Big Trip 2012 – Hong Kong, the UK and the South of France on CX, BA and EZ!
#63
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,838
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_1_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9B206 Safari/7534.48.3)
Thoughtful writing and great photos, as always a pleasure to read.
Thoughtful writing and great photos, as always a pleasure to read.
#65
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: On the beach
Programs: QF P1 (OWE) LTG (OWS)
Posts: 822
After breakfast I made the obligatory bathroom stop, another downside for BA as the toilets are shared with the economy cabin, and there’s only 5 for over 200 people on the 777-300ER. On Qantas the toilets are shared on the 747 but on the A380 there are dedicated toilet facilities in the upstairs cabin.
Anyway, fantastic TR. Keep em coming^
#66
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,809
Unfortunately, not, my day job is in IT, boring
Here the 'done' thing is to have a million and one wedding shots taken in different settings before the big day and then choose which ones are to be displayed and then put in the wedding album.
....
If i was in your shoes i would probably go to Din Tai Fung for the experience. Both Hong Kong branches are Michelin starred, and the meal will cost you circa 10GBP each. It's a real Chinese canteen type place and a bit of an experience but you will never find better dim sum at any price range. It's my girlfriend and I's favourite place to eat here.
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If i was in your shoes i would probably go to Din Tai Fung for the experience. Both Hong Kong branches are Michelin starred, and the meal will cost you circa 10GBP each. It's a real Chinese canteen type place and a bit of an experience but you will never find better dim sum at any price range. It's my girlfriend and I's favourite place to eat here.
Unfortunately, my foray into the W cabin was not to be, as BA decided to bump me up to CW! So I was especially interested in reading your experience of that segment.
....
As I only got my op-up at the gate, I checked in as a W passenger and was given a sticker too. The rationale for this (explained to me in Chinese) was that on crowded night flights, drowsy passengers may ensconce themselves at a distance from the correct gate and neglect to listen for the boarding call. A sticker aids the gate agents in identifying which passengers to rouse.
The check-in agent had no way of knowing I have access to a lounge at HKG, but surely a glance at matthandy's status would have indicated that a sticker was inappropriate in this case!
....
As I only got my op-up at the gate, I checked in as a W passenger and was given a sticker too. The rationale for this (explained to me in Chinese) was that on crowded night flights, drowsy passengers may ensconce themselves at a distance from the correct gate and neglect to listen for the boarding call. A sticker aids the gate agents in identifying which passengers to rouse.
The check-in agent had no way of knowing I have access to a lounge at HKG, but surely a glance at matthandy's status would have indicated that a sticker was inappropriate in this case!
Thanks for the info with regards to the sticker. I think that I'm capable of finding the gate though
Thanks mike&co.
Thanks Kgmm77.
Thanks halfcape.
I've been reading with angst on the QF board, pretty crazy. Someone also posted on the BA board that QF is no longer serving Champagne in PE, is this true?
#68
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: On the beach
Programs: QF P1 (OWE) LTG (OWS)
Posts: 822
In any case no real Champers down the back!
#69
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: in a cabin
Posts: 6,521
Great work Matthandy. :-::-::-::-::-:
Agree about the new WT+ product. A real step up from the current version. Much better seat which does not break your bum or back after 1 hour.
Curious about how you get such light in the photos. ISO 6400 sounds extremely grainy, yet your photos are crisp. Do tell more how you get them like this, except for taking the snaps during the right time of day.
Agree about the new WT+ product. A real step up from the current version. Much better seat which does not break your bum or back after 1 hour.
Curious about how you get such light in the photos. ISO 6400 sounds extremely grainy, yet your photos are crisp. Do tell more how you get them like this, except for taking the snaps during the right time of day.
#70
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,809
A Few Days in Sussex
Where were we?
I made my way out into the arrivals hall after picking up some Champagne from Duty Free. I do love this country, a bottle of Dom Perignon for Ł93 versus around Ł160 in Australia.
