Anglo Large Clawed Otter

I recently strung together a series of flights to accomplish a Pseudo-RTW itinerary of 23,263mi, without crossing the Pacific.

Part I - Houston to Frankfurt on LH 441 in F:

I arrived at IAH Terminal D about two hours prior to my scheduled 15:35 departure, with rollaboard and camera-pack in tow. Check in with LH was very quick, and I waited in line less than a minute for F check-in. After a quick trip through security, I decided to check out the LH F lounge in Terminal D. The place was absolutely tiny, and overpacked. I don't yet have a photo of that miniscule lounge loaded onto Flickr, but it was positively comical in its smallness (think ATL RCC). I quickly grabbed a Warsteiner and reassessed, noting that boarding was still nearly an hour away. LH's windowless shoebox of a lounge, despite having drinkable beer, simply would not do. After a quick draining of the Warsteiner, I collected my things and made for greener pastures...


The Continental President's Club in Terminal E was only a short walk away from D Terminal. I was quickly in, after a scan of my membership card, then made my way to the bar (shown above) for a Rum and Coke. As the President's Club was also crowded, I made my way up the stairs to the third floor, finding an empty seat near the windows. Forty-five minutes passed fairly quickly, and it was time to make my way back over to D Terminal for boarding.


By the time I arrived at the gate, boarding had already commenced. Thankfully, LH had a fast-track lane for C and F passengers, and I joined the queue on the jetway. After entering the aircraft, it was just a quick trip up the stairs to the F cabin. This would be my first trip on LH, and I was looking forward to trying F on the upper-deck of a 744. The LH F product may not be the newest or fanciest F product in the sky, but I liked the layout and small-cabin feel of being on the upper-deck:


For this trip, there were only three of us in the entire F cabin, which made for extremely personalized and attentive service from the cabin crew. Almost immediately after stowing my carry-ons, I was presented with a nice, tall glass of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne:


I settled down with my book and waited for taxi and takeoff, from time to time enjoying the champagne and view from the upper deck. Slightly more than half an hour after boarding, we were wheels-up, peeling away from the dismal pit that is my hometown of IAH. I could not have been happier . Once in the air, LH got to work fattening me up across the Atlantic, piling onto my tray the best food I've yet sampled at 39,000 feet:


Needless to say, after gorging at LH's seemingly endless trough, it was time to lapse into a full-blown food coma. I made a quick trip to the lav to change into the provided Lufty PJs, then returned to the cabin to get some shut-eye. Thankfully, the LH First seat reclined to a fully-flat position, and was quite well cushioned:


About six hours later, as we approached the Dutch coast, I woke up, and managed to snag the last glass of Riesling before landing (I had drained nearly the entire bottle earlier in the course of the flight, and it was fantastic). With some hair of the dog to settle my overfed midsection, I set the seat back to upright, and prepared for my first excursion to the FCT, and first trip to Oslo.

To be continued...

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

After landing at Frankfurt airport, I made my way through passport control, then out the doors by baggage claim. To get to the First Class Terminal (FCT) from there, you take a left out the exit doors, then continue walking until you get to the taxi waiting area at the edge of the main terminal. Continue walking a short ways until you spot a squat, grey building with a circle drive diagonally across the street. The "First Class Terminal" signage should be visible on the side of the building. Near the locked sliding glass door is an intercom buzzer, that calls up to the main desk. After buzzing them, I was quickly granted admission. An attendant was sent down to let me in and escort me up in the elevator. A brief security check followed, and I was officially into the FCT. Inside, I found a beautifully designed space that was tastefully decorated:


After thoroughly exploring the FCT, and making a general pest of myself by constantly snapping photos, I lost myself in mimosas, vodka crans, and an overstuffed omelet. I then snagged a wifi card from one of the passing attendants, and did what any self-respecting FTer would do: logged on to FT to check if there were any mistake fares around that might get me back into the FCT ASAP.

No such luck... but by this time, I was informed by the shower/bath attendant that the shower room I had waited for was ready. I'll not detail my shower routine, as I believe there is already an OMNI thread on that subject (), but I did appreciate (and appropriate) the numerous ETRO bath products on offer in the shower room. The bath-robe on offer was also a tad disappointing, as the fabric was somewhat rough and scratchy. I'll grant them this one, minor blemish, as the rest of the FCT experience was absolutely superb.

