aks120

Detailed Itinerary

Hilton Heathrow T5
BA F LHR-PEK (BA1039 – 777)
Hilton Beijing Wangfujing
Beijing Sightseeing
CX J PEK-HKG (CX347 – A330-300)
Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott
Intercontinental Hong Kong
KA J HKG-REP (KA240 – A321)
KA J HKG-REP (KA240 - A321) Cont....
Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort
Siem Reap Sightseeing
KA J REP-DAD (MI633 – 737-800)
Intercontinental Da Nang
Intercontinental Da Nang Cont....
VN J DAD-HAN (VN182 - A321)
VN J HAN-SIN (VN661 – A321)
Conrad Centennial Singapore
Qatar Airlines J SIN-DOH (QR943 – A350)
Double Tree by Hilton Old Town Doha
Qatar Airlines F DOH-CDG (QR39 – A380)
Qatar Airlines F DOH-CDG (QR39 – A380) Cont....
British Airways J CDG-LHR (BA323 - A321)

Should you like this one, please feel free to read my previous Trip Reports:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...cp-hotels.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ic-hotels.html

I had started to plan my next big adventure not long after landing from my last one! I knew I wanted to go to Vietnam having heard some fabulous stories from a friend who went a couple of years ago. My hand was forced a little as British Airways decided to devalue their miles, so I booked as far ahead as I could under the old scheme and booked the big moving parts. Then I went about planning an actual trip to fit in with these flights!

The timing of this trip was not by accident. I had planned it to be a break between a job and house move (all very stressful) – and despite booking so far in advance, it worked out just right so I could relax on the holiday knowing I had finished one job and was about to start another when I got back!

Those of you that have followed my last 2 blogs (links above) will know that I am a big fan of the IHG brand, and Intercontinental and Crowne Plaza as particular favorite chains. I have been very loyal having stayed over 100 nights with them, however I feel they have not been that great back. I am the top tier on IHG (now nattily called Spire Elite Ambassador) but that gives me very little in comparison to Hilton. I would get a room upgrade normally (granted I have had some very nice suites) but no automatic executive lounge access - now I have blagged, begged and paid for access in the past but no more. The reason lounge access is important is when travelling by myself (as a single female), I find it a safer environment where I can sit and relax and have some nibbles and some wine on an evening - normally that is all I need so it saves me money too. Lounges are also a great place to write up the blogs after a hectic day of sight seeing while watching people from all walks of life!

Hilton were running a special whereby they would match the top tier of a competitor’s card to theirs - an offer I could not refuse and I quickly found myself as a Diamond Hilton, without having to do the 30 stays and collect hundreds of thousands of points (sorry to all of you that have gained the tier the proper way). The difference you ask...... well for a start - they give me guaranteed access to the Executive lounge and breakfast - both extremely valuable when travelling a lot. The rest I also got with IHG which is a guaranteed room upgrade and a welcome gift (normally wine and something local) plus a lot of other bits and pieces. The 2 biggies though are the lounge access and breakfast and Hilton appear to value their top tier members and reward them - a great encouragement to keep coming back. Due to this generosity, on this trip I changed most of my paid stays to Hilton, leaving only the hotels I paid with by points with Intercontinental. More to follow on that. So I guess Hilton gained a new customer which is exactly the point of status matches – I know they are unpopular sometimes but in this case it worked exactly as it should.

So a little bit about the Hilton hotels - the chain consists of Waldorf Astoria, Hilton, Conrad, Canopy, Curio, Double Tree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn and Homewood Suites. Quite a good collection of hotels. A big driver in my swap was most of my BA geek mates (you know who you are….) were also Hilton Diamond members and I started to ask why. All said Hilton consistently treated them very well - something that could not be said for IHG which is occasionally hit and miss with their top tier perks. So here I find myself with a new set of hotels to explore (how exciting) - the first being the Hilton London Heathrow Terminal 5.

Of course I was never going to swap away from my beloved BA so I had to get myself somewhere to stay near Terminal 5. I could have driven down in the morning but the hotel and 15 days parking was cheaper than the Heathrow parking alone ......... and of course I got points and a new Executive lounge to try out! Plus, my holiday started that wee bit earlier! So on to the first night!

Regards

aks120

aks120

Hilton Heathrow T5



Parking

I had booked 15 days parking with the hotel, it was self-park and you took your keys with you. I much prefer this as you hear some horror stories of valets driving your car around London at high speeds – oh no – not my wee car! I managed to get a space under cover and the parking spots were large and not crammed in as they can be at other hotels. All in all, I was extremely pleased with the parking aspect and felt my car would be very secure.

Check In



Check in was one of the smoothest and friendliest I have ever encountered - and I have checked in A LOT!! Hilton also do a cool thing where you can check-in online before you arrive at the hotel and pick which room you want. So I had already picked room 440 - with runway views........

Room





I booked a King Hilton guest room and got upgraded to a King Hilton Executive room (with lounge access) a couple of days before check-in. The room itself was very modern and funkily decorated. It had a huge double bed and a fair bit of room. The bed itself was a little hard for my taste but I slept like a baby nonetheless! The bathroom was nice with a separate bath and shower - the bath looked awesome and deep but l did not get time to use it on the trip. The room must also have been extremely well sound proofed as despite being underneath the Heathrow departure flight path, I heard nothing at all.



Whilst looking round the room, I had a mild panic attack as I tried to open my smaller suitcase - despite putting in my code many times it just would not open. That would not have been cool as I had made a school girl error and put my i-pad/pod/phone charging tools and all my shoes in this suitcase. While I was having a mild panic attack and raised my voice ever so slightly at the case, I noticed that the TSA lock had shifted a little (quite proud of my detective work there) and I moved it back in line and voila - phew - I have shoes and power - what more can a girl want??

Welcome Gift



Sometimes I get a gift in my room for being Diamond - today I got half a bottle of red wine, an Eton Mess chocolate bar and 2 bottles of water, 1 still 1 sparkling. Unfortunately, I don't like red wine so I phoned down to housekeeping to see if they would change it for half a white wine - of course - no problem at all! When I returned to the room, the half bottle of red had turned into a full bottle of white - winner!

Toiletries



The toiletries are by Peter Roth - I have come across these a few times and they are inoffensive but not really snaffle-worthy! So I used them in the morning just to get my money's worth out of them but did not take them with me. Normally I end up with a heap of hotel shampoo, conditioner and shower gel when I get back - I have only just finished the lot I brought back from my Round the World trip.

Executive Lounge



The Executive lounge was very well equipped. They did breakfast, afternoon tea and evening drinks and canapé sessions. I arrived to try afternoon tea which was OK - I am not a big fan of sweet snacks so had a bit of banana bread and a Diet Coke (rock and roll) before heading off to explore the hotel.



The evening drinks reception was quite busy and not too impressive. The food consisted of sandwiches - one of which was coronation chicken that the lady next to me was told was egg and therefore vegetarian. I had a real battle going on in my head - do I tell her, do I not - in the end I was a good person and told her the egg was a little older than she thought and was now chicken. The hot choices were mini spring rolls and samosas - I am convinced they had been bought from Asdas and were not crispy. They also had a good spread of cheese - but no biscuits to go with it. Never mind - they had a nice Chardonnay that started the holiday off nicely!



A couple brought their child in - against the rules but I did not comment - however I did object to the girl bringing her 'baby ipad' thing that played cartoon music continuously - have you not heard of earphones - she was about 2 and in this day and age they are all walking around with Beats earphones.

Other Restaurants

The hotel had a coffee shop and a couple of restaurants - all of which looked great.

The bar was really cool and funky. I stopped in there to start typing this up, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy doing trip reports. I only do them for big trips – my next one on the horizon is a TP run to Hawaii – not sure if I will bore you with a report from that as there have been plenty done!

Normally airport hotels are busy but this one was very quiet - nicely so. Not so that you think it is closing down though.

