Welcome to my first trip report! Still relatively new at miles and points, I was a little cautious about booking my first trip...I really wanted to make it one to remember!

Growing up in an airline family (dad was one of the first 13 to join/start Emirates, and has designed the chinaware onboard EK F and J, and the crystal glassware on EY F), I have loved commercial and military aircraft since I was a little kid. The joy and awe of rocketing off the ground to 36000 ft never gets old. Most of my life I've flown EK, either F, J or Y, with a smattering of LH, CX, SQ, UL, AA, DL, etc.

Planning and redemption:
Flights were redeemed using AAdvantage miles and Krisflyer miles. The AAdvantage miles were obtained from the AAdvantage card, as well as over 220k transferred over from US DM post-merger. As my parents still live in Dubai (where I grew up), and my sister, bro-in-law and awesome niece live in Singapore, traveling to a central point is key for family holidays. This trip was a short family vacation on the beautiful island of Bali in Indonesia. We did have some panic prior to departure, as the volcanic disruptions could very well have continued until departure date! Thankfully, DPS was cleared by the time my flight date came around.

Inbound
67500 AAdvantage miles
AA F, A321S, DFW-JFK
JL F, 773W, JFK-NRT
JL J, 767, NRT-SIN

7500 Krisflyer miles, SGD50 promotion
SQ Y, A333, SIN-DPS

Outbound
7500 Krisflyer miles, SGD50 promotion
SQ Y, A333, DPS-SIN

67500 AAdvantage miles
CX J, A333, SIN-HKG
CX F, 773W, HKG-JFK
AA F, 737, LGA-DFW


Lounges
DFW Centurion Lounge
JFK Air France Lounge
NRT JAL First Class Lounge
SIN Krisflyer Gold Lounge
DPS Premier Lounge
SIN Dnata Skyview Lounge
HKG The Wing First, The New Pier First
LGA Centurion Lounge, Admiral's Lounge


Hotels
Fairfield Inn JFK, King Room.
Grand Hyatt Bali, Nusa Dua, Bali. Grand King suite
Kunja Villa, Seminyak, Bali. 3 bedroom.
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I'm psyched to write this up, and will get each section up as soon as possible. Some of the images will be better than others (DSLR vs Samsung S6 edge), so please bear with me

After a night filled with excited anticipation, I headed over to DFW terminal C to check in with my two large suitcases. Terminal C, still under renovations (like most of DFW), was full of passengers waiting to check in. Thankfully, due to my ticket and my AA EXP, I had a much shorter wait time. After checking in, I used the Skylink to get to Terminal D as I still had several hours before boarding. Once I arrived at terminal D, I walked over to the best lounge at DFW, The American Express Centurion Lounge. I had a quick lunch and a gin and tonic. The food, inspired/curated by Dan Fearing is quite delicious, and includes a to-die-for chicken dish. However, I do wish that the menu changed more often; I’ve had the same dishes several times over the past year. Still, the service, food and the spa make the Centurion Lounge an ideal stop if you have time in DFW. Just be aware that the Skylink can sometimes break down, so you may have to take the train in the opposite direction, which can increase the time taken to get to your terminal.

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A Qantas A380 at Terminal D.


Sadly, there were no massage appointments prior to boarding. Sad, because I have had the massage before, and the pressure is incredible…almost a true deep tissue massage.

Boarding was delayed for almost 45 minutes, as the aircraft had yet to be retrieved from the hangar…yes, it was a brand new, factory-fresh Airbus A321S. While not as popular/buzz-worthy compared to the transcon big brother (A321T), the A321S was more than comfortable, even with the revised seats. The IFE monitors were quite large, and the content was more than sufficient for a 4hr flight to JFK. Service was decent onboard, and the meal was decent as well. I had the cheese lasagna, which took up the entirety of the serving dish. If you are hungry, then it would be a carbalicious meal. I did realize that I would be spending the night at the Fairfield Inn at JFK in Jamaica, NY, and it would be difficult to find food near the hotel. Therefore, I ate about half, as the food from the Centurion Lounge had filled me up already.

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A horribly blurry image using my Samsung S6...sorry! I have much better photos, especially with my DSLR

After arriving at JFK, I waited what felt like hours for my bags. Attaching my baggage belt to the handles, I headed over to the Skytrain to reach Federal Circle station, where all hotel shuttles pick up. I would suggest calling the hotel enroute to the station, as the wait time was long when I called at the station itself. The shuttle came by quickly, and dropped off at both the Comfort Inn and Fairfield.

