Finding My Bed.... in One Hundred Hours...
- Thread starter anat0l
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awilcockson
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Re: Sat 18 Jun
Someone needs to tell them the knives should be facing inwards
Time to hand in your AFF membership!!!
LX F table is set
Someone needs to tell them the knives should be facing inwards
Time to hand in your AFF membership!!!
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Outstanding TR....as ever!
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.
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Super, super jealous. Have just added LH FCT to my bucket list
Now where is that US Airways thread again?
Now where is that US Airways thread again?
anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Sun 19 Jun
BKK is quite a large airport and sports quite a few lounges. Many even have doubles, e.g. CX has two lounges, and TG have 3-5 lounges depending on how you count them! TG also have a massage spa which is offered to TG J and F passengers.
One thing you notice quickly in Asia at least is that almost every lounge in the same airport seems to be catered by the same company. Some lounges make their own exceptions and order special stuff, but you can see commonalities between the lounges. The same cling-wrapped sandwiches, the same packet noodles, the same muffins and pastries.......
Anyway, little segue. I wasn't in the mood to have anything to eat in the TG J lounge, and the rather banal food selection didn't really make me change my mind. (Mind you, I criticise it but it's still heaps better than the USA!) Anyway, I headed towards the shower areas and one was free and ready to go, so I was ushered inside.
Inside one of the TG J Lounge shower rooms
Apart from a towel and mat, the other washing amenities are provided in common bottles, but at least they were separate concoctions (cf. all-in-one "conditioning shampoo" and body wash). Other smaller amenities like a cheap razor and toothbrush set were also provided.
The shower was very refreshing, though needless to say that after all my travel my body was still struggling a bit. It was getting close to 30 hours since I had left my last proper bed on the ground.
When I got out of the shower, I tried to find a soft corner of the lounge to pop open the laptop to do some message checking and so on. I managed to find a part of the lounge which was only lightly disturbed by the sound of the nearby TV. A few cups of green tea kept me going over the hours.
Current Location: Thai Royal Silk Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Current Time: 1920h GMT+7, 29 hours 20 minutes after getting out of bed
I saw the night fall on Bangkok whilst looking out from the terminal. I decided that I needed a bit of a walk and collected my stuff before moving out of the lounge. I knew there was a SQ SilverKris lounge around somewhere in the airport, so I thought I might seek it out.
Survarnabhumi might be one of the newest major hubs in the world, but it's probably one of the ugliest IMO. The whole airport looks so much like a concrete jungle, punctuated by attempts at elegance either in the open (e.g. Thai's Royal First check-in), or in the lounges. It definitely doesn't feel very calming. If it wasn't for the glass window-walls surrounding the terminal, the place would actually feel more like an Asian shopping plaza, and a bit of a bus terminal near the gates.
I eventually found the SQ lounge and strolled inside after having my J ticket checked. The SQ lounge feels much more calming than the TG lounge. I'm not sure whether it's the signature SQ elegant and careful symphony of golden tones and mahogany, but it seemed to do the trick, even if the SQ lounge space is smaller than the TG lounge.
Inside the SQ SilverKris Lounge at BKK
I collapsed into a chair at the SQ lounge to catch myself again. The servery at the SQ lounge was smaller than the TG J lounge, but the essentials were there, plus they had a lighter substantial selection in the form of a self-serve noodle soup buffet. I threw in a siu mai to complete it. What do they say - the English have their chicken soup, whilst the Chinese have their noodle soup.
Oh, and it's hard to pass up Haagen-Dazs.
Noodle soup and ice cream
I could've spent the rest of my time in the SQ SilverKris lounge before my ICN flight, but unfortunately they closed at 2030h. I stayed until closing time before I had to move on. I slowly made my way back to the TG Lounge and thought I might try my hand at the spa.
Entrance to the TG Royal Orchid Spa
The Royal Orchid Spa is available to both TG J and F passengers. The main difference is that only F passengers have access to the special 1 hour full body massage, whereas J passengers are only able to select the 30 minute neck and shoulder massage or the foot massage. I thought that my weary feet, having not had the rest they deserved whilst being subjected to effort worse than a pack camel, deserved a bit of reinvigorating so I opted for the foot massage. As with any massage or therapy place, there's always a huge legal / medical disclaimer and information what-not that needed to be cleared before anything could be done. Once I was past that, I was ushered to a dark, quiet area where there were several individual open "boxes" - kind of like an office farm except without doors. Each area had a chair, an ottoman and a plant.
Unfortunately I obviously couldn't take pictures here, so I can't show you what it looks like.
I was invited to remove my shoes and the massage began. I'm not usually one big on massages (and I can't give one myself), so I guess I was taking the chance that I should feel better after this treatment. My masseuse prompted me whether she was being too hard or soft (and no dirty jokes, please!). I told her to ease up a bit. Thai massage seems to be quite stiff! Compared to the massages I've had in the QF F Lounges, these were something else.
I kept as relaxed as I possibly could whilst my feet were shaped and remolded back into.... well, feet. After my treatment, I was told to sit for a bit before being invited to get up and move back to the waiting area. It doesn't quite feel the same as in the QF Lounge spa where you usually remove your clothes before getting a massage (though I usually opt for a full body, neck and shoulder or a facial at the QF F Lounge), then get dressed again. Once back at the waiting area, an attendant promptly brings you a post-massage herbal tea and a light, sweet snack.
Royal Orchid Spa waiting lounge, with a light refreshment served after a massage
Current Location: Thai Royal Orchid Spa, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Current Time: 2130h GMT+7, 31 hours 30 minutes after getting out of bed
One key thing to keep in mind with Thai Airways - on the ground (at least at BKK) or in the air - most staff speak English well enough to do their jobs (and many do so quite well to do a good job), but, as always with anyone whose mother tongue is not English, be considerate, be patient and be prepared to repeat what you say clearer, simpler and slower. I think some people may not be used to the fact that TG staff are not as "quick" on English as some other Asian airlines where, without those pax actually realising or knowing, English is actually quite heavily indoctrinated into education or everyday living (e.g. SQ, PR, even CX...)
I took my time at the spa consuming my herbal tea as I slowly tried to keep myself calm and relaxed. After finishing my tea I thought I'd do one last check for my status run tomorrow, so I headed to the TG lounge opposite the spa to use a lounge computer and check on my flights. Everything seemed in order from what I could see, so I double checked the other components of my plan, went over my contingencies and thought about when they would start boarding my flight to ICN.
I didn't have to ask...
Flight: Thai Airways TG658 Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi (BKK) - Seoul-Incheon (ICN)
Depart: Sched 2305h; Actual 2310h
Duration: 5 h 25 min
Distance: 2,282 mi (3,673 km)
Aircraft: HS-TJT "Pathun Wan" Boeing 777-200
Class: Business
Seat: 11E
I left the lounge and then made the long trek to the gate for my flight to ICN. The walk is quite some distance even for those who are avid walkers, and in my case I even had to negotiate through many crowds to a pier which was located quite some distance away from the lounge. I almost thought I was going to be late and not make my flight (eek!), but eventually I found the gate and used the priority lane to step on without delay.
This TG aircraft is configured as two classes - Business and First. One interesting thing about flying TG is that the female staff wear more traditional Thai dresses when they greet passengers as they board, however when they later conduct the in-flight service they change into more standard, traditional work uniforms.
Those of you who have sampled DJ's A330-200 Business class will find the TG J is noticeably similar, except that the seats recline to angle-flat (similar to QF Skybed Mk I) and the seats are covered in fabric, not leather. The seat pitch is noticeably generous, so even people seated in the window seats would have little trouble stepping over someone to get into the aisle. The J cabin filled up, with only 1 or 2 seats left. Quite remarkable, really.
TG J cabin
Leg room shot
Pre-flight drinks were offered. I chose this purple juice thing out of curiosity, then wondered why I'd selected it, since it didn't make my cup of tea....
I can't remember what this was
Amenity kits were provided for each passenger. It's a fairly basic but durable bag and contains exactly eight items: socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, lip balm, mouth wash, hand cream and a foldable brush / comb. Slippers were also supplied for every passenger, and most passengers had no hesitation in removing their shoes and slipping on their slippers before leaving their shoes in front of them on the floor. And the cabin crew had no problems with passengers leaving their shoes there, even though we were not in the air! (Most airlines would've told you to put the shoes up in the overhead or in the seat pocket).
Pushback and takeoff were pretty normal as we made our way on the red-eye to ICN.
Once we were in the air, the lights were kept low as a light snack for those still awake was offered. Frankly, in hindsight I should've just gone to sleep straight away, as the snack wasn't anything too fancy to look forward to. It tasted alright, just nothing great. No one can say that Thai uses boring chinaware, however.
Late night snack salad with scallops. Well, a bit of scallop.
If the salad wasn't enough for you then you'll be glad to know that TG do serve bread with this meal, including the Asian novelty, garlic bread (and in true Asian style, served with just too much garlic butter). Some of the FAs also moved around the cabin to take advance orders for breakfast.
I put the meal away quickly before changing into my PJs and setting up my seat for sleeping. Luckily my experience with sleeping in most seats also included angle-flat seats, such as QF Skybed Mk I (which I had no trouble sleeping comfortably in). The TG J seat I similarly didn't have much trouble getting to sleep, though I did wake up during the night before getting back to it. These red eyes - you really need all the sleep you can get, which isn't much by any sense of the word.
BKK is quite a large airport and sports quite a few lounges. Many even have doubles, e.g. CX has two lounges, and TG have 3-5 lounges depending on how you count them! TG also have a massage spa which is offered to TG J and F passengers.
One thing you notice quickly in Asia at least is that almost every lounge in the same airport seems to be catered by the same company. Some lounges make their own exceptions and order special stuff, but you can see commonalities between the lounges. The same cling-wrapped sandwiches, the same packet noodles, the same muffins and pastries.......
Anyway, little segue. I wasn't in the mood to have anything to eat in the TG J lounge, and the rather banal food selection didn't really make me change my mind. (Mind you, I criticise it but it's still heaps better than the USA!) Anyway, I headed towards the shower areas and one was free and ready to go, so I was ushered inside.