It is funny how you get different people in different hotel chains - in the IHG there were always a lot of Europeans yet in the Hilton I had to check out the window that I was still in London as it appeared to be a US only hotel - I was the only non-US in here.

Check out

Check out was smooth and I got the Heathrow Hoppa to the airport!

I got to the airport a little early...... but I was expecting a delay going through security so I had a reason to! A mild heart attack at check-in but next stop - the Concorde Room Lounge and my British Airways First flight to Beijing.

aks120

BA1039 - 777
Planned T/O - 1055
Actual T/O - 1051
Planned Arrival - 0500
Actual Arrival - 0445
Total Time - 9 hrs 54 mins
Total Distance - 5072 miles
Seat - 1A

So I had planned to start off the trip with British Airways First Class on the good old 747! The 747s are slowly being phased out but they are still my favorite aircraft to fly. Except....... BA changed the flight type on me after I had booked it and I ended up on the 777. Very disappointing but nothing I could do about it. Good news it would be 'New First' which is no longer new as is now on all the aircraft out there but I had only flown it once, when a BA J flight to Las Vegas just happened to be substituted with it on my last trip.

Anyway, I got the Heathrow Hoppa from the hotel to the airport. All very painless but it still niggles me that you have to pay for it - most other cities the hotel airport transport is free.

I arrived in the big departures hall for British Airways and made my way to the First desks - placed at the furthest away part of the airport - my guess is to ensure the passengers that are about to indulge in luxury for the next x many hours have a tiny bit of exercise first - I can think of no other sensible reason for parking it as far away as possible from where you come into the hall. It is not quite as luxurious as Thai Airways First class check in, where you end up with someone taking you right through security and into the lounge dropping rose petals as you walk.

I nearly had a heart attack at check in though when the lady said - oh you don't have a visa sorry you can't board - I said I am travelling on the 72-hour visa waiver scheme - there is no such thing - yes there is - no there is not - hard stare - phone call to 'head office' - please confirm you are travelling out of Beijing within 72 hours - errr yes that is the point - oh OK then seems I can check you in - mass relaxation on my behalf! I was a little worried for a minute or two. However, I did not have the ultimate meltdown that the lady next to me did. She had arrived too late for confirmation - at Heathrow you need to have had your boarding pass scanned at the security gates no later than 45 mins beforehand - this lady arrived at check in with 20 mins to go for her flight. She started off calmly, then got angry, then there were tears and then she said she needed to get the flight as she had to have life saving treatment at the other end and she would die if she did not get on the flight - I kid you not! Now if I was going to die if I did not get a flight, I would probably turn up early enough to catch it but that is just me - she was dispatched with no sympathy from the desk.

Anyway my bags were tagged and disappeared off - god knows to where and I made my way to security. The fast track security was really busy - BAA (airport owners not BA) have decided to create a small pen after you have scanned your boarding pass- now this pen gets very busy so it is not really a very premium experience. I spotted a family with 2 pushchairs and 4 kids - and swiftly got myself in front of them - you could just tell they would be a nightmare - little 'Louis' was being very precious!

The good thing about walking all the way to First check-in and South security is that it brings you out at the 'THE DOOR'.



This is a door that causes so much hilarity and friction amongst BA status travelers that it should have its own website! I should explain. You can only go through this door if you are travelling in First. Not if you are 'just' a Gold Card Holder, or if your father is David Cameron. Only if you are travelling in First. It is the short cut route to the Concorde Room Lounge which again, you can only visit if you are travelling in First (or have something called a CCR card which even with all my travelling I am not even close to getting!). I have seen it all outside this door on a Friday night when I am travelling to Edinburgh. Tears, tantrums, bribes the lot. I think BA put their special ladies on this door as they have an ability to say bugger off you bloody idiot, with such grace and distinction that the individuals don't realize it! Why is this door so controversial - because it means you do not have to meander through all the shops that BAA (Heathrow owner) have put in your way to spend all your hard earned money. It bypasses all that with the show of one ticket (mine said 1A on it by the way..... ).

Today thanks to BA miles, I am allowed through the sacred door and wished there were more people to see it - note to self take a flight when South security will be packed next time I travel in First....!!!

Lounge

So the Concorde Room (CCR). I think I have mentioned this before but this is British Airways top lounge across all their network supposedly. I have been in a few times – mainly thanks to some very kind FTers (Filthy Monkey being the kindest of them all!). It is a lovely lounge, decked out in creams and dark woods with a great bar and friendly staff (something a little lacking in the Gold First lounge next door which is my usual haunt on my flights up and down the country).



It serves Laurent-Perrier Grand Siècle champagne (retailing at £110 a bottle) and a Tattinger rose. As I was there early I decided to have a quick bite to eat. There is a nice (if a little lacking in atmosphere) restaurant in the CCR. In most of my visits to the CCR, I have been for breakfast and this is no different. It is good, but I am not a huge breakfast fan really so am probably not the best judge. I had the Californian eggs Benedict with a glass of champagne. Both were delicious although it should be noted this was in Mar so the menu has likely changed form what I had.



The CCR was really REALLY busy - Easter breaks no doubt but it meant it lacked the calming atmosphere I have experienced previously. I did not think it was very "First Class" on my visit and all the staff seemed really hassled.



I managed to get myself a massage at the B gate spa – nothing available at the main spa. This is another thing that really annoys me – I had tried to book 28 days in advance of my flight and there was nothing – as a First Class passenger I would expect some slots to be held back but BA don’t seem to agree! So I tottered off to the B gates and the lounge was far calmer than the zoo that the Concorde Room had become. The lady took me in for a scalp and chair massage. Now this was one of those chairs that massages you via the seat electronically. I strongly advise that the CIA or MI5 should use this in their torture techniques - it was very hard and a little bit painful. But I endured and the lady messed up my hair/massaged my scalp.

Soon the flight was called, and I was off to board. There was a separate jetty for First class - I much prefer this and the 'dragon' guarding the gate showed a couple of people in front off me off to the 'other jetty' when they had dared to go down the First one. BA ladies do have their way of telling you off!

Seat



The seat is comfortable - I would say on a par with other airlines Business class product (I will compare with Qatar later in the trip) but still lovely. I was welcomed like a long lost friend - the cabin crew on this flight were very good! The cabin was full - some boarded late but the seat gives you some privacy as it faces away from the other seats. There is a nice little wardrobe for you to put you stuff in so you don't have to put it in the overhead locker. I found this very useful.

Amenity Kit



The amenity kit has improved dramatically since I last flew BA First. It had a lot of stuff in it that you may actually use (see below) and came in a nice bag that could be reused. All the products were Aromatherapy Associates:

- Renewing Rose Cleanser
- Triple Rose Renewing Moisturizer
- Firming Eye Serum
- Orange Flower Hand Lotion
- Moisturizing Lip Balm
- Deodorant stick
- Socks/Eyeshade/earplug/pen/Colgate toothpaste and toothbrush and a brush which I have never had in a kit before.

I love my journeys up and down to Edinburgh in the small Airbus 319s and 320s but I really enjoy the take off in a big jet - today the 777 rumbled down the runway as the little puffs of white cloud went past the window.



A quick glass of champagne came out after take off - I realized my neighbors were going to be a little annoying - as the man kept going pssst to his wife - loudly. Why not just say - hey Betty or whatever her name is?? Why do you have to go pssst loudly??? Rolls eyes!

Food

Lots of choice on this flight:

Dinner

Starters:

- Beetroot-cured Scottish sea trout with Oscietra caviar and kohlrabi slaw (my choice)
- Fig trade Tatin and red onion parcel on goat's cheese cream with parsley cress, pine nuts and cassis dressing
- Jasmine and smoked chicken consommé
- Fresh seasonal salad served with your choice of honey mustard dressing or classic extra virgin olive oil with aged balsamic

I had the sea trout and caviar - it was horrid! Not sure what dressing or sauce they had on it but it was bitter. The caviar must have been counted out piece but piece as I think I had about 5 roe - unlike Cathay where you get a jar of the stuff. It was just a taste thing but I really did not enjoy this course and wish I had gone for something else.



