I'm going to try not to post too many CX pics as there's plenty all over this forum if you want to see the lounge, the seat/bed, or bathrooms.
SFO CX lounge
I headed to the airport after trying to make sure any work over Thanksgiving was done. This is my first Cathay flight so I can't compare what it was like before. But it seemed pretty large in a longish way.
As the flight wasn't leaving for awhile, I tried a bit of everything including the small noodle bar - had to get the won ton as they're a favorite of mine.
CX F SFO-HKG
I've tried AA Int'l F last year, but this was my First Int'l flight, so I don't have anything to compare so it was pretty awesome to me.
I knew I'd get PJs so didn't bring any and they're very comfy. Only thing missing is a pocket in the top, but the bottoms have them. Love! The slippers too - they have little bit of spikiness on the bottom for traction.
Amazing amount of leg room, my carry on is 21"
Food
Maybe should not had eaten in the lounge as I had no room for desert, it was a lot of food. There was some nuts while waiting for others to board and also a bread basket I didn't include.
Dinner
Mango Amuse Bouche
Caviar with blinis, chives, cream fraiche and chopped egg
Mesclun salad, grilled jumbo scallops, Heirloom Tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette
Double-boiled Ginseng & Chicken soup
Cold Plate - soya beans, preserved vegetables and tofu
Stir-fried Maine lobster, stir-fried kailan, ginger, spring onion, mushroom, carrot, and jasmine rice
Pot of Jasmine tea and pralines
Breakfast
Fruit (4 pieces) and OJ
Chicken and mushroom congee, pan fried turnip cake with preserved meats
I totally forgot about getting the discount airport express tickets thru the duty free catalog.
Immigration was pretty fast as I had only carry ons. I went to find some cash but the HSBC machine didn't like Schwab debit! Called Schwab via Google Hangouts just in case as I had used HSBC in France with no problem. Nothing on their end, so tried the Bank of China and that took my card fine. The arrival lounge was pretty busy already, but squeezed in on one of their apple terminals to checked my email before grabbing some food plus water and fruit for the trip to the hotel. Half of the stores in the airport weren't open so I opted to get a sim card later.
Wasn't much of a line to buy the Airport Express card and the Octopus. So off to ride the train. It's a nice way to get into the city. Very clean and smooth. So unlike MUNI. Also nice it comes with a shuttle to take folks straight to the hotel.
Holiday Inn Express - Hong Kong Soho
It was dead easy to catch the shuttle bus as there's a big sign. I was the only one that morning for my particular minibus, so it was a fast drop off at the side of the Holiday Inn Express - Hong Kong Soho.
I could have tried some of the higher priced hotels, but it was the easiest with the shuttle bus and I had the points to do a five-night reservation without transferring UR points.
They let me check in early and had a sim card for sale there, so kill 2 birds. It was the five day CSL one. Worked great everywhere we went (except Macau as it requires more $$).
The room was on the 28th floor with a view between the buildings of the harbour. The amenity was one coke, one orange juice and a travel sized Oreo pack. Fridge was handy.
Happy Valley
My sister wasn't coming for hours, so after unpacking and checking email it was time to for one thing I had listed for Wednesday - Happy Valley Race Course. Yes horse racing! I decided to try the subway and take it to Causeway Bay. The hotel was about 3 blocks from Sheung Wan station.
I popped in the little museum they had, security followed me around so I didn't take pics. There were a few stuffed horses including a Mongolian pony. Stupidly, I had locked up my cash and atm in the room safe so couldn't do the tourist badge thing as it was cash only.
[Tip #2: Two wallets might not be that great of an idea if you usually only carry one.] But I had enough for general admission at least and it was plenty good enough as the horses go on the track extremely close to the rail nearest to the crowds as you can see.
The track is pretty impressive especially the city backdrop, it's great its so close to the city. Lots of young people at the track - it was a James Bond themed night.
It was also at the track where I found out how horrible my Cantonese was. I'm a third-generation American, but first-born in the US. My dad was all about assimilation, so the only person who spoke Cantonese was my grandmother who knew about 3 words of English. Like most racetracks before and between races are on-track analysts shown on the video screens to pass the time between races. I pretty much only understood the numbers and about five words. They talk a lot faster too.
I left a bit early as my sister was due around 10pm and the cigarette smoke was getting pretty bad. Next time, I will be sure to make sure I have my cash on me. I grabbed a Ding Ding tram back. It was just like the historic streetcars in SF, crowded and noisy but it still was cleaner! My sister's plane was late so I still beat her to the hotel.