The was there purposefully. No derogatory meaning intended.

I never have had a "bad" experience in HKG and obviously did not mean that half of the people who speak English are selling "copy watches." However, that said, as a "gweilo" walking around TST or Mong Kok you are given many opportunities to buy them.

Or Manhattan.

Actually, many of them are. The term came up during the cold war to describe the countries who were not (strongly) aligned with either the "west" (e.g., N.A.T.O. members and allies) or the "east" (Warsaw Pact + China?).

Too many people confuse or synonymise "third world" with the term "underdeveloped", although many third world countries were very much underdeveloped economically.

Things to do with 48 hours in HK:

1. Take the Star Ferry to cross the
harbor between TST and Central. (at
dawn or dusk)

2. Take the Peak Tram to the Peak.

3. Eat Chinese Food.

4. Shop

This is looking less intimidating and more fun.

Anyone know whether Cathay uses noise-cancelling headsets? I'm thinking of getting a pair to take on this trip.

Big relief to have the hotels booked, as of last night. I hope I chose central locations and got fair rates:

Hong Kong
Holiday Inn Golden Mile, US$121

Bangkok
Siam Inter-Continental US$85

Singapore
Pan Pacific Marina Sq US$79

I will look into taking the ferry in HK -- is the other option a subway? Does anyone have a preference to taking the train or a shuttle bus from the airport to Tsimshatsui? I am leaning toward the shuttle, as it would go right to the hotel.

Many thanks again.

Horizons

Train to Kowloon Station ($90HK) + Cab ($15HK) is the fastest. Don't mess with the free shuttle from the train station to your hotel (one of the last stops).

The Siam Inter-Continental Bangkok is to be torn down in June. It looks kinda tired and has been going downhill for the last couple of years. Alas, it's low-rise and sprawling spread was deemed inefficient use of space and thus fell victim to the "vertical" school of architecture. The area will be turned into a mall! Another hotel to be torn down is Le Meridien President but not the adjacent Le Royal Meridien.

There are many more and better choices in BKK at about the same rate. Impressive (huge!) locally managed hotel is the Imperial Queen's Park. For a high-tech hotel albeit on the "wrong" side of the river, check out Peninsula. They have ferry boats to take you to the "right" side of the river until late at night. It is however NOT 24/7 so it is not a good choice if you are a night owl.

Pan Pacific in Singapore is nice except I don't like the area where it's located along with Ritz Carlton and Conrad. It's too quiet and sterile IMHO. I prefer the Orchard Road area.

If you're not in a hurry in HKG take one of the shuttle buses in from the airport to TST. It's an easy ride, you get a chance to see a little of the territory and the bus is comfortable and cheaper than the train. If you just want to get in and crash, take the train and a cab as moondog suggested.

Definitely take the Star ferry to Hong Kong Island. It will cost you less than US$1 round trip on the upper deck. Also, try to visit the restroom at Felix's restaurant on the top of the Peninsula hotel, at the bottom of Nathan Road, a few blocks from your hotel. I promise it is an experience you will never forget. BTW, don't eat there unless you are on a very large expense account.

I agree with bp888 that the Pan Pacific, located in SunTec city, is a bit out of the way. However, you can walk, through an inside tunnel or outside if you prefer, to the City Hall MRT station that will take you to the heart of the Orchard Road district in 3 stops.

CX makes noise-cancelling headphones available in F and the new business class.

As pointed out by others, the Internconti in BKK looks worn out to me. It is a nice property, though. Incredibly quiet, given the location! (It's really at the heart of the town.)

Disaster strikes!

This afternoon I got a call from a Cathay Pacific agent informing me that due to "aircraft rotation", our new A340 with the sleeper seats will be replaced with a craft with the older configuration in First. They apologized for the inconvenience. All First class pax were being notified so we could choose new seats.

Hmmm, the sleeper seats & service was the reason I had bought a FC seat on Cathay in the first place. I'm quite alarmed now... can't connect through LAX, as that flight is completely full. Is YVR another option? I don't think flying another day is possible, as my travel schedule is booked very tight as it is

Really quite disappointed ...


Horizons



------------------
~ Friends don't let friends fly coach ~

CX has been doing this "changing of aircraft equipment" very suddenly the past few weeks. It has been annoying to say the least.

Hope you can change your travel plans... but otherwise, the old seats are not going to kill you. They are 2-2-2 configuration and recline almost flat. You can still sleep on them.

Inflight service remains unchanged. That is what gives CX the edge above above airlines.

If you have a full first class ticket, maybe you'd like to consider taking SQ out of SFO to HKG instead? Your ticket should be fully endorsable.

these 3 cities are the most english literate ones in asia. and perhaps also the most english language friendly cities out side UK and its former colonies (USA, Ox/NZ, Canada, etc)

you have absolutely nothing to worry.
you have the best product in anty airline in this world and you are visiting the s2 of the safest cities in the world. (BKK is also pretty safe)

Well, I ended up cancelling out my reservation. Both the LAX and YVR flights were full in First, and no other dates really fit my schedule. My ticket remains valid for a year, so I'll probably pick a date in April or May to do this -- leaving open dates on either side of the departure, in case Cathay pulls this stunt again.

I'm not put out that CX has the older config, just that they wait until the last minute to switch. (At least they had the courtesy to call, rather than leaving a rude surprise for us at the airport.)

Thanks to all.

Horizons



------------------
~ Friends don't let friends fly coach ~

Horizon,

It looks like you and I were to be on the same flight! The exception being that CX wasn't able to get ahold of me before arriving at the airport as I was flying all day on AA to get to SFO.

When they informed me of the change in equipment, all I said calmly was that I was extremely dissapointed.

Like you, I had choosen a connection from either SFO or LAX in an attempt to guarantee the new configuration. Because of schedule changes on my side, I was forced to leave from SFO.

But, to be honest CX came through with a fully acceptable response by endorsing my ticket to SQ without any additional comments or effort on my part.

The upside is that CX did the right thing. I am still a happy OW customer. I had the chance to fly the other great Asian carrier in F. And to top it all off, the manager of the SQ lounge in SFO (a pleasant if small lounge) was kind enough to invite and escort me to the UA International First lounge (a large and rather nice lounge) which was also a real treat. I felt like a spy from OW on a recon mission

Now what would really make me happy is to find out that CX has moved to the new configurations for the HKG/AKL route.

Jenn

ps. I'm typing this in The Wing waiting on my flight to SIN.

[This message has been edited by michswiss (edited 03-15-2002).]

Horizons,

cancelling your flight was really unnecessary. Even the old configuration is a great treat on CX and better than most airlines you'll ever fly in the US or Europe.