Main Courses:

- Shredded pork with Beijing sauce, fried park choi and steamed rice
- Seared fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef with roasted shallot purée, herb polenta cakes, tenderstem broccoli, truffle and red wine jus (my choice)
- Wild mushroom arancini, marinated roasted baby vegetables, butternut squash purée and whole-grain mustard dressing with pistachio crumble
- Seared scallops on a mango, shredded cabbage, crisp corn and pea salad with a chimichurri sauce

I had pre-ordered the beef. On BA flights now you can pre-order your main meal to ensure you get the choice you want. Not sure why you have to do this in First but I suppose it helps with portion control. I asked for the beef to be left in the oven for a long time as I like mine well done. It was still a bit pink for me but tasty none the less. I left the middle bit but ate all the rest. Not an outstanding meal for me either but nothing to complain about.



Bistro Selection:

- Navarin of British Spring lamb with glazed onion, swede, carrots and minted new potatoes
- Manoucher sandwich of coriander, cumin and turmeric-marinated chicken with cucumber, rocket salad, raita dressing and point-Neufchâtel potatoes
- A selection of biscuits
- A selection of cheese and fruit

I did not have anything from here - as I was full from the evening meal but the chicken sandwich sounded yummy.

Desserts:

- Passion-fruit and chocolate terrine with pomegranate coulis
- Rhubarb and strawberry crumble with creme anglicise
- Madagascan vanilla ice cream

Cheese Plate: (my choice)

Worcester white, Tomme de Savoie, Blacksticks blue premier cru, Perl wen

The cheese plate was nice - it had cheese on it (a good start) and some great biscuits. In fact, it had the biscuits I used to get in Whole Foods in Las Vegas - ones with nuts and fruits in them - I used to love them so this was a very happy memory for me.



Fresh fruit

Chocolate selection by Hotel chocolat

The chocolates were laid out during the meal but I was good and did not have any.

Then just before we landed we had a breakfast choice:

Starters:

- Chilled fruit juice (my choice)
- An energizing fruit smoothie of buttermilk, fruit and oats
- A selection of yogurts
- A selection of cereals
- Fresh seasonal fruit appetiser (my choice)
- A wide selection of breakfast pastries and rolls

Main Courses:

- Traditional English breakfast of scrambled free-range eggs, with Suffolk sweet-cured back bacon, portobello mushroom, free-range Cumberland pork sausage and hash-brown potatoes
- Hot-smoked salmon with asparagus, poached egg and a muffin
- Blueberry pancakes with blueberry compote

Phew - if you did not find something you fancied amongst that lot then I would be surprised. By the time I had finished typing the menu we were nearly in Beijing!! I would say having seen and tasted this menu it was good but not outstanding. BA did a tasting menu in First class on the A380 and it is supposed to be superb - I felt a little bit cheated with this food but it was adequate. I think it is more like the Business class menu though rather than being first class.

Drinks

- Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne (my choice)
- Heriot Vintage Brut 2007 Champagne
- Champagne Michel Forget Grand Rose Premier Cru
- Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 2001
- Sancere Les Grands Groux 2014 (my choice)
- I Favati 2014
- Chateau Haut-Bages Liberal 2006
- Kiwa Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012
- Galena 2011
- Lots of other stuff!

I stuck with champagne for most of the trip - yummy. However, I swapped to the Sancerre during my meal and again it was a lovely wine - I thought the selection was very good.

Service

One word - fabulous. Probably the best I have ever experienced on BA in any class. Exactly what First should be about! Nothing was too much trouble, they were friendly and chatty without being too over the top. Just exactly right in my opinion.

Long haul flights are where I catch up on recent film releases as I never go to the cinema. I had played the film lottery and hoped that the 2 films I wanted to see this year - Star Wars and James Bond would be on my flights on this trip. Both were - excellent. So I settled down to a bit of Daniel Craig - very happy girl. I thought the film was pretty average though - I think they may be running out of ideas with this franchise. I was also going to watch Star Wars but in the end I did not have enough time.

All too soon the flight was over and we were descending into Beijing. I had slept for about 6 hours so I hoped I would not flag too much on arrival - I wanted to be alert for any visa faff.

Arrival

We were given out immigration forms which asked for Visa details on the flight. I must admit I was still a little nervous that I would be turned around at the immigration hall - that would be bad! I have never been so nervous approaching an immigration line in all my travels - I really hoped that I had read the right thing about the 72-hour visa.

I started off in the wrong line but it seems all the Chinese security people recognized the words 72 and pointed me to a different line. It took about 20 mins to get through which is not bad at all. You can get this visa if you fly into and out of Beijing to a different destination than you came from. You can't fly from London and back to qualify, I was flying from London and onto Hong Kong. Now the other rule is that you are not to fly onto anywhere else in China...... And you will all know that Hong Kong is now in China.....but has an exception and therefore qualified!

Beijing airport is ginormous - I have been through a lot of airports but never seen anything like this in my life.

I had booked the hotel car to pick me up. Beijing is notorious for taxi drivers not speaking any English (why should they of course) and it can sometimes be difficult to get them to understand where you are going. After all the excitement of getting into the country I was delighted to see a Hilton man with my name on a placard. He soon whisked me off to an Audi - well after we had gone up and down and then back up again in a lift (no idea why). It was about 30 mins to the hotel and as it was 0600 I really hoped they had a room available for me as an early check-in!

aks120

So second Hilton of the trip - I had booked the Crowne Plaza but this hotel had far better reviews, was more modern and I got free lounge access....! The reason status matches work……

Hotel Car

I booked the hotel car to and from the airport - it was not too expensive and public transport was going to take ages to get to the hotel. The taxis are also notoriously tricky, speak no English and I really could not be bothered with the hassle after an overnight flight from London .......that had champagne on tap! I was extremely pleased to see a very nice man with my name on a board as I came out of arrivals. After a little tour of the airport and a couple of goes up and down a lift, I was soon whisked off in an Audi A6 and heading into the the center of Beijing.

Check In



I was checking in at 0600 rather than normal time of 1400 so I did not hold out much hope for a room at this time. However, the nice gentleman said one was ready, I could have it without charge and he had upgraded me to a suite....... I am beginning to really like Hilton!

Room



I had booked a King Hilton Deluxe room and a few days before arriving I had noticed that I had been upgraded to a King Lifestyle suite (room 1121). This was a 2 category room upgrade and a room that was quite a bit bigger. There was only a penthouse suite above the room category that I had been given so I was very happy! I also got Executive lounge access - the difference between the room I had booked and got was about £100 a night!

When I walked into the room I was wowed. It was huge and had a great view, a massive comfy bed (tried hard not to get in it as I was jet lagged) and a huge bathroom. There was a fancy looking shower and a huge bath next to a window - just unfortunate that the window looked over the office and accommodation tower opposite so no bathing with the blinds open for me - no one needs to see that!





There was also a huge closet which I unpacked in...... Well I opened my suitcases and took some clothes out but it is almost unpacking!

Attachment 13503

Amenities



Again with the Peter Thomas Roth stuff. I don't mind it though so won't complain but I do like a surprise when I go abroad - seems Hilton keeps everything the same even in China.

Executive Lounge

The was a lovely lounge on the 16th floor overlooking the center of Beijing. You could see Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City from this lounge. It was also a great place to watch the sunset from. The lounge did breakfast, afternoon tea and an evening canapé and drinks thing. I arrived in time for breakfast on the first day and it was a great spread. The afternoon tea on the other hand was laughable - all it had was a few chunks of cheese (chunks as in should have a pineapple piece on top) and some pretzels - that was it - I don't know how they could call that afternoon tea. The evening canapé and drinks do was not bad though.



