bthotugigem05

Sorry for the wait everybody, hoping to get the next segment up tomorrow, was at a bachelor party in lovely Galveston, TX (motto: Now Those Infections Are Treatable) all weekend.

bthotugigem05

First Class 30th Birthday Trip, Part 8ish I think?: The Private Room and Singapore Airlines First Class: http://andystravelblog.com/2013/05/0...s-first-class/

I was excited to land at Singapore’s famous Changi Airport, rated the #1 airport in the world for like the last 278 years by whoever it is that ranks airports. Inside the airport there are lots of incredible amenities: terminals, jet bridges, moving walkways, and check-in desks. More astute and experienced readers will note you can also go to the indoor butterfly garden, visit the movie cinema in the airport, go on a free tour of Singapore, become President of a small island nation (by-the-hour pricing), visit a gladiatorial arena, and try your hand at potato farming, all within the airport! Pretty incredible place.

The problem I faced, coming off a flight in Singapore Suites, was that I a) didn’t want to leave the airplane and b) see a. Another problem was that I landed in Singapore at the lovely hour of 6am. I was well-rested, but 6am isn’t really the best time to go touristing, especially since my next flight left at 1pm, and I wasn’t sure if that gave me enough time to go into Singapore and do anything besides Watch People Go To Work. So, I made the (probably dumb) decision to just hang around the airport until my flight, saving Singapore itself for another trip.

I’d be traveling on Singapore Airlines First Class to Hong Kong later that day, which gave me access to The Private Room lounge. Have you ever seen the beginning of Get Smart? The part where the guy walks through like 20 different doors to get to the ultra-secret office in which he works? That’s what it feels like getting to the Private Room. You show up at the SilverKris lounge and present your boarding pass, and you’re urgently walked through the business class area of the lounge, until you meet: the person checking your boarding pass to give you access to the First Class area of the lounge. You then proceed through the First Class section of the lounge until you meet YET ANOTHER person checking your boarding pass. Finally, after about a mile walk (it’s a huge lounge complex) and having your documents inspected by 8000 people, you arrive at The Private Room.

I’ve long read myths and legends about the Private Room. Depending on who you ask, there are 4-6 Bucket List Lounges today: Emirates First Class lounge in their A380 terminal in Dubai, Singapore’s Private Room in Singapore, Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, Cathay Pacific’s The Wing in Hong Kong, Thai’s Royal Orchid Lounge/Spa in Bangkok, and Qantas’s First Class Lounge in Sydney.

(Many of you right now are already looking for the comments button to tell me how I left off Etihad’s lounge in Abu Dhabi, Qantas lounge in Melbourne, Lufthansa’s First Class Lounge in Munich, and Turkish’s business class lounge, but it’s my list, and that’s what I wanted on it.)

Anyway, I’d been looking forward to knocking out quite a few of the BLLs on this trip, particularly the Private Room. The idea of it just seems really exclusive and nice. And believe me, they call it the Private Room for a reason: there were maybe 4-5 guests that came and went and at least 12 staff members there, so you were doted on from the minute you arrive until the minute you leave.

The lounge has a narrow but lengthy general seating area and a nice, spacious dining area, and that’s about it. Everything was nice and luxurious, but I wasn’t incredibly overwhelmed like I was at the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. I guess I was just: whelmed.

I think part of it is that I was there for way too long. I should’ve gone into Singapore or taken advantage of the free tour. Or gone to the butterfly garden. Or one of 1000 other things before I got to the lounge. The Private Room’s a great place to spend a few hours, but any amount of time longer than that and you’ll go completely insane. Another part of it is that they had a large selection of high-backed chairs, which just aren’t that comfortable, in my opinion. Their shower facilities were on par with American’s Admiral’s Club in Terminal D at DFW, perfectly functional but nothing to write home about.

When it comes to dining, you can sit in the dining area, or just order anything that looks good directly from your seat, which is what I chose. The food was excellent, on par with the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt.

I showered, relaxed for a bit, surfed the internet, reviewed some of the pictures I’d taken so far, then eventually got hungry and had an early lunch.