The Fairfield Inn at JFK is…..adequate at best. Keep in mind that JFK doesn’t have the best hotels in the area, and NY’s nicer hotels will cost at least $100 in roundtrip cab/uber/lyft fare, so you generally must do with what you can get. Being that Fairfields are usually clean, I chose to stay there overnight prior to my highly-anticipated JAL flight. After check-in, you have to take your luggage to a small elevator, which takes you down one floor. This elevator’s sole purpose appears to be to move guests from level 1 to the lobby…a rather bizarre design flaw IMO. Exiting the elevator, you walk down a small hall to the main elevator bank. My room, a standard king was relatively clean, although had a faint hint of mildew. While the sheets smelled fresh, I think the carpets could have done with a good steam clean. The two “warm” cookies were a brief snack prior to bed, although they were “warmed” to a hard, crispy shell. Doubletree cookies, these are not. Still, sufficient for one overnight stay, and at $180/- not bad at all.

Thankfully, the hotel shuttle takes you directly to the terminal rather than Federal Circle, so you only have to deal with that issue once.

My trip to NRT started off with a barrage of rainfall. If you’ve ever been at JFK during a heavy downpour, you can almost feel a tangible level of depression. However, every time I looked at my Worldmate app itinerary, and excited chuckle escaped my lips. Naturally, this sort of behavior looks out of place in a hotel shuttle, and in this case it wasn’t an exception. Thankfully, the rest of the Comfort Inn/Fairfield guests onboard the airport shuttle were all too busy talking about their own journeys (most were traveling China Southern or ANA). I was the only one dropped off by JAL, and I made my way inside the huge T1 lobby. I was directed over to the far side of the terminal to the JAL check-in counters. I had left the hotel at 9:30, assuming that the check-in would open at 10a at the earliest. However, it turns out the counters actually opened at 9. I regretted waiting the extra hour (especially at the Fairfield), but after getting to the AF lounge, I didn’t really mind all that much.
Check-in was a painless process, although the contracted staff member was a little apathetic. She did, however, run around to get all my bags tagged to SIN, and came around the counter to tag my hand-luggage herself. After giving me both boarding passes, I left to the security line. Perhaps it was the weather, but more likely it was the time, as there was hardly a wait in security, even for general boarding/non priority. After an interaction with a rather cheerful TSA agent, I moved over to the security line and turned right to head down the hall to the Air France Lounge.



The Air France Lounge entrance


The lounge itself looks quite nice from the outside, and when venturing in you have a choice of the upstairs (reserved for F) or downstairs (J). I was excited to try the Clarins Spa, but due to the timing, the spa was not open…I believe it only opens for the AF flight.


Upstairs, there was plenty of seating, most of which did not look all that comfortable. However, they turned out to be quite comfortable.

Since it was fairly early in the morning, the buffet was “a petit dejeuner” which included noodles, rice, soup, smoked salmon sandwiches, some other sandwiches, more smoked salmon with accompaniments. Being a huge fan of salmon and all seafood, I opted for some salmon sandwiches, some more smoked salmon and a cup of nespresso espresso (the first of three cups). I also had some champagne later in my stay.




Plugging into a power port, I charged up my tablet and watched some videos while waiting. After some time, the lounge filled up until no seats were available. 10 min prior to boarding, I headed out for the short 1 min walk to the gate.

There were a ton of people waiting at the gate, although the JAL staff had created three boarding lanes for F, J and Y pax. People were generally good natured about the process and queued up appropriately.

When boarding, I was taken by the JAL J attendant to my seat in F, and handed over to the F attendant on my side of the plane. Thankfully, I had asked AA for the JAL booking code, and had switched my seat to the window…I was really happy with my selection!

The seat is part of the Sky Suite set up, and looks great! While aesthetically simple compared to EK, EY, CX, etc., the seat is very well supported, very comfortable, and didn’t get warm at all. Naturally, there was plenty of room. Seated next to me was another FTer, Alexphj527. How did I know? Well, he and I were the only ones snapping pictures of the cabin with silly grins on our faces! He’s a great guy and we had a good convo during the flight.










After settling in and stowing all my gear, the purser Sato came by to introduce herself and thank me for flying JAL F. I started off with a glass of champagne, Salon 2012 prior to takeoff…delicious and super smooth, I can understand why each bottle of this fine champagne costs $400. Prior to takeoff, I was handed a Loewe amenity kit (with Shiseido supplements), Bose Headset, Pajamas (L was more than sufficient for me), and the menu for the flight. As others have noted, JAL serves a formal meal, and then the passengers can make additional meals a la carte throughout the flight. After all the trip reports I had read, I was eager to try to the Kaiseki meal. That choice proved to be perfect!

A very smooth takeoff later, the flight attendants went right into action once we reached cruising altitude. Sato was an amazing purser, and the other two flight attendants (even though they didn’t speak English well) were amazing as well. I can understand why JAL F service is so lauded, I actually preferred it to the CX service…it felt more enthusiastic and genuine.
The tables were deployed and I ordered caviar to start, with the kaiseki meal followed by the western dessert (instead of the Japanese one).


Here is the menu for the flight:

















The amuse bouche was rather tasty, and a good accompaniment to the Salon (which was refilled 4 times!). Mmmmm more salmon!