My next task was to find the car rental desks and in particular, the Sixt desk. There were overhead signs directing me to ‘Car Rental’ but these ran out as I walked towards the other end of the terminal. Eventually I discovered that there were no desks, just bus stops. I had to walk all the way to the end to bus stop 19 and then ring up Sixt to come and pick me up. There was no courtesy phone, so I had to use my very expensive Australian mobile. To top it all off, the bus service didn’t start until 6.30am which meant a 20 minute wait in the freezing cold. Not a great welcome to the UK.
The bus arrived on time and we took the short journey to the Sixt rental area. This is located just east of the airport, very near to Hatton Cross tube station.
I ‘checked in’ with a very lovely lady who was an absolute gem. She apologised about the fact that the car I had booked was not available (an Audi A1) but that they had upgraded me to a Golf TDI. I was somewhat disappointed as I really wanted to try out the A1. In fact, when is it ever the case that a car rental company has the car that you expected? I don’t know how they get away with it. What if you booked a flight with BA to Los Angeles but when you checked in they only had availability to New York? Would that still qualify as “or similar”?
Anyway, the car was actually very good and by 7am I was on my way down to Sussex.
It seems as though I’d actually bought some sunshine with me and as I zipped along the country lanes with the sun shining down on me it certainly felt pretty good to home.
My resting place for the week was to be my Dad’s house and I arrived there at about 9am. No-one was in as both my Dad and his partner were at work. After a quick shower I jumped back in the car and headed over to my sister’s place.
As I explained at the beginning, one of the main reasons for this trip was to see my new-born niece for the first time. Actually seeing her was fantastic. She is so beautiful, and I’m not just saying that as any proud uncle would. She really is a beautiful looking baby, and she has absolutely loads of hair!
My sister took a few photos of my first awkward encounters as I got to hold, feed and burp her. She even burped up a bit of milk on me. I was in love already! I realised at that moment that it was going to be very tough to say goodbye to her in a few days time as I continued on my travels around the UK.
I also tried to say hello to my sister’s cat but she was having none of it. Frustrating animal.
As beautiful as my niece is, for privacy reasons I won’t be posting any photos of my family (except the cats). I’m sure that you can understand.
Poppy
Poppy
After catching up with my sister for a good few hours (and getting used to daytime TV again) we decided to head out for lunch. There is a fantastic and very popular pub not far from my sister’s house. It sits directly on the river and it was the perfect spot to enjoy the rare English sunshine.
Browsing the menu, I decided to have something rather traditional, a baked potato with beans and cheese, yum!
The pub
The view, by the river
Yum, yum
After a lovely lunch we had to go to the hospital, as my sister had an appointment at the diabetic clinic. I quite enjoyed the ‘routineness’ of these day to day activities and also learnt a little about the logistics of travelling around with a 10 week old baby. One thing that surprised me is that her carry cot thing was bloody heavy! I have full respect for parents who drag one of those around town by hand.
In the evening my sister had offered to cook so we made a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up dinner. I realised how much I missed UK supermarkets, so much choice! I loved seeing all of the familiar products again. I’d have to find some space in my suitcase to take some of them home.
My Dad joined us for dinner and I popped open the Dom to celebrate the birth of my niece. It went down very well!
Dom Perignon 2003
The next morning I woke up at 6am, which I didn’t think was too bad, given the potential for major jet lag. I’d planned to spend the day with my sister and my niece again. I got dressed, had some breakfast and then sat and watched some Jeremy Kyle on the TV. This show just doesn’t change. It’s basically a showcase for the naďve and stupid, with ‘Sir’ Kyle abusing the various characters to rounds of rapturous applause.
At about 10am I said good bye to my Dad’s cat, Cleo and then took the short drive to my sister’s house.
Cleo
We’d agreed to go to a nearby seaside town and stroll along the beach. I also secretly wanted to have a play on the penny arcades too!
We weather was fantastic again and we both had to be careful of getting sunburnt, although it wasn’t necessary to be quite as cautious as in Australia.
We had to pop into Mothercare and I couldn’t resist buying some clothes and toys for Isla. But wow, for such tiny things, baby clothes are expensive.
