dat4life

Thanks, Peter_G777! I really enjoyed your cruise report as well!

dat4life

A Comedy of Errors Part I

Next up on our itinerary was Macau. While I would prefer to stick with Cathay, they offered no award space on any of their flights, in any class, that fit our schedule. I then looked into purchasing tickets on Cathay, but that would have set us back $400, each. In economy. No way. Same with the other airlines who offered fifth freedom flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok. All of them were ridiculously priced. Then I found Air Asia offering a fare to Hong Kong, including checked bags, assigned seats, and priority boarding for $49. Not my cup of tea, but it would be hard to beat the price especially considering we were purchasing tickets less than two weeks before departure.

Air Asia 504
Bangkok to Hong Kong
Depart: 3:30 PM
Arrive: 6:30 PM
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Seat: 9A (Economy)

To describe the boarding process as chaotic would be a compliment. Back home, I’m used to jockeying for position in the boarding lines. But I have never experienced such pushing, shoving, and overall lack of decorum. Priority boarding was kind of moot as several large families pushed and shoved pass us. While the process was chaotic, the gate agents did a great job in enforcing the carry-on baggage policy. We had no issues with getting overhead space above our seats despite boarding in the middle of the pack.

My first impression of Air Asia was good. A flight attendant with a lovely smile greeted us at the door. The interior of the plane was clean, and seemed to be in good shape. The seats were pretty comfortable; however, the seat pitch was very tight. It was acceptable for a sub 3 hour flight, but I wouldn’t want to have to put up with it for much longer than that. Also, I didn’t care much for the advertisements plastered around the cabin were kind of tacky, but expected.

We departed just a few minutes late due to late arrival of the aircraft. On Air Asia, everything a la carte, even water. I knew this going in, so we grabbed some drinks and snacks before departing from Bangkok in lieu of the by on board. I passed time watching another couple of episodes of House of Cards and admiring the beautiful sunset outside.

Despite the late departure, we made up some time en route and actually arrived at Hong Kong a few minutes early. While this wasn’t my most memorable flight, it was far from being my worst. We arrived on time safely. The crew was friendly in my limited interaction with them. I was actually pretty pleased with the flight especially considering the price I paid for the ticket.

After arriving in Hong Kong, the comedy of errors, committed by yours truly, began and plagued us for the rest of our trip. In retrospect, I could have avoided at least some of this had I done a little more research. I didn’t realize this until reaching Don Mueang and seeing the departures board. Air Asia flies from Bangkok to Macau, directly, and the flight leaves around the same time as our flight to Hong Kong. For some reason, I completely overlooked this. But there are ferries that run between Hong Kong International Airport and Macau. A quick check on the interwebs showed there was a ferry scheduled to depart a little over an hour after our flight arrived in Hong Kong.

After we arrived in Hong Kong, we cleared immigration and headed to baggage claim to grab our checked bags. While I’ve seen the signs for the Macau ferry many times while arriving in Hong Kong, I forgot that the said signs were before immigration. I figured out my mistake after we made to the arrivals area. But wait, there was a bus that runs to the Macau ferry terminal in Hong Kong from the airport! I confirmed this with the kind ladies at the transit info desk, who told us to hop on the A41 bus and to hop off at the fourth stop. It was just a short wait for the bus, and we were soon on the way to Hong Kong.

I wasn’t particularly paying attention to our route or the announcements as I was talking to my friend. What I failed realize (again), was the stops were grouped together by station. i.e., when we reached our first bus station in Hong Kong it was for stops 1-4. By the time we got off the fourth time the bus stopped, we were somewhere in Wan Chai and nowhere near the ferry terminal. GGAAAHHH.

Taxis are usually plentiful in Hong Kong, but not that night. We waited 10 minutes before being able to hail a cab. Another 15 minutes later, we were dropped off at the ferry terminal. Since I picked up our bus tickets and the Uber ride to the Airport in Bangkok, my friend offered to pay for the taxi ride. But he was unfamiliar with Hong Kong currency, so he gave me his wallet to pay the taxi driver. In my haste to pay the driver, I dropped a $1,000 HKD note in the cab. He didn’t realize it until the next day, and rightfully ragged me about that for the rest of the trip.

Anyways, we were able to secure Executive Class seats on the next departure.

We haven’t eaten since leaving Bangkok, so we were famished and really appreciated the onboard meal. While not particularly good, it was filling.

After eating, I promptly conked out until we docked in Macau an hour later. Immigration was a non-event, and we were in a cab bound for the JW Marriott just 10 minutes after docking. Since the hotel was located on the Cotai side, it took about 15 minutes to get there from the ferry terminal.

Our visit coincided with the Grand Prix, hotel room rates were astronomical. Thanks to the power of points, 50,000 Marriott Reward points to be exact, I was able to score a near $450 room for two nights.

My buddy had picked up a bottle of Glenlivit at duty free in Bangkok. While he had intended to bring it home, it came in quite handy to unwind after the night we had.

dat4life

The JW was located in the Galaxy Mall large casino/chopping complex. Think Vegas, but far cleaner and classier.


While we could access the club lounge thanks to Marriott Platinum status, we chose to hit up the foot court at the mall on both of our mornings in Macau. I was through the roof when I when I found a place that sold some very good laksa noodle soup, which is hard to find in Houston and Dallas. Laksa is one of my favorite noodle dishes, and it’s basically a curry noodle soup.


After breakfast, we hopped in a taxi which took into central Macau were we walked the last kilometer or so to St. Paul’s Cathedral ruins.

We then headed down to Senado Square, were we got ourselves a little snack. It was my Bee Cheng Hiang experience, but it certainly won’t be my last.


It began to get crowded in the square, so we went back up the hill, alongside the ruin of St. Paul, to the Macau National Museum.


There’s an observation deck on the roof museum, offering some really nice views of Macau.


We walked around for a bit and then found ourselves heading toward the Maritime Museum, which is pretty much on the other side the town. It was a long but pleasant walk.


Honestly, the museum was meh, but at least I can say I’ve been there.


After the Maritime Musuem, we hoofed back to Senado Square and found ourselves in front of the Yee Shun Milk Company. It was simple and delicious.


