The BEHEMOTH - 48K DONE4 with more than a few twists

[Keith009]

simongr - for the sake of your sanity, I really hope Son of BEHEMOTH goes smoother in the luggage department...

 

[simongr]

I realised talking to Tscharke on msn from NRT that I have an unbroken (i.e. no leaving any airports) hkg-sin-nrt-dfw-lax-jfk on SOB...

 

[Keith009]

I realised talking to Tscharke on msn from NRT that I have an unbroken (i.e. no leaving any airports) hkg-sin-nrt-dfw-lax-jfk on SOB...

You should get a reprieve at DFW since you'd have to clear customs there.

I'm pretty sure SIN and NRT won't be as bad as LHR or BGI?

 

[simongr]

Doubletree on Lex and yet another CRE (clothes replacement endeavour)

As I decided to spend two work days in NYC rather one I now have two bookings with the Doubletree. I am told I will have to check out and check back in in the morning. Not a drama as I only have my dutiful Tumi as luggage. I am given a cookie on check in – not quite the same as an upgrade to the Exec Floor for a newly minted HHonors Gold…

The room is excellent in some ways and a bit of a Travelodge in others. The room is very large for a Manhattan hotel. There is a great TV (shame about the picture quality). I have a restless night’s sleep and am up early in the morning to put on the same clothes I travelled in. I am very confident that my bags will arrive today. I feel quite unkempt at the office but have a pretty successful day.

We plan for dinner with a couple of colleagues at Papillion. Before which I duck up to Bloomingdales to grab a couple of Polo shirts and some underwear. Then I whiz back to the hotel for a quick shower – after which I joyously discover that they haven’t removed the security tags from the shirts argggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

Dinner is also a little disappointing. It is Amerifrench – which is the worst of all worlds – French flavours grossed up to American sizes I have a jumbo crab cake that is served in a hamburger bun – I am stunned. On the upside they do have Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc on the wine list (it is incredibly hard to find Cloudy Bay in Oz) – I am tempted to grab a couple of bottles to take away

Friday I catch up with my boss but feel crummy in the same shirt again – so I whiz up to Bloomingdales to have the tags removed, buy a razor and head back to the office feeling a lot more presentable. We have some excellent Pizza in the office for lunch so all is good.

We wrap up what I am needed for at about 4PM as my boss goes into a meeting with his boss and numerous other senior folk so I am now free as a bird. I am catching for dinner with another colleague and tonight we go to Malfasson (I think) for a much more excellent repast – Duck Terrine and Lamb Chops. Some great Pomerol and glass of Port and all is good.

On Saturday I am still sans luggage so I now need clothes for the journey home. I discover that the Doubletree doesn’t have a same cleaning service on a Saturday so I need another full set of clothes for the journey home – I am really over this.

I start the day with an excellent hair at the barber in the hotel. It is a full service barber and I am even tempted by a shave – maybe next time. He does fire up his handheld head massager – quite a disconcerting experience. Overall though the haircut is excellent and I am set up for the day.

I am determined to enjoy today even if I don’t want to. I start by popping into the pet stores to get a Yankees kerchief for the dogs but they have sold out So I duck up to Bloomingdales again – this time I hit up Hilfiger rather than Polo for some new trousers and a shirt. I then walk for ages and eventually end up at the Rockerfeller Center for lunch (after hitting The Gap). The food is not amazing but I just love the location.

I take my purchases back to the hotel, check bag status and head out again – still undecided whether to see the Simpsons Movie or Potter on Imax. Another long walk ensues and I spend about 45 mins in Times Square just soaking it up – something I haven’t done before. Just as I am crossing the road I am met by the amazing sight of about 100+ NYPD cop cars streaming down 49th Street. It is an amazing sight – I know said that twice in quick succession – but seriously it was amazing (ok third time’s the charm).

I then hit the comic store and fill in a couple more gaps and then just walk all the way up Broadway to the AMC Loews at the Lincoln Center. Still undecided I see that Transformers is just starting – rather than waiting an hour for the Simpsons I grab a ticket and am quickly in the Theatre. This is a completely different experience to the Odeon at Marble Arch – it is not Gold Class but it’s not awful. The movie is great though – a great mindless thrill ride. You really feel inside the movie you are so close to the action most of the time.

