It seemed like a good idea at the time

[coolumbla]

To preface this I should say that I have an ongoing affiliation with setting up an organization in Sri Lanka and I also have a professional association through my local university with a university in china hence the disaparte travel destinations

Says me off handedly to my uni colleague
" do you think the Chinese uni would be interested in me coming back.,"

Then promptly forgets about it until the official invite arrives for early April (in February)
Another casual comment to my colleague in Sri lanka about how I was going to china and did he think it useful ifi stopped over?

Apparently it was a good plan and all of a sudden I was going to both!

Afterfiguring out junior football and horse events I could do it if I left Saturday and was back in Sydney the following Saturday to give a talk I had also agreed to give.

So after battling the powers that be approval was given by my boss 1 day before you can't book circle Asia fares and then her boss and the CEO had to sign it(amazing what a 12 pack of freddos will achieve at PA level)
Anyway scouring here and flyer talk about where to stay at airports off I went

Wag syd
standard trip except admonished by wife to buy nothing as I needed nothing and I had spent the equivalent of an overseas holiday on getting my 4wd prepared for a simpson desert trip
Got dropped off by daughter only to realize no watch
I don't wear one except when traveling hence my collection of swatches bought duty free when I realize I don't need one
Thus phone call to daughter to bring one back

Syd sin qf5
Having booked late I was limited in flights
I suggested to Travel that they could send me thru Mel as that Mel sin flight was a 380 with at least a chance of an f upgrade but was on a 3 class with no f so no upgrade likely
Why do sydney airport insist on funneling thru duty free? I wasn't the only one taking a shortcut thru the perfume section
Finally finished the talk I had to give and emailed it off eventually from the lounge despite the free wifi not letting me send work emails!

Qf5
What can I say?
Standard trip with standard service I didn't think anyone outstanding
Interestingly there were no pj given out despite me getting a pair last time
(I hadn't taken any of my stash of them as I seem tohave used them allfor painting whippersnipping and changing the oilnin the car)
Slept most of it after a few beers anD reviewing my talk

Sin cmb. Emirates
Qantas really need to look at their hard product
I had a cheap j online fare for this and the seat far outstrips qf
Walked through the suites on the way out and they looked very nice!
The Amenities kit is still my daughters fave above any of the qf ones we have had
After more champagne I went to sleep and arrived in cmb at some ungodly hour

 

[thewinchester]

Thanks for posting your TR.

And yes, having had to negociate the nightmares of corporate travel many times previously I know your pain - and the value of food-based bribery to Executive PA's.

Mercifully, none of the PA's would touch my travel arrangements as they knew how I liked to get them right. Nothing like being given the keys to the kingdom to book all your own travel directly

Why do sydney airport insist on funneling thru duty free? I wasn't the only one taking a shortcut thru the perfume section

That's done at all airports up and down this great nation. On-airport sales are valuable, and the prices of leases are quite steep, hence airports doing everything possible to funnel people through duty free stores.

On the plus side, at least PER is small enough that they can't have the duty free take over the whole entrance and can skirt past it.

 

[yohy?!]

Feel free to skip the duty free at SYD by turning right immediately after the Xrays - the handy unmarked corridor is a real time saver

 

[coolumbla]

having spent all of the stay in the emirates lounge trying to find online coverage of the ICC world cup final we left with india needing about 80 off 15 overs i arrived in Colombo to pretty much know without asking (not a smiling face in teh place ) Very different ti usual!

I actually got my bag off in the first 5 (the first luggage tags in wagga seem to have worked)

off through quarantine (non existent) to the money exchange desks .I just use the first one I see as they are all the same
Found the man with the sign for my car where i then went and stood outside while he went and got the car .I only got asked f i needed a car 4 times this year!
A quick trip into Colombo where we only were stopped twice , with that being only near a government building .All the sandbags have gone since my last trip 2 years ago
Check in at the cinnamon grand on the exec floor at 4 am done in my room ( a lot quicker than check in on the ground floor!)

In the am go looking for the shoeshine guy who always gives teh RM's a mirror shine! Not to be seen i go back to the exec floor where i ask where he is .The reply "the butler will sort it out give me the shoes sir!"
HAnding over the shirt and suit for ironing as well i headed off for a walk down galle road
With my wife having said "buy nothing im serious!" i bought nothing!
but then headed to ODEL to buy a new wallet seeing as mine had died

then headed back to the hotel to learn my talk
The thing i like about the cinnamon grand is that it has about 6 different areas to eat so i don't have to eat at the same place for breakfast
Also the pool is a great place to learn a talk

Went for a walk on galle face green later where there was some sort of concert just finished
Sunset was rubbish! too cloudy

Met my colleague at 0630 the next am to see the appropriate government secretary at 0700 then to Galle and back
I will never worry about driving on Sydney again!
3 and a half hours for 120km!

back to the airport at 11pm only taking 30 mins this time leaving me to fight at currency exchange with what seemed to be 200 guys wearing the same type of shirt with no concept of a queue!
Having been caught with sri lankan rupees before and no one in singapore or hong kong wanting them i changed them there into whatever currency you want as long as its $US

Found the cathay j check in and as soon as i lined up about 10 of teh white shirt guys formed in behind me only to be shooed away by the check in staff
off to teh lounge to wait for the flight that was a standard cx regional flight
Yes i had to have the champagne but quickly went to sleep till singapore
Cant tell you what teh food was cos i was asleep *S*

