The SSSS tour of celebrations.

[drron]

When we were planning this Christmas we knew we were going to spend most of the time in Thailand.We wanted to spend a little time somewhere else so why Hawaii?Well because we wanted to see a starwood manager who has become a friend.We first met at the SGS in Bangkok and we then stayed at Sheraton Pattaya when he moved there.He now runs the Sheraton Waikiki but under a Starwood GM for Oahu.After we booked we realised that we would be here for the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbour which was a bonus.
So we checked in at 1300.No wait.Had booked a Mountain View King but up graded to an Oceanfront Kai suite on the 30th floor.It's not what you know.....

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The bath was a definite disappointment but the rest was great.I had my own little throne room complete with Japanese fittings-

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Two balconies-

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And a plate of goodies plus a bottle of red.

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[drron]

Views from the room then Diamond Head from the lounge-

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After unpacking we went to the food hall in the Royal Hawaiin centre in front of the Sheraton.Mrsdrron had mushroom pizza and I had BBQ pork tacos which were rather yummy.For our stay in Waikiki we would have lunch out and dinner was the snacks in the Sheraton lounge.wine was complimentary-always a Chardy and a Cab Sav though different makers from day to day.also a sparkling but not champagne.Snacks were always edamame,a quiche and another hot dish.Always cheeses,dips,veggies and fruit plus a cake,crisps and condiments.A Japanese type beer dispenser.So it was sufficient for us.

Now to the sunset on the first night.Always vessels going to and from the port plus the flight path to or from HNL went straight past our balcony-

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[drron]

The last of the sunset-

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On the second day we wandered around but concentrated on the International Market Place which is a very new high end mall.not quite finished.Certainly has been done very well and they have kept the old Banyan tree but it just doesn't have the soul of the place on our first visit ~ 35 years ago.We were staying at the Surfrider.When we went to the Market place there was this beautiful food smell.We followed it and came to our first experience of a Mongolian BBQ-we loved it.So it has a place in our hearts.
To give you an impression of how upmarket it has gone here is the valet parking section of the parking lot-

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Lovely ground orchids abound as well as that Banyan tree-

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[drron]

Walking back we came across a new Japanese food court in the basement of the Waikiki plaza.Not fully opened but probably worthwhile checking out in a couple of months.In typical Japanese tradition lots of flowers for the opening-

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Then decided to visit the DFS Galleria.As we thought prices not cheap but a bit OTT-

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Sunday and a cold miserable day with morning showers.took a walk towards Diamond Head-

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The gingerbread house was quite ornate.Outside was a Christmas Tree-

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Further down the road was a large banyan tree that the pigeons were making great use of-

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[drron]

As we came back to Kalakahaua Ave we discovered it was the annual bikies toy run.We decided to watch.It went on for 40 minutes.Must have been over a 1000 bikes.

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The end of the parade and by this time the rain had started to get heavy-

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So it was back to the hotel.

 

[drron]

The rain got heavier so we walked back through various shopping centres stopping for lunch again at P F Changs as it was basically in front of the Sheraton.Their chicken salad was nice-

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Although the actual sunset wasn't great because of the cloud later the colours were good-

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Each morning 2 white subs were towed out for reef viewing and each night towed back to port-

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Always outriggers-

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A happy paddleboarder-

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The catamarans were also busy-

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[Katie]

Looks like we might be ships passing in the night in Chiang Mai, drron and mrs.dr.ron. We leave early Jan, after arriving after Christmas.

 

[drron]

Now a few pics of the sunsets over the next few days-

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[drron]

Monday was a shopping day.Went to the Ala Moana mall.Boy has it changed since our last visit to Hawaii ~ 20 years ago.Huge but has lost it's atmosphere.Didn't stop mrsdrron from picking up a few items.She was happy that her new favourite shop-Ted Baker-was there.Chinese BBQ meats from the food court for lunch.

