Oh poo!

[munitalP]

How come every Xmas holiday starts the same? Up late drinking and eating with AFF folk followed by an OMG flight?

Dec 22[SUP]nd
[/SUP]
The AFF Xmas party starts to draw toward an end and on the walk back to the Hilton, final plans are discussed between Kim and I as to the MO for our flight tomorrow. Original booking leaves less than 20 minutes F Lounge time taking into account SYD transfers, so the [drunken] decision is made to get to MEL at around 6am and try for the 7am flight. Oh look – a bar – let’s have another nightcap....

Dec 23[SUP]rd[/SUP] 0500. iPhone alarm giving me the good news.

Odds and sods put into cases and quickly downstairs checking out of the Hilton South Wharf and into a waiting cab out to Tulla. A glorious Melbourne morning with a high 30s expected during the day – a good day to be in an air-conditioned aluminium tube nursing a cold Gin & Tonic...
Arriving at MEL, the check in agent was more than happy to move our flights to the 7am MEL/SYD and offered us season’s greetings as we collected our boarding passes checked through to Hong Kong.

MEL/SYD 738 2AC SYD/HKG 388 12A/B.

We were quickly through to the J lounge where Alcohol Absorption Pads aka Pancakes were spat out of the machine, a coffee and a short wait for our flight. Before the flight was called, we wandered down to the gate and were quickly onboard relaxing in a short time. We were pretty much the only PAX in J, so the CSM fussed over us quite a lot and started offering advice regarding good Macau restaurants which we duly noted – I quite like Portuguese food, so I hoped we would have time to try one out.

So the trip is as follows:

MEL/SYD/HKG (QF J) – 2 nights at Conrad Macau, 1 night Crowne Plaza Hong Kong
HKG/HAN (VN Y) – 3 nights at Hilton Hanoi, 1 night on Indochina Cruises Ha Long Bay, 1 night Novotel Ha Long Bay
HAN/BKK (VN J) – 2 nights at Hilton Millennium, 3 nights Intercontinental Hua Hin, 1 night Banyan Tree
BKK/HKG (CX Y), HKG/SYD (QF Y)

We arrived at the first lounge and settled into a nice breakfast and lots of water – I have no idea why I was so dehydrated (!). Typically perfect Eggs Benedict and sour dough toast – a perfect start to the holiday. I showered then before long the flight was called – hmmm, my second A380 and second carrier. It will be a good comparison between the EK hard product and the QF hard product. To save unnecessary reading to reach my conclusion, I will deviate to the comparison now...

	Item Description	EK	QF
1	Lounge (AKL EK vs SYD F)	4/10	9/10
2	Seats	8/10	7/10
3	Onboard service	9/10	3/10
4	Aircraft Quality (cleanliness, general condition)	6/10	9/10
5	Aircraft Amenities (bars, self service etc)	8/10	4/10
6	Boarding / Disembarking	8/10	9/10

I was surprised that there were no PJ’s available for the flight. I am aware it is a daytime flight, but some people prefer to sleep, so when asking for PJ’s and you are told none available – it makes you question logic. I asked another FA a little later into the flight to go and raid the F cupboards and find my wife a set of PJ’s, this FA willingly obliged however came back with greys! So much for none onboard.

The service on QF was reasonable till the shift change. It quickly deteriorated to a point that when I wanted a cold drink, I just got up instead if paging as this seemed to be pretty much ignored and rudely interrupted the flight attendants in the galley talking about this and that. I got the look once from one of the FAs but bit my tongue and gave him a million dollar smile at the same time telling him I would be back for a G&T soon instead of the copious amount of water that I had drunk during the flight!

After the following shift change, the attitude in the cabin was refreshed and it became a happy place again... hot and cold service and there wouldn’t be an attendant I would nominate for a smiley badge let alone a service award on this flight.

Being in row 12 also gives you good access to the FLoos – just don’t get caught!

The flight landed 8 or so hours later into a cold hazy Hong Kong and we were quickly off the aircraft heading toward the Macau ferry transfer desk.
This is when I realised I didn’t have luggage receipts! I cast my mind back to check in at MEL but for the life of me I couldn’t remember getting them. I emptied my backpack searching but alas, no receipts. Plans suddenly changed and we now had to clear immigration and collect out bags - I just hoped they had made the flight or it could get awkward tracing our bags without the receipts. As it turned out, our 2 cases were on the luggage belt and we were quickly out into the airport to find pre-paid sim cards and a taxi to the ferry terminal. I considered the sky train but it still meant transferring by cab, so I just bit the bullet, paid the extra and got a cab to the ferry terminal. All in all our plans had been interrupted by around 1.5 hours and an extra $400HKD.