Inside one of the TG J Lounge shower rooms
Apart from a towel and mat, the other washing amenities are provided in common bottles, but at least they were separate concoctions (cf. all-in-one "conditioning shampoo" and body wash). Other smaller amenities like a cheap razor and toothbrush set were also provided.
The shower was very refreshing, though needless to say that after all my travel my body was still struggling a bit. It was getting close to 30 hours since I had left my last proper bed on the ground.
When I got out of the shower, I tried to find a soft corner of the lounge to pop open the laptop to do some message checking and so on. I managed to find a part of the lounge which was only lightly disturbed by the sound of the nearby TV. A few cups of green tea kept me going over the hours.
Current Location: Thai Royal Silk Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Current Time: 1920h GMT+7, 29 hours 20 minutes after getting out of bed
I saw the night fall on Bangkok whilst looking out from the terminal. I decided that I needed a bit of a walk and collected my stuff before moving out of the lounge. I knew there was a SQ SilverKris lounge around somewhere in the airport, so I thought I might seek it out.
Survarnabhumi might be one of the newest major hubs in the world, but it's probably one of the ugliest IMO. The whole airport looks so much like a concrete jungle, punctuated by attempts at elegance either in the open (e.g. Thai's Royal First check-in), or in the lounges. It definitely doesn't feel very calming. If it wasn't for the glass window-walls surrounding the terminal, the place would actually feel more like an Asian shopping plaza, and a bit of a bus terminal near the gates.
I eventually found the SQ lounge and strolled inside after having my J ticket checked. The SQ lounge feels much more calming than the TG lounge. I'm not sure whether it's the signature SQ elegant and careful symphony of golden tones and mahogany, but it seemed to do the trick, even if the SQ lounge space is smaller than the TG lounge.
Inside the SQ SilverKris Lounge at BKK
I collapsed into a chair at the SQ lounge to catch myself again. The servery at the SQ lounge was smaller than the TG J lounge, but the essentials were there, plus they had a lighter substantial selection in the form of a self-serve noodle soup buffet. I threw in a siu mai to complete it. What do they say - the English have their chicken soup, whilst the Chinese have their noodle soup.
Oh, and it's hard to pass up Haagen-Dazs.
Noodle soup and ice cream
I could've spent the rest of my time in the SQ SilverKris lounge before my ICN flight, but unfortunately they closed at 2030h. I stayed until closing time before I had to move on. I slowly made my way back to the TG Lounge and thought I might try my hand at the spa.
Entrance to the TG Royal Orchid Spa
The Royal Orchid Spa is available to both TG J and F passengers. The main difference is that only F passengers have access to the special 1 hour full body massage, whereas J passengers are only able to select the 30 minute neck and shoulder massage or the foot massage. I thought that my weary feet, having not had the rest they deserved whilst being subjected to effort worse than a pack camel, deserved a bit of reinvigorating so I opted for the foot massage. As with any massage or therapy place, there's always a huge legal / medical disclaimer and information what-not that needed to be cleared before anything could be done. Once I was past that, I was ushered to a dark, quiet area where there were several individual open "boxes" - kind of like an office farm except without doors. Each area had a chair, an ottoman and a plant.
Unfortunately I obviously couldn't take pictures here, so I can't show you what it looks like.
I was invited to remove my shoes and the massage began. I'm not usually one big on massages (and I can't give one myself), so I guess I was taking the chance that I should feel better after this treatment. My masseuse prompted me whether she was being too hard or soft (and no dirty jokes, please!). I told her to ease up a bit. Thai massage seems to be quite stiff! Compared to the massages I've had in the QF F Lounges, these were something else.
I kept as relaxed as I possibly could whilst my feet were shaped and remolded back into.... well, feet. After my treatment, I was told to sit for a bit before being invited to get up and move back to the waiting area. It doesn't quite feel the same as in the QF Lounge spa where you usually remove your clothes before getting a massage (though I usually opt for a full body, neck and shoulder or a facial at the QF F Lounge), then get dressed again. Once back at the waiting area, an attendant promptly brings you a post-massage herbal tea and a light, sweet snack.
Royal Orchid Spa waiting lounge, with a light refreshment served after a massage
Current Location: Thai Royal Orchid Spa, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Current Time: 2130h GMT+7, 31 hours 30 minutes after getting out of bed
One key thing to keep in mind with Thai Airways - on the ground (at least at BKK) or in the air - most staff speak English well enough to do their jobs (and many do so quite well to do a good job), but, as always with anyone whose mother tongue is not English, be considerate, be patient and be prepared to repeat what you say clearer, simpler and slower. I think some people may not be used to the fact that TG staff are not as "quick" on English as some other Asian airlines where, without those pax actually realising or knowing, English is actually quite heavily indoctrinated into education or everyday living (e.g. SQ, PR, even CX...)
I took my time at the spa consuming my herbal tea as I slowly tried to keep myself calm and relaxed. After finishing my tea I thought I'd do one last check for my status run tomorrow, so I headed to the TG lounge opposite the spa to use a lounge computer and check on my flights. Everything seemed in order from what I could see, so I double checked the other components of my plan, went over my contingencies and thought about when they would start boarding my flight to ICN.
I didn't have to ask...
Flight: Thai Airways TG658 Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi (BKK) - Seoul-Incheon (ICN)
Depart: Sched 2305h; Actual 2310h
Duration: 5 h 25 min
Distance: 2,282 mi (3,673 km)
Aircraft: HS-TJT "Pathun Wan" Boeing 777-200
Class: Business
Seat: 11E
I left the lounge and then made the long trek to the gate for my flight to ICN. The walk is quite some distance even for those who are avid walkers, and in my case I even had to negotiate through many crowds to a pier which was located quite some distance away from the lounge. I almost thought I was going to be late and not make my flight (eek!), but eventually I found the gate and used the priority lane to step on without delay.
This TG aircraft is configured as two classes - Business and First. One interesting thing about flying TG is that the female staff wear more traditional Thai dresses when they greet passengers as they board, however when they later conduct the in-flight service they change into more standard, traditional work uniforms.
Those of you who have sampled DJ's A330-200 Business class will find the TG J is noticeably similar, except that the seats recline to angle-flat (similar to QF Skybed Mk I) and the seats are covered in fabric, not leather. The seat pitch is noticeably generous, so even people seated in the window seats would have little trouble stepping over someone to get into the aisle. The J cabin filled up, with only 1 or 2 seats left. Quite remarkable, really.
TG J cabin
Leg room shot
Pre-flight drinks were offered. I chose this purple juice thing out of curiosity, then wondered why I'd selected it, since it didn't make my cup of tea....
I can't remember what this was
Amenity kits were provided for each passenger. It's a fairly basic but durable bag and contains exactly eight items: socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, lip balm, mouth wash, hand cream and a foldable brush / comb. Slippers were also supplied for every passenger, and most passengers had no hesitation in removing their shoes and slipping on their slippers before leaving their shoes in front of them on the floor. And the cabin crew had no problems with passengers leaving their shoes there, even though we were not in the air! (Most airlines would've told you to put the shoes up in the overhead or in the seat pocket).
Pushback and takeoff were pretty normal as we made our way on the red-eye to ICN.
Once we were in the air, the lights were kept low as a light snack for those still awake was offered. Frankly, in hindsight I should've just gone to sleep straight away, as the snack wasn't anything too fancy to look forward to. It tasted alright, just nothing great. No one can say that Thai uses boring chinaware, however.
Late night snack salad with scallops. Well, a bit of scallop.
If the salad wasn't enough for you then you'll be glad to know that TG do serve bread with this meal, including the Asian novelty, garlic bread (and in true Asian style, served with just too much garlic butter). Some of the FAs also moved around the cabin to take advance orders for breakfast.
I put the meal away quickly before changing into my PJs and setting up my seat for sleeping. Luckily my experience with sleeping in most seats also included angle-flat seats, such as QF Skybed Mk I (which I had no trouble sleeping comfortably in). The TG J seat I similarly didn't have much trouble getting to sleep, though I did wake up during the night before getting back to it. These red eyes - you really need all the sleep you can get, which isn't much by any sense of the word.
anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Mon 20 Jun
Monday 20 June 2011
I started to stir from my second slumber after the smells of hot breakfast wafted through from the galley. As the crew saw me awake, they promptly set my breakfast tray.
Breakfast tray with fruit appetiser.
Thai can be very much commended on their presentation of some dishes. The detail on the fruits plate was excellent, and the fruit was quite fresh tasting, too.
I'd ordered the Thai fried rice, thinking I'd get a kind of Thai style breakfast. Maybe it was, but then again, it didn't seem a novel as I thought it'd be. Heck, I could probably conjure this up at home!
Breakfast main: Thai fried rice with ham, served with omelette stuffed with minced pork Thai style.
As people stirred back at different times, the service about the cabin was all over and disjointed. I managed to take advantage of my prompt arising and use the bathroom before the usual last-minute rush.
Changed back into my civvies and I was ready for landing into ICN, as was the cabin crew. Our approach to ICN was nothing notable, a clear day with little cloud, no rain and a smooth touch down into yet another large global hub, and a new one for me.
At Incheon, all non-OZ flights dock at a satellite terminal (called "Concourse") that is connected to the main terminal via a rail shuttle (again, similar to HKG's APM). When we disembarked our aircraft at ICN, we all huddled towards the rail terminal to await our transit to the main terminal. I was in no mood to wait around so I made sure I got onto the first arriving transport. We all huddled on until we were tightly packed in, then we were off to the main terminal.
Current Location: Arrivals Level, Main Terminal, Seoul Incheon Airport, Incheon, South Korea
Current Time: 0700h GMT+9, 39 hours after getting out of bed
As is the usual practice at most nations, the ratio of immigration desks that cater for foreigners to that of locals is less than 1, and here was no exception. A mini-scrum ensued to line up at immigration. I passed through with no problems, even though I was only coming in and flying out the same morning! Stamp, stamp, done.
Baggage claim was pretty orderly. I don't think my bag came out first, but at least it didn't take too long before it came out. Finally, customs, just like most Asian countries, is a no-affair, so you just walk right on out of there.