A nice relaxing walk back to the hotel and I duck into the bar for a quick G&T before heading up to get ready for the morning. The baseball is on TV so I grab a beer and watch that in the bar. After another beer or two it is time for a dinner of mini-burgers and a glass of merlot. The bar staff are excellent and as the bar isn’t too full it’s actually a great night. I wander up to bed at about 9PM. I am awake at 5AM and getting for The Long Road Home™

I check AFF of course and my bag status – some good (AFF) and some bad (bag status). I start to reorganise and pack and am amazed at how much I can get into the Tumi so my extra piece of hand luggage (a Selfridges bag) is not too full and balances neatly on top of the Tumi when rolling. I have a light breakfast in the Exec Lounge and it is downstairs to the waiting Towncar. He takes me over the Queensborough Bridge and through the back streets of New York – places I have never seen before and quite a change from Manhattan. It is a really interesting drive (aside from the nagging doubt that he could be taking me to the back streets of the Bronx to kill me) but eventually we are on the freeway I remember and on our way proper to the Airport.

The Towncar driver is great and we have a nice chat – I discover he is Colombian (but he doesn’t offer me an opportunity to make a little money on the side on the flight home ). As we turn off one freeway onto the other I see my favourite sight of the journey – Flushing Meadows Park with the Towers that featured in the first MIB movie.

 

[simongr]

The Long Road Home™

Before I tell the story of my journey home I guess I should outline what the journey entails. Obviously my appetite for complex routings and unnecessary (as deemed by other people) flights drove this whole itinerary. I based my journey home on a couple of concepts – I was going to commence my journey home on the Monday – the same day as tgtwwm with a target of getting home on Wednesday morning and being in the office on Thursday. That basically gave me Sunday morning in the US to Wednesday morning in Oz to get home. I had considered doing a run to anchorage but just couldn’t get availability to work for me so my routing was going to be:

Sun AM – JFK-DFW
Sun PM – DFW-LAX
Sun night – LAX-JFK
Mon Morn – JFK-NRT
Tues PM – NRT-HKG
Tues night – HKG-SYD

In theory I should be so exhausted at HKG that I will sleep most of the way to SYD and be back on Sydney time.

The journey is a little simpler now that I have no luggage – I was going to have to store luggage at JFK overnight and somehow retrieve it before the journey home. I have also switched flights to AA out of JFK with the hope that all my points will have posted and I will be EXP before the journey. Sadly that doesn’t happen but a friend offers to use one of their eVIPs to upgrade me – there is only F1/A0 availability so I am not hopeful. The seat map shows Flagship suites – it would be great to experience these if it can happen.

It is not a easy journey nor a sensible journey – it is the bile tract of the BEHEMOTH – but it does have the glorious prize at the end – home.

 

[simongr]

Journey – JFK-DFW
Flight no. – AA2011
Class – First
Seat – 3A

Check in is a hoot. For a start I can only see a business class check in – but it is empty so I wander up. After a few seconds the staff disappear to see another member of staff. Remembering that I had that rogue LGW-BGI flight that appeared in my booking I start to get concerned that something has gone wrong and my journey home has been cancelled. Increasingly nervous the staff finally come back and say that they have been trying to get me on the direct flight to LAX!!!!!

I say I am happy to go via DFW as I have time to kill – the staff then looks through my itinerary and as bemused as she is she is also intrigued and then spends 10 mins almost trying to check me in from LAX-JFK – after some time about 4 BPs appear and I am checked through to HKG!

The T8 Admirals club is landside and as I only have about 60 mins to take off I decided to go though security and just wait at the gate. I have to say thank god for express security – it is a slow process but finally I arrive in Iceland – well that is what it feels like – I haven’t been this cold since I left Sydney in winter! I jump on line for 20mins to check the status of my upgrade and catch up with AFF.

Finally it is time to board and as I hack my way through the gatelice like Leonidas through the Persians (give me a break I am watching the 300) I leave the bodies behind and get onboard.