We purchased 1[SUP]st[/SUP] class hydrofoil to Macau and were on our way in no time. It was quite rough and the seatbelts came into use more than once, but I kept reminding myself that the captain of the vessel done this trip many times a day and wouldn’t travel unnecessarily fast in rough conditions. I kind of convinced myself...

At the ferry terminal, after quite a lot of searching (should have read the signs!) we finally found the transfer bus to the Conrad. Macau in its neon glory looked awesome and it was pleasing to be somewhere I hadn’t been before.

The Conrad Macau, Cotai Central - Summary – 9/10

We were met by Ms. Kajana Sivakumaran – the Guest Relations Manager for the Conrad and were welcomed back like old friends! Check in was so painless I was wondering if something had been missed, and our executive room had been upgraded to a suite. What a wonderful room, wonderfully appointed and luxurious – wow. Ms. Kajana Sivakumaran escorted us to our room and ensured everything was working, asked if we needed anything – I needed a haircut and said I would enquire the following day – not to be, I had all information, appointment slots etc within 15 minutes phoned through to me. We tidied ourselves up and headed out to explore the hotel. The casino side didn’t thrill me, but the array of shops and eateries intrigued me and after an hour or so meandering around the hotel(s) lobbies and shops, we found the Conrad bar and settled into a night cap. Bed couldn’t come soon enough.


Standard SYD F Lounge photo


12A


Conrad Lobby


Xmas Platter in room


Lobby Bar

 

[munitalP]

Dec 24[SUP]th[/SUP] Macau

Today was a day of sight seeing. The haze had pretty much cleared and blue sky was trying its hardest to push through. First on the agenda was to get the concierge to book tickets to The House of Dancing Water (A HKD2 Billion Production! The World) then we took a taxi to the Panda pavilion. The Panda enclosure was pretty good, lots of room and very state of the art, but my heart went out to a big Sika Buck who’s cage was so small he had barely room to walk in circles – shame on you Panda people. The Pandas were followed by a taxi then a walk to the top of the mountain behind the Panda zoo where there were awesome views, a monastery and a HUGE Buddha.

Not really wanting to spend too much more time out, the 4 hours time difference were catching up, we taxied over to Macau tower where we had a late lunch at a French bakery below then spent an hour or so up in the tower taking in the views.

The taxi back to the hotel took the scenic route – mind you I didn’t care as it was all new to us, so we actually enjoyed the arduous course the driver had decided to take to get a few more MOP out of the two round eyes in the back. Once back at the hotel, we changed for the evening show and headed down to the casino floor for a beer and a quick punt. If you like drinking and gambling, go to Vegas. The service was stupid – that’s all I can say.

We headed out an hour or so later to The City of Dreams – another complex adjacent to the Conrad where the show was to be held. Now I must say, I am not a fan of dance / music shows – concerts yes, other stuff no. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I went to a “show” other than The Pink Floyd Experience or Coldplay!
Try and imagine a pool about 40 meters in diameter – a ceiling equally that high, a sound system so good little children were crying, men were weeping with the clarity and drop yourself into a light and sound show like nothing I can explain. The pool was the stage and the stage was made up of many sections that were controlled independent of the others if needed – the computer graphics / laser show had a B52 fly right at us – in fact I ducked… watch the preview on the link – it was amazing… and to cap it off, the Conrad had managed to snag at the last minute 2 of the best seats in the house pool side – complete with towels (!).

We left there in awe of what we had just seen, I do not have enough metaphors…

Back at the hotel we went for exec drinks – these were being held at the hotel bar as the lounge was being renovated. Suited me – 600ml Carlsbergs (draught) as the house beer – what a day this has turned out. We wandered upstairs to a hawkers market and had some unmemorable food for dinner then headed back to the room unsure if we actually wanted to go to Hong Kong the next day or stay an extra day in Macau and catch the show again!

25[SUP]th[/SUP] Dec Macau / Hong Kong

The following morning we had breakfast at the hotel restaurant again, a funny arrangement regarding location – it’s a good walk from the hotel lobby out of the hotel and through the shopping centre. The staff were overwhelmed this morning with a full house and the service compared to the day before was lacking. The food was good though, with 6 separate food types – European, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian (Vegetarian), Cold Cuts, there was no shortage for choice – the egg station was a little slow though.