I dunno, maybe I was just tired from traveling, but I enjoyed the First Class Terminal way more than the Private Room. I had a perfectly enjoyable time, the service was fine, and the food was tasty. But there wasn’t anything distinguishing that put it on par with the other Bucket List Lounges, at least for me. Others have had wonderful experiences there. They’re all wrong.

After about a year and a half in the Private Room, I walked around Changi for a little while until it was time for my flight to Hong Kong. It really is a nice airport, everything is well organized, and next time I pass through I want to experience more of the airport and less of the lounges.

I made my way over to the gate and caught my first glimpse of the Boeing 777 that would be taking me to Hong Kong. I’d heard various things about First Class on Singapore, some bad and some good. The number one thing I’d read: it’s not that much nicer than Business Class (which is absolutely wonderful).

After a brief delay, we boarded the flight and turned into the very nicely-appointed First Class cabin. There were only 2/8 seats occupied today, a very light load for a very popular route (business and economy were very crowded). My flight attendant greeted me very skeptically, again I think because I wasn’t dressed like a businessman (a reoccurring theme, I’ve noticed), but was nice enough. I had a few glasses of champagne and sat back in the…wait. There’s no way this seat can be this uncomfortable. I went and tried the seat next to me: same result. You have to be kidding me. The seat was leather, but didn’t feel supple or supporting like it did in Suites Class. It was ramrod straight with a long bottom cushion where I could never quite get comfortable in the sitting position.

Once the flight took off I was able to get into a position that was a bit more comfortable. The service was as professional at the Suites Class but didn’t feel quite as warm, a little more what I was expecting originally (do please keep in mind that this service absolutely still blows away about 90% of the in-flight service in the world, not complaining at all, just comparing). We had a very quick meal service for the short flight to Hong Kong.

The beef fillet was one of the best cuts of meat I’ve ever had. Medium rare (hard to find on an airplane), moist, and flavorful.

I was going to spend some time taking more pictures of the cabin and everything else, but I was exhausted. I had the flight attendant convert my seat into a bed and slept hard until it was time to land at Hong Kong.

Summary
I loved my experience with Singapore Airlines. The service was consistent, with varying degrees of warmth, and I never had a service request that went unfulfilled. It still feels surreal, that a 30 year old software consultant from Texas got to fly with such rarified service and on such rarified seats, all because I’ve learned to hack travel and credit card points. For those of you who think I was overly critical of the Private Room, it was simply my experience, others probably think more highly of it and there’s nothing wrong with that. Suites Class was everything I thought it’d be, and First Class on the 777 made me agree with all of those who said to save your miles and fly Business Class instead of First. Not that First was bad, by any means, that’s just how good their Business Class seats are on the 777.

Up Next
The Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, then Cathay Pacific First Class on the 747.

Bacopa

This is an epic TR! Thanks for sharing.

bthotugigem05

Second to Last Part: Hong Kong http://andystravelblog.com/2013/05/0...art-hong-kong/

[witty and interesting introduction]

Having been to Hong Kong last year, I was an experienced veteran at getting from the airport to Hong Kong proper. That’s because I’m an expert travel veteran and not at all because Hong Kong International Airport is incredibly easy, I promise. I hopped on the Airport Express train for the easy 30 minute ride into Hong Kong.

I was excited to see Hong Kong at night. My trip last year was a long layover during the morning, and I immediately got lost upon leaving Kowloon station and wandered for about 2 hours before finding anything (since I didn’t bother to consult a map or anything before arriving, dumb). I had my bearings better this time and knew exactly what I wanted to see: the Hong Kong skyline at night. I strategically chose the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui for my stay, based upon the stringent criteria of them having availability and that I could use Hyatt points.

The hotel was just off Nathan Road in a massive complex called K11. After two trips, I’ve decided everything on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong is basically one big shopping centre. All I could deduce from the map on Hyatt’s site is that I needed to walk into the K11 mall and then I’d find the entrance to the lobby. I hopped in a cab at Kowloon station (the cabs are reasonably priced in Hong Kong) and through my expert Cantonese (I pointed at a map I had pulled up on my iPhone), we took off for: a big traffic jam. But after that, he found a place pretty close to where the K11 mall entrance was, and I told him I’d go the rest of the way on foot. I entered the scrum of an evening in Hong Kong and promptly heard the dulcet tones echoing after me: “Hey man, you want a fake watch?” No, I did not.