Shortly after getting refreshed, then adding yet another mimosa to the morning's total, an attendant informed me that it was time to board my onward flight to Oslo. I was led down the stairs to the departure area, where my ticket was checked, and I was shuffled into a van with three other passengers (sadly, no Porsche Cayenne on this trip). I did manage to snag an up-close photo of a Lufthansa A340 as we drove across the taxiways:


Shortly thereafter, we had piled out of the van, and I was in an elevator rising up to the jetway. In no time, I was aboard an LH A320, seated in their regional business class, which is not entirely unlike coach.


Not long after boarding, we were airborne and en-route to Oslo. Despite having gorged at the omelet station, I decided to dig in once again once lunch was served. There was no menu accompanying this meal, but it was primarily a field greens salad with plenty of mushrooms heaped on top, along with some sort of apple dessert with the consistency of flan:


By the time the meal was finished, Oslo was not far away. In just a few hours' time I would be cruising the Oslofjord and, later, looking forward to my first ride on a Tupolev 154... the next installment of this report!

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

After a day of sightseeing and taking a day cruise around oslofjord (well worth the trip), it was time to head back to Gardermoen airport for the next leg of my trip: Oslo to Moscow Sheremetyevo, on an Aeroflot Tupolev 154M! This, of course, was thanks to the mistake J fare posted last year in MR Deals forum, for OSL-SVO-HKG. Getting to and from the airport had been a breeze, as I was staying at the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel, which is directly across the street from the main train station. The express train from Gardermoen to Oslo Central takes about half an hour, and costs about $20 each way, IIRC.


Paranoid as I was about unforseen delays causing me to miss my first shot at a Tupolev, I made it to the airport a bit more than two hours prior to my flight. This meant that the Aeroflot check-in counters were deserted. I killed some time by wandering around the airport for about fifteen minutes, and circled back to the check-in counters exactly two hours before flight time. Of course, the counters were still deserted. Finally, about ten minutes later, the first Aeroflot employee approached the counter and opened up the check-in line... for coach passengers. I was about ten persons back in line, and proceeded to wait patiently as it took the agent well over five minutes to process each passenger. The size and variety of items persons on my flight were presenting as checked bags were rather intriguing - all manner of monstrous packages swathed in opaque plastic and slathered with duct-tape.

Eventually, another check-in agent arrived and opened the business-class desk. I hurried over and presented by paper tickets. Not a word was mentioned about the ridiculously low fare I had paid for a one-way J ticket to Moscow, and I was soon on my way to the main concourse. Within a few minutes, I was ensconced within the Oslo Lounge, which turned out to be one of the nicest European airline lounges I have come across. It was definitely a pleasant surprise:


As one can see from the photos, the Oslo Lounge is very nicely appointed. I spent close to an hour there, enjoying a few snacks and a drink before my flight. The flight was never announced, despite assurances by the staff that an announcement would be made, and I began to make my way to the gate about 40 minutes prior to departure. I'm glad I did, as the passport check prior to the non-schengen gates was crowded, and moving slowly. The Norwegian customs officers were positively grilling a few Russian citizens who appeared to have overstayed their visas, which was backing-up the rest of the line. I finally managed to get through after boarding had already commenced for my flight. Thankfully, I was able to manage a hasty snapshot of my plane prior to boarding:


Upon boarding, I was greeted by the comfiest Euro-Biz product that I've yet seen. The seats were spacious, and every bit as nice as Domestic First on U.S. carriers. The flight and service on Aeroflot exceeded my expectations, with a decent meal and excellent wine being served on-board. From here on out, I believe I will let the photos do the talking:

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

After arriving in Moscow following my first journey on a Tupolev, I experienced the joy that is Moscow traffic. I believe it is less than Twenty miles from Sheremetyevo to central Moscow. Despite this, it took two hours to make it from the airport to my hotel, the Sheraton Palace. Starwood options in Moscow are somewhat limited, and the Sheraton had a decent (by Moscow standards) rate for my overnight stay. Despite charging St. Regis rates, the accommodations were not exactly eye-popping. It was nice of them to upgrade me to a Junior Suite for my stay, though.


After dropping off my bags in the room, I was treated to a panic-inducing call on my mobile phone. An Aeroflot rep was phoning me from Oslo to inform me that there was something terribly wrong with my ticket, and that it was invalid! The communication problem was compounded by the fact that I speak no Russian, and the representative's English was quite poor. After nearly fifteen minutes, she expressed surprise to discover that I was already in Moscow (I have a GSM phone that works just about anywhere). It turned out that when originally booking the OSL-SVO-HKG mistake fare, I had first tried to book through the Aeroflot website (without success, as the web-page hung on me at the purchase screen). As I had never turned up at an Aeroflot ticket office to purchase that particular ticket, it had flagged in their system, and they had decided to call me to alert me. The Orbitz paper tickets I was traveling on were just fine, though. After my blood-pressure subsided somewhat, and I realized I would not be stranded in Moscow, I decided it was time for a look around.