The decision was made to stick to plan A and not spend another night in Macau, in hindsight this would have been the better option – ahh, the beauty of hindsight! We packed our bags which had increased girth with some trinkets and Conrad His & Hers slippers and called the concierge to collect our luggage.

Ms. Kajana Sivakumaran was there to meet us at the elevator – the VIP treatment was nearly embarrassing, and she again ensured that transactions with the front desk were trouble and stress free. She then escorted us to the transfer bus to the Cotai Cat terminal and waved goodbye.

I must say that the level of service at nearly every level at the Conrad was exceptional. This easily rates as the best hotel I have ever stayed in for service, and the room wasn’t too shabby either. The cost was reasonable, the ease getting there was in the acceptable levels and the entire experience was topped off by Ms. Kajana Sivakumarans exceptional service. I have since sent a letter to the Conrad expressing my sincere thanks for a wonderful stay.

The Cotai Cat is a lot slower than the hydrofoil and to be expected on Christmas day, it was full. Immigration at Hong Kong was overloaded with the express queue taking 35 minutes and by the time we got into Hong Kong, it was getting toward mid afternoon.

How do I sum up what I have seen of Macau. Las Vegas of the orient? I don’t think so – sure some of the big name casinos are in Macau, but of the 2 gambling floors I saw they are a long way short of the Las Vegas vibe. As for the rest of Macau, the little I saw of the islands makes me want to come back for a few more days, see the Portuguese influence that is allegedly there, but like many parts of China, heritage is being lost due to the lack of acknowledgement of the past by officials whom grant building permits. I’m somewhat put off by the rich loud Chinese – boisterous would sum most of them up with little care and humble is just a word in the dictionary to them – also the rudeness of the mainland Chinese toward the servers and staff was well, rude! Viva Macau, return, probably, probably soon at that.


House of Dancing Water


House of Dancing Water


House of Dancing Water


Panda


Said big statue!

 

[Simo]

Great TR so far.

Like your comparison between EK and QF what about Cathay

 

[robd]

Excellent. Looking forward to more poo!

 

[Major]

Great photos...looking forward to the rest of the TR

 

[amaroo]

Another glowing endorsement of QF J service/product. Reminds me why CX is my preferred carrier to HKG.........not to mention the better departure time for Flounging

Will be interesting to read your thoughts on the Hanoi Hilton.

 

[RWJ777]

This is great, thanks for sharing this.

I have heard on a number of occasions that the QF crew to HK in the premium cabins can be hit and miss at best; maybe Mr Joyce needs to put the crew who regularly do this route through his customer service re-education camps.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and look forward to reading more.

 

[munitalP]

My first booking mistake reared it’s ugly head – I had mistakenly booked a Koowloon East Crown Plaza instead of Hong Kong – DUH!

The KE Crown Plaza in 1.7 million nautical miles away from Hong Kong.

The hotel is very new, they give nothing to the fact I am ICH Platinum Ambassador (didn’t expect anything either), the rooms (exec level) are well appointed but Ikea feel, the hotel is on a MTR stop with a shopping centre attached. Handy for some to something I am sure – for me it was an “oh poo!” moment.

Not wanting the anticlimax of the hotel to get us down, we headed down to the MTR and boarded 1 of 2 trains to Monkok stop. I had 3 items to buy, a new backpack, my awesome Snogum bag had finally given up when unpacking at the KE CP, a battery for Kims camera and a filter for my camera to combat the brightness of the haze we were experiencing – the only bummer of a 72mm wide lens!

Monkok was typically Monkok and the stall traders (yes we walked through ladies market) were happy to over inflate prices for the European tourists who thought they were getting a good deal – for goodness sake people (I thought), don’t you know everything here is a fake? It’s not worth 25% of the original price – $85 for a knock off <insert brand here> Handbag is crazy! Oh well, the English tour boat in port would be a meter lower in the water by the time all these suckers got back!

We found a camera shop and ended up getting all the items needed for around the same price as I would have paid in Australia – Cannon world wide price fixing I guess when buying genuine goods. We were both getting frustrated with the crowds, so headed back to KE CP by train then had a slow meander through the shopping centre. As always, supermarkets in foreign countries fascinate me, so when we saw a large supermarket, we decided to buy some beer and head back to the room for some room service dinner, a couple of beers and an early night. Can you imagine my surprise in seeing a shelf of Harbin Beer there – I was in heaven! My favourite beer here in Hong Kong and at less than $2 a bottle – I bought 4 x 600ml bottles and was a happy camper.

