UALboy

It has been my dream to be taking a RTW trip since reading all these wonderful TRs here. Finally, an opportunity presents itself as my +1 and I are going to have a few weeks off between engagements. Also, we got married a while ago but never got a chance to do a proper honeymoon. In fact, we were at work within 36 hours after we got married. So, here is a TR for our little journey across the globe. Please enjoy!

For a few months earlier this year, it was considerably cheaper to start a RTW in South Korea. So, with a CRTWSTAR starting in ICN, we had to find our way to ICN. Of course, as a good FTer, what fun would it be if we just take a direct flight from LAX. So, we got a positioning trip to DPS/CGK (no complaints there!) and an OW award ticket between CGK and ICN. Here is

LAX check-in/lounge

The check-in took unexpectedly long. We originally wanted to short-check our baggage to SIN, instead of all the way to CGK. However, the agent tried for 15 minutes before giving up and asking us to pick up our bags in CGK instead. Luckily, we packed our carry-on in an event that our checked bags would be lost for a few days. So, we reluctantly agreed with this arrangement and went through security.


TBIT is currently under construction. So, the not-so-glamorous entrance to the lounges



Entrance to the lounge

The lounge was quite crazy as there were passengers waiting to go to NRT on NH/SQ, ICN on OZ, and FRA on LH. The food and drinks options were quite uninspiring, but it was not a problem with a huge meal ahead of us anyways.

NH 5

With some excellent flights with NH before, I was excited to be on board with ANA again. Boarding process was once again swift. An interesting tidbit happened as two random passengers sat in F during boarding. That causes all the NH cabin crew to be quite frantic as they had to confront them politely and asked them to move back to their seat (and I did a walk through in C and EY without any sights of those two pax).

Even though I am in love with NH, the biggest problem with them is that it took them almost one hour to serve the first cocktail (after the miniature glass of champagne/green tea after take-off). However, the Japanese meal is always fantastic.


Oh... I wish I was on the other end of this sign...


Yummy glass of grand blue


Zensai
Simmered prawn
Golden brown scallop
Salt-grilled saury fish
Fishcake with beans
Flowery sweet vinegared turnip

Kobachi
Braised tofu and vegetable patty in savory radish soy sauce


Shusai
Braised duck breast and vegetables in special soy sauce

Sunomono
Octopus and surf clam salad tossed with Tosa vinegar

Steamed rice
Miso soup and assorted pickles

International course

Pork pate Provencale with marinated artichoke and fresh garden salad

Pan-fried beef tenderloin with onion confit and demi-glace
Sesame-crusted sea bream with herb olive oil sauce
Autumn vegetable quiche with creamy broccoli puree

Two kinds of bread with a choice of flavorful premium Isigny butter or extra-virgin olive oil

Dessert

ANA’s original partfait, mixed berries a la mode
Fresh seasonal fruit

Cheese

The rest of the flight flew by with some sleep and games. The crew was slightly less warm than my previous trips and I did not feel well taken care of. They did the on-the-book service where they checked a few times throughout the flight to see whether I needed any snacks. With 90 minutes to go, I was reminded that it was going to be my last opportunity to order any snacks. So, +1 decided to go on a little spread of snacks from the menu.


Light Meals Anytime

Light dishes and snacks
Dim-sum Chinese (two kinds of steamed chicken dumpling)
Cup of consumme sloup


Bowl of hot Japanese udon noodles with kitsune (fried tofu) garnish


Warm, homey rice ball with caramelized kombu kelp filling and miso soup
Toasted pork cutlet sandwich

Petite Japanese set
Bowl of rice topped with seasoned salmon flakes and soy-cured salmon roe
Assortment of delicacies
Fruit yoghurt

Petite international set
Classic beef stew in red wine sauce
Bread roll
Fruit yoghurt

Petite Japanese set
Bowl of rice topped with seasoned salmon flakes and soy-cured salmon roe
Assortment of delicacies
Fruit yoghurt

Petite international set
Classic beef stew in red wine sauce
Bread roll
Fruit yoghurt

RyanG

Looking forward to the rest of it!!

larrywilmot747

Nice start, thanks for posting.

Cheers Larry.