Natto and other snacks were presented after the amuse bouche

Caviar course. Although it was small, it was delicious, and included the requisite mother of pearl spoon

First course (although I suppose after the caviar it would be the second appetizer course!

Duck Breast and Savory veggies in savory jelly. Delicious, although the jelly might throw off some.

Soy-simmered beef The beef had a delightful ginger flavor, and was delicious as a chilled appetizer.

Grilled salmon and welsh onion roll This was the most…western of the appetizers, but tasty too.

Chicken breast cucumber julienne and jellyfish While the jellyfish sounded interesting, I didn’t really notice any flavor other than the chicken and the cucumber. Still, yummy!

Arctic char, taro, grilled eggplant and fennel Straightforward fish and veggies. Delicious!

The next course consisted of clear soup with yuba mouse. The yuba (soybean) was soft, and slightly sweet, which paired well with the savory soup.


Broiled eel with tofu cake, cucumber stuffed with salmon, lemon-simmered potato, conger eel. Another appetizer, the Shiizakana was good, but not great. I would’ve had another soup in a heartbeat, but this appetizer fell somewhat short. Still, it was very high quality and wouldn’t be out of place at a fine-dining establishment.
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The lobster in miso….AMAZING! Tender slices of lobster paired with a delicious miso mousse, this course was delicious and my absolute favorite.

The main course (I know…so much food already). Steamed seafood, paired with rice (with corn and scallops), miso soup and pickles. The main course was good, with well-complemented dishes. A great main.

The western dessert, cheesecake. Yummy and beautifully plated.


Overall, the first meal was amazing and quite an experience. Everytime food was served, it was accompanied by smiles and bows. I asked Sato what she would recommend for wine pairings, and she brought by several different glasses (presenting and pouring them at the table) for each course. I was stuffed, and incredibly impressed. The meal was wrapped up by a great cup of coffee.


Throughout the flight, I also ordered the Japanese brochettes, duck with rice and some royal blue tea. Sadly, this would be the only glass I would have, as the bottle ran out quickly! The tea was delicious, more like a pristine form of iced tea make with very clean water.


I asked for a glass of Montrachet after that snack, and was given a plate of cheese and fruit without asking! Again, the service was phenomenal.


The IFE, which fairly advanced, did not have much in the way of content. Very few English movies, and a few Japanese/Asian movies (most without English subtitles), and a few single-episodes of TV comedies and dramas. An old How I met your Mother episode and a few English movies are not sufficient for a long 12 hour flight, especially if you are unable to sleep. I think this may be the one thing holding them back from Skytrax 5 star status.

Every time I used the lavatory, my bed was remade and my slippers were set properly whenever I woke up. While the seat/bed was comfortable, the cabin temperature was rather warm. Being used to sleeping in cold temperatures, I did not sleep well…just a mere 2 hours. That is not a knock against the seat or bed, the mattress was soft, and my pillow was great.
At the end of the flight, I asked Sato for an additional pajama set for my dad, which she provided in a nice duty free bag when we deplaned. I headed over to the JAL F lounge at NRT with Alex for the short layover before my next flight.

I would love to travel by JAL again, and can see why the airline is pushing for Skytrax 5 star. I think they can easily achieve that if they improve their IFE. A terrific experience!

After a near-heart attack moment when I thought I had lost my passport, I proceeded through the ever-efficient Japanese security at Narita. Obtaining directions from the staff member, I walked over to the JAL First class lounge. Checking in, I walked inside to a rather crowded lounge. The lounge had several sections with plenty of seating, but the lounge itself wasn’t as private as others I’ve seen. Other than the large crowd in the lounge, there was a sushi section where a set of three sushi were provided on a plate, a hot food section, and a spa in the back. Observing the very strict no phone policy, I walked over to the private phone booths to make some calls. Afterwards, nature called too, so I had a chance to look at the bathrooms. The toilets have their own sinks and were very clean. However, it still felt rather cramped. The spa took appointments, but based on my FT friend’s experience, it was all too brief and not memorable.


Sushi bar

Sushi plate and champagne

View of the JAL Tails from the lounge

I saw at least 4 AA aircraft in NRT that day!

After having some sushi, some more champagne and a few snacks I wandered over to my gate. It was a good thing too, as gate 84 is quite a walk from the lounge. After getting to the gate and waiting for a reasonable amount of time (during which the delayed boarding process elicited three formal apologies from the staff…even though each delay was 5 minutes at most), we boarded business and then economy. The 767 features the revised, lie-flat seats. While generally comfortable, the seat back doesn’t truly recline…it only reclines when the foot rest comes up.