Most people don’t associate Asia with visiting churches. I, for one, certainly didn’t. But there are some really cool churches in Macau. My favorite was St. Dominic’s, which was pretty much in the center of the Senado Square.


Elsewhere in the square, a Christmas tree was being set up.


There was screen set up to view the F1 race.

dat4life

A Comedy of Errors Part II

After an early breakfast the next day, we hopped on a ferry back to Hong Kong. And it was back to the budget hotel life after a nice reprieve in Macau. After scouring Trip Advisor, I settled on the Cosmo Hotel, located on the edge of Wan Chai and Causeway Bay. Other than the fact their definition of two twin beds really differed from mine, it was a lot better than I expected for $100 per night in Hong Kong.

We then set out to explore the town, starting with the hustle and bustle of Times Square.

With the release of The Force Awakens around corner, there were a few Star Wars themed display at Times Square.

While we had wanted to head to the Peak afterwards, we arrived at the tram station to find the line to be ridiculously long. So we hopped on a bus to the Star Ferry. It just took 10 minutes to reach Kowloon after that.

It’s hard to beat the views of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon.

My friend had wanted to see the Symphony of Lights, so we went to the bar of the Intercontinental Hotel for drinks to kill some time. It was very crowded by the time we got back to the Avenue of Stars.

Afterwards, my friend was thoroughly unimpressed. Yeah, told ya man. But at least he can say he’s seen it.

We hopped a ferry back to Hong Kong and then caught a cab back to the hotel. The cabbie was none too happy when I told him where we were going and it showed during our ride. That said, he accepted the fare, so in my mind he really didn’t have any room to complain. As we neared the hotel, I pulled out my wallet to pay for the ride. My friend told me not to worry about it, since I paid for a couple of things I did today. For some reason, I left the wallet sitting on my lap instead of putting it back in my back pocket. We hopped out of the cab as fast as we could when we reached the hotel. The driver peeled out the split second after I closed the cab’s door. At that moment, I felt my back pocket. It was empty. I whirled around and tried to chase the cab down the street and get the attention of the driver. But he was out of there like a bat out of hell. Honestly, even if the driver did notice me, I doubt he would have stopped given the way he was acting during our ride.

Dejected, I headed to the hotel’s front desk to see if they could help. The front desk clerk and concierge were sympathetic and immediately went into action. They called the taxi company, but since I didn’t get the license plate number, there wasn’t much that could be done. The police were also called, and I filed a report.

As soon as I got back to the room, I went to my backpack to get my iPad so I could start canceling my lost credit cards. I reached into the bag and felt for my iPad. It wasn’t there. I thought back to earlier that day, and the only time I used it was aboard the ferry back from Hong Kong. So it must be in the seatback pocket of the ferry. I used my laptop to pull up Find My iPhone to see if I could locate the device. It was disconnected from the internet so that was useless. I had been pretty calm up until this point. But I had a mini-freak out when I couldn’t find my iPad, especially considering that I had bought the day before I left for this trip. There was nothing that could be done other than setting up an alert to lock the iPad once it is connected to the internet and canceling my credit cards.

I was pretty upset at myself. After all, it was my own stupidity and carelessness that got me in this predicament. While it was a rough day, in the end it wasn’t so bad. I purchased the iPad with my American Express Premier Gold Rewards card, so I was able to get a credit equivalent to the price I paid for the iPad through the purchase protection feature. I was just out ~$200 USD in cash lost. That was a rather steep price tag, but it could have been so much worse. When I travel abroad, I typically leave a cash reserve and credit card at the hotel just in case something like this happens. We left the hotel in a bit of hurry that day, so I had forgotten to do it. All of my credit cards and cash were gone, but at least my friend was with me so I could bumming off of him for the rest of the trip.

While we had planned to change and hit up Lan Kwai Fong, we were both pretty drained and dejected. So we just called it a night. We were up fairly early the next morning, eager for a fresh start and food as we subsisted on a liquid diet the evening before. One of the restaurants that we had wanted to try in Hong Kong was Tin Ho Wan, which is the world’s least expensive restaurant with Michelin Star. They have several locations in Hong Kong. We chose to go to the location in the basement of the IFC, as it would be most convenient for what we wanted to do later during the day.

Tin Ho Wan prides themselves to be “Dim Sum Specialists”. Dim sum is all they serve, and even then the menu is limited.
The restaurant itself is very small and plain looking, and communal tables are the norm there. Not quite what most would expect from a restaurant with a Michelin star, but you don’t come for the ambience. You come for the food. And it’s damn good. Though we arrived just a few minutes after opening time, there was quite a line formed already. I went to get a number from the hostess, and was provided with a menu/order form at that time. The wait was about 30 minutes, so not bad at all.

Once our number was called, we were shown to our table and our order form was taken. We lucked out and got a single two top in a corner. Tea, napkins, and chopsticks were already on the table.

We were only seated for a couple of minutes, before the food started arriving.

All I can say is wow. It was truly fantastic and some of the best dim sum I’ve ever had. Tim Ho Wan’s most famous dish is their Chinese BBQ pork buns or Char Sui Bao. It was absolutely delicious. Despite the mountain of food, brunch just cost us $20 USD.

After brunch, we hopped on the bus to the Peak Tram station. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and it was a good thing we decided not to wait in line the previous day as we wouldn’t have been able to see much with the overcast skies. Despite the far better weather, there wasn’t much of a line for tickets.

We decided to walk back down to burn off the calories from our heavy brunch. It took about an hour.

Eventually, we found ourselves near Lan Kwai Fong. Naturally, we found the only country bar in Hong Kong (probably). Worn out after the lengthy hike, we settled in with some pretty nasty fruity beers. Though, it was pretty interesting listening to the likes of Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, and Carrie Underwood some 7,000 miles away from the shores of the United States.

We ending up chatting with some other Americans (birds of a feather flock together) at the bar, including a couple from Biloxi, Mississippi, which is just 60 miles away from our hometown. I don’t know whether to attribute our next move to liquid courage or sheer stupidity, but we decided to walk from LKF back to the hotel. It actually wasn’t that bad, taking a bit over an hour. The only tricky part was navigating a few intersections in which the sidewalk ends, and there are no available crosswalks. We did manage to make it back to the hotel in one piece, however.

dat4life

Thanksgiving

The end of any trip is a bittersweet moment, as it is the intersection of “having a blast” and “I want to be home”. This trip was no exception. In fact, this was probably one of the most fun trips I’ve ever been on. For the most part, I typically travel alone. When I do take trips with friends, it’s usually just for a weekend as it is tough to get everyone on the same schedule for more than just a couple of days. To be able to spend the last couple of weeks with one of my oldest and best friends is a rare treat. That said, I was more than ready to be home at this point.