UALboy

NRT lounge

NH operates two business class lounge out of NRT, one in satellite 4 and one in satellite 5. Although the lounge in satellite 5 is more airy and larger, we decided to head to the lounge in satellite 4 as our inbound flight parked there. Regardless, a visit to the noodle bar and the beer machine is a must!



SQ 11

As we approached the gate, we realized that the flight was delayed, ever though the FIDS in the lounge did not provide us with that information. While we were waiting for the flight, the podium paged for our names. I always have mixed feeling when they page for my name. For all my past experiences, a page only means that I am getting an operational upgrade. However, there is always a chance they want to downgrade us, remove us from the flight, inform us that our baggage has not made it from the previous destination, etc. (I know I am paranoid). Fortunately/Unfortunately, they only paged us because they want to double check our documents. While I was glad that we were not offloaded for some strange reasons, I was also sad that there would be no DP for me…


Champagne and Golden Spice to welcome us aboard


Upper deck on a SQ B744

Boarding formality was once again performed in the SQ way. The FSS working in the upper deck could not be nicer. She was very personable with us and the smile definitely did not feel robotic at all. Once we were airborne, we were served with satay and drinks with our choice. The satay was extremely yummy and I was already looking forward to visiting Singapore in a week or so and have tons more of it. (I have two location specific diet, while they are not particularly healthy, I definitely stand behind it. They are the gelato diet while I am in Italy and the satay diet while I am in Singapore. It certainly beats any of the Atkins/lemonade/whatever hip LA diet that I have tried). NH should definitely learn from SQ on this. I had a drink in my hands in far less time that requires NH.


SATAY!!!!!!

Prelude
Satay
With Onion, cucumber and spicy peanut sauce


Starter
Tuna tataki, omelette and marinated octopus served with mixed salad
Choice of yuzu or creamy sesame dressing

Main
Brillat Savarin tournedos steak with mushroom sauce, garlic-celeriac flan and new potatoes

Singapore style roast chicken served with chicken flavoured rice and chilli sauce

Grilled Atlantic cod served with tomato herb coulis, mixed vegetables and olive oil flavoured mashed potato

Finale

Mango Shortcake
Gourmet cheese with garnishes
A selection with fresh fruit
Gourmet coffees and slection of fine teas, with pralines


Hanagoyomi

Ha-Sum
Salmon with pine nut, shrimp paste with shiitake, sweet potato, mukago

Kuchitori
Horned turban, seaweed, shrimp

Yakimono
Grilled duck, eringi mushroom, pickled ginger

Aemono
Straw mushroom and yamakurage vegetable in peanut dressing

Sunomono
Marinated persimmon, radish and carrot

Takiawase
Simmered beancurd skin, carrot, green beans

Gohan
Grilled mackerel sushi
Steamed rice with grilled pacific saury
Steamed rice with hijiki seaweed

Tome-Wan
Miso soup

Men
Cold buckwheat noodle


Mizugashi
Green tea tiramisu cake

As always, SQ did not disappoint in the food department. Every course was extremely delicious. The FSS certainly could not be nicer. Every drink was topped off with a genuine smile and no requests were too much. Thus far, all my experience with SQ was great yet, with all the SQ girls seem to be rushing around and trying to fulfill all the tasks that they were supposed to. I wanted to give them a benefit of the doubt because we have not had a chance to fly with them on a long flight yet. But, this FSS we had certainly matched the expectation of brilliant SQ services.

The crew offered us the honeymoon cake that we have previously preordered. However, we were simply too full to take in any more. So, we reclined our spacebed and slept the rest of our journey to Singapore. During the descent, the crew did inform us that they have saved the cake for us to take home with us.

Changi CP

Although most transit passengers would choose the transit hotels in Changi to overnight. I decided that we were going to clear immigration and custom so that I can earn my PC points (of course, the transit hotel option was never mentioned to +1). However, with it being connected to T3, we were able to make it to our room within 30 minutes of disembarkation. So, it is time to see what SQ cake looks like.


Light and airy cheesecake. Extremely yummy!

UALboy

Sunrise from CP Changi

SQ956 (SIN-CGK)

After taking a very nice 3-hour nap, we got up and went back into the airport again. Since CP Changi is connected to the SIN T3, we decided to proceed straight towards the Silverkris lounge in T3, which is superior than the one in T2. Of course, we were being constantly reminded that our flight would be departing from T2.