That said, there was not a great deal out - on the first night there was some pasta, curry samosas and a Chinese salad (jalapeño peppers marinated in chilli - top tip they were not bell peppers!! cough cough). On the second night they had some noodles, small pizza slices and some chicken in oyster sauce. There was a good selection of wines out and a Frexinet sparkly. Trying to get to the food though took some skill - some professional buffet people here I can tell you. I missed out on the samosas twice, despite being in the front of the queue - not quite sure how but I tell you - I watched and learnt!



The lounge was always busy in the evenings but during the day it was very quiet so I spent some time up there admiring the view and typing this blog up. The staff were lovely if a little stingy with the drinks pour in the evening.



Spa

There is a spa here and after a day of sightseeing (in next report), I went to the spa for a massage and got a free facial for being a hotel guest. The massage was good but hard and I could barely walk when I came to leave as my back had given up! My face looked very fresh though and I am sure I look at least a year younger.......!

Check-out

I checked out early and got the hotel car back to the airport. Now that was an experience and I am glad I did as I think if I had taken a taxi I would have missed my flight. The traffic was horrendous despite it being 0615. However, the driver swiftly negotiated it by driving down the hard shoulder and then cutting into the traffic near a junction. A few toots were given but I was surprised at how he got away with it - there would have likely been some road rage by now if we had been in the UK. His swift driving got us past about 15 miles of tailbacks and I got the airport at 0700 - just as check-in opened for my flight.

aks120

So I did 2 days of sightseeing in Beijing. Overall I think the city is wonderful - very clean and the public transport easy to use - the subway is really easy - I got less lost on it than I did on the tube and I don't speak Chinese!

Day 1 - Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, along with a little bit of Beijing



I had arrived early morning from my flight but surprising sparky. After a quick shower to freshen up, I headed out with my Lonely Planet map and the one from the hotel - always good to take the map from the hotel concierge as it is a way of finding home if it all goes horrible wrong!

I had seen the Forbidden City wall from the hotel so decided to walk due West to get to it. Seems I may have taken a wrong turning at some point (not sure how as it was directly West - there should have been NO turning!!). However, I definitely went a circuitous route to get there but eventually I did - well with a little help from a Chinese man practicing his English! I must have looked a little lost as I got out a map on a street corner. I would have thought that The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square would have least have had a sign to get to but I could not see one. The nice man started chatting to me in English and showed me how to get to the entrance. He then told me he was learning English and thanked me for letting him practice - no worries mate - next time I will try my Pekingese on you........ I was ready but you wanted to practice your English so who was I to stop you.......!

Then I saw the queue to get in - bearing in mind this was 0830 I had never seen anything like it (I will say that twice in these 2 days).

An unbelievable amount of people in one place - I would say thousands of people, most of them following a man or woman with a stick in the air as part of a tour group. I nearly backed away - if this queue for tickets had been in the UK I would have been there for hours - but to my surprise I was at the front of the queue buying a ticket to the Forbidden City in under 10 mins - quite amazing!



The Forbidden City is very pretty but I will admit to being ever so slightly underwhelmed. It was very dramatic and huge but the shear number of people within the walls, all going in the same direction was a sight to be seen.



But there really was not much for me to get my head around - I expected it to be more dramatic - and in fact expected names such as the Garden of Tranquility to have..... well a garden ..... rather than a selection of driftwood that was called 'ancient trees'. I think I just expected so much and felt that it did not deliver - but I am glad I went. Maybe when I look back over the photos I will be happier that I went.

Next I walked to Tiananmen Square - now interestingly it was this place that blew me away far more. Very dramatic - the 2 buildings either side of the square were enormous - so much so I felt like I was on a film set and had been shrunk.



On one side was the National Museum of China and on the other was the Great Hall of the People. It is said the square is the 6th largest in the world and I could believe it. I stood in the middle, surrounded by a billion people and some slightly intimidating buildings and was completely mesmerized. I cannot explain it really but I was very glad I went to capture it.

Day 2 - The Great Wall of China, the 2008 Olympic City and some public transport!

Day 2 saw me up early to try and beat the rush on the Great Wall. I had plotted my route there via lots of useful articles on the Internet. One of which had said that the 877 bus was the best way to get there and the cheapest. He who dares I said to myself and got myself, first on the subway and then on a public bus. The subway is super easy to use - you can buy your ticket in English by just pointing to the station you want to go to and the machine calculates the fare - nothing more than 5RMB (about 50p) for any of my journeys. Then when you get to the platform, there are lots of signs to tell you which way the subway is going and what the next station is in any particular direction.



Then, when you get onboard the carriage, there are lights that not only tell you what direction you are going, and what the next stop is, but what side the door will open - genius! Really really easy to use if you don't speak the language. Probably just as easy to use if you do speak the language.....

Before I went I had found a blog that showed you, via photos, how to get from the subway station to the bus station and how to avoid the scammers. It was about a 10 mins walk and with the aid of my iPod compass I went off in the correct direction first time. I found the bus station but to get to it you had to cross a 4 lane highway without a green man in sight. I stood for a bit, contemplated life and then followed a Chinese man who just stuck his thumb up at the drivers who slowed down, some tooted, but it meant that we crossed without getting killed. I hope he is there for the return journey.

The 877 bus goes from Beijing direct to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. It is the busiest as it is the closest to Beijing but it was still an hour and a half to get there. The bus was relatively basic but perfectly comfortable.

A novel way of approaching it though - there is no timetable - they just fill the bus up and then you go - they will not let it go with 1 empty seat on it. As luck would have it, I arrived just as they were loading a bus and managed to get a seat by the window without queueing. I read that the queues for this bus can be horrific if you are late - I was there at 0730 for a reason!

Once we were off, I got to see first hand how awful the Beijing traffic was - it would be a nightmare living here! After an hour and a half, we arrived at the base of the Great Wall. I thought I would beat the crowds but nope - I would estimate the whole of Scotland were already on this wall.

Once I got my ticket, and having avoided buying a baby squid on a stick and something in a bun that was wriggling, I started the climb up the wall. Holy hell - they are very steep steps and lots of them! I walked for about 2 miles in one direction, must have climbed about 20,000 steps and realized that my fitness levels needed to improve. Actually, I will admit that I was not suffering as much as I thought I would which pleased me a little but when little old ladies with walking sticks go springing past you like a gazelle on the uphill section, you need to have a look at yourself in the mirror!! Note to self - start running again once lactic acid in legs has gone!!



The Wall is an amazing feat, although the experience was ruined for me by the number of people on it. But boy is it impressive. I would imagine if you had time and stamina to get further along where the people disappear it would be quite mesmerizing. I just stared at the feat of engineering and the feet of a million Chinese people - when I got the the 'top' of the bit I was going to I sat and ate a banana and drank some water. That is important as it meant I was still alive and functioning. I wished I could stay there longer but I felt like I was being swallowed up by the sheer volume of people. As an aside, I saw only a handful of Western faces which amazed me - in fact in my whole Beijing trip there were very few Brits/Americans/Europeans etc and I was stared at as unusual whereas in Hong Kong that is completely different. For some reason I thought Beijing would have more tourists but it seems not - although to be fair there could be the entire UK here on Tower 8 of the Wall and I am not sure I would notice with the amount of Chinese there were!!



I soon started my walk back down, which was actually trickier than going up. I was glad I had made the effort to come early as the waves of people coming up the wall was now overwhelming and getting back was like battling your way through the center of of a football match 2 or 3 times over.

By this stage I was fed up with people and wanted my own space - good job I had planned to squeeze myself into a bus again for what turned out to be a 2-hour journey back as the traffic was even more horrendous - well I guess all those people had to get there somehow.

On the bus I was quite pleased with myself as I had managed the fine line between drinking enough water to keep myself hydrated on the stair master step class from hell but not enough that I would have to use the loo! Overall, I am really glad I went as it really is an amazing sight but goodness me when you get claustrophobic outside due to the sheer number of people, there is something wrong!

