. He pulled all of my clothes and clean underwear out and checked it... All laid out on the table next to the checkin counter where customers and strippers are walking back & forth. Seriously, WTF?!?