Trip Reports - PHL-ORD-NRT-TPE-NRT-ITM-KIX-HNL-LAX-PHL on UA F,C

Friday, March 5, 2004

Decided at the last minute to take the train to PHL and overnite at the Marriott versus fight the traffic in the morning. Got a $179 rate at the Marriott, the train is $7 each way, for my employer it’s a wash versus 10 days parking at $19 a day plus mileage up and down the Blue Route. Wife and kids drop me at North Wales train station, caught the 7:57 PM R5 into the city. Fifteen minute layover at Market East station uneventful except was approached by aggressive panhandler and R1 train to airport which was supposed to arrive on Platform 3 arrived on Platform 4 just to see if we were paying attention. Arrived at Concourse B right around 9:20, was given a room on the Concierge floor, room 1533 which had a very nice view of the airport and all the activity with planes coming and going. I highly recommend a room high up and on that side of the hotel if you are interested in such things. The lounge was open until 10 PM so I scored some cake and decaf. Went in search of an ATM which accepts deposits as I like a fool had taken my wife’s paycheck to deposit and hadn’t gotten to it during the day and forgot to leave it with her. Struck out, will have to try again in ORD.

Breakfast in the Concierge lounge included the Atkins option of hard boiled eggs and lunch meats and sliced cheeses sort of like in a typical German Fruehstuck buffet. To me, not as appealing as the scrambled eggs and great crisp bacon they were offering at the SJC Marriott when I was there last week.

Rolled my bags all the way to Concourse D and checked in with United. Had them pull out the Mileage Plus number that my travel agent had inserted in to my record and substitute my US Airways Dividend Miles number. As a Chairman’s Preferred on US, I will get a 100% bonus on top of my flight miles, and the base miles will count toward my tier miles for next year. Security line at D is a mile long, ...? Went back over to C where there was no line at all and quickly back to D inside security, smilingly smugly at all the morons still in line for security. On UA 287, was pleasantly surprised to be offered a pre-flight drink, and later drinks in a real glass. For this dedicated US roach, it was a very nice touch. Also the FA took my coat without being asked.

Coming into ORD we had landing gear down and were nearly ready to land when the captain suddenly goosed the engine and climbed sharply away from the runway. I quickly switched to Channel 9 and heard ATC saying, “United 287 refused on 22L due to microjets”. At first I thought it was those pesky RJ’s swarming around our runway but later the captain came on the PA and I learned that microjets is tech speak for wind shear. Anyway we flew back over Lake Michigan and were accepted on our second approach.

Well, this little episode meant I only had about 30 minutes in the Red Carpet Club, just enough time to download my email. One thing I don’t like about RCC vs US Airwasy club is the convoluted way to connect your laptop to the phones, in US clubs you don’t have to pick up the receiver.

Boarded US 881 to NRT. Had asked in PHL to switch to a window so I could sleep undisturbed and was given the exit row aisle 22A on the 747. Sat next to a 23 yo girl who was going over for a job interview. Again my coat was taken by the FA without me having to ask. Hmmm, I could get used to this. Dinner choices were filet, chicken in a Chinese Char siu glaze, or Obento. The Western meals came with a starter of smoked salmon and a green salad. I went with Obento to get in the Nippon mood. It consisted of a starter of eel and fried egg, beef in red wine, crabmeat sushi rolled in tobiko, a fried scallop, seaweed and cold udon noodles. Main course was a wonderful whitefish, steamed rice, chicken balls, and vinegared jellyfish. I am a big fan of jellyfish.

I had taken my 10 mg Ambien during starters (this is my first experience with the drug), felt pretty buzzed 45 minutes later and must have passed out during the cheese course so I missed the gorgonzola, cheddar and fruit. Both my seatmate and FA had told me I slept through the cheese, funny since I don’t remember even closing my eyes. On awaking I knocked over my water glass which narrowly missed my seatmate, she was very pleasant about it. Managed to snag a piece of cheesecake which was unremarkable then passed out again and did not wake for about 4 hours, whereupon I did email for 45 minutes then slept for another 4 hours.


[This message has been edited by gardener (edited Mar 07, 2004).]

> Security line at D is a mile long, ...? Went
> back over to C where there was no line at all
> and quickly back to D inside security,
> smilingly smugly at all the morons still in
> line for security.

At PHL I am always amazed when I see security lines are huge at one concourse and then nearly empty at another. I can understand not moving if you aren't from PHL and don't realize the 'trick' but for locals not to realize it is truly unbelievable.

What amazes me is the difference between the B line and the C line...both lead to US gates but C is almost always mobbed but B is usually empty...it is definitely mind-boggling...

Good report, looking forward to more!

N674UW

I always find B the longest line! Although since FL moved back into Terminal D, that line has gotten much longer.

Great report, thus far!

[This message has been edited by haveric (edited Mar 07, 2004).]