Once we got back to Beijing, I tried my legs out and they felt surprisingly fine so I decided to continue the sightseeing theme (that is why I am here after all) and heading on the subway (I was a pro by now) to the 2008 Olympic park. I expected to just see the Birds Nest stadium and hop back on the tube but I spent a good couple of hours here as there was lots to see and it was a stunning day. The Birds Nest stadium was pretty impressive, the Water Cube (swimming venue) was also quite funky - you could look around both if you wanted to but I was quite happy meandering around imagining what it would have been like to be watching the Olympics. Every so often I would recognize something like where the press stood or the like. I then found the Olympic torch site and a wall with all the names of the medal winners carved into it.







I then meandered back to the subway to go back to the hotel - I had been on the go for nearly 9 hours with only a few hours sleep and it was beginning to wear on me - I also realized (looked at the Apple fitness app) I had walked another 13 miles today - and half of that was uphill on steps so I was quite pleased with myself.

I arrived back at the hotel via a few shops but to be honest I was uninspired and bought nothing. Normally I buy something to remind me of my trip but I just could find nothing I even remotely liked. That said I was fleeced for a couple of magnets at the Great Wall.

This was only stop 1 of this journey. In saying that - I really felt like my holiday was nearly over as I seemed to cover so much in my 2 days here. Beijing is a great, friendly city - it is clean and seemed safe. Would I come back - maybe but then again there is always Shanghai, Xi'an or Chengdu to try out!

aks120

CX347 – A330-300
Planned T/O - 1000
Actual T/O - 1014
Planned Arrival - 1350
Actual Arrival - 1337
Total Time - 3 hrs 24 mins
Total Distance - 1239 miles
Seat - 12K

My next proper stop was to be Vietnam but I decided to pay one more visit to Hong Kong. I had 'planned' not to leave the airport boundary and stayed in one of my favorite hotel of my travels. That all changed when I re-read the visa rules for Vietnam - not sure why I re-read them the day before I was due to arrive but thank goodness I did! More on that to come.

To get to Hong Kong I used miles on Cathay - who were my favorite airline! This trip was originally planned to fly on their 747 in 1A. Again, they are phasing it out on passenger flights so it is becoming more difficult to get a flight on one, never mind one for miles. But I waited patiently and soon enough this flight came up. Then they blooming well swapped aircraft on me to the A330-300 and took away First Class. There is nothing more disconcerting when you log into your BA account one day and see "FLIGHT CANCELLED" in a big bright red box. Particularly this one as it was essential for my China 72-hour Visa. One quick phone call to BA (as I had booked it through them) showed me that the flight had been cancelled then reinstated with the different aircraft type. Therefore, I was rebooked into Business Class, given some miles back and holiday was back on track. I must admit to being a bit disappointed though as that was the second 747 to be taken off me this trip!

Check in



My first impression of the airport was one of awe - it is so big (and I was just at Terminal 3 which was built for the Olympic Games) that I actually stood for a minute or two and admired the building. Inside was just as beautiful - I love Terminal 5 but I think this is No1 for me for sheer beauty.




Check in was a bit of a scrum but good old Cathay saved the day with their impeccable customer service. There was a huge queue at the desks I thought I needed to check in at with folks about to check in massive boxes of god knows what. I stood and looked a little lost for a second, resigned myself to queueing for a long time when a nice Cathay man came over and asked what flight I was on, and then what class. The magic words Business Class and BA Gold saw me whisked away to another counter in front of all these people and I was checked in rapidly and on my way to leave the country.

Now this airport is so big that before you get to security or emigration, you get on a train for approx 7 mins - 7 mins for goodness sake! Just to get to another set of gates. I also passed through a temperature thingy - just to make sure I was not carrying any virus and then I arrived at the E gates area.

As you would think for China, everything was efficient and bureaucratic. I went through emigration channels quickly - then onto another queue for the security. It was orderly and like the Forbidden City queue, dealt with extremely quickly despite the size of it. I then went through another lane to get my passport checked again - not sure what that one was all about. Then out into Terminal 3 duty free and the Cathay lounge.

Lounge



I used up my last money here buying another magnet and some nik naks. Duty free here is a not an easy thing to navigate as there is no real obvious way round all the shops. I didn't feel the need to buy anything and the prices did not seem that much cheaper so I headed off to find the Cathay lounge. It is upstairs and does not have a separate area for First Class. It is large though and had great views over the vast airport. I understand this airport is second to Atlanta for passengers and covers 3700 acres (Heathrow is 3100 acres)!! Don't tell me this blog is not educational as well as entertaining.

I had a couple of mushroom and coriander seeds fried dumplings for breakfast - they were yummy. The lounge did have some alcoholic drinks out but I did not fancy wine at 0830, particularly when I thought they served champagne on board!



Boarding was soon called and in a very organized way we all got on the aircraft.

Seat





I was in 12K for this trip. It was a 2 x 2 x 2 layout in relatively new seats for Cathay. I am afraid I did not like them that much. There was no storage around the seat, the TV screen was quite small and looked slightly old fashioned. They were not lay flat seats and the footrest only came up a little. We were given woollen blankets but they were very thin.

My seat mate came on board then got out a disgusting looking sandwich to eat. Well I say ate it - he wore some of it on his face for most of the flight and threw crumbs all over me. A good British tut gave away my displeasure.

Amenities

None on this flight which is a little disappointing to be honest. I would have expected to get some socks and a pen at the very least.

Food

It was a breakfast flight (I would have assumed lunch with the flight time) and I really don't care for aircraft breakfasts. Then menu was as follows:

- Juice Selection
- Fresh Seasonal Fruit (my choice)
- Fruit yoghurt

- Braised duck, cordyceps flowers, chestnut, light soya sauce and steamed vegetable rice
- Onion, parsley and cheese omelette, andouille sausage, saluted mixed mushroom, grilled peppers, cherry tomato and duchess potato (my choice)
- Stir fried Chinese white noodle, black bean sauce, beef slices and pack choy

- Assorted breakfast bread, preserves, honey and butter

This was one of the worst meals I have had on Cathay. The fresh fruit was all hard and tasteless. I had the omlette which was also tasteless, although the andouille sausage made it a little better. The other dishes did not look particularly appetizing either. The bread basket was a strange selection and the croissant I chose was overdone. All in all it was a pretty poor show but more awful things were to come....





Drink

Juices, Soft drinks, Coffees, Teas, hot chocolate.

Do you see what is missing here people???? No alcoholic drinks at all - not even a pre-departure champagne! I was shocked to be honest. I had heard the Malaysian Airlines had gone dry for short haul flights but did not expect Cathay to do the same. Now that makes me sound like an alcoholic I know, but a nice glass of champagne sets the flight off to me. However, getting over my shock, and as it was past lunchtime, I asked the cabin crew if I could have a glass of champagne - and phew - one came back quickly but the look from the other folks in the cabin was priceless. I then started a stampede for champagne. The cabin was full of Americans who had come off a cruise somewhere and had a few days in Beijing. They were now flying back to Los Angeles and New York from Hong Kong and there was no way these golden oldies were not going to have a glass of champers now they knew there was some on board. Poor cabin crew. I am not sure why Cathay did not advertise drinks on this day flight - maybe to save money?



Cabin Crew

The cabin crew were functional at best - not the normal friendly faces I have come to expect with Cathay. I asked for a Hong Kong Milk Tea (which was on the drinks menu) twice and the third time I asked I swear the girl rolled her eyes as if to say - but I need to go and make that as it is not on the trolley. Once the meal was served they disappeared into the front cabin never to be seen again. I hope this is not the future for Cathay as I don't like it!