There is an old granny in 3B who is blue with cold but at least she is short and will be easy to get past if needed. I am amazed at how the Tumi fits end onto into the 757 overhead bins whereas on the 744 and A330 it needs to go side on. My Selfridges bag fits neatly under the seat in front and I am set up for the flight. We sneakily push back exactly on time but then we are on the ground for 25 mins.

Lunch is a surprisingly nice Turkey & Swiss Croissant. The beer an wine flows and I start to relax into this marathon journey. I find out that the old Granny is quite a seasoned traveller – just on her way back from Barcelona – other venues visited previously had included Peru!!!

I finish watching “Meet the Robinsons” which as a movie had so much potential but did not quite fulfil but did have some ripsnorting moments After lunch we have some quite serious turbulence – probably the worst I have experienced since my trip on CX last year where I had to hold onto the trolley during the caviar service to stop it rolling back into business class and making them jealous

It is pretty bumpy coming into land and the main screen in F is put away with about 5 minutes of the movie remaining. Given we had had 10-15 mins of nothing at one point – this little glitch could have been avoided.

Landing at DFW and all is well. I quickly find the AC and am given vouchers for drinks on entry. I take a nice seat by a window overlooking the car park, grab a cold beer and call mrssimongr using Skype. It is beautiful blue skies so the weather that has hit other parts of the US is passing us by.

I did however speak a little soon as the sky rolls in black and it starts to rain – and I mean rain. Less Hiddins the Bush Tucker guy would describe this as “Dumping Down”. I have a 3-4 hour layover at DFW so I am not too concerned. Similarly I have a few hours at LAX so I know I will make it to JFK in the morning.

Time passes and my departure from DFW moves from 4:30 to 5:40 to 6:30. I am also waiting on news of my upgrade to F JFK-NRT. I realise that I have been in the AC a little too long when the bar staff pour me a drink without ordering it

Finally I am confident enough that the flight times aren’t moving any longer to so I make a move to the gate.

 

[simongr]

Journey – DFW-LAX
Flight no. – AA2049
Class – First
Seat – 5B

I really think DFW is a nice and well organised airport – there is plenty of space at the gate. I stake a place in the “queue” at the gate – I don’t want to have fight through people again. Despite Charley’s advice I strike up a conversation with a couple of guys at the gate. This is my first chance to see the UG list in progress. A couple of them are 2 and 3 on the list and are deciding whether to board and see if the GA will come and get them. The GA advises that as he is alone and is dealing with the irregular ops if they board he wont be coming to get them. They make the decision not to board and wait to see if the F who haven’t checked in wont arrive at all.

On board the I realise I am on a “Mad Dog” – both maligned and celebrate on FT. I am intrigued again by the overhead locker shape/space – how can one side be bigger than the other? The seats are I think a little smaller than the 757 – about the same as Domestic QF J with a bigger pitch though.

I know that the flight is full and am intrigued that although a couple of groups have boarded – F is still pretty much only a third full. Pre-flight drinks are offered and everything is on offer – beer, wine, juice, water… but no champagne

The first of the UGers I had been chatting to makes it on board and is sat behind me. He is quickly followed by number 3 on the list who takes the seat next to me. He is a chatty type and given I have another 2 days of travelling without the likelihood of any conversation that does not involve a beverage or meal service I extol the virtues of mileage runs and FT (not much point talking to a yank about AFF). Again my journey is met with complete incredulity. I am beginning to think that the mileage run forum is a great conspiracy to make me do these crazy trips and I am the only one who does this sort of thing.

The meal service is exactly the same options as the JFK-DFW segment – but I am quite interested to see that the options are the same but the presentation is completely different. The Mediterranean chicken salad actually looks and tastes quite nice.

I write up some more of the BEHEMOTH and doze for an hour until we start descending into LAX.

Again I am surprised how far my travel experience has come in a year – on deplaning I know exactly where I am in LAX and am in the AC within about 1minute of disembarking. I am given a couple of drinks chits based on my QF SG card (really need to think whether I want to go for that again this year – but will I really do a 100% US mileage run again?)