Now I had my bags, I was landside ICN, and I had my CX status run for today. Time for operation..........
Monday 20 June 2011
I started to stir from my second slumber after the smells of hot breakfast wafted through from the galley. As the crew saw me awake, they promptly set my breakfast tray.
Breakfast tray with fruit appetiser.
Thai can be very much commended on their presentation of some dishes. The detail on the fruits plate was excellent, and the fruit was quite fresh tasting, too.
I'd ordered the Thai fried rice, thinking I'd get a kind of Thai style breakfast. Maybe it was, but then again, it didn't seem a novel as I thought it'd be. Heck, I could probably conjure this up at home!
Breakfast main: Thai fried rice with ham, served with omelette stuffed with minced pork Thai style.
As people stirred back at different times, the service about the cabin was all over and disjointed. I managed to take advantage of my prompt arising and use the bathroom before the usual last-minute rush.
Changed back into my civvies and I was ready for landing into ICN, as was the cabin crew. Our approach to ICN was nothing notable, a clear day with little cloud, no rain and a smooth touch down into yet another large global hub, and a new one for me.
At Incheon, all non-OZ flights dock at a satellite terminal (called "Concourse") that is connected to the main terminal via a rail shuttle (again, similar to HKG's APM). When we disembarked our aircraft at ICN, we all huddled towards the rail terminal to await our transit to the main terminal. I was in no mood to wait around so I made sure I got onto the first arriving transport. We all huddled on until we were tightly packed in, then we were off to the main terminal.
Current Location: Arrivals Level, Main Terminal, Seoul Incheon Airport, Incheon, South Korea
Current Time: 0700h GMT+9, 39 hours after getting out of bed
As is the usual practice at most nations, the ratio of immigration desks that cater for foreigners to that of locals is less than 1, and here was no exception. A mini-scrum ensued to line up at immigration. I passed through with no problems, even though I was only coming in and flying out the same morning! Stamp, stamp, done.
Baggage claim was pretty orderly. I don't think my bag came out first, but at least it didn't take too long before it came out. Finally, customs, just like most Asian countries, is a no-affair, so you just walk right on out of there.
Now I had my bags, I was landside ICN, and I had my CX status run for today. Time for operation..........
anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Menu: TG658 BKK-ICN J (19 Jun 2011 / 20 Jun 2011)
Thai Airways TG658 Royal Silk Class Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi - Seoul-Incheon
19 June 2011 / 20 June 2011
First Serving (Light Supper)
Marinated scallops, mozzarella pearls, kalamata olive mixed salad with Thai vinaigrette dressing
Mini pastries
Bread and butter
Tea, coffee
Instant Noodle Soup available upon request
Second Serving (Breakfast)
Fruit juice
Fresh fruits and yoghurt
Main Course
Omelette stuffed with potato, onion and capsicum
Premium chicken sausage, farmer potatoes, bacon and roasted tomato with herb
Braised chicken with soy sauce (Dak Gang Jung)
Steamed rice, carrot and French bean
Thai fried rice with ham, and Thai style omelette stuffed with minced pork
Roll, Croissant
Butter, jam
Tea, coffee, hot chocolate
Drinks
Champagne
Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne
Red Wine
Domaine Vincent Giradin (2008)
Chateau Fourcas Hosten (Listrac) (2006)
White Wine
Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay Maximum (2009)
Chateau Guiraud (2009)
Aperitifs
Campari
Gin Martini
Screwdriver
Bloody Mary
Black Russian
Vodka Martini
Warre's Warrior Port
Spirits
Rum
Gin
Bourbon Whiskey
Whiskey
Vodka
Cognac and Liqueurs
Remy Martin XO
Kahlua
Drambuie
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
Beers
Heineken
Chang
Singha
Soft Drinks
Fruit juices
A range of soft drinks and diet soft drinks
Beverages
Espresso
Cappuccino
Instant Coffee
Decaffeinated Coffee
Special Blended Coffee
Oolong Tea
Ceylon High Tea
Japanese Green Tea
Chocolate Malt 3 in 1
Thai Airways TG658 Royal Silk Class Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi - Seoul-Incheon
19 June 2011 / 20 June 2011
First Serving (Light Supper)
Marinated scallops, mozzarella pearls, kalamata olive mixed salad with Thai vinaigrette dressing
Mini pastries
Bread and butter
Tea, coffee
Instant Noodle Soup available upon request
Second Serving (Breakfast)
Fruit juice
Fresh fruits and yoghurt
Main Course
Omelette stuffed with potato, onion and capsicum
Premium chicken sausage, farmer potatoes, bacon and roasted tomato with herb
Braised chicken with soy sauce (Dak Gang Jung)
Steamed rice, carrot and French bean
Thai fried rice with ham, and Thai style omelette stuffed with minced pork
Roll, Croissant
Butter, jam
Tea, coffee, hot chocolate
Drinks
Champagne
Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne
Red Wine
Domaine Vincent Giradin (2008)
Chateau Fourcas Hosten (Listrac) (2006)
White Wine
Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay Maximum (2009)
Chateau Guiraud (2009)
Aperitifs
Campari
Gin Martini
Screwdriver
Bloody Mary
Black Russian
Vodka Martini
Warre's Warrior Port
Spirits
Rum
Gin
Bourbon Whiskey
Whiskey
Vodka
Cognac and Liqueurs
Remy Martin XO
Kahlua
Drambuie
Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
Beers
Heineken
Chang
Singha
Soft Drinks
Fruit juices
A range of soft drinks and diet soft drinks
Beverages
Espresso
Cappuccino
Instant Coffee
Decaffeinated Coffee
Special Blended Coffee
Oolong Tea
Ceylon High Tea
Japanese Green Tea
Chocolate Malt 3 in 1
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2003
- Posts
- 7,694
Love it........keep it up
anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Mon 20 Jun
Current Location: Arrivals Hall (Landside), Seoul Incheon Airport, Incheon, South Korea
Current Time: 0740h GMT+9, 39 hours 40 minutes after getting out of bed
I got the timing pretty much spot on between my arrival into ICN and my first CX status run flight - 3 hours. Just enough time to clear immigration and out, take care of some other things and then get back airside ready to board (and not to bother too long in the lounge).
My status run was a lucky combination of flights, though it's definitely not for the feint of heart, being easily a day or so of straight flying with only customary breaks at the airport in between.
Anyway... first point of order was to relieve myself of my checked bag. No way it was going to make the status run easy with a checked bag to worry about. It would've been easy in theory to get the routing right and even turn it around at MNL, but it was much simpler not to worry about it! I found a spare bench in the arrivals hall and opened up my bags. I transferred the amenity kits into my checked bag and took out some new sets of clothes. I hadn't had a shower since being in BKK, but I definitely needed a change of clothes along the way. In went the basic toiletries (suitable for LAG rules), some reading material and my hand carry was repacked. Close my luggage, zip it up, padlock and then I set about finding the left luggage service.
Left luggage is quite easy to find once you know the way (read a map in advance, or ask airport information), though in the complex itself there isn't a lot of English. The attendants do speak English so not a big problem. There was no one at the counter when I arrived, so I presented my luggage to be stored. A few thousand Won off my credit card later, I was given my claim receipt which I carefully slipped into my passport case for safekeeping. Then, it was off to the check-in counter.
Check-in was straightforward, though I only received my boarding passes to MNL. I'd have to get the other two BPs later. BPs in hand, security screening was cleared followed by immigration, where the latter didn't seem to really care that I'd just arrived in ICN that morning. Once I was airside again at ICN, I had to get myself to the Concourse again to catch my CX flight.
Incheon Airport has often been rated as one of the world's best airports. It's a fairly functional and pleasant airport to be in, with an open-ish look with as much natural light in as possible. Definitely not the concrete industrial look of BKK. It probably reminds me more of BNE I, except more advanced, and of course a hell of a lot bigger.
Digression... I take the rail shuttle back to the satellite terminal and seek out the oneworld lounges. Signage as I come up from the shuttle points me to the Cathay Pacific lounge - excellent.
Departures board at ICN.
Hallway at ICN departures.
I go up the escalators and easily find the CX Lounge, complete with, of course, the fake full-sized female greeter at the front of the lounge. The lounge is an open air one; in fact, you'd almost say it was just the floor space being sectioned for CX via glass panels.
Entry to CX Lounge.
The CX lounge at ICN caters for both F and J pax. It's not an exciting facility by any means, sporting just lots of lounge chairs, free internet and an array of standard snacks and hot fare. Noticeably, instant cup noodles seem to be very popular here, especially the types with added chilli (probably falls off the high end of the "hot" scale in Australia). As I was very tired, I only picked out some bread, a yoghurt and found some water to drink. I wanted to have a shower but there wasn't one in this lounge, so I simply found a chair and collapsed in it. As it turns out, had I taken my own advice given to thewinchester the previous year, I would've found the Sakura Lounge which has one! (And possibly more interesting food). Oh well...
I didn't have to wait long for my flight to board. Thank goodness - the faster I am in a plane seat, the sooner I can relax and try to rest.
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX421 Seoul-Incheon (ICN) - Taipei-Taoyuan (TPE T1)
Depart: Sched 0930h; Actual 0923h
Duration: 2 h 30 min
Distance: 910 mi (1,465 km)
Aircraft: B-HND Boeing 777-200
Class: Business
Seat: 14K
CX usually use their regional J equipped two-class aircraft on the short routes like this. Sometimes you'll get lucky and they'll use a longhaul aircraft with longhaul J (or even F), but otherwise it'll be regional equipment. Having done a CX run before (so extreme, ain't I?), CX J of any kind is no longer a stranger to me. In the case of CX regional J, it's pretty much similar to the QF Dreamtime J, with seats that recline generously enough for a few hours of flight. Also included are personal IFE screens that show loopback entertainment (not AVOD).
The CX regional J cabin (photo taken on previous CX J run).
Leg room in a CX regional J seat (photo taken on previous CX J run).
