bagold
Jun 27, 01, 7:58 pm
Continuing on from the last report:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/001915.html
My girlfriend’s overall impression of the previous CX flight was really good. I took her on UA Business last year to Sydney and she wasn’t all that impressed. She normally finds long flights really boring and not easy to sleep but this time CX definitely exceeded her expectations. The good news for me is that she may be more willing to accompany me more often on my trips overseas! J We spent a week in Hong Kong and it rained 6 out of 7 days. I drove most of the time and one tank of gas cost me US$86! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif And that was not including all the parking which normally cost US $3-$4 / hour. My girlfriend did manage to trip the star ferry, peak tram and MTR once and she was extremely surprised to find the MTR so clean, efficient and the most surprising fact to her was that it had air-conditions. For some reason she was expecting to find it like the NY subways.
We also went to the Jade market, the first time for me even though I have been to HK so many times and also lived there before. My mom took us there and my girlfriend bought a present for each member of her family. I was pretty impressed with the selection and the prices. Of course we had to bargain a lot and at first my girlfriend wasn’t used to bargaining and asked whether we should really be depriving them of their livelihood but I told her it was the way of life most of the time in Asia. By the end of our 2 week trip she started saying that I wasn’t getting a good enough discount! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif She also bought a lot of clothes because she is on the petite side and more clothes in HK fit her. We both bought a ton of Chinese VCDs to bring back to the States because it is not easy to find Chinese TV series and movies. The last night of our stay was my friend’s wedding. It was a catholic wedding and was held at the Catholic Cathedral on the Hong Kong Island side. The reception was held at the Grand Hyatt so we decided to use my girlfriend’s free weekend night to stay at the Grand Hyatt. I also presented my Gold passport number upon check-in because I was a newly comped Diamond member and they upgraded us from a garden view room (standard room for award booking) to a corner room overlooking the harbor! The view was really impression and on the side we could look down to the swimming pool and tennis courts. I didn’t know that the Grand Hyatt had such nice facilities. Too bad we didn’t have enough time to try the pool. This was also my first time staying in a hotel in HK. Kind of feels weird staying in a hotel when you have a home there. Another friend of mine was a groomsmen for the wedding and was going from room to room. He came to my room and said that I had a really nice room compared to all the other rooms he saw. He said our room was larger than the normal room and also the view was great. Apparently, the garden view rooms had silver bathroom fittings and the harbor view room had gold bathroom fittings. The light switches in the room was interesting. The bedside switches were clear plastic knobs that you pulled out or pushed in. The lamp on the desk also had power and phone sockets hidden behind a wooden cover. The room also had a longish sofa. Overall, I really like the room and rate it better than all the other Hyatts (including Park Hyatts) I have stayed in.
June 17th CX713 HKG-BKK 0855-1040 (777 C seats: 16HK)
We checked out of the Grand Hyatt at 6:45am and took a taxi to the HK Airport Express. The ride was quick since there was no traffic so early in the morning. It cost HK$30 which included $15 for the luggage. We proceeded straight to the airport because I wanted to show my girlfriend the cool CX check-in desks that they have for first class. We arrived at the airport by 7:30am and check-in was smooth. I asked them to check our bags through to Phuket (HKT) and even though the flight from BKK to HKT was on TG, CX had no problem tagging our bags all the way through. However, they didn’t check us in for the BKK-HKT flight. I am not sure whether it was because CX didn’t have the ability to or because we had changed dates on the ticket and didn’t have a sticker showing the new date. Even though it was a two-class aircraft, the bags were tagged with first class priority tags and we were given invitation for the first class wing lounge due to my Emerald status. We then proceeded to the wing for our buffet breakfast. We were quickly seated in the restaurant (which is catered by the Peninsula hotel) and a waiter took our drinks order and we went for the champagne. Never too early for a glass of champagne and they served Moet & Chandon! It is probably the best champagne I have seen served in a lounge. For breakfast, we had congee, dim sum, chocolate croissant, and toast. From what I remember, they also had different types of muffin, a good selection of fruit, and the usual western breakfast with eggs and sausage. After a very filling breakfast, it was time to head to the gate. The flight left from gate 32 (I think) which required a ride on the rail to the other side of the terminal. They had already started boarding when we arrived and business class ended up being completed full. We had another glass of champagne before take-off and this time they were serving Billecart. Apparently this was the standard champagne for the Asian business class routes. We both skipped breakfast because we were full from the breakfast at the wing and choose to sleep. I remember that I was glad that we ate at the lounge because the menu didn’t sound that appealing. The flight landed in BKK on time and taking advise from fellow FTers we had checked our bag through to Phuket and proceeded to the transit area. We had a long work before we found the transit desks and when I asked where I should check-in they pointed somewhere further down the terminal. So I asked where was the lounge and was told it was directly above us. So I decided to take the escalator upstairs and proceeded to the TG Royal Orchid lounge for check-in.