Upstairs to the AC and no word from the AAngels on my upgrade request. I grab a beer and jump online. I have about 90 mins until boarding. I wake up at about 9:05 for a 9:40 flight so I grab my gear together and rush to the gate.

 

[simongr]

Journey – LAX-JFK
Flight no. – AA
Class – Business
Seat – 8G

It is about midnight for my body clock so my intent is to sleep this entire trip. I am asleep on take off and even miss the pre-flight drinks.

I recline as soon as the seat belt light is off and doze for most of the flight. I work out I have had about 5 hours sleep tonight so not too bad.

Umm – that’s about it really – probably the most boring segment reported here

 

[simongr]

JFK – will they/wont they – the story of an upgrade

I land at T9 and thankfully realise I am transiting airside again – so much easier than international transits. I haven’t been landside now since security at JFK yesterday morning. I am into the AC after about 5 minutes and lodge my UG request so that I am now on the “airport list”.

As it has been F1/A0 for a while I am not overly hopeful. I get a PM on AFF that it is now showing A3 and checking the seat map I note that it has gone from suites to coffins – but if I can get in F then great.

I grab a quick shower and have a four way msn chat with my mother, wife and sister. We hit the three hour window before departure so I think now that the airport has control of upgrades so I wander over the AAngels and see how we are travelling (both physically and metaphorically). A tense 10 minutes of keyboard clicking and eventually out pops my 2B boarding pass!!!

It is now about 9AM and I am starting to get restless having been in the AC for 3 hours already. At about 10:30 I start my wander to the gate. I note that T9 is such a nice light and airy terminal – plenty of seating and nice wide walkways.

Oh if anyone is interested I did call the baggage services and there is no sign of my bags yet so I am travelling home free and easy with just hand luggage.

 

[simongr]

Journey – JFK-NRT
Flight no. – AA167
Class – First
Seat – 2B

I am now on the home stretch – well sort of. More like on the blocks waiting for the starters gun having had a couple of hours in the warm up pool. I am however seriously on the way home – every flight now takes me closer to home. I think the timing of the flights is going to work well to reboot the body clock for Sydney time. I will aim to sleep the second half of this flight, stay awake at NRT, sleep only 1-2 hours NRT-HKG, stay awake at HKG and then sleep most of the way home. That’s the plan at least – last time I was that planned I slept the first flight I was meant to be awake and was awake all the way into SYD. Let’s see if it works.

Boarding is a little delayed and I see the upgrade list in operation again. This is still a fascinating aspect of American airline travel. We don’t have this on QF – unless you get op-upped then whatever you have on your BP at the gate is going to be your seat.

On boarding I am intrigued. I realise I haven’t flown F in a 777 on any carrier (I have done QF F on 747, CX F on A300 and 747). The F cabin is interesting – there are 18 F seats so it feels a little less exclusive than the nose of the 747 – you also have the hoi-polloi walking through the cabin on boarding.

This is such a different arrangement of a cabin. There are lots of walls and cupboards all over the place. The Coffins are interesting. They feel bigger than QF F – not as sophisticated and the massive gap behind the seat just looks odd. I have the odd experience of being offered a selection of movies that they will give me a tape for – sort of like AVOD – except the demand part involves hitting the call button. I also wonder if I get a tape the intro will be “Good morning Mr Hunt, you mission should you choose to accept it…..” Sadly the movie selection is not appetising so it will be laptop TV for me

The meal service begins not too long after take off. It is quite a procedure and is all served rather than being tray service which I like. We start with a prawn and smoked salmon appetiser – as I don’t like the look of the smoked salmon the cabin crew try and work out if they can afford to give me extra prawns. Next is a chick salad and finally comes the main/entrée – which is sadly a little depressing. The beef is a little tough and the potato has a strong flavour of coriander/cilantro.

But the saving grace is the famous AA sundae! 100% yum I go for hot fudge and nuts

I carry on watching laptop TV but about 30 mins after lunch I fall asleep for about 30 mins so I know that my grand plan of sleeping half this flight is out the window. I am bit of a power napper – I don’t sneak off to a meeting room for half an hour in the afternoon – more that if I am exhausted all I normally need is 15 to 30 mins nap and I am fresh as if I had slept all night – it catches up later but has the deleterious effect when flying of screwing completely with planned sleep patterns.