Tuesday was a tour of the cheaper options in Waikiki particularly Nordstrom Rack and Ross.Another few odds and ends purchased.Lunch was at a Sydney icon-Bills.It was quite ordinary.Mrsdrron ordered the marinated coconut chicken with nashi salad.Unfortunately it was served covered in chilli flakes not mentioned on the menu so she got a second serving without the chilli.I had the Spicy pork belly with salad.Unfortunately Bill has obviously attended the Neil Perry salad classes.

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Wednesday morning the GM's meetings were a little later so we were able to have breakfast with him-as I said at the start the biggest reason for selecting Hawaii was to meet the GM.
The best lunch we had was the Wednesday at the Royal Hawaian.Mrsdrron had their take on a lobster roll and I had the Fruits de Mer-

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For dessert mrsdrron went for their mango dish and I the apple crumble pie-

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Very nice but as expected a bit pricy.Oh well more SPG points!

 

[drron]

Wednesday December 7th.75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbour.I first visited the Army museum at Fort de Russy.Free entry.Their special exhibit was of the Japanese Americans who served with the American forces in WW2.Mainly those that served in the Intelligence service as translators.Many also accompanied units in the Pacific as translators.The major problem they had was that most of the Americans didn't want to take prisoners.They were obviously of major importance.And this was despite the fact that most of them had their family members imprisoned for the duration of the war.
The Japanese were the predominant ethnic group in Hawaii and were ~ 38% of the population of the state in 1940.Many were serving in the military but most dismissed after 7/1/41.In the end a Japanese American Battalion was created-the 100th battalion which served in Europe not the Pacific.They became one of the most decorated of American Army units.The history of it's formation makes interesting reading-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100th_Infantry_Battalion_(United_States)

So the museum-

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Outside a Japanese and American light tank-

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Bigger pieces on the roof-

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Outside they were taking part in the dress rehearsal for the 25th Division's remembrance parade.

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[drron]

The dress rehearsal-

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The taller soldier is the 2016 Warrior of the Year for the US Army-
Meet the Army's Soldier and NCO of the Year

I enjoyed the dress rehearsal so made sure I came back for the real thing.

 

[drron]

I got there a minute after the starting time.But the crowd was small and I got a front row position-

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They were waiting for all the veterans arrived.One arrived in Style-

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Another needed more help-

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But most arrived by bus-

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Sitting next to me were a group of personnel in a different uniform.Turns out they started the show with an Hawaian Ha'A.Vaguely familiar-

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[drron]

The American military does parades very well.The 25th Division band was also excellent-I do like listening to military bands.

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The general commanding the Pacific region gave a speech.Straight to the point-

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The show finished with a bang-21 of them.

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The officer commanding the artillery was a woman.

 

[drron]

Despite the pomp and circumstance the show was all about fellows like this-

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Anyone could talk to them.One said he felt honoured that someone from Australia would attend.It was humbling.Then a fellow I have posted about in another thread-

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Obviously well known as every general came up to talk to him.Apparently attends every Pearl Harbour Anniversary.He was not at Pearl Harbour but in Feb 1942 he enlisted on his 18th birthday and was in the Army air Corp.He was on the last bombing mission over Japan on 14th August 1945-after the bomb onNagasaki had been dropped.It turned out that they dropped their bombs 2 hours after the Japanese surrended.A very interesting fellow to talk to.Certainly added to the experience of being in Hawaii at this time.

One little aside.There are ABC stores in every block of Waikiki.We went into one between Fort de Russy and the Sheraton.Now they all have displays of tins of Spam.They also cater for Japanese tourism which is massive in Hawaii.So this store also had tins of teriyaki spam.But as well had this-

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Yes a slice of spam on rice.And no I felt no desire to try it.

 

[drron]

That evening was,I thought,going to be the highlight of the day-the Parade celebrating the 75th Anniversary.Meant to be 30 bands,models of all ships in Pearl Harbour that day and all together 179 floats etc.It was due to start at 6pm.Here is the view at 5.45pm.A decent crowd already.