A cab from the Sheraton Palace to the Kremlin and Red Square can be had for the price of one's firstborn child, and would likely take only half a fortnight under normal traffic conditions. Accordingly, I decided to wrap myself in a coat and hoof it. Thankfully, Moscow's lovely late-spring weather decided to accommodate me... with stinging drizzle, howling winds, and temperatures in the lower 40s. I was suddenly flooded with nostalgic memories of the time I spent living in Edinburgh - another city "blessed" with irascible weather. After a nearly forty minute walk, I had managed to make it to Red Square. Despite the lousy weather, the walk had truly been worth it:


After wandering around Red Square and the Kremlin Walls, it was time to trek back to my hotel. I hated to skip out on a proper Muscovite dining experience, but the thought of paying $100/plate for mediocre food didn't exactly have me hopping. I settled instead for two slices of pizza at Sbarro, which I believe set me back the equivalent of $18 (). Feeling thoroughly skint, I was more than glad to unwind at the Sheraton's Club Lounge, to warm my frozen bones with a pot of complimentary green tea.


After finishing the tea, it was time to turn in for the evening, as I had a 10:00 am day-flight to Hong Kong the next morning. I had scheduled for a car to take me from the hotel to the airport at about 6:30 am, fearing traffic might again be horrendous. Instead, Saturday morning proved to be a light traffic day, and I was at the airport by 07:00. Unfortunately, Aeroflot only initiates check-in two hours prior to boarding, which meant I had an hour to kill in the dismal pit that is Sheremetyevo. I managed to settle in at a TGIFridays for breakfast, and did the best that I could to kill an hour with lots of coffee, an omelette, and a book. Finally, I managed to get checked in for my flight, and through passport control. Unfortunately, the Aeroflot Lounge turned out to be more dismal than TGIFridays.


Thankfully, my stay in the lounge was brief. I would soon be ensconced in a nearly endless line, awaiting the metal detectors and x-ray belt positioned in front of my gate. After interminable shuffling towards the end-goal, it was finally time to board. After navigating the miseries of Sheremetyevo, I was overjoyed to discover a modern, extremely-comfortable business-class seat:


The seat was an absolute joy for the nine-hour flight to Hong Kong, as the center, cloth section had ample cushioning and fit like a glove. After the meal service and an ambien, I was out like a light for the rest of the flight. Before finishing up with photos of the meal presentation, I would sum-up Aeroflot as follows: Amazing in the air, and a nightmare on the ground (especially at SVO). However, I wouldn't hesitate to try them again (and have in fact included them in my RTW honeymoon itinerary for next year). That said, I'll leave you with photos of the meal service on my flight:

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

Once in Hong Kong, I only had about 14 Hours on the ground to see whatever I could. Though I probably could have done without a hotel room, I preferred to have a base to work out of, where I could take a shower after arriving from Moscow at Midnight. Jet Lag worked in my favor, as now that I was halfway around the world, I was feeling quite awake at Midnight. I started off by catching one of the last trains of the evening from HKG to Kowloon Station, where it was only a short cab ride to the Sheraton Hong Kong. I was somewhat disappointed that the hotel did not upgrade me to a suite, as I was only there for a one-night Saturday stay. However, the Deluxe Harbor-View Room was nicely appointed:


As one can see, the view from the room was phenomenal. After taking in the view, I took a quick shower in the bizarre shower-enclosure. The shower-heads were simply mounted on the wall adjacent to the tub, with a drain placed into the marble floor. I then wandered down to the waterfront, adjacent to the Intercontinental Hotel, to snap a few more photos of the skyline at night. Afterwards, it was back to the Sheraton to upload some photos from my CompactFlash card, and to enjoy some 3am room-service. By 5am, the first hints of light were beginning to enter the sky, so I decided to take a walk down to Kowloon Park to watch the sunrise. After a morning stroll through the park, I made my way back down to the waterfront, past The Peninsula Hotel, and over to the Star-Ferry Pier. A quick, cheap transit across the harbor brought me to Hong Kong proper, where I wandered around a bit before having a breakfast Singapore Sling at the Four Seasons.


As I rode the Star Ferry back to Kowloon, I reflected on what a spectacular city Hong Kong had turned out to be. It was with some sadness that I caught the train back to the airport. I was determined to return to this wonderful city for a longer stay as soon as possible. Once at the airport, I was able to check in with TG fairly quickly. For a reasonable fee, I was also able to score an upgrade to F for my relatively short HKG-BKK flight. Boarding pass in hand, I made my way over to the TG F lounge, which turned out to be quite pleasant.