Seat in 767 J NRT-SIN

Same IFE system as on the JAL F 773W, “Magic VI”….definitely needs improvement

More storage and room

I forced myself to stay up for a quick dinner, and once again chose the Japanese meal. This time, even though the appetizers were much more numerous, the quality wasn’t nearly as good as F. I had hoped that ex-NRT the Japanese food would be better, but unfortunately I was disappointed in this case. Of course, the FA was quite surprised that I would want the Japanese option when nearly everyone went for the Western choice.


Appetizers…eh, more miss than hit.

Neato chostick rest in the form of origami crane

Main course, fish again! This was actually quite yummy, although I couldn't taste the miso soup as the lid seemed to be glued on. All courses accompanied by iced green tea.

I had reached a point of true exhaustion, and as soon as possible placed my bed into fully flat. The chair lowers to the floor, so when in bed mode you are barely a foot above the ground! That made for some awkward sleeping, even with the arm rest pushed down. I would think that the seats directly next to the window would be preferable for sleeping compared to the seats that are directly next to the aisle.

It may have been my exhaustion or time difference, or a combination of both, but I passed out for almost 5 hours! I woke up just in time for landing in SIN.
As soon as we landed, I headed over to immigration and passed through for a one-night stay at Fraser suites by Changi airport.

After a refreshing overnight stay at Capri by Fraser, I headed over to Changi T2 as early as possible. When flying Singapore Airlines out of Changi, you are able to check in upto 48 hours prior to your flight. I walked over to the dedicated Krisflyer Gold (*G) check in desk, which is located near the business class/first class desks. I had booked my SQ flight to Denpasar (DPS) through SQ’s Krisflyer, but I needed to attach my TK *G account to the booking (which proved to be especially helpful considering how heavy my check in bags were; short range SQ Y gets 30Kg, I had 48!). Switching my TK number to the booking appeared to confuse the check in girl, and a number of people were involved after almost 20 minutes of frantic typing. Finally, they were able to tag my bags as priority, allow me the extra weight and printed my boarding pass (granting access to the Krisflyer Gold lounge).

I walked in and looked around the area, not really sure where to begin. As many of you know, Changi airport is one of the most interesting airports in the world, with a wealth of things to do. Being remarkably hungry, I decided to head up for some food at the food court (Singapore food courts can be awesome) for some chicken rice. I haven’t had some since December, so I had to get my fix! The chicken rice was ok...but that was to be expected for an airport food option. However, considering the cost of my meal plus an iced milo amounted to approximately $10, I didn’t complain at all.
I headed over the Krisflyer Gold lounge, which is located just outside the main SilverKris lounge. The lounge itself is rather small, as it is meant for *G passengers not traveling in premium cabins. The spread of food was quite decent, and they had Tiger beer on tap (which is always a plus in my book). The food included soup, sandwiches (quite tasty for wrapped sandwiches), some hot wings and a few other hot dishes. You could easily make a meal out of the buffet, but as I had a decent lunch, I only snacked a bit as time went on. The only ding I would make against this lounge was the fact that the bathrooms were located outside and were thus available to everyone. One of my favorite things about lounges is the clean (usually) toilets they have. Ah well…not exactly a burden.
After a while, my sister and niece checked in, and met me downstairs in the concourse for some coffee and a quick croissant (my little 3 yo niece loves croissants). I wanted to take them into the lounge, but we didn’t have enough time prior to boarding.

As we passed through gate security, boarding was announced and we promptly got in queue. Once aboard the A333, we made our way over to our seats. I actually enjoy SQ economy class, and it is perfectly reasonable for a short 2 hour flight. SQ staff are generally friendly in Y, and even managed to serve a full meal with accompanying drinks within the short flight time…and a tasty meal too! Curried chicken with rice and veggies, with a chocolate cake dessert. Decent enough white wine too, although I did not know what it was per se (tasted like a Chardonnay). The SQ IFE system is very solid, and a big hit with my niece, who was kept occupied throughout the flight. As I hadn’t seen my sister in some time, we just spent the flight talking. I did take a few photos, but nearly all of them had my niece in them, and therefore for her privacy I will not post them.

Overall, a great flight with SQ, and for the miles/cash spent on it, well worth it.

Denpasar airport is a little nutty, but the apparent renovations have made it much smoother than it used to be. Several security gates later, we found our hotel driver and started our journey to the Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua.

The Grand Hyatt is a beautiful property located in a very resort-heavy location in Nusa Dua. I would say that the area is pretty good if you want a very…commercial feel to your vacation. The property, however, was lovely and spread out over a large area. We were booked into three separate rooms, with my parents having a larger suite, a club room for my sister and niece, and I made a last minute upgrade to a Grand Hyatt suite using a Hyatt DSU. I tried to make my sister take the room, but she said it would be too large and difficult to keep an eye on the munchkin. True enough, the suite I was in was gorgeous, with a separate living room, and a large bathroom. The outdoor deck was quite lovely, although I was woken every morning around 5 am by a remarkably obnoxious parrot outside of my window! Ha, quite an alarm clock.