As it turns out, the entire flight was very lightly loaded, and in J there were only two passengers flying, including me, the other J passenger being on the other side of the cabin. The CSM came around to say hello and offer menus, however I told her that I will not be eating. In fact, I asked her if it was OK if I could just go to sleep as soon as I could and I not be disturbed for breakfast. Whilst she said this was OK, she did double-check with me doubly to make sure I wasn't mad or anything. She even managed to offer me a blanket.
And so it came to pass (or pass out, rather), that after the safety briefing (which I always listen to), I shut my eyes and slept through the rest of taxi and takeoff. I didn't wake up until we were somewhere in cruise, whereupon I had discovered that the other pax had also decided to snooze and the crew had thoughtfully closed all the window shades. I reclined my seat, re-rolled out the blanket and was back to sleep just like that.
That extra rest I got on the flight was just what I needed to feel a little bit better. When I woke up a second time, a FA came by and told me we had about 1 hour until we were to land in TPE. She then asked if I would like to eat something for breakfast, but I told her again that it was OK. Given that I'd had a very early breakfast on TG, there had to be a meal on the TPE-HKG sector and that I knew the two options for breakfast were pretty much the same across all of CX regional J (Western breakfast or fried noodles), I decided against having anything to eat. Seemingly disappointed or sensing that she somehow failed in her service by not convincing me to have anything, she asked rather beseechingly whether there was anything she could get for me. I asked her just for a glass of water and a cup of milk tea (for those in the know, nai cha).
Water and nai cha (milk tea)
My fellow J passenger on the other side of the cabin was tucking into his breakfast noodles. I told the crew that I was going to be an ongoing passenger for the further service to HKG, which the crew acknowledged.
Our landing into sunny TPE was easy enough. We had a very long taxi to the terminal before we pulled up to a gate.
Once we were on the ground, I was told by the crew that I had the option of disembarking the plane, having a bit of a stroll, using the lounge and then reboarding the plane. Alternatively, I could just stay on the aircraft, as long as I could put up with all the cleaners running around the aircraft. Given that I was rather tired, the layover was a mere 1 hour and that TPE isn't an airport worth exploring extensively, I chose the latter option.
Docked at TPE. Another CX aircraft in the distance ready to ferry more passengers to HKG on what is obviously one of the most traffic-heavy sectors in the CX network.
Current Location: Seat 14K on board B-HND, docked at gate, Terminal 1, Taipei-Taoyuan Airport, Taipei, Taiwan
Current Time: 1105h GMT+8, 44 hours and 5 minutes after getting out of bed
True to word, as soon as the last passenger was off the plane (except me), a troupe of cleaners rushed on to the plane and proceeded to give it a once over. I was fortunate to be able to use the bathroom whilst the plane was being cleaned. (I think they basically told me to minimise use so that they could clean it properly and have it in spick-and-span condition for the next wave of passengers).
Whilst I was on the ground taking it easy in my seat, the FAs could not help but be rather over-concerned and kept offering to get me something. Eventually, I asked for a Cathay Delight, a signature non-alcoholic coughtail of Cathay Pacific, and water. The FA could not be more prompt in obliging my order, and then some by providing some mixed nuts which I didn't ask for!
Cathay Delight, water and mixed nuts
The turnaround of the aircraft was tight as the cleaning staff finished their job and quickly scrambled off the aircraft in a similar fashion as they had rushed on, their "foreperson" barking them to hurry all the way. Catering services had arrived and delivered new meals for the galleys. Eventually, boarding had started and as a seated passenger I managed to see the entire aircraft board, including witnessing the J cabin becoming quite full on this TPE-HKG flight: this time, instead of only two seats occupied, it was only two seats not occupied!
Current Location: Arrivals Hall (Landside), Seoul Incheon Airport, Incheon, South Korea
Current Time: 0740h GMT+9, 39 hours 40 minutes after getting out of bed
I got the timing pretty much spot on between my arrival into ICN and my first CX status run flight - 3 hours. Just enough time to clear immigration and out, take care of some other things and then get back airside ready to board (and not to bother too long in the lounge).
My status run was a lucky combination of flights, though it's definitely not for the feint of heart, being easily a day or so of straight flying with only customary breaks at the airport in between.
Anyway... first point of order was to relieve myself of my checked bag. No way it was going to make the status run easy with a checked bag to worry about. It would've been easy in theory to get the routing right and even turn it around at MNL, but it was much simpler not to worry about it! I found a spare bench in the arrivals hall and opened up my bags. I transferred the amenity kits into my checked bag and took out some new sets of clothes. I hadn't had a shower since being in BKK, but I definitely needed a change of clothes along the way. In went the basic toiletries (suitable for LAG rules), some reading material and my hand carry was repacked. Close my luggage, zip it up, padlock and then I set about finding the left luggage service.
Left luggage is quite easy to find once you know the way (read a map in advance, or ask airport information), though in the complex itself there isn't a lot of English. The attendants do speak English so not a big problem. There was no one at the counter when I arrived, so I presented my luggage to be stored. A few thousand Won off my credit card later, I was given my claim receipt which I carefully slipped into my passport case for safekeeping. Then, it was off to the check-in counter.
Check-in was straightforward, though I only received my boarding passes to MNL. I'd have to get the other two BPs later. BPs in hand, security screening was cleared followed by immigration, where the latter didn't seem to really care that I'd just arrived in ICN that morning. Once I was airside again at ICN, I had to get myself to the Concourse again to catch my CX flight.
Incheon Airport has often been rated as one of the world's best airports. It's a fairly functional and pleasant airport to be in, with an open-ish look with as much natural light in as possible. Definitely not the concrete industrial look of BKK. It probably reminds me more of BNE I, except more advanced, and of course a hell of a lot bigger.
Digression... I take the rail shuttle back to the satellite terminal and seek out the oneworld lounges. Signage as I come up from the shuttle points me to the Cathay Pacific lounge - excellent.
Departures board at ICN.
Hallway at ICN departures.
I go up the escalators and easily find the CX Lounge, complete with, of course, the fake full-sized female greeter at the front of the lounge. The lounge is an open air one; in fact, you'd almost say it was just the floor space being sectioned for CX via glass panels.
Entry to CX Lounge.
The CX lounge at ICN caters for both F and J pax. It's not an exciting facility by any means, sporting just lots of lounge chairs, free internet and an array of standard snacks and hot fare. Noticeably, instant cup noodles seem to be very popular here, especially the types with added chilli (probably falls off the high end of the "hot" scale in Australia). As I was very tired, I only picked out some bread, a yoghurt and found some water to drink. I wanted to have a shower but there wasn't one in this lounge, so I simply found a chair and collapsed in it. As it turns out, had I taken my own advice given to thewinchester the previous year, I would've found the Sakura Lounge which has one! (And possibly more interesting food). Oh well...
I didn't have to wait long for my flight to board. Thank goodness - the faster I am in a plane seat, the sooner I can relax and try to rest.
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX421 Seoul-Incheon (ICN) - Taipei-Taoyuan (TPE T1)
Depart: Sched 0930h; Actual 0923h
Duration: 2 h 30 min
Distance: 910 mi (1,465 km)
Aircraft: B-HND Boeing 777-200
Class: Business
Seat: 14K
CX usually use their regional J equipped two-class aircraft on the short routes like this. Sometimes you'll get lucky and they'll use a longhaul aircraft with longhaul J (or even F), but otherwise it'll be regional equipment. Having done a CX run before (so extreme, ain't I?), CX J of any kind is no longer a stranger to me. In the case of CX regional J, it's pretty much similar to the QF Dreamtime J, with seats that recline generously enough for a few hours of flight. Also included are personal IFE screens that show loopback entertainment (not AVOD).
The CX regional J cabin (photo taken on previous CX J run).
Leg room in a CX regional J seat (photo taken on previous CX J run).
As it turns out, the entire flight was very lightly loaded, and in J there were only two passengers flying, including me, the other J passenger being on the other side of the cabin. The CSM came around to say hello and offer menus, however I told her that I will not be eating. In fact, I asked her if it was OK if I could just go to sleep as soon as I could and I not be disturbed for breakfast. Whilst she said this was OK, she did double-check with me doubly to make sure I wasn't mad or anything. She even managed to offer me a blanket.
And so it came to pass (or pass out, rather), that after the safety briefing (which I always listen to), I shut my eyes and slept through the rest of taxi and takeoff. I didn't wake up until we were somewhere in cruise, whereupon I had discovered that the other pax had also decided to snooze and the crew had thoughtfully closed all the window shades. I reclined my seat, re-rolled out the blanket and was back to sleep just like that.
That extra rest I got on the flight was just what I needed to feel a little bit better. When I woke up a second time, a FA came by and told me we had about 1 hour until we were to land in TPE. She then asked if I would like to eat something for breakfast, but I told her again that it was OK. Given that I'd had a very early breakfast on TG, there had to be a meal on the TPE-HKG sector and that I knew the two options for breakfast were pretty much the same across all of CX regional J (Western breakfast or fried noodles), I decided against having anything to eat. Seemingly disappointed or sensing that she somehow failed in her service by not convincing me to have anything, she asked rather beseechingly whether there was anything she could get for me. I asked her just for a glass of water and a cup of milk tea (for those in the know, nai cha).
Water and nai cha (milk tea)
My fellow J passenger on the other side of the cabin was tucking into his breakfast noodles. I told the crew that I was going to be an ongoing passenger for the further service to HKG, which the crew acknowledged.
Our landing into sunny TPE was easy enough. We had a very long taxi to the terminal before we pulled up to a gate.
Once we were on the ground, I was told by the crew that I had the option of disembarking the plane, having a bit of a stroll, using the lounge and then reboarding the plane. Alternatively, I could just stay on the aircraft, as long as I could put up with all the cleaners running around the aircraft. Given that I was rather tired, the layover was a mere 1 hour and that TPE isn't an airport worth exploring extensively, I chose the latter option.
Docked at TPE. Another CX aircraft in the distance ready to ferry more passengers to HKG on what is obviously one of the most traffic-heavy sectors in the CX network.