June 17th TG213 BKK-HKT 1400-1520 (747-400 C seats: 14AB)
Upon arriving at the lounge, I presented our paper tickets, which were issued in the States but I had called TG and changed our flight dates and times. We had business class tickets so TG in the US told me that I could use the same paper ticket. When I explained the situation to the agent and said that we were scheduled on TG211 on 1pm they told me that I should have taken the ticket to have a sticker put on it with the new date and time. I told them that I wasn’t near a TG office in the US and then I think she mumbled something to the other agent about Hong Kong. They probably think I should have gone to the TG office in HK. In any case, I didn’t worry because it was a fully refundable and changeable ticket. They told me that the 1pm flight was cancelled so they had to put me on the 2pm flight. They took my baggage tags and called down to make sure our bags would be transferred to the 2pm flight and told me to take a seat while they sorted out the ticket and issued our boarding pass. I have to say that I was really disappointed by the TG lounge. It looked very old and dirty. The food wasn’t anything I wanted to touch and the bathrooms were dirty. I was not looking forward to spending the next 3 hours in the lounge. After 10 minutes, the agent brought us our boarding passes and confirmed that our bags were transferred. Apart from the initial reaction from the agent about not having a sticker, they treated us pretty nice. As soon as we had our boarding pass I told my girlfriend that we should get out of there and walk around and maybe find a new lounge. We walked around all the shops and found the Red Carpet lounge. It looked nicer than the TG lounge but it was closed. I think the opening times were 0400-1100. They we went to the SQ lounge. They had just closed for 20 minutes for cleaning. Looks like there weren’t any SQ flights scheduled anytime soon. So we proceeded further down the terminal and saw the Louis Tavern lounges but decided to keep going. Eventually, we found the BA/QF Bangkok lounge!!! I presented my BA Gold card which is suppose to allow the use of BA lounges if you are traveling on any airline that day. I didn’t think many people knew about that and expected a problem when I presented the TG tickets but the agent didn’t say a thing after looking at my card and boarding passes. We proceeded downstairs to the lounge and this was definitely the nicest lounge I have seen in BKK. Miles ahead of the TG lounge and looks better than the UA and SQ lounges. We spent just over an hour in the lounge and it only had one other person. I think the next flight out wasn’t for another 4 hours. The drinks and snacks were pretty good and the bathroom was nice and very clean!