We settled down for a meal of club sandwiches that were quite nice and icy cold Harbin beer. That was our Christmas dinner!

Dec 26[SUP]th[/SUP] Hong Kong/Ha Noi

Up early, we checked out of the hotel and took the MTR to central where we checked our luggage at the CX counter for our flight to Ha Noi, then Sky Trained to HKG. We are travelling on VN metal on CX purchased flights – the BP had the VN flight number but in size 6 font also the CX flight number. This was all I needed to get into the lounges I thought…

Through immigration, turn right and into the QF First lounge where the door dragon breathed fire at me saying I couldn’t come in. I argued the point it was a CX booked flight – not my fault they used VN metal and to take it up with CX, not me, now please let us in. She relented, stamped the BP’s for re-entry and we wandered in for a coffee and a bowl of corn flakes.

Happy that I had achieved what I wanted to achieve – access to QF F lounge on a VN flight (who said anytime access was gone), we said goodbye to the dragon 10 minutes after entering and went off in search of the CX Wing Lounge which we found not too far away. Another AFF member was at HKG at the same time but at the Pier, a long walk for either of us, so V8Statesman, next time…

The Wing dragon looked at the BP and started shaking her head – I knew what was coming so pointed to the baby font with the CX flight number. She cracked a smile especially as I laid my card in front of her and from that point onward was fully of happy greetings for us directing us upstairs to the temporary first class lounge. Bugger that we thought, and headed to the noodle bar, ordered soup dumpling for breakfast then sat at the bar for a couple of hours sipping coffee then champagne watching flights taking off.

We left for the gate a bit early as we needed to get some NYE bubbles at duty free, so armed with a couple bottles of French bubbles, we walked down to our gate to be bussed out to the A321 for a quick flight to Ha Noi. The AC was full but the service was great even in Y. The meal was edible curry chicken or spag bol combo, and all in all this flight didn’t differ from my previous flights on VN from BKK to HAN and back. I really am liking VN as a regional airline in Asia – pity their destinations are limited.

We were soon touching down in HAN to a gloomy overcast cold afternoon which was only brightened by the fact that the immigration hall was worse and the communist processes of issuing a Visa on arrival was creating suicidal tendencies…

We were finally spat out of the 1960s immigration hall into the 1990s airport to be met by our Hilton Limo driver driving a 2012 BMW 5 series – ahh the contrasts of Viet Nam – Hello Viet Nam!


Monkok


Monkok


Street delights


Street delights


Harbin Beer

 

[PrincessK]

This is great, thanks for sharing this.

I have heard on a number of occasions that the QF crew to HK in the premium cabins can be hit and miss at best; maybe Mr Joyce needs to put the crew who regularly do this route through his customer service re-education camps.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and look forward to reading more.

Flew SYD-HKG-SYD in QF J Jan last year. A380 up and the crew were sensational. They had a number of crew flying up there as pax for a charter flight back and one even offered to swap his F seat so I could experience F on the A380. But the crew on duty were fantastic, couldn't be faulted. Flew back on 747 (??) and the difference in crew was astounding. They were surly, not interested in service and there appeared to be a very poor dynamic within the team.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Macau these days is just a Chinese gambling den. There are still some great sights though. I see you didn't manage to get to fernando's for dinner. Great TR!!

 

[munitalP]

A few more shots...


Overloaded much!


VN Y Meal


VN Y Meal


Beer @ The Wing

 

[craven morehead]

Found this quaint little Portuguese restaurant across the road from the MGM Grand in Macau. The food was good and the interior decor was really something different.

 

[craven morehead]

I have only just worked out to upload photos. Now watch out !! CM :mrgreen:

 

[docjames]

Nice TR.

The VN y meals look pretty good (for y).

 

[munitalP]

We cruised through the traffic in Ha Noi straight for the Hilton. It’s surprising that the last time I was here was near 2 years ago yet I still had a brilliant sense of direction and was calling the landmarks and intersection turns before we came to them. As we pulled into the Hilton, the hotel looked the same as my previous stay – nothing had changed – good! This beautiful majestic hotel does not need to change in my opinion, it’s fine just the way it is – a reminder of Ha Noi how it used to be – the glitz and glamour of the Opera and the chic French.