I nursed my way through a handful of Gin & Tonics in the F lounge, and ordered a bit of Dim-Sum from an attendant. The various dumplings arrived at my table in short order, and were absolutely delicious. So far, I was quite impressed with TG's ground service in HKG. Granted, it was not quite as nice as LH's FCT, but I certainly did not want for anything, and TG's HKG lounge was a pleasant place to kill a few hours. After a short while, it was time to board my onward flight to BKK, so I made my way over to the gate. A massive, rather purple 747 awaited me, and boarding had commenced by the time I arrived at the gate. I was quickly onto the jetway, making a left turn towards boarding door 1L.

Once esconced in my seat, I was immediately set-upon by an eager and solicitous flight attendant. She was positively impatient to begin plying me with unwholesome quantities of Dom Perignon, and I was only more than happy to oblige. I managed two full glasses of Dom before closing of the boarding door, and was beginning to feel a tad light-headed as we made a slow roll out towards the runway.


Admittedly, the purple-and-gold velour interior was a bit dizzying at first. The free-flowing quantities of Dom helped quell my fears that I had somehow fallen through a time-warp onto the set of a 1970s porno film. In fact, after a time, the retro interior began to grow on me. No doubt the Significant Otter would have been thrilled to have ridden on such an aircraft, considering she positively bleeds purple and gold as an LSU alum. The crushed-velvet seats were also quite spongy, positively swallowing the occupant in plush decadence.

As I relaxed back into my retrocliner, I continued to quaff Dom like it was going out of style, before tucking in to the excellent three-course meal. Thai saw fit to stuff me with grilled prawns, curried beef, and ice cream over the course of this brief, two-hour flight. By the end of this prandial ordeal, I was full as a tick and drunk as a skunk, and extremely contented on both counts.


Overall, this portion of the trip was one of my favorites. Hong Kong turned out to be a fantastic city which I cannot wait to return to. Also, Thai's Old F seat, though not as fancy as many other products out there, turned out to be extremely comfortable. The excellent in-flight service and unending quantities of Dom were also a huge plus. I was wishing the flight could last longer than the two short hours we spent in the air.

Next up, BKK Royal First Lounge, BKK-FRA in TG New C, More FCT, and FRA-IAH in LH F...

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

After arriving in BKK, I had approximately seven hours to kill. I decided to hop a cab into the center of town to see the Grand Palace. However, I was disappointed to learn that the Palace grounds closed at 17:00, which happened to coincide with the time my cab arrived there. I quickly arranged for a tuk-tuk ride to a nearby temple complex (Wat Indrawiharn), where one could view an impressive 100-foot standing Buddha statue:


After spending about 45 minutes wandering the temple grounds, the heat, humidity and jet-lag began to take their toll. I was simply too exhausted to continue exploring Bangkok. I flagged down a passing cab and made my way back to the airport. After checking-in at the dedicated TG Business check-in area of the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, I made my way to the TG Royal First Lounge. My previous F boarding pass from HKG-BKK gained me admission to the F lounge, despite the fact that my onward flight to FRA was in C.

The Lounge itself was almost empty when I arrived (around 18:30). The staff were extremely accommodating, and immediately sought to ply me with food and drink upon arrival. I settled on Gin & Tonics and a Yellow Curry, then sat back to take in my surroundings. The Royal First Lounge was expansive, and tastefully decorated in muted earth-tones. The effect reminded me of a new-build Westin Executive Lounge.


Shortly after sampling the yellow-curry with G&Ts, jet-lag began to set in in earnest. Accordingly, I made my way to one of the sleep rooms tucked into the back corner of the lounge to snag some shut-eye before my late-night departure. The sleep room was well away from the rest of the lounge, so noise was minimal. The leather bunk in the room was comfortable enough for grabbing a quick nap, but was not especially plush. I managed to catch about three hours of rest in the sleep room before it was time to start moving towards my gate (situated on the other side of the truly Brobdingnabian Suvarnabhumi Airport).


After my nap, it was time to head towards the gate for my flight to FRA. Until I began the trek over to the gate, I had not realized how truly gargantuan Suvarnabhumi Airport is. It seemed like I rode an endless procession of escalators and moving-sidewalks past countless Duty Free shops and restaurants. The scale of the place was absolutely massive. Somehow, I managed to make it to the other end of the airport with approximately twenty minutes remaining before boarding. Rather than wait it out at the gate, I decided to pop into the closest Royal Orchid Lounge for a quick pick-me-up (Gin & Tonic) and a look-see before my flight. Though definitely not as ornate as the Royal First Lounge, the Royal Orchid Lounge was quite nice.