I eventually found my way to the massive complex I was looking for, at the bottom of a really nice building.

Now, most of you will notice that I’m a decidedly amateur photographer. Like all amateur photographers, I’m stuck in the Everything Looks Better In HDR Especially At Night phase of my knowledge. So, get ready for HDR and heavy tonemapping (like the above), because it’s going to come at you strong.

I found my way to the lobby of the Hyatt and told the guy at the desk that I’d like to check in. He very courteously invited me to proceed to actual lobby on the 3rd floor to check in. Oh. So I went to the 3rd floor lobby and was promptly helped by a very nice lady, who informed me that I’d been upgraded to a suite (yes!) and she would like to invite me to check in at the Regency Club on the 24th floor. Oh. When we got to the club, I asked, rather concernedly, if I was actually going to be able to check in, or if we needed to go anywhere else. Nope, I had found the golden ticket it turned out. I was checked in and given the key to my suite. Which was on the 15th floor. So again to the elevators. But a small price to pay for an AMAZING room.

The Hyatt was an excellent hotel. The staff were friendly and went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. There was one glaring event that left me pretty upset, but to their credit they sincerely apologized when I was checking out and I received numerous emails from them when I returned home informing me of the results of their investigation. I’m confident that should any of you go to Hong Kong, you’ll have an excellent stay at this Hyatt, which I thought was a great value for 18,000 Hyatt points.

The humidity wasn’t too bad (only about 138%) when I went out for an evening stroll. And by evening stroll, I mean “get asked over and over if I’d like to buy a fake watch, custom suit, custom shoes”. A trick I learned from a stand-up comedian: if you can pull off a good Russian accent, reply to the street hawkers in a Russian accent and act all offended and they will never bug you again (yes, this actually worked: “Are you calling my watch fake? [Russianly]” “OH NO NO NO IT’S A NICE WATCH [Hong Kongishly scampers away]“).

I’m very glad I added an overnight in Hong Kong, loved grabbing the following pictures.

My photo bug and Russian accent getting a little tired, I made my way back towards the hotel. It’s easy to find any place in Hong Kong: remember what the top of your building looks like and, when lost, just look up.

I took a nice long bath in the tub (for some reason whenever I travel I take baths) (and now you know the bath habits of some random blogging guy you’ve probably never met) and recounted my blessings and gave thanks for the ability to go on such an amazing trip. Even though I was excited about the next day, I didn’t want to go home. Usually, when I’m on the road I miss being at home and when I’m home I miss being on the road, but for the first time I was on the road and missed being on the road.

My head barely hit the very soft and nice pillow before I was out like a light.

Up next: the end of my trip. The Wing, Cathay Pacific First Class, and American First Class

bthotugigem05

The Finale (pictures at http://andystravelblog.com/2013/05/0...part-9-finale/)

“All good things must come to an end” -Some Pessimistic Jerk

I slowly awoke from an incredible night of sleep, opened my windows, and thought “man, there’s nothing like Hong Kong under a blue morning sky”. It’s true, and I someday hope to experience that, since it was really cloudy that morning. It didn’t look Airline Delay Cloudy, so I lazily threw on some clothes and scampered up to the Regency Club for a light breakfast with one of the great urban views in the world.

Between the breakfast, the great night’s sleep, unmaking my bed to take a picture of it to frustrate all those who are annoyed by those pictures, and packing, it was almost time to leave for the airport. This trip was going to be different for a lot of reasons. First, I was crossing off another Travel Bucket List Item: flying at the front of a 747. Seat 1A was mine for my flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco. Second, the reason I decided to route through San Francisco was to see a client in Palo Alto for a few hours on my layover. This meant the unthinkable: I’d have to dress like a businessman for my flight. So it’d be an interesting survey, would I be treated any differently because of my attire?