We strolled along the pier and I got the chance to win a bunch of 2p coins at the penny arcades. I particularly enjoy the penny pushers! Even now, as an adult, I can’t justify the 10p machines, they are just too expensive .
The Lido
Walking along the pier
I’m going to get that fiver even if I have to put in Ł10 worth of 2p coins!
Typically English
Flags for the Jubliee
Walking along the pier
After I had lost all of my money, and my sister had lost all of the money that I’d given her too we headed to a British favourite, Pizza Express! Why on earth these don’t exist in Australia I don’t know, you can even get them in Hong Kong now.
My sister had been savvy enough to print off a discount voucher, so we got money off as well. I went for my usual Quattro Formaggi whilst she went for something a little healthier. Isla was happy just to sit there and be cooed over by practically everyone in the restaurant. One thing that I noticed whilst being out and about with Isla, everyone comes over to say hello and find out how she is etc. My sister and I joked that we needed to create an FAQ sheet to hand out to people. I must say though, it did make me feel proud of both my sister and Isla.
My two babies, Isla and my D800
Mmm, Pizza Express
After lunch we travelled back to my sister’s house and I said goodbye as I’d be seeing them later in the evening for dinner.
I then drove over to see an old school friend of mine. I’ve known him for over 20 years now and despite taking very different paths it’s like things have never changed. We decided to head down to the yacht club where his Dad has his boat, for a pint. The weather was great still, but unfortunately, the view wasn’t quite as good as it is on the harbour in Sydney!
Yacht club
The tide is out
In the evening I’d arranged to meet my Dad, his partner, my sister and her husband at a local pub for dinner. Sitting in the garden with the summer sun streaming down was surely the best that the English summer has to offer. I do miss those late night pub garden sessions.
We headed inside and had an excellent dinner before wrapping up at about 10pm.
Yummy Bulmers
The dining room
The following morning I woke up at 5am, which was way too early. It seems as though jet lag had caught up with me at last. I dozed a bit and eventually gave in so fired up the laptop to watch a bit of UK TV via BBC iPlayer.
Eventually I got up and then went to my sister again, and got to feed Isla for a second time, I’m getting better at this now.
I’d planned to meet some friends in town for lunch and then we were to head off to a local driving range to wack a few balls around. With it being mid-week, it wasn’t busy at all, so we didn’t have to suffer any embarrassment of being totally useless golfers.
I actually wasn’t too bad in the end, but it did take a lot of practice. I can’t see myself having a golf career in the future!
#71
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,809
The driving range
Lining it up
In the evening I went over to my friend’s parent’s house for a catch up and a couple of bottles of wine before making my way down to the local pub for the rest of the evening. I have mentioned it in previous trip reports as it’s a rather unique place with lots of historical artifacts/junk hanging up all over the place. It’s actually changed owners recently and they’ve really cleaned it all up, whilst still maintaining the character and charm of the original place.
My local
On Thursday I woke up at about 8am, so pretty good. I made my way back into town to purchase a watch for myself. As it happens my friend’s girlfriend is the manager of a local jewellery shop, so I was afforded some special treatment. I ended up walking away with a Hamilton Automatic, not a brand that I had heard of before, but I was very pleased with it.
We headed to a local pub for lunch where I had another British classic, scampi and chips. Proper chips too, not ‘fries’.
My sister had asked if I’d take some proper photos of herself, Isla and her husband so I travelled back to their house and spent a couple of hours doing my photographers bit before heading back to Dad’s and back down my local pub to meet some friends that I’d made arrangements with. It was a pretty good night as we spent most of it out in the garden.
Scampi!
The following morning I woke up at about 8am again, but with a hang over this time. Oh dear, too many ciders the previous night.
I went to visit my sister again, spending a few hours there before meeting up with a my friend again to go for a walk. We both went to the same high school and I’ve noticed that there have been some radical changes to the buildings recently and wanted to go and have a look and reminisce. There is a public footpath that runs around the outside, over some tracks and then out into the countryside. This was after school hours, so don’t worry, we weren’t up to anything ‘funny’!
It was great to wander around the countryside and enjoy the odd stinging nettle or two. The English countryside is definitely something that I miss about Australia. Ok, so I sound like an old man now.