Lobby View. Yes, that’s the ocean in the distance!

My parent’s suite

My suite living room

My suite bedroom

Suite bathroom with the unfortunately stinky shower

Hotel grounds

More of the hotel grounds

The club lounge was located outdoors, and made a nice setting for breakfast and evening capanes. The drinks were plentiful, the appetizers were quite tasty, and the breakfast was pretty good (eggs cooked to order). We did have breakfast mostly in the Garden Caf� rather than the lounge itself.

There were some things that I didn’t really like about the GH…my bathroom had a remarkably nasty sewage odor every time I turned on the shower, and the maintenance tech who came in said that the cap was not on the drainage. Even after his “fix”, the odor kept coming, but not to the same level. I did complain but nothing was done to compensate…either a move, a proper fix or maybe even some points. A simple, “we’re sorry for the issue”, would’ve been appreciated too. The Garden Caf�, while having a decent breakfast spread, was very lackluster for an Asian hotel; it was more appropriate for an American 4 star than anything else. Sadly, this kind of service/behavior extended to just about everything in the resort which dampened some of my enthusiasm.

I would probably not stay at the GH again, especially considering the number of beautiful villas available for rent throughout the island…case in point, our next location, Kunja villa in Seminyak.
One thing to keep in mind when you’re in Bali…only use metered cabs (Blue Bird is a decent company), and when leaving the airport, make sure you have arranged transport with your hotel. Bali is a nice enough destination, but the locals will do their best to help you part with your money. Being Asian myself, and seeing how Sri Lankans can increase costs for foreigners, I was still shocked at the magnitude in Bali. While Sri Lankans will charge an x10 for tourists, Balinese seem to charge in excess of x100! So be careful and be wary of where you go. Bali Safari and Zoo is a nice enough location, and while it includes a stage show, the cost per person can be around 70-100 USD, which is a bit much. Keep in mind that elephant safaris elsewhere can cost that much just for 30min-1hr though.
When in Bali, check out Kuta Square if you like to find some fun, obvious-knockoff stuff. Bagus watch has the best deals for the most part, and while bargaining is not allowed, the cost is reasonable. Just be aware you get what you pay for…so a $30 “Cartier” probably won’t last two years.
The monkey forest is pretty neat. Just be aware that they can and do climb on people, so just don’t freak out, scream, or stare into their eyes directly.


Paddyfield

Entrance to the Monkey Forest in Ubud

One of the monkeys, don’t be a jerk and give them sugar packets like someone did to this little guy!

One of the seafood restaurants in Nusa Dua…they send their cars to pick you up/drop you from your hotel, so make use of that!

Additional pictures taken during the trip can be seen here: livingfire83.500px.com

Kunja Villas, Seminyak
Compared to Nusa Dua, Seminyak is a far more bustling area on Bali. Many stores, narrow streets and a multitude of people certainly changed the atmosphere.

Consequently, the difference is apparent in hotels too…this time we stayed at the Kunja Villas in Seminyak, and the difference was noticeable…and awesome. The Kunja Villas are comprised of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom villas located in a small complex. Each villa has a swimming pool, and I believe all have breakfast included. We had the 3 bedroom at the very end of the complex, which amounted to a very quiet and private experience. Each room has a king bed with a mosquito net around the four posts. The bathroom is technically outdoor, as each bathroom (very very large with garden tub and showers), has only 3 walls. Therefore, the bathrooms themselves are warm, and you will have to lock the door leading the bathroom for security. The bedrooms are the only ones that are air-conditioned, however the weather and the coolness of the pool more than make up for it. Breakfast was promptly served every morning by two staff members (one chef, one waiter) who cook and set up the meal at your table. The great thing is everything is made to order, and there are several options (American, continental, Indonesian, Japanese) with fresh fruit, juice and great pastries. After breakfast is complete, you choose what you would like for afternoon tea (I loved the Jaffa “cake” which amounts to a jam sandwich).


3 bedroom villa
I have some videos, I’ll try to upload and embed.

My little niece loved the pool, and went on the slide (special request, fulfilled before we got there) every chance she could. I would easily say that the Kunja villas surpassed the Grand Hyatt by leaps and bounds.

After a few days, it was time to head back home. The drive from Seminyak to DPS was supposed to take 1.5 hrs in heavy traffic, but thankfully I managed to get there in 45. There was a massive back up of passengers due to volcanic activity, and Virgin Australia and Jetstar had canceled a large number of flights to Australia.

Check in was a bit of a nightmare! I was flying back to Singapore on SQ, and then CX to the US. I merely asked for an interline for my bags, which should not have been that complex. Instead, it involved 2 additional staff members, two superiors, one of whom took my passport to get it specially signed! Crazy, and it took at least 40 minutes to complete. Way too long. Finally, my bags tagged all the way to JFK (and since I was traveling F on CX, the agent tagged my bags with SQ F tags).