Current Location: Seat 14K on board B-HND, docked at gate, Terminal 1, Taipei-Taoyuan Airport, Taipei, Taiwan
Current Time: 1105h GMT+8, 44 hours and 5 minutes after getting out of bed
True to word, as soon as the last passenger was off the plane (except me), a troupe of cleaners rushed on to the plane and proceeded to give it a once over. I was fortunate to be able to use the bathroom whilst the plane was being cleaned. (I think they basically told me to minimise use so that they could clean it properly and have it in spick-and-span condition for the next wave of passengers).
Whilst I was on the ground taking it easy in my seat, the FAs could not help but be rather over-concerned and kept offering to get me something. Eventually, I asked for a Cathay Delight, a signature non-alcoholic coughtail of Cathay Pacific, and water. The FA could not be more prompt in obliging my order, and then some by providing some mixed nuts which I didn't ask for!
Cathay Delight, water and mixed nuts
The turnaround of the aircraft was tight as the cleaning staff finished their job and quickly scrambled off the aircraft in a similar fashion as they had rushed on, their "foreperson" barking them to hurry all the way. Catering services had arrived and delivered new meals for the galleys. Eventually, boarding had started and as a seated passenger I managed to see the entire aircraft board, including witnessing the J cabin becoming quite full on this TPE-HKG flight: this time, instead of only two seats occupied, it was only two seats not occupied!
anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Mon 20 Jun
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX421 Taipei-Taoyuan (TPE T1) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart: Sched 1200h; Actual 1155h
Duration: 1 h 45 min
Distance: 501 mi (806 km)
Aircraft: B-HND Boeing 777-200
Class: Business
Seat: 14K
I was awake and not quite sleepy, which was just as well since if I were quite tired it would've made it very hard to stay awake for the safety briefing. Our taxi out of the terminal area was fairly quick and once again we were off into the air, heading towards HKG.
In the air, we were offered lunch, which consisted of either soy chicken or pan-fried fish. I chose the fish, sounding more interesting than the chicken.
I'm not sure if it's dependent on sector length, but there was no separate entree platter that came before the main course on this flight. A small side salad of marinated prawns was provided, labelled as a "Starter" in the menu.
CX J meal tray before the main is served
My main course: pan-fried groupa fish
The fish was quite tasty, though some people might be put off by the need to eat the fish carefully, since it was still cut with the main bone on. For me having had an Asian upbringing, eating fish with the bones was completely normal.
Our flight to HKG was quick, being somewhere between a BNE/MEL and a BNE/SYD flight. I managed to catch a few more winks after the meal trays were cleared, but as we touched down in HKG, my attention was now to make my next flight to MNL. My connection time was a mere 1 hour, so I was hoping for a good gate, and probably wouldn't have enough time to visit the lounge, let alone have a shower.
Current Location: Arrivals Concourse Level, Hong Kong Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Current Time: 1345h GMT+8, 46 hours 45 minutes after getting out of bed
Well, wouldn't you know it we dock in one of the gates on the "neck" of HKG. I have less than 20 minutes before the start of boarding of my flight, which is incidentally located on one of the far piers. Well this is going to be fun (OK I was tired....)
What is a lack of common sense? Well, it tends to only mean that you can have one of them but not both. For example, it is common in a good airport like HKG that they have two walking travelators to help people move about the terminal in a much more efficient manner. But there's no sense that both travelators always operate in the same direction!
I hiked it up to a security checkpoint and passed through without issue. Now I'm on departures level - and there's about 10 minutes before boarding now. Since I'm still in the "neck" of the terminal concourse, there's nothing that can get me faster to my next gate other than sheer power walking. No time for lounge or a shower - just pace it up and make it to my flight bound for MNL.
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX919 Hong Kong (HKG) - Manila (MNL T1)
Depart: Sched 1445h; Actual 1458h
Duration: 2 h 5 min
Distance: 712 mi (1,146 km)
Aircraft: B-HNJ Boeing 777-300
Class: Business
Seat: 14A
As I moved in closer to my gate, I saw the scrum start to snake its way from the double doors, the feint (well, not-so-feint actually) drones of gossiping in Tagalog quite audible. Well, what do you know - no boarding yet...... OK, catch my breath, and time for another task that requires a deep breath... using the priority queue, which was almost empty.
You feel rather odd being the only one in a sea of hundreds getting into a blank line. "Geez, who does this kid think he is?" Moreover, where are the other elites and J pax? (Probably at The Pier still trying to push one more beer)
Anyway, boarding starts and we all shuffle on - some faster than others. It's another regional J cabin, of course. I take my seat and J starts to fill up; not as much as the TPE-HKG flight previously, and I got lucky in no one sitting next to me.
It's a hot day outside. We push back, we taxi, we take off into the air.
The meal this time to Manila is merely a "refreshment", the choices being sweet and sour chicken or vegetarian tortellini. Pretty good options for any given Filipino (except you wouldn't get a mountain of rice with the former, I'd assume, though this is supposed to be just a "refreshment"). I chose the tortellini.
CX J refreshment
The flight to MNL is about as long as a BNE/MEL sector, so after finishing off my meal I get to sneak in a bit more sleeping. I end up waking almost at the point when the cabin is about to be prepared for landing. Feeling just a tad bored, I fish some reading out of my bag and manage to get through a decent chunk of a paper before we fly over the slums and into MNL. We dock into a gate at the dated Terminal 1 and disembark into the airport, which at least is a temperature-controlled haven compared to the sticky weather outside.
Current Location: Arrival Flow, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Cities of Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
Current Time: 1700h GMT+8, 50 hours after getting out of bed
MNL is an airport which I've come to know, mostly when I was a child. Since my father was from the Philippines, when I was younger we would go to the Philippines every year for a holiday to see my father's family. As we got older, of course this was much harder to achieve. Since I was young, Terminal 1 had undergone very little cosmetic change.
MNL has been purported as one of the worst major airports in the world, if not the worst. Several attempts to supersede Terminal 1 operations into new terminals commissioned and built have been held back by corruption, poor governance, mismanagement and litigation. It is nearly twenty years since Terminal 1 reached its capacity, and any efforts to move forward have been glacial, to put it nicely.
In saying all of this, the terminal itself is functional enough. You won't die because you went through MNL. It's probably comparable to having to endure arrivals at LHR - the same kind of "mental pain" but not necessarily "physical pain" or harm. I'd bet and double down that almost anyone would rather transit through MNL than fly an airline on the EU banned list. Then you get airports in supposedly "fortunate" countries - such as SYD, PER, FCO and pretty much any major airport in the United States - who still wouldn't know how to construct and fund an effective airport if it hit them square in the face.
You get the idea.
Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyywwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy.... *deep breath*
So now the challenge is to use international transit at MNL to get BPs back to HKG and ICN, then upstairs back to departures without having to go landside, which means no fiddling with passport, no weird explanations, no need to put up with long immigration lines (yes, they were long!), and no need to fill out the Philippine entry forms.
Mind you, I've never used international transit at MNL before, so this was going to be an interesting experience.
I walk through the SARS temperature check, then find the transit desk against the far wall opposite the immigration hall. It's a small set up with a couple of guys behind the counter (obviously practicing how to twiddle thumbs), and a couple of chicks with nothing better to do but gossip with the other fellows. Oh, and text like crazy on their mobiles (Filipinos are some of the best in the world when it comes to SMSing!) That is, until I came along.
First, I tell them I need a BP to go to HKG. So they ask which airline. "Dragonair".
The two of them look at each other and me like they think I'm on another planet. What the hell is Dragonair?
"Do you have your ticket?"
I hand them my printed e-ticket from Cathay Pacific. Printouts - a necessary evil at times...
One of the guys clicks into action and says he must find the Cathay Pacific representative. OK then, no problem. Wait about 10 minutes, and the Cathay rep appears. He studies my e-ticket printout, then says he needs my passport. I assume he'll go away, get my BPs sorted out, come back and I'm ready to go. I hand over my passport without much hesitation and he says he'll be back. He disappears past the immigration counters (using a special staff lane) and heads landside.
Then I get an odd epiphany. You fool, anat0l, you should know better than to have your passport out of sight in someone else's hands! What's going to happen to you now?
Well, this is the Philippines - anything could happen. You could have your passport being skimmed right now. Maybe that guy is in kahoots with some of the others, and they've got your passport now.
10 minutes go by.
Maybe I'm worrying too much. Filipinos are actually a nice bunch of people who are very welcoming to guests. No, I'm serious, they really are. In fact, a Filipino is more likely to stab their own kind in the back before a stranger, unless the latter is acting like a complete tool and / or a clear pigeon. My dad reckons the Filipinos are one of the few people in the world who have no hesitation in stabbing their own kind in the back. Harsh words, methinks, but he is one of them (a Filipino, not a backstabber)....
Another 10 minutes go by. At this rate, might as well have been 10 hours (notwithstanding the timing of my next connection).
What is taking the rep so long? I'm starting to sport an uncomfortable look on my face. I casually mention to the other transit desk fellows that the rep is taking quite some time. They sort of agree with me. I even joke that I hope my passport isn't being copied! They laugh, but they mention in no uncertain terms that I should be alright - everything's kosher here.
Finally, Pangaea split, forming two new super land masses - Laurasia and Gondwanaland..... errr, I mean, the rep made an appearance from beyond the immigration counters. He apologised to me for the delay, and I couldn't help joke with him that he was going to something funny with my passport! He laughed back - Filipinos are good like that, if you catch the right wave.
Anyway, I get lead to a small room which is a little walk behind the transit desk. In this small room is just enough room for a security screening machine and walk through metal detector, with a set of stairs leading back up to the departures concourse. I clear security, then set about finding the tranquility of an airline lounge.
Entrance to the CX lounge at MNL T1, hidden by the more apparent frontage of the QF lounge (operated by Pagstop)
Current Location: First Class Area, Cathay Pacific Lounge, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Cities of Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
Current Time: 1810h GMT+8, 51 hours 10 minutes after getting out of bed
Cathay operates its own lounge in MNL T1, catering for both F and J passengers. The lounge is set up so that everyone enters the J area, with a further door leading to a separate area for F pax. The facilities in both are essentially identical, though the F area feels classier than the J area. Also, though still not spectacular, there are better views of the tarmac from the F area of the lounge.