I finally run out of TV to watch so I kip for about 90 mins and am woken for some noodle soup which is actually pretty good – I am just more interested in getting back to sleep. About another 30 mins of sleep (making about 2 ½ hour on the whole trip) and we are starting descent activity.

I pack everything away and realise that two of my Cross pens aren’t on the seat where I had left (I know I could have gone with something radical like putting them in my bags but at the time it seemed like a good idea – remember I have had 5 hours sleep in the past day and a half) them. A quick scan around and I can’t into the seat to see if they have rolled in. After a few mins of panic I call the cabin crew who show me how to remove the seat cushion, pull back the rear flaps and finally after more than a few scrapes and bruises I have my pens in hand. Now this may not seem like such a big – Cross are no Mont Blanc – I have just historically had a habit of losing them – but recently I found a number that had been MIA presumed dead – losing them again would have resulted in quite a high degree of consternation at home!

As we descend I reflect on my first AA International F experience. It is not up there with the CX and QF product as it is not as intimate due to the size of the cabin. The seat is not sophisticated and the IFE is a little old school (though it is better than the old BA J IFE). The seats are nice and large and the service was great – although being the uptight son of an Air Force officer that I am I can’t help but feel that the staff are a little casual both in manner and in dress. I guess that doesn’t impact on the quality of service but for me travelling in F is not just about a seat or a meal – it is about a little bit of old world charm. CX have it on both J and F, QF had it on the last F flight I had – I know it is snobbery and a little bit of “Upstairs Downstairs” but for non-Americans fling in the AA F product it is a distinction between products.

I am phenomenally grateful for the help I got in getting the upgrade – I think this would have been a very, very hard trip in J and I am lodging my upgrade request for NRT-DFW (currently showing A0 though – might need to rethink SOB) as soon as my eVIPs are in the “bank” (my status has ticked over to EXP now so I assume the eVIPs will be there shortly).

As we land at NRT the journey is almost at a close – only two more flights – little ones as well (4 hours and 8 hours) but sadly no F lounge at HKG. Home is almost in sight!

 

[simongr]

NRT – Have I come to a different airport

The last time I was at NRT I was last December and I was flying in F on CX. I remember that airport – a drab 70’s monstrosity with a terrible CX lounge. It was ugly beige concrete everywhere and dark (ok it was winter so not much natural light).

I haven’t heard much talk about a new terminal at NRT in the same way that we talk about T5 at LHR and T8/9 upgrades at JFK or even the new F lounge at SYD. Admittedly I haven’t frequented the FT Japan or JAL forums so I might have missed a little of the discussion. So I am not prepared for the radical change that I see when I land at NRT.

Firstly the white/blue lightness of the Terminal is a nice wake up. It is a little confusing finding my way to the main terminal – the helper points me at the train to the main terminal but she points off into the distance rather than at the security channel that is right in front of us. Security s pretty quick and then it is a bit confusing again as to where to go for the train but soon I am on the train to the m ain building. The new building (or should I saw shopping complex) is really nice – I am not in the mood to shop but it reminds me a lot of the HKG shopping area (very similar horrendously expensive stores). It is a little confusing trying to find the AC but soon I am in.

What a great lounge – no hint of a suggestion that as I am flying CX next I should go to the CX lounge – perhaps as I used my AA card it was easier – if I had used my QF card perhaps they would have suggested otherwise.

The lounge is great – light airy with some nice Japanese design elements. The shower is great and just what I need. I love the AC towels with the AC logo on them. I am half tempted to pinch one and then realise that would be very, very sad of me.

There is free wireless that allows me to grab some TV to watch on the journey home. The automated draught Kirin machine is a hoot. It has a little arm that extends down into the glass to pour you an almost perfect beer (although the glass is not quite full which I feel is a slight miscalculation).

This is certainly one of the better ACs I have been in – obviously it is one of the newest. I am only here for about 90 mins max so I don’t get chance to fully explore. At 4:10 there is no indication of “Boarding Soon” so I check with the staff about what time boarding is – I am met with a little confusion – boarding will begin at 4:30 on schedule. It is almost as if there is no question as to whether the flight would depart on time.

