Thanks. I'm only in transit so staying in town isn't an option.

And so here I am, drinking surprisingly good tea in an otherwise cramped and uninspiring lounge. I've had a bowl of congee (breakfast) and all I have to look forward to is seeing what they will serve for dinner (the menu changes over at 10 am. I am here for another three hours.

In my Skyteam experience, I thought that UX was the poor relation of the family. But I think MU wins the prize for fewest frills. On board drink choices in coach were two sodas, two juices or water (if there was anything alcoholic, I can't imagine that it would have been any good anyway). I don't know who does their catering out of BKK, but clearly the orders were to spend as little as humanly possible. What they tried to pass off for food I won't even comment on, but even the trays were so flimsy that they had to be served and cleared with two hands to prevent them from buckling.

Transferring at PVG was a joke. Long lines to check-in for the connecting flights (no elite lines here, I asked). After 45 minutes I get to the front of the line and hand over my passport, boarding pass and I tucked my Platinum card. They commented on the card, passing it around and stopping traffic at the other windows. Meanwhile, they couldn't scan the bar code on my passport, tried entering my details manually, couldn't, and I suggested they try the scanner again. It works they hand me back my passport and BP, but not my card. I ask for it back and ask if I need an invitation for the (pokey) lounge. They take back my card, comment vociferously, call the supervisor over, stop traffic again, chatter a bit. When I said with a smile that they don't see many of these, they shoved the card and the invite at me and told me to wait. Passengers are held in a pen and released in groups of ten or so to go through security back into the departure area (through a comically circuitous route involving glass doors and passageways, though we could see the door we were supposed to go through, just steps from the holding pen. The lounge is hidden downstairs by Gate 21 (no sign tells you so until you are standing over the escalator downstairs. At least there is wifi and a reasonable sprinkling of electrical plugs. But that is about all it has to recommend itself.