The F area of the CX Lounge
Food and drink selection in the lounge is fairly rudimentary; just enough to keep anyone adequately nourished. Snacks were enough to offset the alcohol, with the only major foods being sandwiches and spaghetti (the latter a "novelty favourite" of the Philippines).
Small bar in the F area of the lounge
Not much to be had for eatin' here
Free wifi is available in the lounge, if it is just a little, little bit slow or unreliable at times. It was at least good enough for me to get some work done, and surf the net a little bit. I also managed to find a power socket so I could charge my laptop's almost-drained battery, though I did have to unplug one of the lamps in order to obtain said socket.
There weren't many people at all in the lounge, and it remained similarly quiet for the whole time I was in the lounge. I mainly kept up my water intake as I waited for my first flight on Dragonair and the second half of my status run.
Plane spotting: I know you!
Before long, my vessel docked into MNL airport. At least I knew I was going somewhere.
People who are hot on others' heels shouldn't be dragon their feet
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX421 Taipei-Taoyuan (TPE T1) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart: Sched 1200h; Actual 1155h
Duration: 1 h 45 min
Distance: 501 mi (806 km)
Aircraft: B-HND Boeing 777-200
Class: Business
Seat: 14K
I was awake and not quite sleepy, which was just as well since if I were quite tired it would've made it very hard to stay awake for the safety briefing. Our taxi out of the terminal area was fairly quick and once again we were off into the air, heading towards HKG.
In the air, we were offered lunch, which consisted of either soy chicken or pan-fried fish. I chose the fish, sounding more interesting than the chicken.
I'm not sure if it's dependent on sector length, but there was no separate entree platter that came before the main course on this flight. A small side salad of marinated prawns was provided, labelled as a "Starter" in the menu.
CX J meal tray before the main is served
My main course: pan-fried groupa fish
The fish was quite tasty, though some people might be put off by the need to eat the fish carefully, since it was still cut with the main bone on. For me having had an Asian upbringing, eating fish with the bones was completely normal.
Our flight to HKG was quick, being somewhere between a BNE/MEL and a BNE/SYD flight. I managed to catch a few more winks after the meal trays were cleared, but as we touched down in HKG, my attention was now to make my next flight to MNL. My connection time was a mere 1 hour, so I was hoping for a good gate, and probably wouldn't have enough time to visit the lounge, let alone have a shower.
Current Location: Arrivals Concourse Level, Hong Kong Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Current Time: 1345h GMT+8, 46 hours 45 minutes after getting out of bed
Well, wouldn't you know it we dock in one of the gates on the "neck" of HKG. I have less than 20 minutes before the start of boarding of my flight, which is incidentally located on one of the far piers. Well this is going to be fun (OK I was tired....)
What is a lack of common sense? Well, it tends to only mean that you can have one of them but not both. For example, it is common in a good airport like HKG that they have two walking travelators to help people move about the terminal in a much more efficient manner. But there's no sense that both travelators always operate in the same direction!
I hiked it up to a security checkpoint and passed through without issue. Now I'm on departures level - and there's about 10 minutes before boarding now. Since I'm still in the "neck" of the terminal concourse, there's nothing that can get me faster to my next gate other than sheer power walking. No time for lounge or a shower - just pace it up and make it to my flight bound for MNL.
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX919 Hong Kong (HKG) - Manila (MNL T1)
Depart: Sched 1445h; Actual 1458h
Duration: 2 h 5 min
Distance: 712 mi (1,146 km)
Aircraft: B-HNJ Boeing 777-300
Class: Business
Seat: 14A
As I moved in closer to my gate, I saw the scrum start to snake its way from the double doors, the feint (well, not-so-feint actually) drones of gossiping in Tagalog quite audible. Well, what do you know - no boarding yet...... OK, catch my breath, and time for another task that requires a deep breath... using the priority queue, which was almost empty.
You feel rather odd being the only one in a sea of hundreds getting into a blank line. "Geez, who does this kid think he is?" Moreover, where are the other elites and J pax? (Probably at The Pier still trying to push one more beer)
Anyway, boarding starts and we all shuffle on - some faster than others. It's another regional J cabin, of course. I take my seat and J starts to fill up; not as much as the TPE-HKG flight previously, and I got lucky in no one sitting next to me.
It's a hot day outside. We push back, we taxi, we take off into the air.
The meal this time to Manila is merely a "refreshment", the choices being sweet and sour chicken or vegetarian tortellini. Pretty good options for any given Filipino (except you wouldn't get a mountain of rice with the former, I'd assume, though this is supposed to be just a "refreshment"). I chose the tortellini.
CX J refreshment
The flight to MNL is about as long as a BNE/MEL sector, so after finishing off my meal I get to sneak in a bit more sleeping. I end up waking almost at the point when the cabin is about to be prepared for landing. Feeling just a tad bored, I fish some reading out of my bag and manage to get through a decent chunk of a paper before we fly over the slums and into MNL. We dock into a gate at the dated Terminal 1 and disembark into the airport, which at least is a temperature-controlled haven compared to the sticky weather outside.
Current Location: Arrival Flow, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Cities of Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
Current Time: 1700h GMT+8, 50 hours after getting out of bed
MNL is an airport which I've come to know, mostly when I was a child. Since my father was from the Philippines, when I was younger we would go to the Philippines every year for a holiday to see my father's family. As we got older, of course this was much harder to achieve. Since I was young, Terminal 1 had undergone very little cosmetic change.
MNL has been purported as one of the worst major airports in the world, if not the worst. Several attempts to supersede Terminal 1 operations into new terminals commissioned and built have been held back by corruption, poor governance, mismanagement and litigation. It is nearly twenty years since Terminal 1 reached its capacity, and any efforts to move forward have been glacial, to put it nicely.
In saying all of this, the terminal itself is functional enough. You won't die because you went through MNL. It's probably comparable to having to endure arrivals at LHR - the same kind of "mental pain" but not necessarily "physical pain" or harm. I'd bet and double down that almost anyone would rather transit through MNL than fly an airline on the EU banned list. Then you get airports in supposedly "fortunate" countries - such as SYD, PER, FCO and pretty much any major airport in the United States - who still wouldn't know how to construct and fund an effective airport if it hit them square in the face.
You get the idea.
Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyywwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy.... *deep breath*
So now the challenge is to use international transit at MNL to get BPs back to HKG and ICN, then upstairs back to departures without having to go landside, which means no fiddling with passport, no weird explanations, no need to put up with long immigration lines (yes, they were long!), and no need to fill out the Philippine entry forms.
Mind you, I've never used international transit at MNL before, so this was going to be an interesting experience.
I walk through the SARS temperature check, then find the transit desk against the far wall opposite the immigration hall. It's a small set up with a couple of guys behind the counter (obviously practicing how to twiddle thumbs), and a couple of chicks with nothing better to do but gossip with the other fellows. Oh, and text like crazy on their mobiles (Filipinos are some of the best in the world when it comes to SMSing!) That is, until I came along.
First, I tell them I need a BP to go to HKG. So they ask which airline. "Dragonair".
The two of them look at each other and me like they think I'm on another planet. What the hell is Dragonair?
"Do you have your ticket?"
I hand them my printed e-ticket from Cathay Pacific. Printouts - a necessary evil at times...
One of the guys clicks into action and says he must find the Cathay Pacific representative. OK then, no problem. Wait about 10 minutes, and the Cathay rep appears. He studies my e-ticket printout, then says he needs my passport. I assume he'll go away, get my BPs sorted out, come back and I'm ready to go. I hand over my passport without much hesitation and he says he'll be back. He disappears past the immigration counters (using a special staff lane) and heads landside.
Then I get an odd epiphany. You fool, anat0l, you should know better than to have your passport out of sight in someone else's hands! What's going to happen to you now?
Well, this is the Philippines - anything could happen. You could have your passport being skimmed right now. Maybe that guy is in kahoots with some of the others, and they've got your passport now.
10 minutes go by.
Maybe I'm worrying too much. Filipinos are actually a nice bunch of people who are very welcoming to guests. No, I'm serious, they really are. In fact, a Filipino is more likely to stab their own kind in the back before a stranger, unless the latter is acting like a complete tool and / or a clear pigeon. My dad reckons the Filipinos are one of the few people in the world who have no hesitation in stabbing their own kind in the back. Harsh words, methinks, but he is one of them (a Filipino, not a backstabber)....
Another 10 minutes go by. At this rate, might as well have been 10 hours (notwithstanding the timing of my next connection).
What is taking the rep so long? I'm starting to sport an uncomfortable look on my face. I casually mention to the other transit desk fellows that the rep is taking quite some time. They sort of agree with me. I even joke that I hope my passport isn't being copied! They laugh, but they mention in no uncertain terms that I should be alright - everything's kosher here.
Finally, Pangaea split, forming two new super land masses - Laurasia and Gondwanaland..... errr, I mean, the rep made an appearance from beyond the immigration counters. He apologised to me for the delay, and I couldn't help joke with him that he was going to something funny with my passport! He laughed back - Filipinos are good like that, if you catch the right wave.
Anyway, I get lead to a small room which is a little walk behind the transit desk. In this small room is just enough room for a security screening machine and walk through metal detector, with a set of stairs leading back up to the departures concourse. I clear security, then set about finding the tranquility of an airline lounge.
Entrance to the CX lounge at MNL T1, hidden by the more apparent frontage of the QF lounge (operated by Pagstop)
Current Location: First Class Area, Cathay Pacific Lounge, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Cities of Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines
Current Time: 1810h GMT+8, 51 hours 10 minutes after getting out of bed
Cathay operates its own lounge in MNL T1, catering for both F and J passengers. The lounge is set up so that everyone enters the J area, with a further door leading to a separate area for F pax. The facilities in both are essentially identical, though the F area feels classier than the J area. Also, though still not spectacular, there are better views of the tarmac from the F area of the lounge.
The F area of the CX Lounge
Food and drink selection in the lounge is fairly rudimentary; just enough to keep anyone adequately nourished. Snacks were enough to offset the alcohol, with the only major foods being sandwiches and spaghetti (the latter a "novelty favourite" of the Philippines).