At 1pm we decided to go and find our gate in case it was a long way away. Coming out of the lounge we stumbled across a massage place. We had enough time for a 15-minute massage, which cost us $5 each! After the massage we found out way to the gate, which was one that required a bus to take us to the bus. They didn’t board until 1:40pm and we were the first on the bus. The bus took us to the other end of the airport and I was very surprised to find us arriving in front of a 747-400 for such a short flight! We took the door 1 steps up and I saw that there were already passengers on board. They must have come from the domestic terminal. As I was walking pass first class I saw at least 3 passengers seated there. Not sure how you get a first class seat when they only sell business and economy tickets. Our seats were on the upper deck, third row from the front. They didn’t have number 13 as a row number. Upper deck was only 30% full and most of them sat in the back half of the upper deck. It looks like the seat pitch was round 50” but I didn’t measure it. I was extremely pleased with the seat pitch and recline as I was expecting something more like a domestic first class seat. In the seat pocket they had a writing kit with postcards, paper and envelopes. That was a nice touch and we took it as a souvenir. The flight left 10 minutes late and the flight was a little bumpy. They only served us drinks but I had expected some type of meal after reading some reports on FT. We were definitely hungry by then as we hadn’t eaten since our early breakfast in the HK airport lounge.
As the plane landed in Phuket I followed signs for international arrival. Most people followed the domestic arrivals sign. I wonder what happens if I followed the domestic arrivals sign? I didn’t try because I knew my bags were going to come out at the international arrival baggage claim. Also the people who came from the international terminal in BKK had a Thai sticker on them. I took mine off during the flight not knowing what it was for.
Immigration was quick as there was no one else waiting to be served. Our bags came within 10 minutes and we went through customs without having any questions asked. We saw a desk for the official taxi and limousine service and paid THB480 for our ride to the Sheraton Laguna hotel.
The taxi was an air-conditioned Volvo and took around 20 minutes to get to the hotel.
Here is something I wrote about the hotel in a previous post:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/001912.html
One of our friends who was also in HK for my friend’s wedding joined us a day later. Originally, they were going to Philippines but after hearing about the kidnapping of the tourists they cancelled their trip and decided to join us in Phuket. It turned out to be a lot of fun as we played water polo in the hotel pool and also Mahjong at night with a brand new set that we bought from HK! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
More to come….
- HKT-BKK
- Peninsula Hotel in BKK
- BKK-HKG
- Sheraton Hotel in HKG
- HKG-YVR-DFW-BOS
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/001915.html
My girlfriend’s overall impression of the previous CX flight was really good. I took her on UA Business last year to Sydney and she wasn’t all that impressed. She normally finds long flights really boring and not easy to sleep but this time CX definitely exceeded her expectations. The good news for me is that she may be more willing to accompany me more often on my trips overseas! J We spent a week in Hong Kong and it rained 6 out of 7 days. I drove most of the time and one tank of gas cost me US$86! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/redface.gif And that was not including all the parking which normally cost US $3-$4 / hour. My girlfriend did manage to trip the star ferry, peak tram and MTR once and she was extremely surprised to find the MTR so clean, efficient and the most surprising fact to her was that it had air-conditions. For some reason she was expecting to find it like the NY subways.
We also went to the Jade market, the first time for me even though I have been to HK so many times and also lived there before. My mom took us there and my girlfriend bought a present for each member of her family. I was pretty impressed with the selection and the prices. Of course we had to bargain a lot and at first my girlfriend wasn’t used to bargaining and asked whether we should really be depriving them of their livelihood but I told her it was the way of life most of the time in Asia. By the end of our 2 week trip she started saying that I wasn’t getting a good enough discount! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif She also bought a lot of clothes because she is on the petite side and more clothes in HK fit her. We both bought a ton of Chinese VCDs to bring back to the States because it is not easy to find Chinese TV series and movies. The last night of our stay was my friend’s wedding. It was a catholic wedding and was held at the Catholic Cathedral on the Hong Kong Island side. The reception was held at the Grand Hyatt so we decided to use my girlfriend’s free weekend night to stay at the Grand Hyatt. I also presented my Gold passport number upon check-in because I was a newly comped Diamond member and they upgraded us from a garden view room (standard room for award booking) to a corner room overlooking the harbor! The view was really impression and on the side we could look down to the swimming pool and tennis courts. I didn’t know that the Grand Hyatt had such nice facilities. Too bad we didn’t have enough time to try the pool. This was also my first time staying in a hotel in HK. Kind of feels weird staying in a hotel when you have a home there. Another friend of mine was a groomsmen for the wedding and was going from room to room. He came to my room and said that I had a really nice room compared to all the other rooms he saw. He said our room was larger than the normal room and also the view was great. Apparently, the garden view rooms had silver bathroom fittings and the harbor view room had gold bathroom fittings. The light switches in the room was interesting. The bedside switches were clear plastic knobs that you pulled out or pushed in. The lamp on the desk also had power and phone sockets hidden behind a wooden cover. The room also had a longish sofa. Overall, I really like the room and rate it better than all the other Hyatts (including Park Hyatts) I have stayed in.