As we had early morning flights, it was another o dark thirty wake up for both of us. By 5:30AM, we had already checked out and were speeding toward Hong Kong International Airport in a taxi. While I was flying back home that day, I had to take a quick detour to Mainland China to take care of some business for my parents. While the train was a far more convenient option for reaching Guangzhou, I chose to fly the 84 miles of Guangzhou since I could check my bags for my Cathay Pacific flight later that evening at the airport.

I bade good bye to my friend after clearing immigration as his flight was leaving a bit earlier than mine. He was flying back home via Beijing and Newark on a combination of Hong Kong Airlines. Flights to/from Mainland China, are notorious for being delayed, especially those heading to/from Beijing and Shanghai. He ended up being delayed nearly 5 hours, thus misconnecting in Beijing. I was far luckier as my flight departed right on schedule, and well… I avoided another huge and potentially costly mistake.

After I parted with my friend, I headed to The Bridge, which was the closest lounge to my departure gate. As I neared the lounge, I noticed my backpack seemed kind of light. I dismissed it at first thinking it was just the lack of my iPad, but then I decided it was probably better to stop and check. It took me less than a second to realize I left my laptop at the security check point. I really flipped out then and sprinted back toward immigration and security. Fortunately, my laptop had been noticed by one of the security officers and locked up. For verify it was mine, she asked me to log in to the laptop. But for some reason, my laptop did not lock after the last time I closed it. So she just had me pull up some pictures in my library with me in them, and then sent me on my way. Huge crisis averted. While it would have expensive to replace my laptop, what was even more valuable were the pictures I had downloaded from my SD card and iPhone over the last month. Those would have been lost forever.

At this point, there was no time to relax in the lounge so I headed straight to the gate. The flight itself was very short and uneventful. I was met at the airport by some family friends, who took me straight to the city Qingyuan which was a couple of hours away. During the ride, I amused myself by watching the horrible drivers around. My personal favorite was the driver who didn’t want to wait in the queue for the onramp to the highway and decided it was a good idea to drive the wrong way up the exit ramp to merge into the highway.

The purpose for my quick trip to China was to help my parents settle some of my late grandparents’ affairs. Business was taken care of quickly, and I had lunch with the family friends before they dropped me off at the Guangzhou East train station to head back to Hong Kong. While the station was only ~80 miles from where we were, it took nearly 3 hours to get there as traffic was horrendous and the speed limit on the highway was ridiculously low.

I might have lied earlier about not having a cash reserve after losing my wallet. I did have quite a bit of Chinese yuan with me. Since I wasn’t sure how much I needed to settle my grandparent’s affairs, I decided not to dip into it while I was still in Hong Kong. My friend certainly understood the situation, and was happy to help me out while we were together. As it turns out, I still had plenty of cash left. I had wanted to buy a train ticket in advance, but the clunky website wouldn’t take my US based credit card. So I bought a ticket with cash when I reached the station.

The train was a very comfortable ride, and is a far more efficient option than flying than flying between Guangzhou and Hong Kong. I arrived at Hong Hom station in Kowloon just over two hours from leaving Guangzhou. At immigration, the officer looked perplexed while processing me, no doubt given my recent rash of very short visits to Hong Kong. Finally, she asked why I left for China this morning and why I was back in Hong Kong. I just told her the truth. She looked even more confused, but did let me in.

I found a nearby currency exchanger and exchanged just enough Yuan to get me to the airport. There was a pretty long queue at the taxi stand, but as usual in Hong Kong it moved very quickly. I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport, for the second time that day, 30 minutes later.

As I mentioned in the introduction, my return ticket was a vestige from when I had planned to go to Asia with my parents. I would like to think all of the premium cabin travel I have been fortunate enough to experience over the last couple of years hasn’t spoiled me. During my trip to Hong Kong in September and the outbound for this trip, I was satisfied and even comfortable seated in coach. That said, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really looking forward to my return in Cathay Pacific First Class, which was booked with 67,500 AAdvantage miles and a few bucks for taxes. There was no better way to kick off such a treat than a visit to Cathay’s newly renovated The Pier lounge, near gate 63.

I’ve been very fortunate to have visited some of the world’s best airport lounges the past few years, including the Qantas Lounge in Sydney and Thai Airways’ Royal First Lounge in Bangkok. The new Pier puts Thai’s Royal First Lounge to shame, and edges out the Qantas Lounge in my opinion. It is truly a classy and luxurious facility. While I had access as a Cathay Pacific First Class passenger, oneworld Emeralds have access as well, even while flying economy.

I’m sure the agents at the front desk were giving me plenty of “side eye”, when I strolled into the lounge. And deservedly so. I looked pretty rough and not at all “First Class” from sloughing around Guangzhou all day. So the first order of business was a shower. There were plenty of plenty of well-appointed shower rooms available. After years of using Cathay’s marble, glass, and black tiled shower rooms, this was a nice and attractive departure. That’s all fine and dandy, but the primary purpose of a shower room is to, of course, shower. Cathay had done well with that in the past, installing powerful rainfall showerheads in most of their shower rooms. While the showerheads look a good bit smaller than those installed in Cathay’s other lounges in Hong Kong, they are no less effective if the powerful and refreshing stream of water that hit face was any indication.

Clean and feeling like a new man, I emerged from the shower room eager to explore the rest of the lounge. It was without a doubt the classiest and most luxurious lounge I have been fortunate to set foot in. There is plenty of comfortable seating available, along with a fully stocked bar.

There is also a full service restaurant located at the far end of the lounge. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a waiter and shown to a table. The menu was presented as soon as I was seated, and what an attractive menu it was.

I hadn’t been eaten since lunch, so I was pretty hungry. Everything on the menu sounded appealing, though I eventually decided on the Dan Dan Mein along with a Cathay Delight.

