After a very hectic but glorious two days in MEL with family and friends it was time to once again head to the airport for my flights back to the UK.

My friend dropped me off at around 21:00 for my 23:00 flight to HKG.

I walked up the F desk and waited for the single agent to become available. After she was done with her passenger she waived me over and took my ticket and passport. She printed out my QF BP and also the BP for the HKG-LHR sector which would be on CX.
She tagged my bag through to LHR, asked if I knew where the lounge was and bid me farewell.

I made my way through emigrations and security and down to the QF lounge. I had a glass of Moet and some nibbles whilst checking my emails and of course FT.

The time quickly passed and I walked upstairs to the gate area at around 22:30. Not long after I arrived at the gate boarding was announced and I entered using the F/J and OW elite dedicated boarding line.

Flight QF29 MEL-HKG Seat 1A
Departure time: 23:00
Date: October 8, 2006
Aircraft: 747-400

Both doors were being used for boarding and I entered through door 1 and was ushered to my seat by one of the F FAs.

My jacket was taken, Bolly delivered along with some olives, crackers and goats cheese.

The amenity kits and PJs were handed out whilst we were on the ground.
I was offered, and accepted a refill of the Bolly prior to pushing back which was at 23:02.
We took off soon after and more champagne was delivered to my seat.
The FA had me pegged as a lush about 10 minutes into the flight and after refilling my glass said “There are 3 more bottles on board” with a knowing smile.

The menus were given out and include a typically Australian eclectic mix of cuisines and styles with a heavy accent on Asian.
My Bollinger Grande Anée Brut 1997 was slipping down very easily so I just kept drinking that for the time being.

MELBOURNE TO HONG KONG

SUPPER

CANAPÉS

ENTREES AND MAIN COURSES

Prawn Wonton Soup with XO Sauce
Soupe au Pistou with Pancetta

Salad of Chicken and Hokkien Noodles with Soy Chilli Dressing
Lobster Cocktail with Preserved Lemon and Harissa Mayonnaise

Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage and Coriander
Our Signature Steak Sandwich with Tomato and Chilli Relish

A salad of Baby Cos, Radicchio and Frisee is available to accompany your main course or can be enjoyed as an entrée, dressed with your choice of Aged Balsamic Vinaigrette, Palm Sugar Vinaigrette, Lemon Vinaigrette or Blue Cheese Dressing

Beef Fillet with Asian Mushroom Ragout and Sweet Potato and Ginger Puree

Slow Cooked Pork with Water Chestnuts, Fragrant Rice and Bok Choy

Seared Blue Eye with New Potatoes, Broad Beans and Asparagus and Black Olive Sauce

Eggplant, Zucchini and Feta Stack with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Pesto

A choice of mustards and condiments is available


CHEESE

Blue, soft and hard cheese, hand selected by Will Studd,
Maitre Fromager Calendar Cheese Company, served with accompaniments


DESSERT

Nice Cream Pistachio and Honey Ice Cream with Crème Anglaise and Pistachio Brittle

Dark Chocolate and Almond Cake with Double Cream and Raspberry Sauce

Whole or Sliced Fresh Seasonal Fruit

Maggie Beer Ice Cream Tubs

PETITS FOURS

A selection of Kennedy & Wilson chocolates
Jaffa Cakes
Manna from Heaven Cinnamon Biscuits


WINE LIST

CHAMPAGNE

Bollinger ‘La Grande Anée’ Brut 1997

WHITE WINE

O’Leary Walker Polish Hill Riesling 2004

Lost Valley Cortese 2005

Glaconda Nantua Les Deux Chardonnay 2005

RED WINE

Port Phillip Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2004

Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier 2004

Langmeil ‘Jackaman’s’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2002


DESSERT WINE

De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon 2003


As my table was set for me I noticed that it appeared to be real wood and not just a laminate and had nice brass edges around the corners.

One nice touch was the offer of olive oil and balsamic vinegar to go with the bread rather than butter.
The starter I had was the lobster tail with tabouleh which I had with some of the Cortese.

I noticed that every time the wine was poured, even in a refill, the bottle was presented to me prior to pouring.

My main was the pork which I couldn’t finish (probably because I had been fed a roast lamb dinner by my friends only 5 hours earlier). I changed to the Cabernet Sauvignon for this dish and was not disappointed at all. It is a very nice drop.

I was asked if I wanted some dessert and said I would have a stab at the pistachio ice cream deal on the menu. The only reason was so that I could order some Noble One to go with it. I mentioned this to the FA and he said it was a very popular drink at with the FAs when they do their training for First. I said I did enjoy it but didn’t often see it in London stores.
The ice cream and of the course the wine slipped down easily.

Hot towels were handed out to end the meal.

I went to the bathroom, another one with a window on the world, and the FA made up my bed for me.
I slept most of the rest of the way to London until around an hour out of Hong Kong.

I was asked if I wanted breakfast but declined opting for just a smoothie and some peppermint tea.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Orange Juice
Apple Juice
Sunraysia Mango Liquid Fruit
Sunraysia Pear Liquid Fruit
Passionfruit and Orange Energiser Drink

Citrus Fruit Salad
Bircher Muesli
Toasted Muesli
Cereal Selection
Yoghurt and Honey
Chicken Fried Rice and Dim Sum
Fruit Danish
Croissant
Toast
Steamed Chinese Bun
Selection of Concerves
Strawberry Jam, Orange Marmalade, Honey, Vegemite

HOT BEVERAGES

Coffee
Black Leaf Teas
Herbal Teas
Hot Chocolate


I changed back into my street garb and settled in with a Peppermint Tea. I also noticed that MR 1K decided it was OK to change back into his clothes at his seat!