I was onward through immigration and security, and was faced with a money exchange desk, and another labyrinth walk through the duty free in order to reach the main terminal. Piece of advice? Don’t change your money at the moneychanger prior to the duty free…once you get through, you will see many more stores with many more souvenirs, ALL of whom use Rupiah. This just means that the currency you use will be converted first into Rupiah, with a pretty unfortunately exchange rate. Also, the duty free is decently stocked, but there are more (cheaper) options inside. Plus you can always go back to the labyrinth DF if you choose.

I was allowed access to the Premier lounge (due to *G, but it is also a Priority Pass lounge, and a lounge for a LARGE number of airlines). After checking in, I found one chair left in the over packed lounge, and had some snacks from the buffet. The buffet itself was substantial, and had several hot and cold options. Of particular note was the cooked-to-order option, which was a pasta dish for that night. My flight was delayed several times, but thankfully it wasn’t cancelled unlike the multitude of passengers in the lounge. As I was leaving, the line was out through the door, but I assumed that this was just due to the volcanic activity and not a regular occurrence.

After a quick boarding on the older A330 SQ, I settled into my seat and relaxed. I knew that the flight was relatively short, so I tried to sleep as much as I could. However, I did order the seafood meal prior to flight, and must report that I probably wouldn’t have it again. It consisted of a seafood “salad”, fish with red sauce and rice, and a decent dessert.
Overall the meal and flight was fine, but nothing amazing. I think the late hour of the flight made it feel longer than it really was.

After the short flight from DPS, I had to hoof it from Terminal 3 back to Terminal 1…which was around 40 minutes due to the broken down train system and the Changi’s size. It’s also remarkably surreal to walk around Changi early in the morning when hardly any stores are open, with only a few sleep-deprived passengers sauntering around.

I managed to get to transfer desk D and check into my CX flights. Strangely, getting my boarding passes took another 20 minutes, although everything had already been checked in back in DPS. At this point I was just wiped out…the flight was supposed to take off at 0645, and I received my boarding passes at 0015. I walked over to the Dnata Skyview Lounge (also accessible with Priority Pass), which was fairly populated even at that hour. The lovely attendant told me that there was a quiet room in the upper section, but I didn’t find it at first. After wandering around and then sitting in one of the chairs in the lower section, I tried to close my eyes for a few minutes but failed miserably. The attendant saw the difficulty I was having, and escorted me directly to the quiet room that she had previously mentioned…a no-light room in the upper area with a closed glass door. Thanking her quite sleepily, I collapsed on one of the reclined leather chairs and managed to get around 3 hours of sleep. I woke up and groggily made myself a cup of cappuccino and had a wrapped sandwich…honestly, the sandwich was much more appealing than the hot food options, but then again I thought that I would have a nice meal onboard the CX flight to HKG. Overall a decent lounge, but if you are in Changi when it’s open, try the Qantas lounge or the BA lounge…I’m sure they are better.


Escalator to Skyview

The CX bird I’m flying to HKG

At T-15 I walked over to the nearby gate and passed through the efficient security. Boarding commenced almost immediately, and I boarding along with the rest of the J pax (full cabin). The seats were the standard 2x2x2 a330, and not the new 1-2-1. However, considering the flight time of about 4 hours, it wasn’t uncomfortable at all. The cabin was clean, the service was wonderful. The breakfast started with fruit, pastries, hot hong kong style milk tea, and braised beef with noodles as a main. The croissants were one of my favorite parts of the meal. Everything was served by hand except for the main course, which was served by tray. Sorry for the lack of pictures for this segment, as I was so groggy and exhausted that I wasn’t coherent enough to take them.


IFE screen. Plenty of room for a short flight, but definitely not a good bird to fly long-haul

There were a few op-ups in the cabin, and while that has never bothered me (I mean, we are all lucky to fly these cabins, and I always think its wonderful when everyone gets to experience it!), the incessant loud talking from different areas of the cabin (IE 2D to 4A, 3D to 2C, etc) was super annoying. The conversations didn’t hush until we deplaned! Pretty soon we were touching down in HKG.

After deplaning, CX personnel holding my name asked me to wait with her. After just about all the Y pax deplaned, she grabbed one Y passenger and “escorted” us to the transfer area. By “escort” I mean hustled at a speed-walk pace, and getting to the transfer area was something I could’ve easily done myself. Besides, the transit area doesn’t have a priority line for F or J, so all she did was walk down the hall until we got to the transit line /facepalm. This being HKG, tons of other passengers started queuing in the Staff/Cabin Crew line but the security guy didn’t seem to care. Thankfully, the process is still pretty fast, and I was finally in the HKG main terminal.

While waiting for my CX F flight back to JFK, I decided to explore two of the more prestigious lounges at HKG, The Wing First Class Lounge, and the brand new Pier Lounge.