A few weeks ago, I noticed on blogger deriding Cathay’s version of Dan Dan Mein to be a slap in face as it is not prepared to the traditional recipe. I think the description he used was that the noodles tasted like cardboard and the soup was just insulting. Personally, I think one of these best things to come out of our interconnected world is “local” twists on foods from around the world. For example, I love traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican cuisine. At the same time, the American-ized versions of the aforementioned cuisines are very tasty as well. Different, but still delicious. With respect to the Dan Dan Mein, it’s definitely not authentic, but I found it to be quite tasty.

After eating, I headed back to the spa for a foot and back massage. Every passenger is entitled to a 15 minute treatment. Since there wasn’t anyone else waiting, I was shown into the treatment area right away. I chose to have a combination back and foot massage, which felt amazing after a long couple of days. I chatted with the masseuse during the treatment, which went well over the allotted 15 minutes. It wasn’t the big deal as there wasn’t anyone in line after me.

At this point it was closing in on midnight, and I was feeling rather tired. So I took up resident in one of the nap rooms, which are located behind showers. The rooms are fairly spartan in comparison the rest of the lounge. In fact, they are more or less cubicles with curtains for privacy. But there was a comfortable flat surface for me to lay out on, which is all I ask for.

It also didn’t hurt I had a fantastic view from the room as well.

I napped until about an hour before departure. I quickly got my stuff together and headed out toward my gate. Waiting for me at the gate was the 4.5 year old B-KPU. Cathay had unveiled a new more modern livery a few weeks earlier, but I thought B-KPU looked just fine in her older dress.

One of the gate agents announced a 15 minute delay in boarding due to a “small technical issue” shortly after I got to the gate. The phrase “a small technical issue” strikes fear in the heart to many frequent flier, as it is quite often used to downplay the seriousness of a mechanical issue. Since this was the last Cathay’s last flight of the evening to North America, I was a bit concerned so I hopped on ExpertFlyer to see if there was any other option just in case things go truly pear shaped. I wasn’t surprised to see there was a dearth of seats in any cabin as it was just a two days away from Thanksgiving. Fortunately, boarding went off without a hitch 15 minutes later.

Cathay Pacific Airways 888
Hong Kong to Vancouver
Depart: 1:00 AM
Arrive: 8:25 PM-1
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 1K (First Class)

My. last ride upfront aboard Cathay Pacific in May 2014 was on aircraft that hadn’t yet been refurbished. So I was quite excited to experience the new(ish) cabin for the first time. In the grand scheme of things, the seat was more or less the same though the fit, finish, and controls were new. What hasn’t changed, thankfully, was the Cathay Pacific service. A smiling flight attendant greeted me at the doorway and showed me to my seat suite, 1K.

As I was settling in, another flight attendant, Amy, came to introduce herself. She explained that she would be taking care of me during our flight to Vancouver, and then offered me something to drink. Champagne would be amazing. A faint pop was heard emanating from the galley moments later, and Amy returned with a bottle of Krug and a champagne glass, and a serving of the amuse bouche on a tray. She carefully placed a cocktail napkin on my side table, on which the champagne glass was placed. The bottle of Krug was then properly presented and the delicious contents were elegantly poured into the glass.

As I sat there sipping the crisp champagne and downing the delicious amuse bouche, I couldn’t help but reflect on how many things had to happen for me to be seated in Seat 1K that evening. The “butterfly effect”, if you will. It’s comical to think something as mundane as where I’m seated on a plane is a goal or a dream. But it was for me. It began with my seven year old self bugging my parents about wanting to sitting in the front of plane while deplaning from Singapore 1 in Hong Kong. My parents responded that I would have to work hard and make enough money to get there. I finally got my first taste of sitting up front aboard a China Airlines 747-400 ten years later. It took another eight years before I had the opportunity to enjoy a premium cabin again. Those eight years was one of the more tumultuous periods of my life, with the peak being nearly failing out of college. As strange as it sounds, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I was forced to switch majors. Had I not done that, I would have never gotten an internship which led to a great career which helps fund and facilitate my travels. On that note, I got really bored during the last week of the aforementioned internship, as there really was nothing I could to do, and accidentally stumbled onto FlyerTalk. Had just one of those events not occurred, I would not be sitting in Seat 1K that evening.

A distinctly American Southern accent interrupted me from my thoughts. It was the Captain making the usual pre-departure announcements. He apologized for the delay, which would put us into Vancouver just a little late. The ride was expected to be smooth until we reached the coast of Japan, a few hours into the flight. The Captain also promised to keep announcements to a minimum to ensure “y’all” will have a restful night. Growing up in the southern part of the US, “y’all” is as ingrained in me as cornbread and grits. But I couldn’t help but laugh, as that is one of the last things I expected to hear over 8,000 miles away from home.

Just before pushback, the purser came to introduce herself and present the food and drinks menus for the flight. I dozed off afterwards, but I was jolted awake by rumble of the massive GE90-115Bs propelling us down the runway. We rotated smoothly off the runway and soared into the night sky, over the twinkling lights of ships anchored outside the mouth of Victoria Harbour. The flight attendants were dinged out of their seats just a couple of minutes into the flight. Amy immediately came to inquire if I wanted to eat or sleep first. It had been a long day and I only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before. So I chose to have my bed made up. As my bed was being made, I took the opportunity to head to the lavatory to change into provided pajamas, which I find to be very comfortable.

I returned to my seat to find my seat beautifully made up into a bed, complete with thick pillows, a soft comforter, and crisp sheets. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and slept well for a few hours. I woke up just as we went feet dry over Japan and hit turbulence just as the Captain expected.

Ray, the other flight attendant working upfront, came by not long after I woke up and inquired if I wanted to eat. Of course I did. Where did I put that menu again?