Having finished my drink, I then made my way down to the gate. Boarding was delayed by approximately ten minutes, but began fairly shortly after I arrived in the boarding area. Though no longer ensconced in F, it was nice to take a turn up the stairs upon boarding (as I think the upper-deck on the 744 is one of the most pleasurable flying-experiences to be had). I was absolutely exhausted upon reaching my seat, and hardly recall reclining the seat into bed mode after takeoff. Needless to say, I only managed to snag a single photo during this portion of the trip:


I slept soundly through nearly the entire flight, and was only awakened as the FA came through the cabin with the breakfast service. As my camera was stowed in a bag in the overhead bin by that point, I did not have an opportunity to snap any additional photos. Upon arrival in FRA, I made my way outside of baggage claim and walked over to the FCT. This time around, I managed to secure one of the bathrooms with a full tub (and rubber-duck!), which provided a rejuvenating soak before my onward flight to IAH.


I had approximately an hour left to kill in the FCT before the last leg of my trip: FRA-IAH in LH F. I spent it enjoying mimosas as if they were going out of style, feeling quite good by the time boarding rolled around. This time, I managed to get a ride out to the aircraft in a Porsche Cayenne. The flight back to IAH was largely identical to my first flight IAH-FRA (which is to say... spectacular). The LH crew were extremely friendly, the F cabin was very lightly populated, and the food was absolutely superb. As this was a day flight, I spent most of it gorging on the abundant offerings of food that LH saw fit to ply me with. Between courses, I managed to make my way through the better part of their supply of Riesling, as well as a few films. LH again managed to provide me with the best meal experience I've yet enjoyed aboard an aircraft:


By the time we were overflying the Outer Hebrides, I was completely stuffed, and well on my way to being giddy on Riesling. As I write this now, I am acutely aware of the fact that BD has since terminated the ability to book LH F with cash & miles awards (). For 50,000 BD mi. and ~$700, this LH award represented stellar value, IMO. As we approached Labrador and Newfoundland, LH again sought to stuff me to the brim with copious amounts of food, and I was only happy to oblige.


As the flight began to make its initial descent back into Houston, I was saddened that this whirlwind pseudo-RTW journey was coming to a close. I had an amazing time touring Oslo, Moscow, Hong Kong and Bangkok, despite the short duration of the trip. My first LH and TG experiences also turned out to be fantastic, and it was also great to grab a ride on a Tu-154. Despite being somewhat saddened at the end of the journey, I was thankful that I had the opportunity to experience these destinations and carriers in comfort and at a reasonable cost. I recall gravitating to the Trip Reports Forum shortly after I began lurking at FlyerTalk, and must say that it was the experiences of others recounted here that got me hooked on maximizing points/miles and mistake or good-deal fares. This slightly mad pseudo-RTW was the culmination of inspiration drawn from this very forum, and hopefully won't be the last such trip I piece together. I hope that the report has been at least marginally as entertaining and/or informative as the trip itself was for me, and apologize for the inordinate amount of time it took me to complete the entire report. Happy traveling!

BlissWorld

Keep 'em coming!

railways

Great report (so far )! If that is the same riesling I had on a flight from FRA-HKG a few months ago, it is absolutely delicious - one of the nicest white wines I have tasted in the air.

Guava

What happened to the caviar service on LH First?

lucky9876coins

Great stuff so far, looking forward to more!

Euan

Great so far!

f4freeJunior

How many FA for you 3 pax in F?
Nice report, I particulary like the pictures!

norske

Loved the Oslo photos!

Looking forward to checking out the others as well!

camsean

Good work so far. Looking forward to the next leg.

Anglo Large Clawed Otter

They still have it, but I don't like caviar, so didn't order any.

I think we had two. Service was exceptional. I just flew this route again last night in F, and we had about 9 in F. They had two FAs there at all times, with a third who was regularly through the upper-deck as well. Will add more whenever I can catch my breath. Don't know when that will be, as I'm in the midst of a whirlwind IAH-FRA-CPT-FRA-MXP-JFK; EWR-FLL-IAH trip (LH F, SA J, LH EuroC, DL J, CO Domestic F). This, too, will turn into a trip report at some point. I was pleased on this last flight to have gotten a bit more familiar with my DSLR, and managed to shoot a better quality photo of the LH F seat in full-flat recline (without the flash overexposing everything).

Gotta go board my flight to CPT - more when I can (and thanks for all the positive feedback so far).