 

[coolumbla]

Delay in completion due to going and driving the SA Vic border track

Arrived in singapore and promptly went and did a lap of the airport (if only the GCC was on )
it takes about 75-80 minutes to walk all the terminals if anyone wants to fill in time
That was with a stop in the butterfly garden

Hung around in the cathay lounge paying close attention to the boarding times after the last disaster
Hid in the back corner and caught up on the work issues
There is a new area up near the toilets now compared to when i was last there 2 years ago

Off for a lap of the shops prior to boarding

uneventful flight to Hong Kong where i was glad i took my ipad with a number of episodes top gear as the av was not on demand .The ipad suddenly became a computer where it wasnt 2 days before
Went to the new cathay lounge where i tried the toasted sanger of the day which was capsicum and fetta i think (ok but wouldnt try it again)

Hong Kong Beijing
watched fawlty towers on ipad and had what seemed to be the meal of the day as it was the same as when i went from singapore

Arrived at beijing at 10pm and went to find the shuttle for the airport hilton
Its opposite the doors says the brochure where its actually out the door along the road and behind a pillar!
the guy saw me coming as he waited till i got there then took off like a scalded cat!
about 5 mins to a brand new building with a massive foyer that was empty,
where 3 people checked me in and enrolled me in the hilton club despite me saying i was a starwood guy
Executive room nice and shiny and no wireless!
Just a short cable .I must remember to start taking the long broadband cable so i am not tethered to the desk

Got bored so wandered down to the long bar
This is a VERY long bar and i want one at home
Was also the only one there where i had a couple of beers watching the sport on TV and headed back to the room
In the morning headed for the lounge which is on the other side of the hotel past all the shops that werent open
There were actually people here! About 4 of us!
Breakfast was ok with a nice omelette

CAught the shuttle back to the airport that left exactly on time!
Found the air china first class line where there appeared to be a dykwia in front of me and then another one decided she would be next instead of me

through security where an ipad had become a computer again where i found the air china lounge to the right of the business lounge (why are they always on the right)

nothing much to it except a place to sit and some coffee
Got bored so roamed the terminal looking for aaa batteries
HAving been on a few airchina flights i got to the gate early because as soon as everyone is on we leave , usually early
standard business domestic seat where i was offered slippers

Off to Jinan airport

 

[coolumbla]

Through Jinan airport to be be greeted by my driver and translator from the last trip

An hour and a half drive to Liaocheng where there were several phone calls to see when i was arriving so the official delegation could meet me and take me to lunch

Tip number 1

NEVER EVER DRINK THE WHITE WINE

Beer is best !
red wine is standard cab sav
white wine in liaocheng is actually the local firewater at 38%

Best avoided !

tours and a talk in the evening where i was then taken to the duck restauarnt
People in Liaocheng believe that their duck has the original recipe and was actually exported up the canal to Peking
There were 2 students from the Australian university at the duck restaurant with us , one of whom was a vegetarian and the other who didnt eat duck!

I was desperately trying to remember which word to avoid, gambay or gala so said nothing
GAmbay is like cheers
GAla is all the way to the bottom of the glass!
Anyway at dinners it seems to be that the more pissed you get the guest of honour and the more pissed you get yourself the more honour you pay he guest of honour !
The other trap is the toasts. Everyone wants to toast you and they sneak around the side to toast you individually
And its the firewater!
I do like the duck!
The other thing i learnt is to not let my translator tell me what i was eating !

After many white wines i was asked if i wanted to go back to the hotel which i rapidly agreed to!

Early morning meetings and tours (including one of teh research lab where they said things liek here is our electron microscope, here is our gene sequencer , here is this here is that all worth a few million each!) led to lunch where despite everything i said there was more white wine! Only 2 bottles t hi stime as they all had t go to work !

BAck to Jinan airport where i looked for my flight to Shanghai
HAng on No PVG on the departure board
But there is my flight number and teh SHA code
What teh hell is that?
Start googling
What the hell ,There are 2 airports in SHanghai?
But im leaving from PVG in the am , how do i get from one to the other?
DO i just go into town and stay there or just go to the airport

Eventually got into the first class lounge at Jinan (well a small room with wirless internet and a fridge with soft drinks)
Again offered slippers and juice on the flight

Got to Hongqiao where i decided that there must be a cooky cutter airport design because it looked like Jinan !

How to get to the other airport
In the end i chose the cheap option of the interairport bus
There were lots of arrows to follow when i got to Hongqiao to find the building but once in the building there was nothing !
I found it eventually and made it to the other airport where i needed to find the RAmada airport hotel
The shuttle was opposite gate 9 , well opposite gate 9 under a sign behind a pillar!
Quick check in with many agents got me to the room where i eventually
succumbed to the wines with lunch

Except for the CNN coverage of the earthquake in Tokyo and the TSunami warning which seeing as that was where i was going teh next day worried me a little!

Quick checkout at 7am with many agents again and waited for the shuttle every 20 mins

No tsunami so off to the JAL lounge where my wife rang me , and i was wondering why everyone was looking at me until i saw all the no mobile phone signs!
I thought it was quiet !

Fairly standard flight in J to Narita where compared to last time i was there , there was no one
Only 40 mins to go around the terminals including the shops!