I said a hearty goodbye to the impressive and luxurious Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, after being personally apologized to by three different managers for the unfortunate experience I had the evening before (without getting into too many details, it), which was a nice touch. I hailed a cab and told them to make way for Kowloon Station. We encountered a bit of traffic on Nathan Road, and I saw why moments later: a Lamborghini Gallardo had rear-ended a Hong Kong taxi. My taxi driver and I jointly went “OOOOOOOOOOOhahahaooooooooo” as the poor Lambo’s front bumper had a nice smear of the red paint common to Hong Kong’s taxis all over it. Everyone appeared to be fine, which is why it was ok to laugh, I justified later.

Back at Kowloon Station, I made my way for the MTR station and arrived at Hong Kong International Airport a short 23 minutes later. I found the check-in areas for Cathay Pacific and made my way towards a regular desk, where I was promptly greeted by an attendant, “Good morning, how can I help you sir?” I had a sudden mental lightbulb and said “HI, OOPS, SORRY, NO YOU CAN’T HELP ME” and businessmanishly walked away, leaving a bewildered attendant. I had almost forgotten a crucial piece on the Travel Blogger Checklist: using First Class Check-in Areas whenever possible. I remembered that Cathay has a nice area set apart from the rest of the check-in area, and thank goodness I remembered, or else I would’ve been courteously and professionally assisted by the man at the other check-in desk!

If you’re facing the check-in area, all the way to the left is Cathay Pacific’s First Class Check-in area.

Similar to my experience at the First Class Terminal, I was greeted promptly and customer serviceishly by one of the staff members, while another whisked away my baggage, tagged it all the way to Dallas, and presented me with the luggage tag. The check-in process didn’t take but 2-3 minutes, and I made my way through security and immigration, which was very barren at about 11:30am.

Cathay Pacific has a variety of lounges in the expansive Hong Kong airport, all named after inanimate objects: The Wing, The Pier, The Cabin, The Arrival, The Slightly Less Large Lounge Similar In Design To The Cabin, etc. I was particularly excited (that’s the life-stage I’m at: Excited To Visit Airline Lounges) to visit The Wing, as it had recently undergone The Renovation. It’s located just after the requisite duty-free lounge complex after customs. The duty-free area reminded me of Frankfurt’s airport, in that I was constantly heading towards what I thought was the way out yet ended up getting lost amidst all the booze and tobacco.

Eventually, I found The Exit, turned left, and found The Cardboard Cutout of a Cathay Pacific attendant pointing you to The Lounge. I walked in, and The Staff greeted me, checked The Boarding Pass, and gave me The Access to The Wing. It’s brand new and has a very classy feel, almost like an old lounge you’d imagine Frank Sinatra singing in if he was fond of singing at airports.

As you can see, classy to a fault. As you walk in, the first thing that catches your eye is The Champagne Bar, because there’s an attendant there, and I bet she’ll give me some. She asked which of The Champagnes I preferred, and, upon The Selection, poured a pretty healthy glass for me. I walked around, and due to The Forgetfulness didn’t take that many pictures (#fail), but was very impressed by The Renovation. I had intended to visit some other lounges, but seeing as my flight was departing from Gate 4, which was literally one floor directly below The Wing, I decided to stay and wing it (HA).

First stop after The Champagne Bar was the dining area, called The Haven. They had The Lunch available from a nice buffet, and The Attendants were nice enough to ensure The Champagne Glass remained full, and even indulged me in a Bailey’s on The Rocks. Very well-liquored and well-fed, I thought my readers would appreciate seeing what The Business Class side looked like, but before I could, my name was called on The Intercom. I made my way to The Desk up front, and was informed there was a couple who would like to sit together, and would I mind switching my seat with one of them? I felt really bad, but politely gave the lady The Rejection, as I really wanted my seat, and, after all, had paid a pretty large amount of absolutely nothing (67,500 AAdvantage miles and $10-15 in fees) for this flight.

I really did, despite my obnoxiousness in the preceding paragraph, feel bad for splitting up a couple, so I tweeted at a few mileage bloggers, who confirmed that I had done nothing wrong. Their responses gave me The Confidence, and I decided to grab a shower to freshen up a little before the flight. One of the highlights of The Wing are The Cabanas. They’re simply fantastic, even better than the First Class Terminal.

