Flight 3: LX40 ZRH-LAX 23JUL (Th), A340-300, Seat 2A
STD: 1310 (45min late) STA: 1640 (On Time)


What is the opposite of oversleeping?

As I mentioned before, I am really paranoid about oversleeping and missing flights/trains/buses/etc. Earlier on, I briefly touched on the Eurostar incident - well, to elaborate a little further, it involved shooting out of bed in indescribable horror at 8am as the Eurostar train was pulling into Gare du Nord. The one that I was supposed to have boarded in London. To meet my parents in Paris. Who were horrified and appalled that I could be so irresponsible. The relationship with my stepfather has never been the same ever since...

So you can probably get a glimpse as to why I am so scared of oversleeping. Friends that know me well think it's a miracle I actually managed to turned up to all the morning exams, given my track record for the morning lectures. But this morning, the problem was not oversleeping (for a change!). I intended to wake up at around 8am, but it was only 6:30am when I groggily opened my eyes with a feeling of not having slept properly. It could have been the alcohol last night - there was certainly no shortage of it either in the FCL or at the hotel bar. It could have been the anxiety of having to wake up on time (despite having plenty of time to sleep, since it was a 13:10 departure), especially after hearing the tale of Mr. Oversleep who was now 800 euros worse off after buying a new ticket. Either way, I was up early and I decided to make an earlier start to the day.

The room at Movenpick Hotel Zurich-Regensdorf was certainly nice enough, so I'm pretty sure it wasn't because of an uncomfortable bed or room that I woke up early. Considering the price I paid (especially after the Expedia Refer-a-friend promo voucher), the room was actually quite impressive. A few photos:









It's not just the FRA FCT that have the rubber duckies!


Few things make me happier than a really, really powerful shower, and I was very happy this morning. After the refreshing shower, I got dressed, gathered my belongings and went downstairs to check out. There was a bus departing at 7am which I narrowly managed to get on - although I had no particular reason to rush to the airport, I didn't really want to hang around in the hotel lobby waiting for the next bus. The bus weaved through the relatively sparse early morning traffic and we arrived at the Zurich Airport arrivals hall at 7:15.

Following the same path as yesterday, I found my way up to the Swiss FCL uneventfully. After checking my boarding pass, the receptionist wanted to confirm timings for my limo to the E-gates where my flight to LAX will depart from. Since boarding was listed to commence at 12:30, I was offered a choice between 12:10 and 12:20 and I took the 12:20 slot. I had previously read that the limo to E-gates were Mercedes vans - the Merc S-class sedan or Porsche Cayenne was apparently reserved for rides to the apron positions rather than the E-gates. I would have loved an S-class but - well - you need to leave some things for the next time, don't you?

As I hadn't yet eaten, the first priority was eating some breakfast. Unfortunately, only the Pre-flight Dining after 20:00 is freshly cooked to order in the kitchen, but the buffet selection was not bad - it included the usual hot breakfast items as well as cold cuts, fruits, cereals and pastries. I assembled my plate of hot breakfast and went to sit down in the dining area where I ate leisurely while watching the tarmac action outside the window.



My breakfast plate


Now that breakfast was taken care of, I fired up my laptop to use the internet for a while. I appreciated the free WLAN access, but couldn't understand the point of having the silly log-in cards that make you get up and go to the reception every 30 minutes. They should have just kept the WLAN open and saved everyone the trouble... Well, perhaps I should just be grateful that it's free of charge at all - unlike the Lufthansa lounges!

Perhaps due to not sleeping too well, I developed a bit of a headache at around 9am and quite possibly a hint of fever as well. This was really not good news - the last thing anyone needs when flying these days is cold-like symptoms. Any sign of feeling unwell when entering certain countries, and you'll be locked up in quarantine while being pumped full of medicine for weeks! Clearly, that would be ruinous to my short-ish 18 days planned in Korea. I therefore felt it would be best to abandon my original plans of going into Zurich to have a look around the city and the lake, and instead ask for a day room to get some more rest. Like the shower rooms, you need to ask at reception to get access so I asked one of the lovely ladies at the front. She opened one of the two day rooms for me and asked whether I would like to be woken up, and I said 11:00.

Inside the day room, it was furnished in muted colours and had its own shower suite. There was a proper bed with full-sized pillows and duvet so it would have been possible to sleep quite well on a long layover if needs be. Together with the desk where you could do some work if you wanted, it was a nice little space that can be used as your own little "layover room".



Bed and desk



Same type of shower as the shower suites, with the same Bvlgari amenities



Basin, etc. Functional and relaxing to look at.


After tossing and turning for a while, I fell asleep and woke up just a few minutes before the receptionist came to the door to knock, right on the dot at 11:00am as I requested. After freshening up, I went back outside to the main seating area and found the lounge definitely busier due to a number of flights departing all around the same time - most of the USA flights and the NRT/PVG flights all depart in the early afternoon.