I'd got this nifty set of flights for not very much expense -

TG 418 KUL BKK 2100 2205 788 11A
TG 600 BKK HKG 0800 1145 388 1A

This would have involved a couple hours and change in the first
row of the 787 and a couple more hours in the first row of the
380. But my onward got pushed forward an hour, making an
untenable connection, so I got a cheap nonstop with a big layover
so I could hang out with lili for a few hours.

The Golden Lounge Satellite is supposed to be the flagship of
the line: it's huge, offers decent food and drink, and a pay-in
spa for those with long connections. Beats any US lounge cold.

The staff weren't going to let lili in with her row 42 seat (JAL
lets you check in 72 hrs ahead, and she didn't know that, so by
the time T-24 rolled around, there was only one non-middle seat
left on the whole aircraft, off in the wayback) despite her
Emerald status. They let me in, though, with my somewhat less
exalted status and Malaysia ticket, and allowed her to come in
as my guest. Strange.

There were ample food offerings: great lentil soup, very good
chicken curry, and decent chicken biryani.

The western meal on offer was some kind of fish in cream
sauce, which I decided not to try, being suspicious of
fish in cream sauce on steam tables.

There was also spaghetti and tomato sauce, which I was
tempted to taste just to give a report, but I refrained.

Carlsberg was the beer on offer, which though okay got
tiring after a while, so I switched to Evervess ginger ale,
perhaps the blandest I've ever had. I'd hoped for something
interesting, but one doesn't always get what one hopes for.

The red wine was tolerable, the sip I had of it anyway.

Presently we got bored, and as my flight was departing from
the main terminal in an hour and change, we decided to try
the regional lounge. It turns out this is more attractive
in every way, cozier and more friendly; it also had the
laksa bar (featured in the inflight magazine) in plain sight.

All the amenities of the other lounge; in general I'd prefer
it and was sad to say goodbye to it and to lili.

MH 78 KUL HKG 1925 2300 738 7F

I presented myself at security a few minutes before
scheduled closing time and then sat for half another hour
in the departure lounge while the plane was readied for us.

We took off half an hour late. I was glad to have booked
my room at the Regal Airport Hotel rather than someplace
I'd have to be transported to.

The meal on this flight: a fish thing or chicken rice. What
could be bad? Okay, the rice was pebbles (insufficiently
reheated), the chicken, not bad in itself, the meat of a
biggish thigh, had been seasoned with ginger and chile (also
not bad) and sugar, it seemed in the place of salt, not good.
Steamed lotus root and green beans, also no salt. An appetizer
of chickpea vinaigrette with bell peppers and chopped wilted
greens; dessert a pineapple blueberry shortcake, very dry.

I had a row to myself - there were several such available. We
didn't make up any time in flight, so we got to our bus gate
almost half an hour late. No worries, the line at immigration
was fairly short, and it's a quick walk to the Regal, of which I
have fond memories. Counting a 5-minute delay going upstairs to
try to collect my onward boarding passes, the friendly and speedy
checkin meant I was from gate to bed in under half an hour.

It was what looked like a nice renovated triple room, and I
gratefully collapsed into the bigger bed (normally I sleep in
the smaller one in settings of this sort, but I was tired and
wanted to stretch out) and had a good snooze.

In the cold light of morning a few odd imperfections turned up -
the bed linens had been imperfectly washed if at all, and the
carpeting had stains and a big rip that had been halfheartedly
repaired. Not so big of a deal, but the noisy plumbing in the
nearby rooms woke me up earlier than I had hoped.

Whence I discovered that the wireless didn't work, and this
newer box of mine doesn't have an Ethernet port. I decided to
take my shower and hustle back to the airport post haste.

UA 862 HKG SFO 1220 0815 744 15K was 9J

I went to the desk to try to negotiate an upstairs berth, and
the agent said to have a seat and I'd be called. After about
10 minutes I was summoned to receive the information that the
upper deck had checked in full, so please take my original seat,
where I was settling in when I heard a kerfuffle nearby -
turns out the guy in 9K had expected his friend to be next
to him, but the friend had been assigned 15K. The flight
attendant refused to touch tis situation, but of course I
offered to switch, it being obvious that the path of least
resistance had been followed, requiring one boarding pass
reissue instead of two and so here I ended up, where I'd
intended to be in the first place.

My seatmate was a youngish Chinese-American woman who had
been off on business and who was hankering to get back home
to her family. Cursory friendly conversation.

We took off a little late, but it was promised that owing to
favorable winds we'd land early anyway.

Very solicitous service was offered by a senior crew including
one Dutch or Belgian woman who was exemplary.

We were given ramekins of good-tasting but very soft cashew
halves with the occasional almond. Anyhow, as the nuts cooled
off and dried up, they became nutlike again, a relief.

More of that Ch. Fontenelle stuff, which isn't that bad after
all. You should have seen me dive to save it during a sudden
wave of turbulence.

There were numerous interesting things on Channel 9, which
was given on request, including stuff that might well not have
been listened to, such as (as reported by a Dragonair pilot)
that some ground crew person got hit by a piece of equipment
and needed medical attention and, as we were approaching Japan,
"[Call sign sounded like Sumo] 73 is having issues with one of
our personnel and will have to return to [unintelligible] for
a crew swap," which raised tantalizing questions.

A decent meal.

Starter of one large shrimp and one large scallop, fresh and
pretty good, the scallop somewhat sweeter than what I am
accustomed to getting in these degraded days, sided by a
citrus mayonnaise.

The salad had pretty fresh greens, a couple orange segments,
a mushy cherry tomato, and a half sundried one, with Thousand
Islands or an incredibly sweet citrus vinaigrette with no
citrus and little vinegar.

Mains included a beef tenderloin, a vegetarian noodle dish,
and cod in miso-mustard sauce (ugh). My seatmate and I both
chose "three cup chicken, jade fried rice, broccoli, carrot
and bamboo tips." Pretty good food, though this was a regular
chicken stew (meat of two thighs, quite generous) in a soy and
hoisin-based gravy, rather than a real sanbeiji, which has a
strong wine component and is both savory and sweet (this was
mostly sweet). The rice that came was plain white, and the
vegetables overcooked but decent, the best being the bamboo
shoots, exemplary, the least good the carrots, cut into pretty
plum flower shapes, but one of which was beginning to rot and
was half brown.

A cheese course got the lack of attention it deserved; the
Port was Ferreira 2011, but as the attentive attendant had
just poured me my fourth refill of the Fontenelle, I decided
to pass on it.

Ice cream sundaes for afters.

When Channel 9 was turned off, I did as well, helped by all
that wine. I didn't even have time for my Courvoisier, falling
immediately into Five hours of pleasant snooze.

Channel 9 returned after the transoceanic slog.