They also had a cabinet where you could hang a shirt, press a button, close the door, and someone would use a hidden door to get the shirt and press it for you. Very nice service, since I’d be doing business when I landed it was very appreciated.

After I was sufficiently freshened, I complained to myself about the lack of a rubber ducky and decided to leave The Wing, but not before catching a glimpse of my 747 landing and making its way to The Gate.

After a moderate wait (which consisted of me overpaying for some cigars at the Duty-Free shop), we were ready to board (really quick turnaround for a long-haul international flight, I thought). First Class guests, just like Singapore, weren’t paged to board, rather were ushered to the front of the line (savoring The Glares from the other passengers) and onto the plane. My flight attendant welcomed me aboard, taking note of my proper attire, and guided me to Seat 1A.

I love Cathay Pacific’s seat. It’s very well-cushioned, and is a bit more versatile than Singapore’s seats, even the Suites. It’s very wide, almost too wide, and I’m embarrassed to say I missed out on a crucial detail when I flew on Cathay last year: the armrest that folds down.

I was ceremoniously presented with some Shanghai Tang pajamas (in a nice blue color, I liked them better than the black ones I got last year) and went to change in the restroom to beat the rush. As I walked out of the restroom, my flight attendant was waiting with hangers for my clothes and insisted on hanging them for me. Ok, if you insist.

I sat back down and another attendant went through a demonstration I called “3 Steps To Happiness”.

Now, after my Singapore flights I found I preferred Dom to Krug, but in a pinch I’ll settle for whatever premium champagne someone offers me. I proceeded to Krug my face while boarding was completed. The only difference between the First Class seats in the 747 vs. the 777 is there are 9 seats on the 747 and 6 on the 777, with the same number of flight attendants, so some claim you get more attentive service on the 777 (there's also a slight difference on seats 1A and 1K on the 747, the TVs aren't viewable in the takeoff/landing position). We were a full 9/9 on this flight.

I was really looking forward to the flight, and before I knew it we made our way to the runway, the massive engines on the 747 kicked into gear, and we flew through some initial turbulence into some beautiful flying weather.

After a refill of everyone’s glasses, the moderately paced dining service began.

It began with a caviar service, and, the caviar veteran I now am, I confidently scarfed it down with class.

I had the soup, and remembered after the attendant took my bowl that I should’ve gotten a picture of it. But that was ok, because STEAK.

The steak looked appetizing, but was just overcooked like whoa. Maybe when I said “medium rare” my flight attendant heard “in no way close to medium rare”, in which case bravo. Next time I’ll try saying “I want the meat just on the dead side of mooing” and see if that gets me medium rare. I could only eat a bit of it before it was just too tough. I was still pretty full, but went ahead and made room for The Dessert.

I watched a few TV shows on the in-flight entertainment system, then had the attendant turn my seat into an incredible bed. Turned out I was still tired I guess, because I was out for about 8 hours! In the interim, tail winds picked up, and we had a consistent 175mph tail wind back to San Francisco, so by the time I awoke, breakfast was just about ready to be served.

I know a lot of you are probably wondering why I didn’t take more pictures. I just wanted to be selfish and enjoy this flight. I took a tour of the plane, escorted by a flight attendant who told me all the various features of the seats (annoying the passengers in lower classes), joked around with them in the galley, and just made the best of everything. I knew what to expect from Cathay Pacific from flying them before, and I’m happy to report this flight was just as good. I knew this time that Cathay does not like walking around and disturbing passengers, they prefer you ring your call button and they will almost sprint to your side to help. I knew this time to change into my pajamas early. I guess in summary, I’m not sure if this flight was better than last year’s (LAX-HKG), but I sure felt like I was a better passenger.

Reminiscing about a great trip, I changed back into my civilian clothes, stowed all of my baggage, and enjoyed the views as we passed the western coast of the USA.

We started our descent, and my last little bit of preparation paid off: I knew to sit on the left side of the plane, for a great view of some great tourist attractions.