On schedule I walk to the gate and this is the only less than perfectly organised element of the process. There is already a large queue for whY boarding but thankfully they are keeping the premium lane clear. It wont be long now until I am even closer to home.

 

[simongr]

Journey – NRT-HKG
Flight no. – CX521
Class – Business
Seat – 11G

My heart skips a beat when I hand over my BP and it is “rejected” – am I going to get an elusive Op-Up???? Sadly they just have my HKG-SYD BP ready for me along with my lounge invitation for HKG. As sad as I am that there is no Op-Up this is excellent service by CX and will save me a few minutes at HKG.

On board (using two air bridges again – SYD and LHR take note!) I realise why there was no Op-Up – there is no F on this aircraft – in fact it is regional J!!!!! As ever my lack of research has let me down. Last time I flew HKG-TPE-NRT I flew CX in F on a 747 so this regional jet is a bit of a shock.

11G is actually hard to find – although someone else had already found their way into the seat! The seat number is hidden high up on the ceiling so it is only when I am sat that I actually see it.

I am intrigued that even though this is a 3-4 hour flight there are PTVs in J with a decent selection of movies – when I say decent I don’t mean any I want to watch – just a range that some people might enjoy. This is a significantly better short haul product than Club Europe, QF or AY.

Suddenly I am hit by the need to sleep so make the executive decision to sleep the whole way to HKG. I sleep through (another) CX meal service (I think they might mark me as an ungrateful SOB soon if I miss another one) but when I wake after about 90 mins I am asked by name without reference to a PAX list whether I want anything to eat – really the other airlines need to take note of this quality of service. I wave them off again and fall into another hour of sleep.

I wake with about an hour to go but don’t demand any more food or drink as I will grab something at the lounge in HKG. I then spend the next hour listening to the PAX in 11A talking to a CX staffer who is in seat 11B (it could be 11C but I don’t know the config on that side of the aircraft). He is talking about how much flying he is doing and then gets onto his personal crusade – in flight internet. He is talking (loudly) about how he used to love it and how no-one will explain to him why the airlines don’t provide it any more. He remarks that the Captain could just turn it on even on this aircraft (remember this is an Airbus). He even calls over the CSM/Purser to try and get an explanation and then asks if the Purser/CSM can ask the pilot WTF? Does he know nothing about IFI? I am tempted to explain about Boeing Connexion just to shut him up but don’t think I can face the debate. This continues for the remainder of the flight and I am starting to reach for my pillow to smother him but thankfully we land and I am free!

After deplaning I am again into power walking mode or at least I try to be – the number of groups of people who stand still on the moving walkways leads me to avoid them a couple of times. Eventually I get to the transit area and am very quickly through security and on my way to the lounge – but which lounge Wing or Pier????

 

[opusman]

Anxiously awaiting the final installments

 

[simongr]

Impending - final flight drafted - just the reflections to finish

 

[littl_flier]

Loving this Simongr, great trip!

 

[AngieP]

Thoroughly enjoying the trip repot simongr. Have a tip for you re Cloudy Bay - on your next trip to Melbourne, take a very short cab ride to Lygon St, Carlton where you will find the fantastic wine and gourmet foodstore - King & Godfree. Cloudy Bay and many other gorgeous wines always available - fantastic selection with knowledgeable staff. Enjoy ! AngieP.

 

[simongr]

Journey – HKG-SYD
Flight no. – CX101
Class – Business
Seat – 11K

The trip really has been a sequence of revelations for me. Maybe not so much revelations but more perhaps a sense of wonder and astonishment – not at the places that I have been or how I have travelled but how comfortable I am now at the places I go and how I travel. This is never more so than at HKG. Even a couple of trips ago I found HKG incredibly confusing. This might surprise people but there was confusion between the Wing and Pier. I have been turned around a few times looking for the QF J lounge (I should have taken the hint) and I used to walk EVERYWHERE.