Supper

CAVIAR AND CHAMPAGNE

Caviar and Champagne, a perfect match
Served with traditional garnishes of blinis, chive, cream fraiche and chopped egg

INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES

Roasted butternut squash soup

Caesar salad and smoked pancetta

Grilled Canadian USDA Angus beef striploin, portobello,
mushrooms, asparagus, potatoes, Bearnaise sauce
and red wine sauce
or
Fettuccini, carrot, Parmesan paste and tomato basil concasse

CHINESE FAVOURITES

Chicken and American ginseng soup

Cold plate – Szechuan style jelly fish and celery salad

Braised duck, taro, preserved red beans sauce,
Broccoli, carrot, and steamed asmine rice

CHEESE AND DESSERT

Stilton, Pecorino, St. Pauline, Camembert

Fresh berries, whipping cream or ginger syrup

Warm hazelnut cake, chocolate ice cream and vanilla sauce

Lotus seed paste sweet soup

illy Fresh brewed coffee
Also available are espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte
and a selection of teas

PRALINES

And of course, there is all-important matter of liquid nutrition.

Drink List

JUICES
orange, apple, tomato

SOFT DRINKS
Coke Zero, Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, Perrier water, tonic water, soda water and ginger ale

COFFEES
freshly brewed coffee, espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte
regular or decaffeinated

TEAS
Fuding jasmine silver fur, Anqui supreme Ti Guan Yin
Japanese, iced oolong tea, Hong Kong style milk tea
Organic selection: English breakfast, camomile, earl gray and peppermint

Champagne[/b]
Krug Grande Cuvee

White Wines
Domaene Gobelsburg Kamptal Gruner Veltliner 2013
Vincent Girardin Puligny-Montrachet Vieilles Vignes 2010

Red Wines
Shingleback Mclaren Vale Shiraz 2009
Hahn Winery Central Coast Meritage 2011

Port
Ramos Pinto Quinta Da Evramoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port

Apertifs and Cocktails
Campari, Martini Rosso, Martini Extra Dry, Tio Pep Sherry, Harveys Bristol Cream Sweet Sherry, Tanqueray Ten Gin, Bacardi Rum, Belvedere Vodka, Bloody Mary, Screwdriver

Whiskies
Chivas Regal 12 Years Old, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Canadian Club, Gentleman Jack Bourbon, Glenmorangie Signet Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Cognac
Tesseron Lot 76 XO Tradition

Liqueurs
Cointreau, Drambuie, Kahula, Bailey’s Irish Cream

Beer
International selection

Signature Drinks
Oriental Breeze
A sour-plum tea and cranberry juice based non-alcoholic drink with honey and fresh lemon juice and a hint of rose water

Cloud Nine
A refreshing combination of Vodka, Cointreau and Sprite with a refreshing touch of lemon flavor

Ray didn’t have a chance to close the curtain to galley, before the bottom really dropped out. It was the worst turbulence I have ever experienced in all of my years flying. Everything that wasn’t strapped down was bouncing around. The purser made an announcement for the cabin crew to be seated, which was prudent course of action as the turbulence got worse. The pilots spent the next hour climbing and descending trying to find an altitude with a smoother ride to no avail. Things did smooth out eventually.

In the meantime, I entertained myself with episodes of NCIS: New Orleans. Where do I start? Well…having actually lived in New Orleans for nearly 20 years, I can safely say bombs don’t go off in City Park on a regular basis. Other a few cargo ships visiting the Naval Support Activity base in Algiers, no Navy ships ever visit the city, to the best of my memory. Unless you’re visiting at the crack of dawn, there’s no way to find parking that easily in the French Quarter and the Garden District. And of course, Navy sailors don’t end up dead in the city on a regular basis. While I understand the show tries to showcase my fair hometown, the writers tried far too hard in early episodes in referencing various landmarks and icons of the city. When I first watched the show, I found it to be super cheesy, and nearly unwatchable. Over time though, the show grew on me and I begin to watch the show when I could. I was quite pleased to find the entire first season of NCIS: New Orleans loaded on Cathay’s entertainment system, so I could catch up on it.

The all clear was given to the cabin crew to resume service about an hour after the turbulence began. Ray appeared shortly after to apologize for the delay in the meal service. I assured him it was no problem at all and that the crew’s safety outweighed my hunger pangs in this situation. He returned to the galley and return with the table settings. That was followed by the bread basket and then the first course.

My last experience with caviar was aboard another Cathay Pacific flight way back in May of 2014. In fact, I don’t think I have ever eaten any substantial amount of caviar outside of a plane. There’s something about caviar at plus 30,000 feet that just seems right. Anyways, the salty and fishy little spheres were delicious with and without the accompanying craime fraiche, chopped egg, and blinis. The blinis, while warmed, were dry and a little overcooked. That was probably due to the blinis being heated when I first ordered and then reheated just before I was served. It was understandable given the severity of the turbulence we experienced. While scotch isn’t the usual beverage paired with caviar, I ordered a Johnny Walker on the rocks along with the first course. Conventional wisdom is that the strong flavors of the scotch would overpower the delicate flavor of the caviar. However, I thought it provided a nice balance after eating the salty fish eggs.

The seatbelt sign was turned off while I was enjoying the caviar. This meant I would get to enjoy the soup, as it is Cathay’s policy to not serve hot liquids while the seatbelt sign is on. Ray returned with the soup course shortly after clearing the first course.

I prefer my steaks to be medium rare, which is hard to do on a plane. In fact, there are only two meals I’ve been served in the sky that included a nice medium rare steak, both of which were served aboard American Airlines flights. The steak that Ray served me was the norm rather than the exception. That said, the steak was tender and not at all chewy, stringy, or fatty. It tasted rather nice with the accompanying Bearnaise sauce. The potatoes and tomato were also good.

Since there was only 7 hours left in flight, I passed on cheese and dessert to save room for the second meal service. I just ordered a coffee to round out dinner, which was served with the usual pralines and not so usual mixed nuts.

Completely stuffed, I reclined my seat and settled in for the rest of the flight with more episodes of NCIS: New Orleans.

Midway through the flight, I took a peek out of the window and was rewarded with a glimpse of the beautiful sunset behind us.