Saturday, March 06, 2004

Woke up in time for lunch, we are only an 1:20 out from NRT at this point. Lunch was penne pasta with tomato sauce and green and yellow squash. The penne were beyond al dente but the squash was a nice crisp-tender. Landed at NRT. FA gave me my Burberry raincoat, felt a strange bulge in pocket – she had placed three bags of snack mix in my pocket! Nice surprise. Sailed through health inspection, immigration, baggage claim and customs. Scored a ticket for the bus to the Marriott Kinshicho Tobu. Had to wait about an hour and a half as unlike most hotels in the Akasaka or Ginza area there is very infrequent bus service to the Kinshicho area. While waiting I struck up a conversation with another gaijin, turns out he is from SBA. On the bus we talk some more, he is headed to the Marriott also. He is staying two nights so I show him my stash of Marriott Bonus Bucks which get you $100 off a stay of two nights or more. I gift him one of the coupons and he gifts me a piece of paper with a picture of Ben Franklin on it. I was so impressed with the artwork that I gifted him two portraits of Andrew Jackson and ten portraits of George Washington. There was so much gifting going on that it was getting to feel a lot like Christmas. Anyway net-net-net he was going to save $50 and I got rid of a cert that was going to expire end August. I don’t know if we have many Marriott fans in the audience, but have you ever noticed that in the US Bonus Bucks post to the folio as a credit, either as “cash” or “voucher”, whereas in Europe they discount your room rate? This basically sux the way they do it in Europe as number 1 I am afraid our corporate bean counters will flag it and number 2 you get screwed out of Marriott Rewards points on the reduced room rate. Don’t know how they do it in Asia but just in case I plan on using my last $50 cert here in NRT and will cash in a $100 cert in HNL.

Dinner is a pretty decent buffet at Restaurant Belcanto. At 9 pm take 5 mg Ambien, call home and speak to the wife and kids. In bed by 10 pm.

Sunday, March 07, 2004

Woke up about 4:30 AM, feeling much better than any other trip to Asia. I am thinking this Ambien is pretty good stuff, it sure gets me to sleep, only issue is it only keeps me asleep for 4 to 6 hours. I am thinking I need to try one of two things, either go to bed right after taking it instead of staying up another hour, or maybe I need a bigger dose being a 6 foot 4, 230 pound guy. The health center at my work recommends 2x5 mg pills the first night and 1x5 mg the second night which seems to me kinda “one size fits all”, I mean maybe a big guy like me needs more than those 105 pound women who don’t even weigh enough to donate blood. I’ll have to look it up in the PDR (Physician’s Desk Reference) when I get back.

Breakfast buffet at the Restaurant Belcanto is fine. Lunch is in the Japanese restaurant “Ren” on the 22nd floor which offers a pretty good panoramic view of Tokyo. From my table I see the Asahi building with the giant gold horn sticking out the side. One of my Japanese friends once told me some Japanese liken it to a giant golden piece of excrement. It is hard to be lukewarm about that piece of architecture, that is for sure. Anyway, lunch is a combo plate of tempura, sashimi, miso soup, and rice bowl with some pickled sour plum (ume). There is some wasabi on the plate with the sashimi but no soy sauce on the lacquered tray. None in evidence on the table either. I look at the waitress quizically and say, “Shioyu?” She looks like she has committed the biggest sin the world has ever seen, says “Sorry” about ten times and runs off. Ten seconds later I have a little dish of soy sauce to mix up my wasabi in and she apologizes another 5 times. Jeez, if she commits ritual suicide back in the kitchen I will feel really bad. What is it about wasabi in Japan that it always tastes so much better than in the US? We must get the bad stuff and the Japanese keep the really good stuff for themselves. Or maybe it’s like prosciutto and our government doesn’t let us import the real stuff. Speaking of which, my wife and I spent a weekend in Montreal and had an amazing dinner at “Toque!” – they have fantastic cheeses up there made from raw sheep milk and raw cow’s milk and raw goat’s milk – like my French friend Willy says, “you can not get real cheese in the US – it is dead cheese – real cheese is alive”. Just another case of the government protecting us although from what I do not know. I would insert a gratuitous comment about the TSA but Spiff might be reading this.

Went for a walk around the Kinshicho JR station. Some snow flurries come and then go. There is a cute little park kitty cornered from the station. Today at least there is sort of a flea market going on, maybe every Sunday I don’t know. I am the only gaijin looking at the stuff which causes some people a lot of amusement. I forgot to pack my Camelbak and I am going on a couple of hike on Oahu so I am hoping to score a cheap used backpack but all the backpacks for sale are kids packs with “Hello Kitty” or “Pikachu” on them and the few adult packs are Japanese adult size which is to say they are way small for me. There is also a little takoyaki stand at the entrance to the park. Takoyaki for the uninitiated is a great little treat consisting of chopped octopus tentacles dipped in batter and then cooked up in little muffin pans and served with shaved dry ginger and a sweet sauce. A wonderful dish although in my experience more prevalent in Osaka area which is known as the Kinki region, no it has nothing to do with that kind of kinky. Kind of like Octopus McNuggets except it only comes with one kind of dipping sauce. Anyway I am still full from lunch and I will be in Kyoto later in the week and will load up on takoyaki and okonomiyaki then. Dinner at the buffet again, by the way if you like to eat buffets are the way to go in Japan. Crab legs on the buffet tonight and they are served with a very pungent sauce, looks like soy sauce but pungent gingery flavor. Sashimi is sea breem and yellowtail (hamachi) which are both very tasty as is the rice bowl with salmon roe (ikura) and sweet shrimp (ama ebi). All in all I get a lot of variety and very tasty food for Y 3300 including juices and a la carte juice is Y 500, entrees are Y 2500 and up, and desserts start at Y 600. So who would be dumb enough to order from the menu? Probably the people who are still waiting to clear security in D concourse back at PHL. LOL.