June 17th CX713 HKG-BKK 0855-1040 (777 C seats: 16HK)
We checked out of the Grand Hyatt at 6:45am and took a taxi to the HK Airport Express. The ride was quick since there was no traffic so early in the morning. It cost HK$30 which included $15 for the luggage. We proceeded straight to the airport because I wanted to show my girlfriend the cool CX check-in desks that they have for first class. We arrived at the airport by 7:30am and check-in was smooth. I asked them to check our bags through to Phuket (HKT) and even though the flight from BKK to HKT was on TG, CX had no problem tagging our bags all the way through. However, they didn’t check us in for the BKK-HKT flight. I am not sure whether it was because CX didn’t have the ability to or because we had changed dates on the ticket and didn’t have a sticker showing the new date. Even though it was a two-class aircraft, the bags were tagged with first class priority tags and we were given invitation for the first class wing lounge due to my Emerald status. We then proceeded to the wing for our buffet breakfast. We were quickly seated in the restaurant (which is catered by the Peninsula hotel) and a waiter took our drinks order and we went for the champagne. Never too early for a glass of champagne and they served Moet & Chandon! It is probably the best champagne I have seen served in a lounge. For breakfast, we had congee, dim sum, chocolate croissant, and toast. From what I remember, they also had different types of muffin, a good selection of fruit, and the usual western breakfast with eggs and sausage. After a very filling breakfast, it was time to head to the gate. The flight left from gate 32 (I think) which required a ride on the rail to the other side of the terminal. They had already started boarding when we arrived and business class ended up being completed full. We had another glass of champagne before take-off and this time they were serving Billecart. Apparently this was the standard champagne for the Asian business class routes. We both skipped breakfast because we were full from the breakfast at the wing and choose to sleep. I remember that I was glad that we ate at the lounge because the menu didn’t sound that appealing. The flight landed in BKK on time and taking advise from fellow FTers we had checked our bag through to Phuket and proceeded to the transit area. We had a long work before we found the transit desks and when I asked where I should check-in they pointed somewhere further down the terminal. So I asked where was the lounge and was told it was directly above us. So I decided to take the escalator upstairs and proceeded to the TG Royal Orchid lounge for check-in.