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The parade started just around the corner of that second photo.At 6.40 finally this sight-

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One of the veterans leading the parade.Not bad for a 90+ fellow.A band was just behind this group of family members.Then it went in fits and starts with veterans mainly in various automobiles-

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The Americans certainly showed their patriotism with loud applause for every veteran,women would run out and plant a kiss or put a lei around their necks.Next a fellow that may be familiar-

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He does a lot for veterans.Unfortunately at this time I thought my camera had developed a problem.Fortunately turned out to be the old memory card giving up the ghost.Had to revert to my little pocket camera which isn't so good in low light.

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By this time it was 7.30.There were gaps of up to 5 minutes between cars.Could hear none of the bands getting ready to march so we called it a night and went back for the last of happy hour.Very disappointed in the organising committee.
So our time in Honolulu comes to an end.In the morning the journey continues.

 

[drron]

A leisurely breakfast in the lounge and the 1045 shuttle back to the airport.A fairly scenic route.No trouble checking in so soon through security after the obligatory pat down.Problem is that you checkin on the domestic side and your flight leaves from the International side.Though to Mainland USA is also from the International side.
Second problem all except the HA lounges are on the International side but HA lounges on the domestic side.From FT some who had got HA flights on 001 stock have been able to enter the AC and by all reports it is better than the HA lounges.But despite this again being an Aadvantage reward we were knocked back so a long walk back to the Plumeria lounge.Well it at least had wine but otherwise basic with poor food choices.So early to gate and first to board.

HA 821. HNL-NRT. ETD-1440. Push back-1420. Take off-1432. A332. Seats2A,B. 3 rows of 2-2-2 for the J cabin.
ETA-1900. Landed-1854. At gate-1901.

First impressions of the cabin are good.Bright and appears spacious.Certainly more appealing than QF J cabins.No closet in the J cabin so jacket had to go overhead.Only 1 J loo.The seat-

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That is the leg rest on the aisle.In rows 2,3 leaves a narrow space for the person in the window seat to get out.However soon had the HA signature beverage in hand-a mai tai.Mighty good too.

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The IFE was an Ipad into an inseat holder.Wasn't easy to get out with it in place.Also not a great selection.

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The fellow in 2E was talking to the FA saying he was on a mileage run and had got a last minute upgrade.Didn't get to chat to him.Soon in the air and the last views of Honolulu-

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[drron]

Now to the food and wine-

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This was a first for us and a nice touch-

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So to the meal.Mrsdrron went for the Western menu.She enjoyed the first course-

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She ordered the salmon for her main.However they forgot to serve it and when eventually delivered it was cold so sent back.I ordered the Japanese meal which was reasonable-

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The dessert was uninspiring.They would have been better to have forgotten the pre arrival snack-

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As a bed the seat was reasonably comfortable-better than the QF A380 seat but not as good as the refurbed 333s.
The junior in the coughpit was a woman and had a problem.Virtually every hour she came out to the loo and as usual for a US airline they blocked off the cabin.A couple of times she stayed on and talked to the FAs.The Captain was quite a size.he came out a couple of times for a snack and can of coke.At about the 3 hour from NRT mark he came back to 3C and had an hour's kip.

It was a day flight so not really tired but the window shades were closed and lights off.Nothing really on the IFE.Tried to read but the overhead light was poorly directed-at least 18 inches in front of me.So I decided on trying to sleep.After a short nap I decided it was time to pay a visit but beaten to it by a fellow coming from the Y cabin.On the way back he took a few snacks from the basket-cheeky.

So I had the flight path on and listened to music.We headed due west until about 2 hours out and then turned north west.It became very bumpy and I noted headwinds up to nearly 200kph.Settled down after an hour.But we arrived right on time.

 

[drron]

We were first of the plane.Noone at mmigration so straight through.With typical Japanese efficiency the bags are soon coming out and ours are 5,6th.So straight out and then our run of luck stalls.literally miss the Hilton shuttle by 20 seconds-bus just pulling out but in Japan it might as well be 30 minutes as 20 seconds late.So a 30 minute wait in the cold.And I do mean cold.Just over a week before Tokyo had snow which remained on the ground for some hours-the first time this has happened in November since records began in 1875.As an aside whilst in Hawaii Mauna Kea twice had 2-3 foot of snow in a day.