Arrivals

I was back in familiar territory with my arrivals into Hong Kong. I have been through here may times so I know the drill, and that I can get in! It was a smooth as it always is and I was soon off to the Cathay Arrivals lounge before heading to the hotel bus. The Arrivals lounge is functional and small and quite dark, no outside light. But it had a friendly welcome and I grabbed a can of Diet Coke and some water for my room. It is not a place you would wish to spend any time in if you don't have to.

I soon arrived at the Marriott to do some rapid replanning!

Next stop...... now staying in Hong Kong.

aks120

I got the hotel bus here - something I have done a few times so was familiar with the procedure.

I love this hotel - it is not the fanciest I have stayed in but I love it - it is half way between an airport hotel and a luxury hotel which covers my wants very nicely. It also has great views from the restaurant of the aircraft going to and from the airport!!

Check in



Check in was really quick - in fact almost too quick as the guy was trying to sell a special offer in the hotel restaurant, which is where I wanted to eat anyway but I was told I need to decide now or the special offer would be gone. I took it and it was a good offer but I felt a little bit hurried into it which is not what you would expect at a Marriott!

Room



I had paid a little extra for an ocean view - this place sits on the South China Sea and has a great view. In hindsight the extra money was a waste as I didn't sit in my room to admire the view, I went downstairs to the bar and restaurant area. However, the room was modern and the bed comfy. The bathroom had a stand alone shower and no bath. This is unusual for this hotel as the shower is normally over the bath but I prefer this set up.



The view I had paid for was nice, you do get an ocean view (the other side of the hotel is an airport view) but it is probably not worth the extra should you ever stay here!

Amenities

The bathroom had Thaan amenities which are a lovely - they are a Thai brand and smell wonderful. Of course I snaffled what was on offer as I will use them later in the trip. I normally take the toiletries and continue to use them rather than taking anything from home - saves on space for me! Well it does until I end up with 20 bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel in my suitcase but it makes sense to me!



Restaurant



I love the restaurant here. Man Ho Chinese restaurant serves lovely food and has great views of the 2 approaches into Hong Kong. Oh and the South China Sea....... I always go for the set menus - hotel guests get a choice of 2 and mine was a 5 course affair. That said the portions are 'taster' portions which suits me as I eat things that I would never normally order.

Today's menu included:

- Peking Duck



- Soup which I changed for Hot and Sour



- Shrimp in spicy chili sauce



- Sweet and sour pork



- Abalone and vegetable fried rice (a house specialty).



- Choice of puddings which I never eat!

All was super delicious and I was glad I tried it - even if I had to google abalone!

Now it was in this hotel that my almighty faff started (well more of a panic than a faff). I sat down to re-read the Vietnam visa rules (I have no idea why I did this but glad I did). It seems you could enter once without a visa but should you wish to go twice within 30 days you needed a multi entry visa, applied for at the Embassy in London. Slight snag - I was planning to do Vietnam - Cambodia - Vietnam and I had not got a visa. Oh bugger. Then there was some swift replanning with myself and mum on Skype to change the plan. The easiest and cheapest thing to do was to cut out Hanoi - shame but it was the lowest on my priority for this visit so I could live with that change.

Then came the tricky part - flights and hotel changes. As I had booked most flights and hotels on points/miles, they were very easy to cancel. So I cancelled the hotel in Hanoi - no charge. Booked the Intercontinental Hong Kong for 120K points feeling very lucky as this hotel is normally difficult to get a points room in at such short notice. However there a lot of IHG choices so I was sure I would get something.

It was the flights I was most worried about as short notice flights are never cheap - I may even have had to go - gasp - economy! However, I had a quick peek at the BA site and voila - a seat on the Hong Kong to Siem Reap flight on Dragonair (Cathay subsidiary) in Business class. Booked very quickly in case they changed their mind - to give you an idea at how shocked I was to get this flight - there was zero availability in any class for the 2 weeks either side of the date I needed to continue my itinerary with least faff. I could not believe my luck - well if I had read the bloody visa rules properly I would not have needed that 'luck' but never mind that is the past now!

So I now had a couple of days in Hong Kong, with no plans but a phone number of a friend who now stays here. Very happy with that!!

aks120

So in my panic booking, I managed to get 2 nights at one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. This hotel really knows how to make you feel special - despite booking with points, and therefore they potentially get minimum revenue from my stay.

I got the MTR Airport Express from Hong Kong airport to Kowloon station and then a taxi to the hotel. All very easy and painless even in rush hour.

Check In



I was welcomed like a long lost friend. Welcome back, I can't believe it has been only a year and half since your last stay. We know you like harbor view rooms so we have upgraded you to one....... Really says I - this is unusual on a points booking but yup there is was - a full view of the harbor!

Room



You get escorted to your room by the lady who checks you in, at least I always have, and she shows you how to work the controls in your room. Then as she left I whooped and jumped on the bed, nearly coming off the side which would have been uncool! The bed itself is taller than most and is really comfortable - just the right amount of hard and soft!

I also did something I have never done, ordered a couple of pillows from the 'pillow menu'. Now I have always thought this was a bit of a fad but then I thought well, there was a couple I would like to try so why not. So I phoned Instant Service and got myself a pillow filled with lavender (horrid and I promptly put it on the floor) and one that was to help people with bad backs. Well......... This was complete luxury and I slept soundly for 2 nights without any issue in my back - a first for I don't know how long! So much so I had the covers off to see if I could see a make so that I could buy one but they had cut the labels off! Trust me I will be hunting one down though!

I got some fruit, water and some posh cooking salt from the very expensive steak restaurant on site. A nice thought but not the most useful thing I have ever received!



The room was big and had a room wide window view of Hong Kong harbor - not just a peek but a full on view. It was mesmerising.



The bathroom is a tiny bit dated as it has pink marble, but it is luxurious and they have great amenities.



Amenities

This were the usual Intercontinental Agraria, a brand from San Francisco I think. Anyway they are very nice if a little bland in packaging. But needless to say I snaffled quite a few bottles to keep me going on this holiday!



Restaurant/Bar



I ate at the hotel bar one day and the food was good - not out of the world brilliant but good. The views and the cocktails/wine choices are superb though. I could sit all night just watching the ships go by in the harbor from this place.



Massage

I had a massage on day 1 and the Intercontinental Spa is beautiful. I had a 90 min massage (having sold a kidney) and come out totally relaxed and also a bit beaten up. The next day I felt like I had been trampled by a bunch of elephants but my back felt more relaxed than it has done for a while. There was an annoying man on a phone within the spa boundaries - that is just unacceptable so I told him so - he looked shocked and I vaguely recognized him but didn't care - the rules are inside a spa boundary no shouting on phones - simples!

Check out

Soon it was time to check out and again I felt like I was leaving home. Big hugs from the staff, ordering the taxi to take me to the station. Also the door man gave me a card with the taxi drivers credentials on it should I have any issues which I thought was a nice touch.

Overall I think this hotel is my favorite in the world. The staff are excellent, the ambience and decor scream luxury but it always feels a relaxed place. The rooms are fabulous and I always get a great night’s sleep.

aks120

KA240 - A321
Planned T/O - 1730
Actual T/O - 1736
Planned Arrival - 1905
Actual Arrival - 1908
Total Time - 2 hrs 32 mins
Total Distance - 906 miles
Seat - 15A

Another miles flight - normally I would not use miles for these small flights but they were they expensive if I didn't! Plus I was trying to book this one at very short notice which made it even more expensive! So trusty BA miles came to the rescue and I booked business class on Dragonair - it is a subsidiary of Cathay and as I had never flown them, I was keen to try them. They are about (may of already done so) to rebrand to Cathay Dragon, I guess so that it is easier to identify with the Cathay brand, but they had their own very good reputation which I was keen to try.

Check in



I checked in at the in-town check-in desk. Hong Kong have a great area just as you get on the airport express metro where you can dump your bags early and spend some more time in town, or do what I did and head to the airport bags free.

