Hi, I’ve always enjoyed reading the trip reports posted by the various forummers, so I thought I’d contribute one of my own. Apologies in advance if some my grammar/sentence structure is awkward. I’ve been writing too many reports at work and I've lost the ability to write prose...
Introduction
My parents had been asking to go on a holiday overseas as it’d been a long time since they went on one. Most importantly, since I'm working, I can pay for their expenses… Back in August, Cathay Pacific partnered one of the local banks and was offering some very attractive economy fares between SIN and Taipei. Of course, the timings weren’t optimal (reaching TPE at 7pm and first flight out of TPE on the way back) but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.
A few weeks later Cathay Pacific sent an email saying that our SIN HKG flight timings had changed which resulted in a misconnection as we would fall below the MCT. After calling the service centre, we managed to change to the earlier CX736 which meant a 3 hour layover in HKG instead of 50 mins.
29 December 2016
CX736
SIN-HKG
Changi Airport Terminal 1
1000hrs to 1405hrs
42K
We left the house early to catch the train to the airport. Check in was a straightforward affair, our bags were tagged and boarding passes to TPE issued.
Changi Airport was having a Pokemon Christmas theme so the airport was filled with Pokemon decorations. (Sadly, I didn’t manage to catch a Far-fetch’d in Taiwan. I saw one on the map but it despawned by the time I got there.)
Pokemon Christmas tree.
Breakfast at KFC
A6-ENU stopping over as EK433 from Brisbane before continuing on to Dubai
9V-JSP pushing back late as 3K243 to Bali
Today’s flight to HKG would be operated by B-KPG.
Since it’s a widebody jet, there’s more overhead bins and less need to rush aboard to secure a space for your carry-on.
Boarding in progress.
More airlines should have this feature.
We took off on time and the flight was smooth. Seats were comfortable with sufficient legroom. Having flown a KLM 77W, the extra width here is noticeable. Sadly, Cathay Pacific has announced they will be moving to 10-abreast on their 777s, guess that’s just how the market is these days.
Lunch was served after takeoff. I chose the chicken and rice, the other choice was fish pasta (I think).
Approaching HKG. We were early but the captain announced that due to congestion, ATC had instructed them to slow down.
After clearing security, I left my parents to do some shopping while I went plane spotting.
B-LRE as CX 117 to Auckland.
B-LAK as CX 937 to Manila
29 December 2016
CX470
HKG-TPE
1740hrs to 1935hrs
55K
Today’s flight would be operated by B-HNP. The plane was configured with the old hard shell seats. For a short flight, I think they’re fine and the hard shell means no one will recline into you which is always a good thing.
The flight was quite uneventful. A hot wrap was served and I managed to catch up on a few episodes of 2 Broke Girls. Couldn't taste much chicken in the wrap.
There was a huge queue at immigration and we took nearly an hour to get through. Probably everyone is making use of the long weekend to travel.
After collecting our baggage, we took a bus to Taipei Main Station to find our Airbnb and crash out for the night.