While I didn’t partake since I ate dinner late, there was a pretty nice snack menu on offer:

Snacks

Shui gaw in noodle soup

Grilled Australian prime grain fed beef burger,
Swiss cheese, pickled gherkin and tomato ketchup

Leek and cheese pie with red capsicum relish

A couple of hours later, we were fast approaching Vancouver. Amy soon dropped to see it I wanted breakfast, which is probably my favorite part of Cathay’s meal service. I love breakfast and I can eat it any time of the day. In everyday life, all there is time for is just a bowl of cereal or oatmeal and a piece of fruit. When I have time I love eggs in pretty much any form and bacon, but sausage will do as well. One of the coolest aspects of Cathay’s First Class breakfast service is the ability to have eggs the way you want it, whether it be scrambled, fried, or boiled. Though I have been fortunate to fly upfront with Cathay a few times, the novelty of cooked to order eggs on a plane hasn’t worn off on me. So I ordered breakfast all the way, starting with the fruit starter, orange juice, and eggs over easy. Here’s the rest of the breakfast menu for those that are interested:

Breakfast

STARTERS

Orange, apple or grapefruit juice

Mango and passion fruit smoothie

Fresh seasonal fruit

Natural or fruit yoghurt

Assorted cereals

MAIN COURSES

Organic free range eggs, freshly scrambled, fried, or boiled
Lyonnaisse potatoes Dingley Dell bacon, Cumberland sausage
and vine ripened tomato

Chinese dim sum
Scallop siu mai, seafood dumpling, chicken and ham
bean curd wrap, conpoy vegetable dumpling, beef ball

Beef and dried scallop congee, pan-fried turnip
bake and preserved meats

BREAD BASKET

Assorted breakfast bread and fresh toast, preserves, honey and butter

illy Fresh brewed coffee
Also available are espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte
and a selection of teas

I asked for breakfast to be served as late as possible. Amy replied that would be 90 minutes before landing. With exactly 90 minutes until arrival showing on the airshow, Amy reappeared to setup my table. Y’all know the drill now, a starched white table cloth laid, silverware placed perfectly, along with a bread plate and condiments. The bread basket was presented next, and it consisted of a croissant and a bagel. This was followed up by a very nice looking fruit plate.

The fruit was ripe and fresh, and the serving side was pretty generous. The preserves and honey that Cathay provides for breakfast are among the best I’ve ever tasted, and it took a lot of willpower not to devour the entire bread basket in pursuit to use every last drop of those condiments. The starter course was cleared soon after I finished, and the main course was served about 20 minutes later.

The eggs were perfectly over easy. While I prefer crisp American style bacon, I can deal with what the rest of world deems as “bacon”. Overall it was delicious and it was a nice way to close out the flight. After finishing my main course, I went to change back into my regular clothes. I returned to me seat to see all of the bedding cleared and ready for landing. I ordered a cup of coffee to round out breakfast. After refilling my glass no less than 20 times during the meal, Amy figured out my affinity for the citrusy goodness that is orange juice. She made sure that I had one last glass of that along with coffee.

The last hour or so of flight was fairly chaotic, with the crew scurrying about to serve the last bits of the breakfast service to the slow eaters in the cabin and batting the hatches for landing. Of course, there were the usual “thank you for flying with us” visits by the purser as well as Amy and Ray. Amy also asked if I’d be willing complete a post flight survey, which I obliged. All too soon, we touched down gracefully in dark and rainy Vancouver, and arrived at the gate after a short taxi about 15 minutes late.

I made sure to thank Amy and Ray before deplaning. It really was a perfect flight, with an attentive cabin crew and great hard product. While the refreshed cabin didn’t look much different, it made a huge difference in terms of comfort. The old seat covers didn’t breathe very well in my opinion, so I always felt nearly uncomfortably warm. The new fabric used in the seat covers seem to breathe much better, so I was comfortable in pretty much any position of the seat. Since my last Cathay flight, I had the opportunity to fly Etihad’s Apartment First Class, which is a fantastic luxurious product. That said, it’s almost too luxurious for my tastes. I think Cathay strikes a good balance between luxury and practicality with their product. I also prefer Cathay’s service which is a bit informal but still attentive, compared to Etihad’s service which is a bit stiff and too formal. While I’m sure many will disagree with me, but all things equal I’ll fly Cathay over Etihad any day of the week.

The experience inflight was wonderful; however, saying the Vancouver transit was less than stellar would be generous. Once off the plane, passengers continuing to New York were herded into the gate area, where a team of dour looking security agents met us. Each passenger was asked to assume the position and given a very thorough go over with a hand held metal detector. While this was being conducted, another agent thoroughly searched all carry-ons. Mind you, this was done in full view of all other passengers. I didn’t realize this until I retrieved my carry-on bag, and turned around to see a line of humanity stretching deep into the recesses of the jet bridge. I’m not sure if this level of security is the norm of if it’s a reaction to the horrific attacks in Paris, which occurred a few weeks prior. I seem to recall reading a recent trip report or two in which transiting passengers were not asked to deplane

As we didn’t get processed by immigration, we were not allowed to leave the gate area, which was cordoned off from the rest of terminal. The seating in the gate area filled up quickly once the majority of the transit passengers cleared security. There was bottled water available at the gate agent’s podium, but no mention was made until several passengers asked the gate agent about it. After a 40 minute wait, boarding began.

Cathay Pacific Airways 888
Vancouver to New York JFK
Depart: 9:50 PM
Arrive: 6:00 AM+1
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 1K (First Class)

The lovely Bethany met me at the doorway, and led the way back to familiar confines of Seat 1K after a quick glance at my boarding pass. Since boarding was only through door 2L, I was able to get a few more seat and cabin pictures.

Predeparture was decidedly less fun on this shorter flight as there were far less goodies that needed to be distributed to passengers. At least drinks are offered on the ground. Since it would be awhile before I get to drink anything remotely close to the caliber of what was on offer onboard, I chose champagne. Bethany returned in a few moments with a glass of perfectly chilled Krug. The cabin filled up just a couple of minutes later. It was soon evident that I was the only one in the cabin drinking champagne. Bethany took notice as well, and ensured my glass stayed topped off throughout the boarding process. Just before we pushed back, she returned and poured the remnants of the bottle into my now empty glass. “It’s bad luck to waste champagne, Mr. dat4life.” You don’t need to tell me that twice.

Just before pushback, the other flight attendant working the front cabin, Chris, came to introduce himself

The safety video played as we taxied to the runway. Safety videos are one thing US carriers do right. In particular, both Delta and United have produced some fairly entertaining ones of late. Cathay’s, on the other hand, is one of the most boring I have ever seen, and it hasn’t changed in years.