The Hilton had us in an Opera House facing room on the top floor, the same floor as the executive lounge, and we were pretty happy with our room. Far call from the Conrad, but large, clean and Hilton. The monster bed looked inviting but instead we decided to head to the lounge, have a snack then think about dinner. This wasn’t to be and after some beautiful canapés and a few drinks, we were pretty much ready for bed remembering we had also gained an hour from Hong Kong.

Dec 27[SUP]th[/SUP] Ha Noi

We were up and about early – exec lounge for breakfast then loaded with cameras, out to explore. Having been here before for a long period, I made friends with a couple of street vendors outside the Hilton, low and behold, they were still there and even better, remembered me! We walked down to Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake then walked around the eastern shore, visited Ngoc Son temple followed by a walk through the old quarter.

We spent pretty much the whole day doing this and even though I had been here before, I still found it interesting. Once back at the hotel, we took a cab to the Hanoi Gaol, then walked back to the Hilton again. By this stage it was getting near dark and after cleaning up, we went into the exec lounge for drinks and canapés while awaiting the arrival of the Oz_marks.

A few drinks and a pizza later, it was time to plan tomorrow followed by bed.

I'll let the photographs try and portray the feel of the old quarter and Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake...


Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake


Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake


Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake


Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake


Heading into the old quarter

 

[munitalP]

Hồ Gươm, Hàng Trống Lake and Ngoc Son Temple

 

[munitalP]

The Old Quarter of Na Noi

 

[munitalP]

Ha Noi Hilton aka Ha Noi Gaol

 

[moa999]

Agree House of Dancing Water is an amazing show and a must-see for anyone in Macau.

The Macau gaming floors are lifeless, no fun... although as a local explained to me, the Chinese don't see gambling as fun or Macau as entertainment, it is business, they are there to win money (obviously not very good at mathematics and understanding the house edge). When I was there went to the Hard Rock (one of the City of Dreams hotels) pool deck on a 30+ degree day at lunch and there were about 20 people there - in Vegas you wouldn't be able to move.

 

[munitalP]

Dec 28[SUP]th
[/SUP]
It was nice waking up knowing our travelling friends were now here, part 2 of the holiday seems like it’s begun. We met the Oz_marks for breakfast and discussed the days plans – Ho Chi Minh Museum, Water Puppets, Crashed B52 and dinner with Keith009s later that evening.

Into a Ha Noi cab and off to the crash site to begin with. Even though again I have been here before, humbling still describes the atmosphere. Our cab waited and then delivered us to Ho Chi Minh Museum about 5km away. Ha Noi traffic is awesome with the consider only what is in front of you rule – surprising chaos which seems to work with only an average of 32 road deaths per day (Viet Nam) – not bad considering…

The Museum was boring without substance. I would have been pretty unhappy paying more than the couple of dollars entrance fee. It’s a modern take on modern Vietnam with focus lost on modern art pieces rather than historic items and fact.

A child growing up in Vietnam would struggle to understand the bigger picture of the American War and how it was more a civil war with international help on both sides rather than an invasion by the US. I see the need for a less biased report here to keep the memory alive and hopefully avoid the same thing in the future – but unfortunately in Vietnam, the aggressor was the USA, all atrocities committed were by the USA and the imperialist dog was beaten back by the glorious Viet Cong forces – a sad explanation of the war offered by the Ho Chi Minh museum.

We left the museum rather disgusted and meandered off through the grounds in search of the mausoleum – at least this would be factual. Sadly the mausoleum was in lock down so we never got a close look.

From here we walked around 6km back to the Old Quarter with a brief stop at West Lake for a drink. We found a restaurant on the edge of the Quarter that served Pho (pronounced Fur) and the 4 of us enjoyed a Ha Noi beer and a bowl of Pho for lunch. This was followed by a visit to the water puppets. The water puppet show although highly acclaimed made me want to slash my own wrists. The only thing that kept me from doing so was an extraordinary beautiful singer who kept the audience entranced. I know at least one of our party went to sleep.

We walked back to the Hilton and decided to meet at the exec lounge at drinks time and hour later.

Keith009s arrived at the hotel a while later and aw adjourned to the famous Hilton restaurant Ba Mein for what I regarded as a spectacular assortment of Vietnamese dishes. When I have previously dined here, I have always eaten outside overlooking the Opera House, unfortunately this wasn’t available to being very cold so certain ambience was lost.
We bid our farewells and headed to bed – another day over…


Gravity issues in Ha Noi


In the grounds of the museum


The Single Pole Pagoda


Steps to the museum