Now as I get off the aircraft and through screening, even though I have never come up here I know exactly where I am and what services are around me. I look for my flight and gate and can’t see anything. As I am close to the Wing I decide to head down there, on the way I pass a larger status screen and see that I am departing from gate 67 – so I decide to head instead to the Pier (which I prefer in the J lounge for a short time). I swing down to the people transporter (quite why I never used to follow serfty’s advice and use this before is a mystery to me) and am in the Pier in a matter of minutes. The fact that this all seems so natural when so recently I would have been checking maps, looking up around down and everywhere trying to work out where I am is where the wonder and astonishment kicks in. Maybe on SOB I wont feel so amazed at my own amazingness...

I grab a G&T (sadly still only Gordon’s) and am distressed at the lack of nacho chips – I run down to the noodle bar to find some great Char Siu Pork Buns – 100% yum++

I jump on line and catch up with family in Cyprus and have time for a couple of TV episodes before it is time to stroll to the gate (oh and just time enough for a couple of glasses of Lanson Bubbles).

This is just the perfect amount of transit time at HKG. If I had access to F it would be enough for a meal, shower and relax but not so long that I am sat drinking champagne for 4 hours with nothing else to do. I do note in the brave new world of the excellent SYD F lounge that HKG is slipping as the toilets are progressively more and more out of order in the lounge

I wander up a little early for boarding and am one of the first on board. Sadly no op-up still This makes it 0 from about 60 flights since I geared up my flying last year. Late into boarding and I see a family of five are split across various parts of the J cabin and as one person switches so mum and daughter can be together I wait for the impending change requests to me that I assume are coming. Thankfully the cabin crew do the right thing (well it is CX – would you expect anything less ) and go back and bring forward other people to switch. The people switching get “better” seats and the family are together – a fare exchange I think.

The pre-flight champagne is nice but is let down by the slightly cool pre-flight towels (ok I admit I am getting picky now ). I notice that the purser is a familiar face for me – the first time I have recognised cabin crew. She doesn’t recognise me upsurprisingly... Again CX are the only ones to give me a personal welcome onboard thanking me for my OW flying.

The one downer to CX service is that the pre-dinner drinks are a little slow being served. This surprises me on a relatively short late night flight where one would expect that people are going to be keen to sleep. I remember that last time I flew CX and had a pre-dinner drink the best option was to order the pre-dinner drink before take off. I am not at one with the pre-dinner G&T as it is Gordon’s – I was sure that CX served Bombay Sapphire – maybe that is only in F?

My decision for a K seat doesn’t pay off for meal service as they serve AB first. What is the betting that they serve HK next time I am given my appetiser which is a smoked salmon Caesar salad (not in the mood for smoked salmon tonight) but I am not offered an main meal. I assume this is planned and they will come back later. I am little shocked when a while later they come back with the cheese offering. I point out my lack of main meal and they are gushing with apologies.

I am offered the same menu choice as previously (no lack of options it seems) and am tempted by the chilli prawns but they just don’t look appealing so I plump for the steak (again). This time this is a melt in the mouth steak with a fantastic jus – CX it seems have come back to the party on food for me.

The cheese is ok – a simple brie and cheddar but the blue – dear god the blue is to die for (and given what else I have eaten on this trip – adding in yet more cheese is certainly not enhancing my girth or cholesterol levels). The cheese is followed by a decent glass of port (which is followed by another ) whilst I watch a little TV. In fact I run out of things to watch on the laptop so I take this as a hint to actually get some sleep – given we are only about 5 hours out of Sydney now.

I actually do not like CX for sleeping on board – the angle feels greater than QF and always a little shorter. I have been spoiled for flat beds on this trip so going back to an angled bed is hard work. It makes me think about my next trip and where the flat beds fit into that … This is a real shame as the overall service (landside, airside and in the air) on CX is so great but the seat just doesn’t work for me. I know that they are updating – just I guess not quite quickly enough for me to benefit.

I manage about three hours sleep so I think with the other dozing in the past 30 hours that I should be good until about 9PM tonight. This is one of the reasons that I take these routings – I know I have said it before but I truly believe that engineering it so that I am so exhausted I crash out enough to “reboot” my body clock that I can minimise the on ground disruption to my sleep patterns.