There was no one in front of us in the takeoff queue, so our captain taxied us into position, and we were off. The take off roll was noticeably shorter than when we departed from Hong Kong, as expected sine far less fuel was required for this short 2,449 mile jaunt to New York. It was still raining during take off. We easily punched through the rain clouds within a minute or so after leaving terra firma, and continued climbing through the ink black sky.

In the cozy confines of Seat 1K, I was passing time by perusing the menu for the flight. Seriously? You’re going to eat again? Fair question. I never eat like this on the ground… Well… Thanksgiving is less than 48 hours away at this point. And Christmas is more or less around the corner. Ok. So other than Thanksgiving and Christmas, I never eat remotely closely to amount I consumed onboard those flights. Besides, once Christmas passes I’ll make a bunch of plans to start working out like a maniac after New Years. And then… don’t. Rinse and repeat, annually. But that’s neither here nor there. Where was I? Oh, yes. The menu:

Supper

INTERNATIONAL FAVOURITES

Fine smoked salmon and grilled scallop

Fraser Valley mushroom and mascarpone soup

Grilled Canadian AAA beef tenderloin, sautéed baby kale,
carrots, rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes,
green peppercorn and Bearnaise sauce

CHINESE FAVOURITES

Stir-fired lobster, ginger, green onion, kalian,
carrot flower and steamed jasmine rice
or
Fish ball and preserved vegetables in noodle soup

CHEESE AND DESSERT

Prince Edward Island Cheddar, Oka, Bleubry,
Herb Goat Cheese

Mango passion fruit mousse cake and raspberry coulis

illy Fresh brewed coffee
Also available are espresso, cappuccino, caffe latte
and a selection of teas

PRALINES

And of course, there is all-important matter of liquid nutrition. The drink menu was identical to the previous Hong Kong to Vancouver leg.

Bethany and Chris sprang into action, as soon they received the go ahead from the cockpit. It was a 50/50 split between the passengers who wanted to eat and those who just wanted some shuteye. Naturally, the crew took care of those who wanted to sleep first. The speed with which they turned the seats into beds was impressive. Before long, Bethany came by to take my order. I did have some thoughts of just going with a little snack. But then I remembered the upcoming AAdvantage devaluation, which was announced while I was in Bangkok. At that point in time, my schedule for 2016 was really up in the air. I had no trips planned. With the significantly higher amount of miles required to redeem most premium cabin awards, I had no idea when I could be seated upfront again. Heck, this could be my last Cathay Pacific First Class flight. Period. So I decided to live it up one last time. I went all the way with appetizer, soup, and the Chinese lobster main course.

In the meantime, I continued with my NCIS: New Orleans marathon. Bethany returned a few minutes later with mixed nuts, a glass, and most importantly a freshly opened bottle of Krug. As she poured the champagne, she playfully informed me I was once again the only passenger drinking champagne and that I had a lot work to do. Challenge accepted, Bethany!

I polished off the nuts and first glass of champagne in flight in due time. No sooner did I set my glass down, did Bethany reappear to top off my glass and collect the ramekin. Ray set up my table a few minutes later. One of Cathay’s signature features in First Class is a Bon Apetit card that is presented with the first course. The card is hand written by the crew, and is usually some variation of welcome aboard. While it’s a very minor item in the grand scheme of things, it really is a nice personalized touched. There was no card on my Hong Kong to Vancouver leg, presumably due to rough ride and delayed meal service. I was happy to see the card presented when Bethany returned with the appetizer.

On shorter flights with a First Class cabin, Cathay eschews the caviar course with a salmon and/or prawn based appetizer. I enjoy caviar, but I also love smoked salmon and scallops. On the plate in front of me were three thick slices of very good smoked salmon elegantly placed on top of two good-sized grilled scallops. I had high expectation of this dish as the flight originated from Vancouver, home to some of the best seafood in the world. My expectations were met as both the salmon and scallops were very fresh and well prepared.

Mushroom soup was the soup du jour. It was good.

My main course was served about 15 minutes after the soup course was cleared, allowing for a nice lull between the courses. I took full advantage of the time and polished off my third glass of Krug since we took off. Bethany laughed when she saw my glass empty yet again when served the main course. After setting down the dishes, she fetched the bottle from the galley and happily refilled my glass. As she walked away, she remarked, “You’re almost there, Mr. dat4life!” Indeed, I was.

Lobster is one of my favorites foods from the sea. I love them grilled, steamed, or in a roll with drawn butter. But my most favorite way to cook lobster is the traditional Chinese style, stir-fried with ginger and onions. That was exactly what was offered on the flight. However, the dish is best eaten piping hot fresh off the stove. Of course an airplane oven cannot replicate the intense heat of a powerful stove. That said, the lobster was fresh and the flavor of the dish were very good.

While the cheese course sounded tempting, I passed as I wanted to save what little room I had for dessert. I did request for dessert to be served a bit later, which the crew had no problem with. In the meantime, Bethany refilled my glass with the last of the bottle of Krug I had started on just after takeoff. “This one is for good luck,” she said, with a wink, as the last drops of the golden nectar entered my glass. I’m not a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but I was really starting to feel the weight of all of the alcohol I consumed since I reboarded in Vancouver. But I didn’t want to disappoint Bethany, so I made short work of that final glass.

Cathay’s desserts have never disappointed me, and this was no exception. The tart raspberry coulis complimented the
creamy and sweet mousse cake perfectly.

I had a cup of Hong Kong milk tea to round out the meal.

The parking brake was set, engines shutdown, and the jetbridges were attached 10 minutes early. However, we were not allowed to deplane as customs and immigration didn’t open for… another 10 minutes. I did get a chance to chat with the crew as we waited. Despite working the entirety of our five hour journey, both of them were surprisingly chipper. They explained that Vancouver based crews typically worked the North American legs of CX 888/889. Bethany said she actually preferred to work these legs as they had time to rest and see New York before having to working CX 889 back to Vancouver later that evening. The crew would then get a couple of days off before having to fly again. Not the bad schedule in my eyes.