Small bar in the F area of the lounge
Not much to be had for eatin' here
Free wifi is available in the lounge, if it is just a little, little bit slow or unreliable at times. It was at least good enough for me to get some work done, and surf the net a little bit. I also managed to find a power socket so I could charge my laptop's almost-drained battery, though I did have to unplug one of the lamps in order to obtain said socket.
There weren't many people at all in the lounge, and it remained similarly quiet for the whole time I was in the lounge. I mainly kept up my water intake as I waited for my first flight on Dragonair and the second half of my status run.
Plane spotting: I know you!
Before long, my vessel docked into MNL airport. At least I knew I was going somewhere.
People who are hot on others' heels shouldn't be dragon their feet
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anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Mon 20 Jun
At this point I was quite tired, so I was really looking forward to boarding time. It seems so odd - when you're going somewhere, you feel much more comfort on a plane in the air than you do on the ground. Normally, it's always the opposite. I could have no comfort whilst I was in the terminal, because I had a schedule which meant I needed to be in another terminal to meet another flight, so I couldn't stop worrying until I was on an aircraft and on my way to further fulfill my schedule.
I think I tugged on my laptop the wrong way, for it's telling me it's no longer plugged in. I check the connection and notice the flaky power point. Hmmmm.... better remove it before something deadly of the electric type happens. But I do make a note to plug the lamp back in.
A normal person probably would be finding the stiffest drink in the bar and sipping on that. I'm just having water and orange juice, following my formula of basic beverages when I'm tired but need to keep moving on.
My memory is failing me a little as to whether there was a boarding call or not. In any case, I do remember approaching the front desk (in the J part of the lounge) and asking whether we should be going to the gate. I think I remember her saying, "not quite yet and we'll call you", and seeing as it was a few minutes before this was to happen, I simply waited for the call in one of the chairs in the J part of the lounge. The white lights in the J lounge compared to the subtler lighting in the F lounge, combined with the lack of character in the lounge, definitely made this area feel like a bus terminal lounge (albeit quite a good one at that).
Eventually the call was made and we started towards the gate, which was fortunately only a few metres away from the lounge. The gate area is downstairs from the departures concourse (the gate area and arrivals flow are separated using glass panelling). It has seating, but not much else. Oh alright, there's toilets if you need it. Basically you only want to come here (a) if you need somewhere quieter than the main concourse and you don't have lounge access, and you don't need to access any amenities, and (b) as late as possible. When you enter the gate area, your BP details are checked.
Obviously, the call I got in the lounge was not the boarding call, for the ground staff were still sorting things out at the desk. Pre-boarding mashalling calls......I should learn to recognise them more often... then again, it was only about 5 more minutes before we got the call, <two-tone> "Ladies and gentlemen, Dragonair flight KA932... KA932 to Hong Kong is now ready for boarding. Passengers on this flight please proceed to gate 2.... gate 2. All aboard please."
Yes, the Filipinos do make a note of saying, "All aboard please," just like in the good ol' days of the steam engine trains. I kid, it's simply idiosyncratic. They also tend to say the entire PA without regards for the 'punctuation'. Think of a race track announcer, except adjusting a bit slower for the non-English background.
Flight: Dragonair KA932 Manila (MNL T1) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart: Sched 2030h; Actual 2046h
Duration: 2 h 10 min
Distance: 712 mi (1,146 km)
Aircraft: B-THE Airbus A321-200
Class: Business
Seat: 11A
I think there was a further announcement explaining how they were going to board the aircraft systematically. Not that it would matter - don't they realise this is Asia (let alone the Philippines)? There appeared to be a line for priority and Business passengers, which enabled me to board earlier than most. I think "Business" or "First" is still highly regarded here, so a mention of your flying either of those classes will usually get you easier passage.
Dragonair, or more fully Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, is the little sister airline of Cathay Pacific. It used to be independent until 2006, where it was taken over by CX and effectively sustained itself as a regional "champion" in CX's portfolio. Most of the routes serviced by Dragonair are in mainland China, then plenty of short / medium haul destinations around the Hong Kong hub (key routes like Taiwan and some Japan), the furthest destination served by KA is Bengalaru, with Dhaka not far behind.
Anyway, I headed onto the aircraft, which is a two-cabin Business and Economy configured one. Dragonair do have First Class, but I suspect this isn't one of these routes or at least I didn't get lucky with the aircraft type. I think more of the China routes are served with First Class equipped planes. The narrow body A321 has quite a large Business section - six rows, making 24 seats. The FAs greeted me as I boarded and I took my seat. As it turns out, there were only two passengers in Business for this flight.
The Dragonair Business cabin on the A321-200
Leg room shot
The FAs came around in a timely fashion asking if I would like something to drink before take off. I asked only for a water. The FA obliged my request and provided a packeted moist cleansing towelette as well. I suppose hot towels aren't the thing here. Then again, it's so humid outside that a hot towel probably isn't appropriate. I could also tell that the FAs are usually used to flying the Chinese routes, as their English was quite good but sounded very much like it was limited in fluency only for the task at hand, i.e. their job. In saying that, for non-English speaking background people, they do quite a good job, especially when I compare that with some other people's reports when flying other Chinese carriers.
Pre-flight drink of water, with packeted moist towelette
The aircraft was fairly heavily boarded in Y, so it wasn't a lightly loaded flight overall. But we managed to get everyone on board without drama and we were soon pushed back from the gate. A fairly quick taxi to the runway and our little (or not so little) A321 was powering its way to HKG.
Dinner, or more accurately the "all day" meal, was being served on this flight. Once again, it seems the choices were one of Western and one of Eastern. I chose the 'Eastern' option this time, which was pork belly. Quite a respectable meal and should fill anyone up, though others might comment on the fattiness of the pork and very slight gluggy-sticky consistency of the sauce. For most people flying out of the Philippines, this is really good food. The decor on Dragonair is also subtly more plain compared to its parent airline.
KA Business meal tray with appetiser and dessert already in place
Pork belly main
After finishing that nice dinner, my plate was cleared away and I ended up reading a bit more before catching a few winks to offset my tiredness a little bit, or at least bridge me until I got to HKG and managed to have a shower.
Just feels like another BNE/MEL flight. 2 hours in the air seems to go quicker than 2 hours on the ground. Before long we were back in HKG and on the ground and taxiing to the satellite complex. I've never been to this little terminal before. For those not in the know, HKG has a small satellite complex (called the "North Satellite Concourse") with about ten or so gates (numbered gate 500 and onwards). These gates primarily cater for the needs of Dragonair only (I've never seen other flights pull up at these gates, though some Dragonair flights do pull up at the main terminal as well).
Current Location: Gate 504, North Satellite Concourse, Hong Kong Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Current Time: 2250h GMT+8, 55 hours 50 minutes after getting out of bed
Once we were docked into gate, the FAs made sure that both of us in the Business cabin disembarked before the Economy pax did. It didn't matter all that much, actually. We got out of the aircraft, proceeded along some corridors and down some stairs to the bus bay, which was the means of transiting between this satellite terminal and the main terminal. Of course, what kind of bus was going to take off with only two people on it? The other Y pax quickly followed behind us and squished up on the bus until it was just at burst capacity. Doors shut, our ride to the main terminal was thankfully short (really, because someone hadn't thought about something called air circulation or air conditioning on this bus!). The drop off point at the main terminal is near the immigration area (sort of directly under gate 15). Lucky for me, this also means two things: (a) it's near a transit area, and (b) it's near The Wing.
Pass through HKG security for the second time today - a long day! I wanted to try a sneak a peek at The Cabin - Cathay's newest lounge intended to handle capacity fluctuations due to constructions in the other lounges - but when I got there they said there were no showers. That's not going to work for me, so with not enough time to experience The Cabin and have a shower (2 hour transit only), I left the lounge immediately and made my way quickly back up to The Wing First section. My tiredness is not helped by the droning of the same trilingual warning messages that are heard every time someone steps onto an escalator or walkalator! The Wing entrance to the First section is kind of hidden in a way, because it's down a narrow hallway located around the corner from the security screening from the check-in area.
Entrance down to The Cabin
For those who haven't been to The Wing First section before, I've included photos below from a previous trip. These photos on this trip was when I was travelling in December 2009, so yes there are Christmas decorations all over the place. And yes it was still daylight hours. Obviously, none of these are applicable for this trip.
Entrance to The Wing First Section.
The Wing lounge - a calming collection of timber and stone (tile, actually).
At this point I was quite tired, so I was really looking forward to boarding time. It seems so odd - when you're going somewhere, you feel much more comfort on a plane in the air than you do on the ground. Normally, it's always the opposite. I could have no comfort whilst I was in the terminal, because I had a schedule which meant I needed to be in another terminal to meet another flight, so I couldn't stop worrying until I was on an aircraft and on my way to further fulfill my schedule.
I think I tugged on my laptop the wrong way, for it's telling me it's no longer plugged in. I check the connection and notice the flaky power point. Hmmmm.... better remove it before something deadly of the electric type happens. But I do make a note to plug the lamp back in.
A normal person probably would be finding the stiffest drink in the bar and sipping on that. I'm just having water and orange juice, following my formula of basic beverages when I'm tired but need to keep moving on.
My memory is failing me a little as to whether there was a boarding call or not. In any case, I do remember approaching the front desk (in the J part of the lounge) and asking whether we should be going to the gate. I think I remember her saying, "not quite yet and we'll call you", and seeing as it was a few minutes before this was to happen, I simply waited for the call in one of the chairs in the J part of the lounge. The white lights in the J lounge compared to the subtler lighting in the F lounge, combined with the lack of character in the lounge, definitely made this area feel like a bus terminal lounge (albeit quite a good one at that).
Eventually the call was made and we started towards the gate, which was fortunately only a few metres away from the lounge. The gate area is downstairs from the departures concourse (the gate area and arrivals flow are separated using glass panelling). It has seating, but not much else. Oh alright, there's toilets if you need it. Basically you only want to come here (a) if you need somewhere quieter than the main concourse and you don't have lounge access, and you don't need to access any amenities, and (b) as late as possible. When you enter the gate area, your BP details are checked.