Airy SIN T3

The SIN Silverkris lounge is definitely great for its food. There were probably 12+ western/Asian hot food options. One can easily put together a very decent meal by just trying a little bit of everything. We had to remind ourselves that we have yet another meal ahead of us. So, we exercised a bit of self control and stopped ourselves after one plate (and 3 har gow… hmmmmm)





Transiting to T2 is not hard at all. It just involves a quick 2-minute ride on the Skytrain. However, our gate, of course, is at the far end of the terminal. Anyways, after a quick security check, we were onboard. The usual predeparture routine was performed (drinks, reading materials, and hot towel). What we noticed for short haul SQ flights is that the cabin crew seems to be very rushed and their smiles are a bit more coerced (?). It is certainly not surprising, considering the tasks that they have to perform on the ground (getting all 40+ business class passengers’ luggage stowed, drinks/reading materials offered). I wish I could tell them to chill out a bit, but I am sure the CS/CSS would not approve.

After take off, a breakfast was offered. Instead of a full menu was offered, we got a little one page menu card.




Egg Noodles with Braised Beef


Nasi Uduk

Once again, the food tasted very good and the spice level was definitely not disappointing. The crew was very rushed to get everyone watered and fed. But, the flight is very short and once the trays were collected, we were almost ready for our descent into CGK.

UALboy

Once we were pulled into the gate in CGK, the chaos already begun. The whole J cabin decided that they did not need to wait for the seat belt sign to be turned off before standing up and retrieving their bags. Everyone was on a mad dash to disembark and get to the immigration counter. But, we had to stop at the visa on arrival counter first where one pays $10 for a 7-day entry visa. The guy behind SO was super inpatient and he was literally giving her exactly 1cm of room (as if it will speed anything up).

The immigration queue was just hopelessly long. As I am the king of picking the slowest queue, I got stuck in the one where the computer equipment was failing and the immigration officer had to keep typing in everyone’s information. So, it took me around 40 minutes to clear immigration and custom (which apparently, was not bad for CGK).
With a 5-hour layover planned for CGK, we were planning on visiting the Taman Sari Spa for a quick massage before continuing on our journey. But first, we wanted to stop by the CX counter, hoping that they were opened ~4 hours prior to departure. With the lack of signs, we wandered all the way to the domestic terminal before realizing that we should have turned the other way to reach the CX counter. Unfortunately, the whole area was deserted, except one lady in CX uniform setting everything up for our flight. She informed me that they would be opening at 11am, which was only 20 minutes away.

Somehow, there was some miscommunication and we ended waiting till 11:50 (3 hours prior to departure) before they opened. Totally dipping into our spa time!!! With boarding passes and lounge pass in tote, we walked all the way to the other side of the terminal, following the “spa and reflexology” sign, hoping that will lead us to the Spa. However, after 30 minutes of walking around and asking people, we have concluded that the spa simply could not be found. So, we decided to clear immigration again and just hung out in the JAS Premier Lounge.

The lounge itself is very nicely decorated from the first glance. However, upon closer inspection, the furniture is a bit worn. But, the nice food spread definitely made up for it.

nomad1974

Thanks for a very good report! I have my first ever Business Class longhauls on SQ and NH coming up soon so definitely interested to hear what it's all about ^

UALboy

Seating area


Some good old Bintang beer before boarding


Airside, much nicer than landside


Departure area, a nice faux-hut

CX776 (CGK-HKG)

The load was super light. There were probably less than 10 people for a cabin designed for 42 people. So, service was certainly very personalized. We were frequently addressed by names. Top-ups were performed constantly. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations that I had with the head purser and the senior purser. The SP actually gave me a home-made bookmark after she noticed that I was reading during the flight. That was certainly a very nice gesture, or maybe she just wanted me to replace my bookmark with something that was not a SQ boarding pass.