Breakfast is better than normal – the fruit is not so cold that I can actually taste it – I experiment with Kiwi fruit (something I have never really tried) and am pleasantly surprised – and slightly annoyed that I haven’t experimented before I opt for the bacon, sausage an omelette and have a surprisingly good cup of tea. I try to watch 300 again but am thwarted by the IFE switching to “Map” a little earlier than I had forecast.

We fly in from the north and I have great view of the Olympic Park. This is it – not long now and the BEHEMOTH proper will be done. I still have my daytrip around Oz but that I think is going to get punted to next year I think. This really is it. There is just Duty Free and Immigration ahead of me – and NO BAGS TO COLLECT!!!

I have minimal delays through quarantine and I am out into Sydney’s beautiful blue winter sky in minutes. My driver is waiting for me and we are soon whizzing down [insert name of appropriate road to relevant suburb here] home. I open the door and the dogs go crazy (well the one that hasn’t snuck upstairs to sleep on the big bed and doesn’t realise I am home until I lift her off the bed!) and officially the journey is done. All that is left is to finish the write up, draft my reflections on the journey as a whole – oh yeah and to get my fracking bags!!!

 

[simongr]

Reflections on a beast – monstrous or magical

It is now a few days since I actually got home. My points have posted (mostly), my EXP status has kicked in, I have waitlisted using an eVIP on my next trip and now have enough points for our RTW trip in J next year.

So really what is there to reflect on? What did this trip mean to me? As I look back at the first posts in this thread – it was a journey to take a journey. I have now journeyed and on some levels this is a journey of transition. So often on this trip I have reflected on how some things no longer feel me with wonder – other than wonder at my own comfort with the things I have been doing. That doesn’t lessen the excitement of the journey but what it does mean after this trip is that whatever comes next will just be a journey from a place to a place rather than a journey of exploration. I know I will see new things and new places and I will still be itching to get into that lounge and use that EXP card for the first time but having done this trip is like flying solo for the first time – after that first flight you fly solo all the time after that.

The question is though was it worth it? So many crazy flights and crazy connections and always flying the long way round – did I really enjoy it? Well yes, there was rarely a point where I wonder why I was doing it. There were many points of disbelief that I was doing it – but never a lack of belief in what I was doing. This is something I don’t think I will be able to get away with much more. I know I have SOB planned already but even that is being reassessed (BGI is coming off the menu I think) and next year a lot could change in my job.

As I pass through the melancholy of the journey itself I should reflect on the more mundane matters of the trip.

Mileage running – as much as this earned for me I don’t see this being a way of life – I don’t think I could do the same journey five times in a single day. I will maintain if I can the extra long routes – I can hide them in my subconscious and pretend that they really are necessary.

The CX product – this remains the biggest internal conflict for me. The soft product is amazing and the IFE is the best in the business – but that seat just doesn’t work for me. It is a sad reflection that I now see the old BA J product as perfectly acceptable. I don’t use IFE that much anyway so the loss of that on a properly scheduled trip is no great loss. I would rather now chance my arm on getting NNCW on BA and upgrading to F on QF.

The Bag Fiasco – hmm was this my fault? Was my route too complex? Did I not leave enough MCT at any point? Did my greed take over my sensibility? Well one of those questions may be answered in the affirmative but reflect on this – all I did was take a few extra flights – I didn’t push the envelope too much. Each transit event was no different than doing a few stopovers with transits in between – the fact that I didn’t stop between transits shouldn’t really expose me to any more luggage risk than the next guy.

I am not great at goodbyes or endings – I am always looking for the sequel or the prequel or even version 2.2.1 but I guess with those final thoughts it’s time. This is chocka bloke checking out. I will be back with SOB soon – some might say a little too soon…

S

Oh bugger – just realised I didn’t answer the question – monster or magical? Well of course it wouldn’t be ambiguous word smithing if I didn’t call it a magical monster

 

[tscharke]

clap..clap..clap!!!

great work mate

 

[Keith009]

Thanks for the wonderful report, mate!
Looking forward to SOB (or SOB's little brother ) soonish.