Obviously, the call I got in the lounge was not the boarding call, for the ground staff were still sorting things out at the desk. Pre-boarding mashalling calls......I should learn to recognise them more often... then again, it was only about 5 more minutes before we got the call, <two-tone> "Ladies and gentlemen, Dragonair flight KA932... KA932 to Hong Kong is now ready for boarding. Passengers on this flight please proceed to gate 2.... gate 2. All aboard please."
Yes, the Filipinos do make a note of saying, "All aboard please," just like in the good ol' days of the steam engine trains. I kid, it's simply idiosyncratic. They also tend to say the entire PA without regards for the 'punctuation'. Think of a race track announcer, except adjusting a bit slower for the non-English background.
Flight: Dragonair KA932 Manila (MNL T1) - Hong Kong (HKG)
Depart: Sched 2030h; Actual 2046h
Duration: 2 h 10 min
Distance: 712 mi (1,146 km)
Aircraft: B-THE Airbus A321-200
Class: Business
Seat: 11A
I think there was a further announcement explaining how they were going to board the aircraft systematically. Not that it would matter - don't they realise this is Asia (let alone the Philippines)? There appeared to be a line for priority and Business passengers, which enabled me to board earlier than most. I think "Business" or "First" is still highly regarded here, so a mention of your flying either of those classes will usually get you easier passage.
Dragonair, or more fully Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, is the little sister airline of Cathay Pacific. It used to be independent until 2006, where it was taken over by CX and effectively sustained itself as a regional "champion" in CX's portfolio. Most of the routes serviced by Dragonair are in mainland China, then plenty of short / medium haul destinations around the Hong Kong hub (key routes like Taiwan and some Japan), the furthest destination served by KA is Bengalaru, with Dhaka not far behind.
Anyway, I headed onto the aircraft, which is a two-cabin Business and Economy configured one. Dragonair do have First Class, but I suspect this isn't one of these routes or at least I didn't get lucky with the aircraft type. I think more of the China routes are served with First Class equipped planes. The narrow body A321 has quite a large Business section - six rows, making 24 seats. The FAs greeted me as I boarded and I took my seat. As it turns out, there were only two passengers in Business for this flight.
The Dragonair Business cabin on the A321-200
Leg room shot
The FAs came around in a timely fashion asking if I would like something to drink before take off. I asked only for a water. The FA obliged my request and provided a packeted moist cleansing towelette as well. I suppose hot towels aren't the thing here. Then again, it's so humid outside that a hot towel probably isn't appropriate. I could also tell that the FAs are usually used to flying the Chinese routes, as their English was quite good but sounded very much like it was limited in fluency only for the task at hand, i.e. their job. In saying that, for non-English speaking background people, they do quite a good job, especially when I compare that with some other people's reports when flying other Chinese carriers.
Pre-flight drink of water, with packeted moist towelette
The aircraft was fairly heavily boarded in Y, so it wasn't a lightly loaded flight overall. But we managed to get everyone on board without drama and we were soon pushed back from the gate. A fairly quick taxi to the runway and our little (or not so little) A321 was powering its way to HKG.
Dinner, or more accurately the "all day" meal, was being served on this flight. Once again, it seems the choices were one of Western and one of Eastern. I chose the 'Eastern' option this time, which was pork belly. Quite a respectable meal and should fill anyone up, though others might comment on the fattiness of the pork and very slight gluggy-sticky consistency of the sauce. For most people flying out of the Philippines, this is really good food. The decor on Dragonair is also subtly more plain compared to its parent airline.
KA Business meal tray with appetiser and dessert already in place
Pork belly main
After finishing that nice dinner, my plate was cleared away and I ended up reading a bit more before catching a few winks to offset my tiredness a little bit, or at least bridge me until I got to HKG and managed to have a shower.
Just feels like another BNE/MEL flight. 2 hours in the air seems to go quicker than 2 hours on the ground. Before long we were back in HKG and on the ground and taxiing to the satellite complex. I've never been to this little terminal before. For those not in the know, HKG has a small satellite complex (called the "North Satellite Concourse") with about ten or so gates (numbered gate 500 and onwards). These gates primarily cater for the needs of Dragonair only (I've never seen other flights pull up at these gates, though some Dragonair flights do pull up at the main terminal as well).
Current Location: Gate 504, North Satellite Concourse, Hong Kong Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Current Time: 2250h GMT+8, 55 hours 50 minutes after getting out of bed
Once we were docked into gate, the FAs made sure that both of us in the Business cabin disembarked before the Economy pax did. It didn't matter all that much, actually. We got out of the aircraft, proceeded along some corridors and down some stairs to the bus bay, which was the means of transiting between this satellite terminal and the main terminal. Of course, what kind of bus was going to take off with only two people on it? The other Y pax quickly followed behind us and squished up on the bus until it was just at burst capacity. Doors shut, our ride to the main terminal was thankfully short (really, because someone hadn't thought about something called air circulation or air conditioning on this bus!). The drop off point at the main terminal is near the immigration area (sort of directly under gate 15). Lucky for me, this also means two things: (a) it's near a transit area, and (b) it's near The Wing.
Pass through HKG security for the second time today - a long day! I wanted to try a sneak a peek at The Cabin - Cathay's newest lounge intended to handle capacity fluctuations due to constructions in the other lounges - but when I got there they said there were no showers. That's not going to work for me, so with not enough time to experience The Cabin and have a shower (2 hour transit only), I left the lounge immediately and made my way quickly back up to The Wing First section. My tiredness is not helped by the droning of the same trilingual warning messages that are heard every time someone steps onto an escalator or walkalator! The Wing entrance to the First section is kind of hidden in a way, because it's down a narrow hallway located around the corner from the security screening from the check-in area.
Entrance down to The Cabin
For those who haven't been to The Wing First section before, I've included photos below from a previous trip. These photos on this trip was when I was travelling in December 2009, so yes there are Christmas decorations all over the place. And yes it was still daylight hours. Obviously, none of these are applicable for this trip.
Entrance to The Wing First Section.
The Wing lounge - a calming collection of timber and stone (tile, actually).
Last edited:
anat0l
Enthusiast
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2006
- Posts
- 11,573
Mon 20 Jun
I immediately headed to the shower area and asked if a cabana was available - and it was! Yes! There are only five cabanas, but they are a sanctuary for getting refreshed and cleaned up. The regular showers in The Wing and The Pier are also good enough for purpose, but they are more compact in space and not as open feeling as the cabanas, and much more so in the case of The Wing showers (The Pier shower rooms are actually pretty spacious). Some more old photos coming up...
Entering a cabana in The Wing First section.
Full sized bath tubs feature in every cabana.
Overhead shower with decent pressure and hand held shower unit, if that's your thing.
Stone-like vanity basin.
Amenity set provided alongside the vanity, with products by Dermalogica. Do order anything else from the attendants if you need it - they will be very glad to oblige (though sometimes do make a note to point out what you want from the list if necessary).
A recliner and sitting bench are provided at the back of each cabana. Each has a firm foam mattress on top, which works out OK if you're used to sleeping on a bed suited for the Hong Kong people.
A tranquil river at the back of the cabanas provides a soothing environment. Unfortunately, it also acoustically links the other cabanas to you, so you'd better keep it down. Couples, you know what I mean!
I immediately hung up my clothes and hopped into the shower. Aaaah.... that's so much better! Flying may not be a physically demanding task, but the humidity and lack of humidity and so on seems to take a toll on your hygiene, if but a bit. A good wash later and taking out a new set of clothes, unfortunately there just wasn't enough time to relax in my bathrobe. So I got dressed and headed out to the lounge. My flight was once again boarding from a gate in the "neck", so that would require a good hike from The Wing. I decided not to eat anything from the lounge F section restaurant (called The Haven), which was still doing quite well despite being late at night. Obviously, that food supplied from The Peninsula Hotel doesn't fail to bring in the customers, especially when it is complimentary!
For those who haven't been to The Haven, here are, again, a few old pics showing off the great selection that's possible here. It really is a hotel quality buffet.
A salad selection and build-your-own-salad. To the right would be the several bain maries with lots of different hot foods available, most quite delicious.
This mainstay always seems to be here each time I come to this lounge - chilled soba noodles.
I immediately headed to the shower area and asked if a cabana was available - and it was! Yes! There are only five cabanas, but they are a sanctuary for getting refreshed and cleaned up. The regular showers in The Wing and The Pier are also good enough for purpose, but they are more compact in space and not as open feeling as the cabanas, and much more so in the case of The Wing showers (The Pier shower rooms are actually pretty spacious). Some more old photos coming up...
Entering a cabana in The Wing First section.
Full sized bath tubs feature in every cabana.
Overhead shower with decent pressure and hand held shower unit, if that's your thing.
Stone-like vanity basin.
Amenity set provided alongside the vanity, with products by Dermalogica. Do order anything else from the attendants if you need it - they will be very glad to oblige (though sometimes do make a note to point out what you want from the list if necessary).
A recliner and sitting bench are provided at the back of each cabana. Each has a firm foam mattress on top, which works out OK if you're used to sleeping on a bed suited for the Hong Kong people.
A tranquil river at the back of the cabanas provides a soothing environment. Unfortunately, it also acoustically links the other cabanas to you, so you'd better keep it down. Couples, you know what I mean!
I immediately hung up my clothes and hopped into the shower. Aaaah.... that's so much better! Flying may not be a physically demanding task, but the humidity and lack of humidity and so on seems to take a toll on your hygiene, if but a bit. A good wash later and taking out a new set of clothes, unfortunately there just wasn't enough time to relax in my bathrobe. So I got dressed and headed out to the lounge. My flight was once again boarding from a gate in the "neck", so that would require a good hike from The Wing. I decided not to eat anything from the lounge F section restaurant (called The Haven), which was still doing quite well despite being late at night. Obviously, that food supplied from The Peninsula Hotel doesn't fail to bring in the customers, especially when it is complimentary!
For those who haven't been to The Haven, here are, again, a few old pics showing off the great selection that's possible here. It really is a hotel quality buffet.
A salad selection and build-your-own-salad. To the right would be the several bain maries with lots of different hot foods available, most quite delicious.
This mainstay always seems to be here each time I come to this lounge - chilled soba noodles.
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