As promised, the cabin door was opened 10 minutes later. I thanked Bethany and Chris again on the way out. Over the course of the past couple of years, the “Big 3” U.S. airlines having been in a pissing match trying to upgrade their transcontinental premium cabin offerings. JetBlue entered the fray sometime last year, and really upped the ante at a relatively affordable price. As good as those options maybe, none of them can hold a candle to Cathay’s New York to Vancouver service, which in my humble opinion is the finest way to crisscross North America. Period.

I cleared immigration and customs quickly thanks to Global Entry, and I stepped off the Air Train at Terminal 8 less than 15 minutes after deplaning. Chaotic scene at the check in areas was expected it was less than 48 hours until the Thanksgiving holiday. As chaotic as it was, it was sure to be far worst the next day. The line in the PreCheck lane was pretty short, but it took another 30 minutes to get through security, as the agents manning the checkpoint were more interesting in chatting about the Knicks than doing their jobs.

I headed straight to the Flagship Lounge, located inside the gate 12 Admirals Club, after clearing security.

The Flagship Lounge is nothing fancy. It’s pretty much an Admirals Club with a much better selection of food. But it’s quiet and comfortable, which is all I ask for out of an airport lounge. I didn’t partake after pigging out several times on my way from Hong Kong, but there was decent selection of hot and cold breakfast items available.

As with any extended period of time away from the office, there’s the inevitable crush of things to catch up on upon returning. I used my time at the lounge to catch up with work. At this point, I was dead tired. I did not slept aside from a couple of hours on my flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver. And that was nearly 12 hours prior. I do remember leaving the Flagship Lounge, but I really don’t remember anything until I was jolted awake by a rather firm touchdown in Charlotte. Well… I have certainly woken up to worse.

Fortunately, my connection in Charlotte is scheduled for a shade over the minimum connecting time of 35 minutes. Which I meant I had just enough time to get to the gate of my connecting flight before boarding began. Perfect.

American Airlines 657
Charlotte – Houston Intercontinental
Depart: 1:05 PM
Arrive: 2:55 PM
Aircraft: Airbus A321-100
Seat: 4F (First Class)

A legacy US Airways A321 was operating the flight, which meant some really uncomfortable seats. But at this point I was far too rough to care. I just wanted to get home. Heck, I wouldn’t have minded sitting on a park bench next to the lavatory if that was my only option to get home that day. Shortly, after I settled into my seat, 4F, my seatmate arrived with her “service dog”. The dog was older and blind, and the owner seemed to do the most of the comforting in the relationship. To her credit though, the dog didn’t make a sound the entire flight.

Our wonderful flight attendant Savanna sprung into action as soon as there was a lull in boarding with a full pre-departure beverage service. Despite the full flight, boarding wrapped up quickly and we departed on time.

Lunch was the choice of a pecan crusted chicken salad or pasta. I went with the salad. It was fine, but a huge let down after 18 hours with Cathay Pacific.

After trays were cleared, I booted up my laptop to get some more work done. My seatmate, however, had other plans for me despite the fact I was tapping away on my laptop with my headphones on. She was an older lady and seemed a bit lonely, so I obliged. I learned far more than I ever needed to know about her beach house on the North Carolina coast, her dog, and her life in general over the next hour.

We touched down a few minutes ahead of schedule. It had been a fun couple of weeks, but man was I glad to be home.
And what a great time it was to be back in the US, with the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. While Christmas is a rather commercial event in the modern world, Thanksgiving is a day meant to be spent with loved ones and give thanks for the blessings during the past year. Though my parents emigrated from Hong Kong a few decades ago, they’ve adopted the American Thanksgiving after I came home from kindergarten and demanded a “real turkey with bones”. These days we celebrate full on American style with a gluttonous home cooked feast followed by hours of football.

For me, there were plenty downs in 2015, but I has still plenty to be thankful for. First and foremost, I’m incredibly thankful to be surrounded by a great group of family and friends. And I am very thankful for this all of the great folks here on FlyerTalk, because without y’all I would never be able to travel as much and as well I have the past few years. This one is for you!

And as always, thanks for reading letting me bore you guys to death.

aidy

i have loved this read, however i have wasted an afternoon at work due to it!!

dat4life

Thanks, aidy! Also, my humblest apologies to your boss.

brewdog11

This is really a well-written, all-inclusive, thought-out TR. I've enjoyed reading quite a bit. Thanks for sharing!

Also, I really appreciated the photos of the posters at MSY. Made me smile and feel ashamed at the same time that I hadn't seen them before (I've seen the Japan one, but not the Budapest one). I'll have to grab some photos of my own next time. In terms of Armstrong Intl'l being a dump, I guess I'm one of the few who really appreciates the aesthetic of MSY. So many memories there...

dat4life

Thanks, brewdog11! I reread my blurb on MSY, and I realize I came across a bit harsher than I had intended. There are quite a few things to like, such as the old school atrium outside of concourse C and the general layout. With all of the money spent on the renovations prior to Super Bowl 47, I wish they did more in upgrading restrooms and the like. For example, the facilities in Concourse B and C are especially bad in my opinion. While I look forward to the more modern experience of the new terminal has to offer (eventually), I would have preferred if they had just did a whole scale renovation of the existing terminal.

BAflyerNCL

"Though, it was pretty interesting listening to the likes of Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, and Carrie Underwood some 7,000 miles away from the shores of the United States." ---- ExcellentTuuuunnnneeeeeesss :-D

dat4life

Ha. Thanks.

roadwarrier

This has been such an incredible read! Many thanks, and may there be many more.

Seat 2A

I remember taking note of this report back in February and then - as I usually do - putting it off until it had been completely installed. Somehow in the interim - as also happens sometimes - it got lost in the shuffle.

I'm glad I came back to have a look around and thus rediscover this fine TR. You covered some serious ground in a nice variety of styles. Your time in Cathay's First Class must have felt like you'd died and gone to heaven after all those long intercontinental flights in Economy Class.

Thanks for taking the time to put this all together. It flowed along right nicely and I really enjoyed traveling along with you (except perhaps on the long overwater sectors in Economy )

I'll be hoisting a Mirror Pond Pale Ale in your honor later today. And maybe a Ninkasi Dawn Of The Red as well ^^

dat4life

Wow that's some high praise! Thanks!

Thanks, Seat 2A! You're absolutely right. It's the not so fun times that makes the good times, like Cathay First Class, worth it!