A very empty A330 regional business cabin


Yummy Champagne as pre-departure


Satay
Chicken with traditional garnishes


Starters
Fine smoked salmon with salmon roe and crème fraiche

Selected seasonal salad with balsamic vinegar dressing


Main courses
Sauteed beef with assorted mushrooms in oyster sauce, steamed jasmine rice and Chinese mixed vegetables

Pan-fried ling fish with red capsicum sauce, olive oil crushed new potatoes and roasted root vegetables

Saffron and ricotta tortellini with creamy tomato concasse


Cheese and Dessert
Cheese selection

Fresh seasonal fruit

Passionfruit curd cake with raspberry coulis

Tea and Coffee

Pralines

The seat for this flight was probably considered as ancient. But, it was comfy enough for a short-ish type of flight like this. The crew was just the best that I have ever had. They could not be more fun, warm, happy, and friendly, especially considering that they were up since 3am (and we would be landing into HKG at 8pm)

UALboy

After taking a nice 2-hour nap, it was time to descent towards HKG. The transfer process was smooth and we were in the Wing in no time. After hanging out there for a little, we also got a chance to visit the Pier. Although the Pier is smaller and less airy than the Wing, the cozy ambience made up for it. One important thing to remember is that the Pier seems to be completely packed right before closing due to all the late night departure, we had a hard time finding two places to sit together. Also, the Pier closes at 11:30pm, so we got kicked out way before it was our time to board.


Seating area in the Wing


Long Bar


We were there right before closing. So, we got the last bowl of noodles from the Noodle Bar


Noodle Bar, quite busy with the late night rush hour


Seating area in the Pier. I got a nice empty-ish shot of the lounge after everyone left... But, we had to leave soon after.

UALboy

CX 412 (HKG-ICN)

Once again, the flight was super empty. Everyone can have a pair of seat by themselves, with most passengers wanting to sleep soon after takeoff. But, for those who were awake, a supper was provided.


Post-departure drink with almonds


Starter
Selected seasonal sald with balasmic vinegar dressing


Main Courses
Sauteed prawns with tomato fish sauce, steamed jasmine rice and Chinese mixed vegetables

Braised lamb shoulder rack, kipfler potatoes and roasted mixed vegetables

Roasted chicken breast wrapped with streaky bacon, barley risotto, cauliflower and mixed capsicums

Cheese and Dessert
Cheese selection

Fresh seasonal fruit


Ivory chocolate cheese cake

Tea and Coffee

Pralines

UALboy

Arrival into ICN was rather interesting. Everyone was packed onto the same train from the gate area to immigration, since the train only runs every 5 minutes. So, it was a mad dash for everyone to get there. Also, any advantages that one had as a business class passenger completely got erased. There were only 4 queues opened for non-Korean passport holders, so the queues were quite long and it took us about 15 minutes to get through.

It was certainly nice to have an early arrival into ICN though. We were the only passengers on the KAL limousine that took us to IC COEX. So, it was almost like our own private limo (Nice!). Is it just me or are the KAL limousines always feel like incredible stuffy? My face always feel rather gross after taking the ride, the only feeling that I get from flying mid/long-haul economy class, that’s why I dubbed that feeling as “economy class face”.


The seats are quite comfy, with much more space offered than most coach buses

IC COEX certainly was not ready for our arrival. They were nice enough to provide us with an upgrade from our ondol room to a family suite. Although we were kinda looking forward to experiencing an ondol room for the first time, we were not excited about 1) not being able to shower/lay down for a little 2) having to move to the ondol room when it was ready. Plus, who would complaint about getting an upgrade from COEX, which is almost never heard of.


Bedroom area


Living room area


Hello! My free minibar!


Ambassador gift from COEX: A very nice setup for brewing green tea

UALboy

We first went to the Korean Cultural Village, which is located in Suwon, an hour away from the central Seoul by subway and another 20-minute bus ride to its entrance. It is a very interesting place to be, as it shows how life was like.


Kimchi Urns


Nice Fall Colors




Another interesting sights in Suwon is Hwaseong Haenggung. It is a much smaller palace than the usual tourist sites (Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung). So, it was much less crowded. Regardless, the place is still quite spectacular.


This is the place where the famed Korean drama "Daejanggeum" is filmed. The whole place is filled with stuff related to the lead character. I have a suspicion that they are using to lure fans into visiting this palace.


Padalmun

Next: Palaces, palaces and more palaces... IC Grand Seoul

Kurt

Loving the report so far - great photos and experiences!

sobore

What a great trip report! ^

camsean

Thanks for an interesting trip report.

As CGK is my home airport I can confirm it is a dump. Although one good thing about being a resident here is being able to sail past the VOA queue.