As we were making preparations for landing, the FA I had the discussion about the Noble One with came up to me and said ‘Here is the Duty Free order you placed Mr Moomba’. Inside the bag was a bottle of Noble One for me, which was a very nice gesture on his part.

I thanked him and told him that the service on this flight was absolutely fabulous and that I would eagerly look forward to my LHR-HKG-MEL-SIN-LHR in F I have booked for next May.

We landed and pulled up to gate 15 at HKG airport and I bid my farewell to the crew and walked up the long ramp and into the airport.
I wandered up to the CX Wing F lounge and into the cabana room and a nice hot bath to revive me for the next 13 hour stint on CX.

I had three hours to kill between my two flights which I did by bathing, sipping tea and checking mail, FT etc on the Wifi internet in the CX lounges.

As the boarding time approached I made my way to the gate and on board without any delay.

Flight CX257 HKG-LHR Seat 1A
Departure time: 09:40
Date: October 9, 2006
Aircraft: 340-600

On board my jacket was taken and I ordered a Cathay Delight to drink, which is on of their signature drinks. It contains kiwi fruit juice, coconut milk and mint and is quite delectable.
The PJs were delivered and are now the green trim again after having been mustard coloured for most of this last year.

The elemis amenity kits were also handed out whilst on the ground.

I was offered another drink as the aircraft continued to board. Again there were maintenance crew running around the aircraft just prior to take off.
We pushed back at 09:45 and were in the air soon after.

After take off my brunch order was taken.

BRUNCH

JUICE SELECTION

APPETIZER

Fresh Seasonal Fruit

YOGHURT SELECTION

Natural or Low Fat Fruit Yoghurt

CERALS

Muesli, Corn Flakes or Rice Crispies

MAIN COURSES

Scrambled Eggs or Plain Omelette
Grilled Cumberland Sausages and Lamb Noisette,
Pan-fried Potato Cake with Cheddar, Vine Ripened Tomato and Sautéed Fresh Mushrooms

Poached Smoked Haddock

Dim Sum Basket


DESSERT

Selection of Pastries


BREAD BASKET

Assorted Warm Bread, Fresh Toast and Breakfast Pastries
Served with Preserves, Honey and Butter


TEA AND COFFEE

PRALINES AND COOKIES


I decided to go with the fruit starter and followed this up with some yoghurt. This was served in a nice little silver holder.
For main I decided to go with the scrambled eggs with lamb, potato cakes and tomato. The potato cake was very nice indeed.

After the meal I slept for a few hours and awoke refreshed and ready to watch a few movies.
After one of the movies the FA asked if I wanted any of the snacks.

SNACK

Shrimp Wontons in Noodle Soup

Maryland Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce
And mixed Salad with Sesame Soy Dressing

Ice Cream

I decided to go with my much favoured noodles with shrimp wontons.

I watched a couple more movies from the wide selection available on CX’s IFE system. After this my ears became sore from having the headphones on for so long so I did some reading.

At around 5 hours out of London I decided it was time for some bubbles and ordered a glass of Krug.

WINE LIST

CHAMPAGNE

Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne

WHITE WINES

Domaine Jacques Prieur Beaune Premier Cru, Champs Pimont 2002

Mount Pleasant Maurice O’Shea Chardonnay 2004

RED WINES

Château Lynch Bages 2001

Corton Grand Cru Louis Max 1996

Brown Brothers Patricia Shiraz 2002

PORT

Ramos Pinto Quinta da Ervamoira 10 Year Old Tawny Port


My glass of Krug was never empty for the remainder of the flight. I would say that I enjoyed more than a bottle of Krug on this flight.

Around three hours out I was asked if I wanted my dinner service. It seems several of the other 5 F pax on this flight had decided to eat. The smells were delightful and I decided to partake at this time also.

CAVIAR, BALIK SALMON & CHAMPAGNE

Caviar
And
Balik Salmon “Tsar Nicolaj” with Krug Grande Cuvee


DINNER

SOUP & SALAD

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Sliced Bagel and Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

MAIN COURSES

Braised Shrimps with Ginger and Vinegar Sauce
Steam Rice, Green Asparagus with Capsicum and Shiitake Mushroom

Pan-fried Beef Tenderloin with Herb Crust
Roast Carrot with Parsley and Black Pepper, Grilled Asparagus

Malaysian Chicken Curry
Steamed Rice and Stir-fried Mixed Vegetables

Pumpkin Ravioli with Semi Sun-dried Tomato Concasse

CHEESE & DESSERT

Selection of International Cheese
Fresh Seasonal Fruit
Strawberries Marinated in Kirsch and Whipped Cream
Raspberry Fool with Mixed Berries
Chocolate Chestnut Cake with Vanilla Sauce and Red Currant

TEA AND COFFEE

PRALINES AND COOKIES

Of course it was mandatory to have the caviar and no one needed to twist my arm to comply.
After this I had the salad and the very tasty Malaysian chicken curry.

I couldn’t face either the cheese or dessert options and was feeling very sated and in no need of further sustenance, except maybe for another few glasses of Krug.

Around an hour and half out it became very bumpy and the seat belt signs came on. We eventually had to descend a little to avoid the choppy air.

I opened up my blinds just after the captain announced our initial descent into London and was able to see up cross the coast line of England.
We landed early at 15:30 and were parked at the gate within a couple of minutes.

I made the long walk to immigrations spent at least 20 seconds in the IRIS booth and made my way to the baggage carousel. About 10 minutes later my bag was the third one out. I went through customs and into the masses at the arrivals hall of T3. I eventually found my driver (thank you CX!) and was soon in a E330 Merc on my way home.

Well it is all over now bar the last leg back to CAI, currently planned for the Christmas break.

During this two and bit weeks I flew 40288 miles, 15 flights with 17 sectors, all but 5 in F. It has been a dream come true and over far too soon.