Soon at the Hilton Narita.Now this is a points booking and both of us are blue-not just from the cold but also status.But we have stayed over 30 times so still able to select a top floor room with airport view.Though a twin room-

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Christmas is in full swing-

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As well as wedding season-

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Having eaten on the plane we got a couple of pastries for dinner and soon fast asleep.Up early for sunrise-

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And soon on our way on the 0630 shuttle.This time flying TG J courtesy of Lifemiles.JAL had no availability HNL-NRT-BKK apart from 1 overnight flight HNL-NRT hence our using HA and TG.

 

[drron]

Got to Terminal 1 and a sign up saying TG checkin opened at 0730.Already a queue at the J checkin.Turns out it was a tour group.Just before checkin opened at 0710 an agent came and checked obviously not expecting that many J or elite pax.So we ended up first in line.Then the problem.Have had problems with every TG redemption on Lifemiles.We had already lost our seat allocation before we started out in November but quickly fixed ringing their BNE office.Had preselected 12A,B.We were now in 12F and 15E with me being relegated to a middle seat of 3.So we complained saying we had preselected 12A,B and had less than 2 weeks ago confirmed that.The agent taps on her computer for a while and tells us that TG reservations changed the selection on December 7th and 12A has definitely been occupied.Originally no seats together but after a few more minutes gets us together in 16A,B.

Then off to security.We got to the premium line just before 0730 when it opens.Once again a few in front of us but BPs checked before it opened and it ended up with only 1 in front of us.So quickly through and once again the obligatory pat down.Then straight through Immigration.Proceeded to the ANA J lounge that TG uses.First there-

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A weird assortment of food for breakfast.Many went to the noodle bar but we had offerings from the buffet.I had noodles and meatballs and a tomato juice.Mrsdrron a pasta salad and a drink just labelled"juice".A couple of cappuccinos before leaving the lounge.Our gate was very close to the lounge.An absolute shambles at the gate but the Japanese are efficient and soon sorted everybody.Several wheelchairs for pre boarding including a couple of Indian women who showed no signs of mobility issues when checking in.
Interestingly having young children didn't get you pre-boarding.Several turned away.A few younger Caucasian fellows with Y BPs tried to board with the wheelchairs but turned away.Then lined up in the premium queue but were quickly told to join the Y line.One with a Canadian flag on his bag had a T shirt with"Another Vegan Killjoy".How appropriate.

So priority boarding worked well.Getting to our seats there were 2 problems-no window beside 16A and the overheads were full of crew bags.Fortunately thos over the aisle had no carryons.
So the menu and wine list before getting to the flight.

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[drron]

TG 641. NRT-BKK. ETD-0945. Push back-0954. Takeoff-1007. Boeing 773R. Seats-16A,B
ETA-1515. Landed-1453. At gate-1459.
Offered champagne on sitting.Not a lie flat seat.Fine for this reasonably short daytime flight but wouldn't want to fly overnight.
The service was very good and I really enjoyed the food.Mrsdrron had the Western selection and enjoyed the smoked duck but thought the pork was ordinary.No picture of the pork.

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I decided to go for the Thai selection and I was glad I did.It was all the things I like about Thai food.The combination of spices,textures and tastes.The soup was particularly enjoyable-

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The wines were also good.We both started with the Sav.Blanc and then I went on to the Pinot.Those that wont drink pinot are missing out on some great wines.
I tried to lie down for a while but ended up going back to an old pastime-reading the papers.Weekend FT,NY Times and Japan Times.Noted that the headwinds got up over 200kph near Japan but after an hour settled down.
Mrsdrron liked the look of some of the Thai silk in the Duty Free book so ordered a few items.Came to $US115.The purser came around and said they had a special-spend $US120 and get $20 off.So she got some things for the grandkids and still saved $10 on her initial cost.

Arrived early and had to wait a few minutes for the air bridge.Didn't get priority cards but still went to the priority lines figuring that as my birthday is in December they would think I was already 70.They did so no problem.A little wait for bags to come out and not long until ours were out.