Having docked near gates 1-4, I walked over to The Wing first (near Gate 3, upstairs). After checking in, I made a beeline to the cabana section of the lounge, and was immediately escorted down a black marble-esque hallway to cabana #3. After closing the door, I took my time and explored the space…WOW, what an amazing idea! A full size tub, a shower equipped with hand, waterfall and rain showers and Jurlique bath products, all coupled with soothing light colored wood d�cor and a leather day bed.

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The neat waterfall and rain shower!




After a refreshing bath AND shower (during which I giggled the whole time), I dressed in a clean set of clothes and headed out into the lounge itself, sitting right next to the Champagne bar. A very friendly attendant came by and asked if I would like a glass of Champagne, to which the natural response is “of course, the Veuve Cliquot please.”

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Champagne bar


After receiving a full flute with some warm mixed nuts, I settled down to read for a bit. After a half hour or so, I became antsy and wandered over to the restaurant side. I know that many love the dining concept, but knowing that the Pier was supposed to have an amazing restaurant, I passed and decided to walk over.

Everytime I transit through HKG I forget how big the airport is. And even with a steady pace, the Pier is about a 15-20 minutes march from the Wing, so keep that in mind if you are planning to explore both.


Descending into the Pier (near Gate 65, downstairs), I entered a remarkably comfortable lounge.
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Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautifully decorated, with classic touches and lighting but they really nailed the comfort aspect.

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Before heading to the restaurant, I walked over to the new massage/spa area, and asked if they had any availability. Luckily, the gentleman staffing the desk said he could get me in right away prior to my lunch. Delighted, I walked into a relatively small room with three stalls with comfortable chairs and privacy walls. My masseur first had me sit down on the stool facing the main chair, while my feet soaked in a bath. I was given a large pillow to keep on my lap, and he began massaging my shoulders, neck and scalp with surprising strength and pressure…it felt like heaven! After my back, shoulder and neck massage, I was directed to sit on the chair. Each leg was worked on individually, with percussion, long rubs and pressure point therapy. Now, this isn’t like your typical reflexology massage, which can be extremely painful. Instead, I had a feeling of bliss and almost fell asleep on the chair.

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After completion of my massage, I was directed to the dining area, which looked like a chic restaurant. Having another glass of champagne (Rose this time), and a Sunrise cocktail, I perused the menu and picked several dishes. If I had the time (or a black hole for a stomach), I would’ve ordered everything! I started with the south with prawn toast, the pomelo prawn salad, the seared salmon, and finished with the poached pears. I was originally going to choose the Barramundi, but the server vehemently suggested the Salmon instead (and I’m glad that he did).
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The Menu
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The soup was divine…imagine an egg drop soup with the flavor and intensity of hot and sour soup. Accompany that with crispy prawn toast cut in the shape of long sticks…perfectly crispy, slightly sweet and not drenched in oil. I could have easily had three of those!
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The pomelo and prawn salad was slightly acidic, however the glass noodles and the sweetness inherent to the prawn balanced it out. A nice dish, but I honestly could’ve had another soup in its place.
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The main course, a seared small filet of salmon with peas was a delight…the salmon was nicely seasoned and seared, allowing the flavor of the fish to come through without being overwhelming. The salmon was a little dry, which just tells me that they either had pre-prepared the dish and just quickly reheated, or they just overcooked. I imagine the former, as the dishes came out quite rapidly.
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The poached pears were an unusual dessert, with two slices of large pears swimming in a star-anise soup. The cores of each pear were filled with some sort of jelly, which was delicious on its own.
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Now completely stuffed and with 1hr until boarding, I decided to visit the private rooms inside the Pier before I headed to my gate (#4…another trek back). The rooms are situated behind the shower area, and are exceedingly comfortable. The day bed IMO is leagues better than the day bed in the cabana. There are USB and power ports, a small ledge for a beverage (I was given a lovely oolong), and controls for the window blinds. The private room does not have a door, but has heavy sound-dampening curtains. I can definitely envision sleeping here when on a long layover in HKG. I didn’t ask about blankets, but considering the caliber of the lounge, I wouldn’t doubt that they have some.
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I finally made it back to gate 4 just 5 minutes prior to boarding, and was the first one onboard CX 840!

Prior to boarding the CX flight to JFK, all passengers have to go through another security line. Thankfully, if you are flying in a premium cabin you have a much shorter queue (although be prepared for dirty stares from everyone in the Y queue). After a cursory review of my carry-ons, I walked over to the First class boarding queue and was first in line…naturally, I was super excited!

After a few minutes, boarding was announced and I pretty much sprinted down the jetbridge to the plane. When I reached the door (with the other F passengers behind me, once again full cabin), the FA asked me to wait as they were not quite ready for passengers. After a few minutes, she gestured hurriedly and I made my way to 1A. After many months of reading TR and being super excited, the flight had started rather badly. Still, I kept positive and stowed my gear before sitting down on the wide seat. It certainly felt super roomy, and I had the same sensation as I do when flying SQ J. The material was pretty comfortable and firm, which goes to show that F seats do not need to be covered in leather to be luxurious.