I had a mini heart attack when she asked about my Cambodia visa - it is in my passport as I have that, plus I could get one on arrival - belt and braces seemed sensible given my recent history!

Lounge



So Hong Kong airport has many lounges I could use as a BA Gold card. I have told you about the Wing and the Qantas lounges before (in my previous reports) but there had been a new lounge open since I was last here.



The Pier First Class lounge. Now it is right at the other end of the airport, which in this place is a very long way. I had arrived at the airport early so did not know what gate I would be leaving from. It was a risk going all the way to this lounge and in the end one that did not pay off as my gate was 508 - right the way back at the other end of the terminal and then onto a satellite terminal! Oh well the lounge was worth the hike back for sure. There is a wee train but it only goes 1 way - so I got the train there and walked back.

The Pier First Class Lounge is beautifully designed, and looks more lisomeone’s exclusively posh apartment rather than a lounge. There is green marble - not garish at all and a great ambiance.



There is a Pantry, Bar area, Library and dining area. All are great places to sit for a while.





It also has a free 10 min foot massage so I booked mine - I had to wait nearly 2 hours for a slot which surprised me as the lounge was nearly empty - or at least seemed that way. However a free massage, especially considering the hike I had to do back to the gate was worth it! Who says no to a free massage???







I went to eat in the dining room as I had arrived for late lunch and my flight was not departing until 1730. The food in there was amongst the best I have had - a chicken starter and Dan Dan noodles in a spicy peanut sauce. Delicious. In hindsight I am glad I ate in the lounge as the food on the flight was pretty awful. I then settled down to sort out the blog that needed rearranging after my visa debacle - and watched some aircraft go by!



What would pitch up while I was doing this? The BA A380 which pulled in right in front of me - how very cool but it made me a tiny bit homesick. The champagnes flowed nicely but the lounge had the air con on a little too chilly for me but I survived.

aks120

Soon it was time to hike down to gate 508, which is located quite near the Qantas Lounge. The lady had said it would take about 30 mins to get to the other end so I added a bit of faff time and allowed 45 mins.

It took 15.......! She had obviously not seen me on a travellator when a lounge was at the other end! So I decided to use my time wisely and have a quick peek in the Qantas lounge - it is also very nice and very calm.







Hardly anyone in at this time of day as the Qantas flights to Australia are normally later on in the evening. So I took a few pictures and watched the world go by. As for all the Oneworld First lounges in Hong Kong airport I would rate them as follows 1 - The Pier, 2 - Qantas First & Business, 3 - The Wing.



As I had not been across to the 500 series gates, I was curious to see another part of the airport. We got a bus across the pan to a little terminal but the terminal was well equipped with duty free and looked pretty modern. I normally dread the 'bus to another place' part because (a la Los Angeles airport) it is normally a dive! This place was not though and I spent my last few Hong Kong dollars in their wee shop.



Seat

Boarding was quick and the Business class cabin was about 60% full. The seat next to me was empty which I always appreciate! The lovely ladies handed out a nice refreshing welcome cocktail.







The seat was the exact same seat as the Cathay business class one. Quite uncomfortable, not enough storage and some strange seat positions. To recline, you get lifted up a bit, then dropped down and seem to end up in weird slightly backward attitude. Not very comfy at all so I went back to sitting and watched a movie with Sandra Bullock in it.

Amenities

Again nothing on this short flight. Expected after getting nothing on the Cathay flight.

Food

Not my favorite to be honest. No menus were handed out but there was a Chinese chicken dish (my choice) and a weird looking shrimp pasta dish which was bright green (err no thanks). The chicken dish had huge chunks of brown meat which I don't like so in the end I left the meal and just stuck with the champagne - safest I find – thank goodness they did have it on this flight!



One thing they did have is salt and pepper dishes. It was brought to my attention that Cathay had taken off the salt and pepper 'stones' they used to put out with the business class meals - I went through my photos and sure enough no salt or pepper on the Cathay flight. Dragonair redeemed themselves though as they still have them. All very strange and I hoped that Cathay were not sliding down my fav scale but the way these flights have gone, I would say they are not quite what they used to be.

Arrival

Arrival into Siem Reap was fine. I had bought my e-visa online a few weeks ago (see I do read the FCO travel advice) and therefore did not have to queue to get one on arrival. However, one of the funniest sights so far was the baggage coming off here are the airport. Siem Reap have a clever thing whereby there is a laser beam that detects if there is a bag on the carousel and if so will not dispatch another one until there is a gap. What a great thing I thought as I hate it when your bag is at the top of a pile and you have to risk life and limb to retrieve it. There is a snag with this wonderful invention - if no one collects the bags as they are stuck in a visa queue, you end up with about a third of the aircrafts bags nicely spaced on the conveyor belt and no others coming onto it as there are no 'gaps' big enough for the laser to process the bag. Hmmmm. So a couple of Brits and Americans soon solved this dilemma - by hand moving the bags closer together to make a gap big enough. This went on to much hilarity, certainly until my bag come off - then I was off..... Man vs machine - man 1 machine 0.

Nice to see a man with my name on a sign waiting for me (especially as I had changed my flight timings) and I was soon whisked off to the Sofitel hotel. Next stop some temples and my Lara Croft moment.

roadwarrier

Absolutely wonderful!! Looking forward to the rest and your impressions of Siem Reap.

aks120

So yet another hotel chain - this time the Le Club Accor hotels which has Sofitel, Le Meridien, Novotel and Mecure amongst others within their chain. I was originally going to stay at the Park Hyatt as I had recently been status matched to their almost top tier of Diamond but the price differential was too much. This hotel actually was better rated and seemed to have everything I needed, plus the rate I got included airport transfers, breakfast and a welcome drink so it was too good a rate to pass by.

Transport

The hotel included transport to and from the airport in my rate so I got a lovely minibus straight to the hotel which was welcome as Cambodia was a little nerve racking to come into - the most difficult yet. But I managed it and was soon whisked off to the hotel!

Check in



Very efficient - the hotel is set on a golf course - which is slightly out of place in a location that appears as poor as this. I will talk more about that later. I was given a slightly odd drink as a welcome drink - I think it had lemongrass in it which is nice in a curry but not so sure about it in a drink! The hotel lobby is quite amazing as it is all dark wood and intricate carvings. Slightly colonial but friendly too.

Room



My room was pretty large and had beautiful dark wooden floors - very impressive. The bed not so much. This was quite old and uncomfortable BUT it is difficult to be picky when you drive past hundreds of people living on the street. In fact, I saw very few houses between the airport and the hotel, only tents and ramshackle abodes - all very permanent but a nod to how poor the area is. My temple guide gave me an idea of how poverty is in the country - not in a pushy I need a tip way - just matter of fact this is the life we lead way. It was very humbling.



Bathroom



Back to the room - the bathroom was great - although the shower took a bit of getting used to - to manipulate the temperature dial you actually had to be in the shower and the maid kept turning the thing to freezing - her little joke I think. So every morning I had a blast of freezing cold water while I tried to change the temperature - I hear it is good for you though - hopefully slimming and makes you younger too..........

The view was over a lagoon - equate that to mosquitos! I got two cracking bites on my arm but other than that survived unscathed.

Amenities



These were a lovely Amber and something smelly. By Lanvin. Of course I did not use them, I put them straight in my bag..........that will haunt me later!

Restaurants





The pool bar did tasty snacks and cocktails and I ate here at lunch. In the evening I went to their 'mass market' restaurant which was OK - I found out that the vegetarian options were far better and the curry in particular was lovely. The breakfast buffet (included in my rate) was very well stocked and I liked the omelets a lot. I tried a dumpling thingy which was OK - not great. They had another restaurant which should have had at least 3 Michelin stars based on the price they were asking - needless to say I never went there!!



The clientele at the hotel was mainly French - to be expected with the chain - Sofitel is a French brand.