June 17th TG213 BKK-HKT 1400-1520 (747-400 C seats: 14AB)
Upon arriving at the lounge, I presented our paper tickets, which were issued in the States but I had called TG and changed our flight dates and times. We had business class tickets so TG in the US told me that I could use the same paper ticket. When I explained the situation to the agent and said that we were scheduled on TG211 on 1pm they told me that I should have taken the ticket to have a sticker put on it with the new date and time. I told them that I wasn’t near a TG office in the US and then I think she mumbled something to the other agent about Hong Kong. They probably think I should have gone to the TG office in HK. In any case, I didn’t worry because it was a fully refundable and changeable ticket. They told me that the 1pm flight was cancelled so they had to put me on the 2pm flight. They took my baggage tags and called down to make sure our bags would be transferred to the 2pm flight and told me to take a seat while they sorted out the ticket and issued our boarding pass. I have to say that I was really disappointed by the TG lounge. It looked very old and dirty. The food wasn’t anything I wanted to touch and the bathrooms were dirty. I was not looking forward to spending the next 3 hours in the lounge. After 10 minutes, the agent brought us our boarding passes and confirmed that our bags were transferred. Apart from the initial reaction from the agent about not having a sticker, they treated us pretty nice. As soon as we had our boarding pass I told my girlfriend that we should get out of there and walk around and maybe find a new lounge. We walked around all the shops and found the Red Carpet lounge. It looked nicer than the TG lounge but it was closed. I think the opening times were 0400-1100. They we went to the SQ lounge. They had just closed for 20 minutes for cleaning. Looks like there weren’t any SQ flights scheduled anytime soon. So we proceeded further down the terminal and saw the Louis Tavern lounges but decided to keep going. Eventually, we found the BA/QF Bangkok lounge!!! I presented my BA Gold card which is suppose to allow the use of BA lounges if you are traveling on any airline that day. I didn’t think many people knew about that and expected a problem when I presented the TG tickets but the agent didn’t say a thing after looking at my card and boarding passes. We proceeded downstairs to the lounge and this was definitely the nicest lounge I have seen in BKK. Miles ahead of the TG lounge and looks better than the UA and SQ lounges. We spent just over an hour in the lounge and it only had one other person. I think the next flight out wasn’t for another 4 hours. The drinks and snacks were pretty good and the bathroom was nice and very clean!
At 1pm we decided to go and find our gate in case it was a long way away. Coming out of the lounge we stumbled across a massage place. We had enough time for a 15-minute massage, which cost us $5 each! After the massage we found out way to the gate, which was one that required a bus to take us to the bus. They didn’t board until 1:40pm and we were the first on the bus. The bus took us to the other end of the airport and I was very surprised to find us arriving in front of a 747-400 for such a short flight! We took the door 1 steps up and I saw that there were already passengers on board. They must have come from the domestic terminal. As I was walking pass first class I saw at least 3 passengers seated there. Not sure how you get a first class seat when they only sell business and economy tickets. Our seats were on the upper deck, third row from the front. They didn’t have number 13 as a row number. Upper deck was only 30% full and most of them sat in the back half of the upper deck. It looks like the seat pitch was round 50” but I didn’t measure it. I was extremely pleased with the seat pitch and recline as I was expecting something more like a domestic first class seat. In the seat pocket they had a writing kit with postcards, paper and envelopes. That was a nice touch and we took it as a souvenir. The flight left 10 minutes late and the flight was a little bumpy. They only served us drinks but I had expected some type of meal after reading some reports on FT. We were definitely hungry by then as we hadn’t eaten since our early breakfast in the HK airport lounge.
As the plane landed in Phuket I followed signs for international arrival. Most people followed the domestic arrivals sign. I wonder what happens if I followed the domestic arrivals sign? I didn’t try because I knew my bags were going to come out at the international arrival baggage claim. Also the people who came from the international terminal in BKK had a Thai sticker on them. I took mine off during the flight not knowing what it was for.
Immigration was quick as there was no one else waiting to be served. Our bags came within 10 minutes and we went through customs without having any questions asked. We saw a desk for the official taxi and limousine service and paid THB480 for our ride to the Sheraton Laguna hotel.
The taxi was an air-conditioned Volvo and took around 20 minutes to get to the hotel.
Here is something I wrote about the hotel in a previous post:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/001912.html
One of our friends who was also in HK for my friend’s wedding joined us a day later. Originally, they were going to Philippines but after hearing about the kidnapping of the tourists they cancelled their trip and decided to join us in Phuket. It turned out to be a lot of fun as we played water polo in the hotel pool and also Mahjong at night with a brand new set that we bought from HK! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
More to come….
- HKT-BKK
- Peninsula Hotel in BKK
- BKK-HKG
- Sheraton Hotel in HKG
- HKG-YVR-DFW-BOS