We touched down ahead of schedule (dang it) and I had a really dumb smile on my face from how much I enjoyed the flight. The rental car desk is easy to find at San Francisco, you just get on the inter-terminal train and take a train about halfway to Los Angeles, which is where the rental car desks are. I made quick work of my client in Palo Alto and returned to the airport for my last flight, on American Airlines Domestic First Class

You know what? I loved it. The service didn’t compare to Cathay, Singapore, or Lufthansa, but it was something I’m used to and I guess just felt like home. The food available on these international First Class flights is great, but the descriptions for each are about 2-3 paragraphs long, talking about how the chicken was “ethically raised, cage-free, organic, vegetarian-fed, valedictorian of its class, of high moral quality, and managed its finances well”. My flight attendant on American simply and politely said, “Mr. Travel Blog, we have chicken and pasta.” Made it easy. I don’t know why, I guess the flights that take you home are sometimes the sweetest, but I loved this flight almost as much as all the others.

I landed at DFW airport, made my way to the parking lot, and drove home to many texts welcoming me home and my mom calling to make sure I landed safely. I was finally home. But, all of you flyers know what getting home means: time to plan the next trip!

Summary
Some of you are reading this for the fun of it, and some of you are close to booking travel and need to know which airline to select. Singapore Suites versus Cathay Pacific will probably be the most asked question. It all depends on the route for me. If you’re on a Singapore Suites flight with a full dinner service (versus the supper service they sometimes offer from SFO-HKG, for example), go with Singapore. It’s a unique experience and the service was great. Sometimes people say the attendants on Singapore are robotic, so if you’re looking for a very consistent level of service on comfortable, private seats, go with Cathay. You really can’t go wrong with either. I don’t feel like it’s fair to compare Lufthansa to the other two, as I was flying on a dated hard product. The service was on-par with Singapore and Cathay, just with a different style.

I guess my summary would be: Singapore Suites was the most exciting experience, Cathay Pacific was the most comfortable flight, and Lufthansa’s service and food service made up for outdated seats. If you’re on a 777, choose Singapore Business over Singapore First Class.

Thanks
I wanted to say thanks to all of you for reading this and for your comments and thoughts. I have a mostly sarcastic and irreverent writing style, and hopefully it made you laugh at least once and didn't offend anyone too badly. I didn’t quite realize how much work went into putting these together, which makes me admire the trip reports of Gary Leff (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/), Ben Schlappig (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/), and Brian Kelly (www.thepointsguy.com) even more. They’re some of the guys, along with Chris Guillebeau and Matt Harding, who helped learn the miles game, inspired my traveling, and have been incredibly helpful with tips along the way.

Until, next time, I’ll see you in the skies!

Andy

TWA4Me

What an excellent, well-written, clever and at times very funny trip report! Well done.

JamesBond_ppk

Very nice TR indeed. I like your writing style, and it is yes different than others out there. You are more sarcastic, and definitely funny.

The only thing not so funny, to my taste, is when you mention the perks of doing all this F travelling for almost nothing. Fair enough, this is a widely established "taboo" on this forum and while you address it, I did not find the humour into it.

I am doing a bit of F travelling myself, thanks to this forum, only on points and miles. I don't brag about this to my friends and usually don't mention it anywhere else than here. I consider myself very lucky to be doing this, and would like to carry on for a while. Frankly, and most likely, naively, I don't discuss the incredible value for money of those points, even here, by fear of the airlines/hotel chains cutting it! Plus, everyone here realises how very lucky we are! Still cudoes for bringing it up, but the tone/humour style around it did not work for me.

miura

Excellent report. I enjoy your style of writing quite a lot and I'm going to start following your blog

worldtraveller73

The Trip Report was highly entertaining. . .

Thx for posting.

ctrlf

thank you very much for this great tr!

AirForceFlyer

Really enjoyed your writing style. Until your next RTW!

bthotugigem05

Thanks everyone. Stay tuned for my next trip coming up next month, DFW-LAX-AKL(8 days)CHC-SYD-LAX-DFW in NZ Y and QF F.

Thunderroad

Very entertaining TR! Plus a good comparison of the four F experiences, useful observations on the SQ Private Room, etc. Thanks for sharing this.