Footpath
Watch out for trains (and stingers)
Buttercups
Left or right?
In the evening I had arranged to have a meal with some friends at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth. This was to be my last night in Sussex, so which fabulous restaurant did I choose to celebrate in? Pizza Express of course.
We arrived just as the sun was low in the sky, bathing everything in a golden light.
The meal was fantastic, and we even had a serving of the customary dough balls to go with it. It was great to catch up with everyone and I learned that a couple of my friends are planning to come over to Australia for a working holiday late this year which was great news for me.
Rather large yachts in the harbour tonight
Spinnaker Tower
Restaurants
Rather large yachts in the harbour tonight
Pizza Express
The evening ended without too many drinks being consumed which was a good idea, since I had to drive to Oxford the following day.
I woke at about 8am again, on this, the last morning down in Sussex. I went and visited some family, including my Mum who normally lives in Australia but was over in the UK sorting out some family affairs.
For lunch I’d arranged to meet my sister, Isla and her husband’s sisters at a rather posh local hotel. The hotel itself dates back only to 1927 which is a bit odd because it was built in a medieval style using elements from derelict buildings. Some of the stonework dates back to the 13th century and the woodwork is from the 15th century.
The setting was absolutely fantastic, with all of the tables laid out in the court yard. We’d printed off a voucher for a three course set menu.
To start I had blue cheese and walnut beignets. For my main I chose a dish which basically cubes of pork on a celeriac puree and for dessert I chose the cheese plate.
#72
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,809
The hotel
The hotel
Waiting area
Table setting
Blue cheese and walnut beignets
Pork main
Cheese plate
Strawberry shortcake
Jubilee display
Lunch was really excellent, the food was great, as well as the service, the setting and the company.
Sadly, at the end of the lunch it was time to say goodbye to everyone, including my niece. I didn’t know at this point when I would get to see her again, so it was a bit difficult.
I then jumped into the car and made my way to a friend’s place in Oxford.
Up Next
A night in London followed by a breakfast BBQ in Oxford and then a few more days in London before heading off to Newcastle for a wedding.
#73
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,809
Thanks SFflyer123.
Really? The wine selection is supposed to be from business class and includes pre-flight Champagne. I wonder when this changed?
Thanks Petrus. There are no tricks involved, the D800 is just able to handle 6400 really well. It is quite grainy close up, but it's clean noise that is easily dealt with in Lightroom.
Here is the original, straight out of the camera:
And a 100% crop:
This photo was taken at f2.8 1/40s 6400 ISO, in the rain, hand held! The D800 is simply an amazing camera.
And after processing:
Here is the original, straight out of the camera:
And a 100% crop:
This photo was taken at f2.8 1/40s 6400 ISO, in the rain, hand held! The D800 is simply an amazing camera.
And after processing:
#74
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SQ Gold, KQ Platinum, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Hilton Gold, Marriott Silver, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,347
Excellent update from Sussex, matthandy ^
The hotel you visited at the end of the report looked really great.
I do love seeing those photos of the English countryside. Living in London now, I am lucky enough to return home to the countryside fairly regularly for a breath of fresh air (literally), but a part of me does miss having that on my doorstep.
Sussex looks like a lovely place to live, and within easy commuting distance of London too, and Heathrow for those trips away.
Looking forward to the rest!
The hotel you visited at the end of the report looked really great.
I do love seeing those photos of the English countryside. Living in London now, I am lucky enough to return home to the countryside fairly regularly for a breath of fresh air (literally), but a part of me does miss having that on my doorstep.
Sussex looks like a lovely place to live, and within easy commuting distance of London too, and Heathrow for those trips away.
Looking forward to the rest!
#75
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Nottingham, UK
Programs: HHonors - Diamond, AA - EXP
Posts: 150
Did you win the fiver on the 2p machine? I have to admit to also being unable to resist the lure of the 2p pusher but like you I draw the line at 10p
Great report as always, when I see matthandy as the thread starter I know I'm in for a good read!
Great report as always, when I see matthandy as the thread starter I know I'm in for a good read!