Picture of the seat

View of the ottoman and IFE

After about 15 minutes of FAs running around the cabins like they were in a marathon, one finally approached me to see what I’d like for PDB. How else could I answer, “Krug Grand Cuvee” of course! She smiled and nodded, but mentioned that the champagne glasses had not been loaded yet, and it would be a few more minutes. Eventually, she came by with my glass, and a delightful amuse bouche of smoked ahi tuna with mango salsa.


The amuse bouche

A bottle of Evian

Amuse bouche, Evian and Krug

Aesop amenity kit, Bose QC 15 headphones

The lovely FA came by again and gave me the menu, Aesop amenity kit, and the PYE pajamas. The pajamas were incredibly soft and were perfect for the 16hr flight.
The following are menu pictures, I apologize for some of the resolution, my Galaxy S6 does not do too well in low-light.




The Delas was the wine onboard this flight (and was Del-ightful… )





Soon enough, my table was set for dinner:

And as expected (from reading TRs), the handwritten note

Naturally, I started with the caviar, which was service in a much more fanciful way compared to JAL F.

Followed by the papaya, pork, almond and peanut Chinese soup….so tasty, and very unusual textures.

Followed by the Tuna Ni�oise salad. Leafy, varied and delightfully light.

For my main, I had the pan-fried king prawns, with haricot vert, millet with parsley and garlic butter. These were delicious, but the prawns were slightly overcooked resulting in a tougher bite.


At this point, I was stuffed beyond capacity and ready for a nap. So, I asked the FA to make up my bed while I used the restroom. By the time I had come back, the bed was completely set and looked (and felt) incredibly comfortable. I must say, the bedding and temperature of the cabin onboard the CX flight was superior to the JL.


The comfy pajamas, the comfy bed and the comfy temperature made me fall asleep almost immediately, and I slept for almost 8 hours!

Upon waking, I had some delicious Hong Kong milk tea with egg custards.

Followed by the dessert from the dinner service



I did watch a few TV shows on the IFE, including an interesting Jackie Chan movie about the Silk Road and an invasion by the Roman Empire. Adrian Brody and John Cusack were in the movie as well, but….the whole thing felt a bit odd. Still, interesting enough, and the fight scenes were fun!

Soon enough, breakfast came around, and I ordered the eggs (cooked to order) with all accompaniments. I figured that I should eat well since I didn’t want to hunt for food at 11pm in Queens.
Breakfast started with fruit


Followed by the eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes. All accompanied by HK tea, and hot croissants!


JAL v CX: I'm not the type of person who's shy with the attendant call button. However, I must say that the JAL service was far superior to the CX service. They had a tendency to go above and beyond nearly every time I asked for something, whereas the CX crew just followed standard protocol. I suppose I understand why Gary Leff and Ben call it a "consistent" experience. Still, if JAL improved their IFE system, I would choose them over CX every single time. The food was better, the seat was pretty darn comparable, the champagne was better. I'll definitely look for some more award space soon.

We landed without any fuss, and I was through immigration and baggage claim within 15 minutes of landing, a new record for me! Passing through customs, I walked over again to the train to Federal Circle. Thankfully, the bus had already arrived for the Fairfield, and I was promptly on my way to the hotel.

After another, “no surprises, no excitement” night at the Fairfield JFK, I took a Lyft over to LGA. While there was some mild traffic, we made it there in about 1 hour with a total cost of $39. Not bad at all.

After checking in, I made my way up to the LGA Centurion lounge for some quick breakfast.

The Centurion Lounge @ LGA, while small, had a breakfast spread that surpassed that of the DFW lounge! I know, I know, that sounds crazy, but you must try it to believe it. Delicious egg in a hole, crispy French toast, delightful mini-croissants, and a lovely fruit salad made for a yummy and filling breakfast.



About T-20 I went to through security and walked over to my gate…to find out that the flight was delayed by 45 minutes. With a heavy sigh, I walked over to the nearby Admirals Lounge and relaxed for a little bit while charging my tablet.

The flight itself was pretty straightforward, but the service was a little better than usual. The meal was a slice of quiche…which I merely nibbled on. Overall, a pretty standard AA F flight, and soon enough we were back in DFW.

After a great holiday, it was still good to be home.

Subscribing

Thanks for posting - a wonderful first TR! ^ I'm looking forward to reading the presently missing bits.

Thank you! I should have most of it done soon...I never realized how much work goes into writing one! I definitely have greater appreciation for all the TRs I see here.

Really well done and with excellent pictures - Best Regards^

Very good trip report so far, thanks for posting

Thanks for your patience, I've finally finished it! Thank you also for your kind words and support during my first TR!