The hotel bar was really friendly and I went there each evening for some wine and nibbles - it was always pretty empty but the barman was super friendly and my glass was always topped up. Most folks tended to go to the pool bar and stay there but I do like to get 'dressed for the evening' rather than stay in my pool gear.

Massage

I had quite a few massages at the hotel as the prices were very reasonable. The massages were really good and I would highly recommend the spa. The pool was fabulous – relatively quiet but large and welcoming. I thought is was the best pool of my entire trip and a really nice place to relax after the hot and sweaty tours you are likely to do here.

Check out was a breeze and the hotel car took me back to the airport.

aks120

I had hired the hotel car and an English speaking guide for this part of my journey for a couple of reasons. The first being I did not want to miss anything good and I wanted to understand a little bit more about the temples, rather than just take photos. Second the hotel car had air conditioning - nuff said!

So I went down to the hotel lobby and meet up with my guide (Lee) who also happened to be one of the concierges at the hotel on his off day! He was now all dressed up in his guide outfit - I am assuming they have to get qualified for this as I noticed all guides had the same shirt and trousers on as we went about the day. The car was actually the hotel mini-bus - a lovely fancy 6 seater so I felt like royalty.

We swept off to Angkor Wat to look at the majestic temple and started off at the East gate. This is where you see the value in a guide that knows what he is doing as there was barely a soul there and we did not see many until about half way through our visit to this temple. Seems everyone starts at the other end so the wave of people were going in the opposite direction to us - very clever Lee!



My first sight was actually of some monkeys - I had never seen one of these in the flesh (apart from zoos and they don't count) and they were little terrors. One tourist decided to try and pat him....the monkey then sat patiently until this chap's hand was almost on him when he turned and bared his teeth with a massive squeal. The man then did the same - he did not look quite so cool in front of the rest of his group (all girls I might add) when he yelped and ran like a ....well...not very manly is all I will say! Very funny to watch though. The monkeys had distracted me from the real sight - the East Gate which was magnificent. We went through it, marveling at the infrastructure and out the other side to see the main temple or the one everyone would recognise.





I have wanted to visit Angkor Wat for years - it is always in photos in my travel magazines and was always a place I said I would love to go - and now I could not believe I was stood in its shadow. It really is a magnificent sight, very dark and eerie actually but it seems they are cleaning up the sandstone so the black parts are slowly returning to their natural sand colour.





We meandered around the place and whilst it started to get busier with people, it was not too bad - certainly not in the Great Wall category! I saw Buddhas that had their heads cut off (most of the statues did as they had been stolen many years ago - the government was slowly replacing them). I saw the most magnificent wall carvings you could ever imagine - very intricate and Lee pointed out the story behind some of the pictures - mainly goodies and baddies in them. With the odd dolphin and camel and flower thrown in for good luck.

We then carried on out of the west gate - there were some steps and I am not going to lie - my legs had still not shaken off the Great Wall properly but it seems Lee had a bad knee so I was not actually very far behind him!

The West gate is where you take the picture everyone recognizes and I did the same. A truly magnificent sight.



We then got back in the car - the handy thing about the hotel car is that it drops you and meets you in the most convenient places, and it had cold water and cold towels - a very welcome sight as it was getting really hot and sticky!



We then moved onto Prasat Beyon which is known as the smiling temple. A lot of the towers have smiling faces on them. It is smaller but equally as fascinating. We wondered around this temple for about an hour, marveling the sights and then a massive tour group came - time for us to move on! So to avoid getting trampled by an elephant, we got in the car and headed off to our next one - the Tomb Raider Temple!







The Ta Phrom temple is where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider so whilst I may not have had her legs I did have her sense of adventure. I have to say this was my favorite temple. Quite peaceful and the way nature had overgrown the temple was fascinating. The trees grew through the sandstone and round it rather than destroying in. Again, a little eerie but really quite beautiful. I could have stayed here for hours watching nature but it was now really really hot and time to head back to the hotel.

I can highly recommend a hotel tour - I saw a lot of folks in tuck Turks and I am sure that would have been a great experience, but for me as a single female traveler I was not all that keen. And I am pretty sure they did not greet you with cold water and towels like a long lost cousin every time you returned from your tours!

I will leave the photos to do the place justice as my words could not possible capture the feeling of this place. Highly recommend!

roadwarrier

Absolutely wonderful!! Looking forward to the rest and your impressions of Siem Reap.

aks120

MI633 – 737
Planned T/O - 1635
Actual T/O - 1650
Planned Arrival - 1750
Actual Arrival - 1803
Total Time - 1hr 15 mins
Total Distance - 345 miles
Seat - 1A

Yet another airline today! I had the choice of 2 - Vietnam Airlines or Silkair, which is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. I went for the latter purely because of flight times - this one would get me into Da Nang and supposed paradise about 3 hours earlier than the Vietnam flight. Singapore Airlines is part of Star Alliance (I am member through Thai Airways), its subsidiary is not! However, in order for me to stick to my own rules, I joined Krisflyer (Singapore Airlines loyalty program) so that I could credit this flight to something.

Check-in

What did I learn from today? That I am not always right and when the hotel concierge tries to tell you that you are leaving far too early for the airport - listen to them! The concierge wanted me to leave at 2pm - I wanted to leave at 1pm as I wanted to look round the airport in my usual geek way. What I didn't know is that check-in does not open for any flight leaving here until 2 hours before departure - and in my case that would be 1435 so I was approximately 1 hour too early. I would have been bang on time if I had listened to the concierge!!! Anyway - enough of that madness, the business class queue was empty so I was quickly checked in and bags taken away. The airport itself is very modern, I believe this terminal had not long opened and it showed - it was very pleasant.

Lounge







I could use the airport lounge for this flight - it is generic and extremely bland - not somewhere you would want to spend a lot of time! I went in, had a few sips of tiger beer as that was all that was on offer and some very dodgy looking spring rolls and samosas - I left them!




The actual airport itself it pretty well stocked considering the size. There was a good size duty free, a local artisan shop where I bought a few bits and of course there had to be a Burger King! There was a nice bar and a lot of open seating areas. Compared to the lounge, the airport was quite a pleasant wait.







Soon enough I saw my plane land and we were soon ready for boarding. I thought at one stage there was going to be a bit of a disaster as we walked out to our aircraft, there was a China Airways flight walking into arrivals - and we were about to criss-cross! Some quick work by the Silkair ground staff stoped the masses from the China flight and we got across the pan to ours unscathed.

Seat



My first impressions of the Silkair business class cabin were hugely positive. It was a nice seat and the cabin had a very friendly feel to it. The cabin crew were also really nice and welcomed me very enthusiastically. I realized why after boarding had finished. In a business class which could carry 12 passengers, I was the only one on this short hop! So I was treated like royalty and glared at by the passing economy passengers - I solved that problem by putting my head in a book and did not make eye contact!

Amenities

Nothing on this flight as to be expected with the short time in the air. However if I keep taking flights such as this, I may actually have to buy some toiletries!

Food

I was offered a tuna sandwich and a cup of tea. The sandwich was really tasty and came with a weird side 'salad' of sweetcorn and celery but it was very refreshing!



Drinks

I asked for a glass of wine and it came with my lunch. The girls could not fill my glass fast enough and eventually I had to get them to stop - it seemed they were trying to use the whole bottle of white before landing but I still needed my wits about me to negotiate Vietnam customs and visa controls!

Arrivals

All too soon the flight had landed - I would definitely fly Silkair again and would now love to try Singapore Airlines. That is the trouble with being loyal to one set of airlines, you don't get a chance to try others!

I was extremely surprised and impressed by the arrivals process, it was simple and probably the quickest I have ever gone through immigration in my life, and that includes UK! There was no requirement for paperwork and my passport was stamped and I was off to be greeted by the Intercontinental Da Nang staff on the other side. Bags were quickly off, no 1 and 2 please note BA and I was soon whisked away in a Toyota Landcruiser to my luxurious next stop.