Tokyo: Throwback Trip Report, Finale

After the, um, surprising experience at Halong Bay, I spent a quiet day in Hanoi partly at a spa and then at the sports bar in the Hilton before catching a taxi to the airport and checking in for my red-eye flight to Tokyo.  I was going to be catching a First Class flight on American Airlines from Tokyo-Dallas, and Japan Airlines had an overnight flight (albeit in Business Class, poor me) that would get me there in time to see Tokyo for a bit before flying home.  The only downside is that I landed in Tokyo very early in the morning after flying all night.  True to form, I wasn’t incredibly well-rested and didn’t have much of a plan for how to get where I wanted to go.

Halong Bay, Vietnam: Throwback Trip Report, Part IV

Well, like I mentioned in the video (what do you think of the video by the way?  I know the production value is crap, working on it), After a couple of days in Hanoi I made my way to Halong Bay.  Halong Bay is simply one of the most incredible places on earth.  It features over 2000 limestone karsts that dot the entire bay.  There’s obviously a big tourism draw to it, but even more incredible is the life it supports.  There are fishing villages and towns that exist entirely on the water, to the degree that some say people are born, raised, and die in the villages without ever touching solid land!  I read that on the internet so it has to be true.

Hanoi, Vietnam: Throwback Trip Report, Part III

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

I arrived late at  night to Hanoi aboard a Dragonair A330.  It was a short flight, and like I mentioned in my last post I was so exhausted that I fell asleep when I first sat in my seat and had to be lightly shaken awake by the flight attendant after we had landed.  I had pre-arranged a taxi and I strongly recommend this, as the touts are out especially late at night and, as a caucasian, I kind of stood out.

I used Hilton points to book a stay at…you guessed it…the Hanoi Hilton.  No, not that one.  They incredibly have a Hilton hotel in Hanoi, but they call it the Hilton Hanoi Opera to get away from the mental image of staying in a POW camp on your stay.  The room was spacious and large, and I immediately resumed my slumber, ready for the next day.

Hong Kong: Throwback Trip Report, Part II

Boat

Hong Kong is an energetic melting pot of the western world and the Far East.  There’s no city quite like it.  I don’t think it’d be out of bounds to call it a gateway to modern Asia in fact.  A British colony until 1999, it is now considered a Special Autonomous Region of China, who allow the Hong Kong government a bit of freedom in handling their own affairs.

Hong Kong consists of a few different parts: Lantau, Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, and the New Territories.  Lantau is and island to the west and contains, among other things, Hong Kong International Airport, Disneyland, and the Tian Tan Buddha (also called the Big Buddha).  From the airport, you can either take taxis out to the myriad destinations on Lantau or hop on public transit to the rest of Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific First Class: Throwback Trip Report to Vietnam, Part I

Pond outside the house of Ho Chi Minh

Back in 2012 I decided to get into the points and miles game.  I had many e-mentors in my journey, among them Gary Leff, Ben, and Chris Guillebeau (I talk more about my travel inspiration in this post).  I had taken a few small trips here and there, and, through manufactured spending and credit card bonuses, built up a nice little amount of American AAdvantage miles.  I decided I wanted to use them for a special trip: my first time to Asia.

The Best Lounge in the USA? American Express’s new Centurion Lounge at DFW

At the beginning of a recent weekend trip to Europe (trip report in the works), I had the chance to check out American Express’s new Centurion Lounge at DFW International Airport.  Pictures to follow, but first, some build-up…

Life as a frequent flyer based out of DFW
I live in Dallas and my primary airport is DFW, the fortress hub of American Airlines.  This is both a blessing and a curse.  The pros include being a 3-3.5 hour flight from either coast, usually on a nonstop flight, and DFW is fairly easy to navigate.  The cons, though, can be severe at times.  American doesn’t really have to try that hard at DFW.  Take DFW-LGA, for example.  My daytime job as a financial software consultant has me in and out of New York fairly often, so I know the DFW-LGA market well.  American, for a long time, had a monopoly on nonstop flights on this route, and would routinely charge $200-300 more than its competitors, because they knew they could and they knew I (or, rather, my clients) would end up paying it.  Even when Delta recently started flying this route they couldn’t muster up more than a regional jet for it.  So most people just end up paying the premium for American (although we grumble like heck).

Similarly, American’s lounges at DFW aren’t to the flagship standard of some of their other lounges.  There is not a Flagship First Class lounge at DFW airport.  Even though they have four Admiral’s Clubs, very seldom will you see an offering suited to the premium passenger that American so covets.  The reason?  No one else has a nice lounge either.  The closest you get is Terminal D where Qantas, Priority Pass, Star Alliance, and a few others have contract lounges that closely resemble small closets.  American’s Admiral’s Clubs are nice, but don’t compare to the Flagship lounges at ORD, JFK, and LAX.

The game has officially changed.  American Express has opened its new Centurion Lounge at DFW’s Terminal D, and it’s a big-time winner.  American is not happy about the lounge opening, and for very good reason: they’ve been outclassed in their primary international terminal at their home airport!

A New Service

Friends and readers,

It’s been a lot of fun reading all of the comments from my past few trip reports, and stay tuned, as next month I’ll depart on another great trip and promise to tell you all about it.

Today’s post is about my new venture, http://www.milescoach.com.  It’s for people who have some miles, and want to use them, but are just too busy to figure out all the rules and loopholes for finding their trip.  We’re also going to offer status coaching and fare scouting.  Please check out the site at www.milescoach.com and let me know what you think!

MilesCoach will work in similar fashion to other award booking services out there: you only pay if I find your trip.  We’re going to try and grow this product slowly, ensuring each client gets the absolute most focus we can provide.

The content on this travel blog will always be travel-focused, not full of ads for MilesCoach or anything like that.

Look forward to telling you about my trip in a couple of weeks!

To your best,
Andy

Cathay Pacific First Class HKG-SFO: First Class 30th Birthday Trip, Finale

Planning
Re-planning
Lufthansa A330 Old First Class DFW-FRA
Driving the Nurburgring Nordschleife
Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Oslo to celebrate Chris Guillebeau
Singapore A380 Suites Class FRA-SIN
Singapore Airlines Private Room and Singapore 777-300ER First Class SIN-HKG
Hong Kong and the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui
Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Lounge and 747 First Class HKG-SFO

“All good things must come to an end” -Some Pessimistic Jerk

I slowly awoke from an incredible night of sleep, opened my windows, and thought “man, there’s nothing like Hong Kong under a blue morning sky”.  It’s true, and I someday hope to experience that, since it was really cloudy that morning.  It didn’t look Airline Delay Cloudy, so I lazily threw on some clothes and scampered up to the Regency Club for a light breakfast with one of the great urban views in the world.

Morning view from my table

Between the breakfast, the great night’s sleep, unmaking my bed to take a picture of it to frustrate all those who are annoyed by those pictures, and packing, it was almost time to leave for the airport.  This trip was going to be different for a lot of reasons.  First, I was crossing off another Travel Bucket List Item: flying at the front of a 747.  Seat 1A was mine for my flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco.  Second, the reason I decided to route through San Francisco was to see a client in Palo Alto for a few hours on my layover.  This meant the unthinkable: I’d have to dress like a businessman for my flight.  So it’d be an interesting survey, would I be treated any differently because of my attire?

I said a hearty goodbye to the impressive and luxurious Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui, after being personally apologized to by three different managers for the unfortunate experience I had the evening before (without getting into too many details, it), which was a nice touch.  I hailed a cab and told them to make way for Kowloon Station.  We encountered a bit of traffic on Nathan Road, and I saw why moments later: a Lamborghini Gallardo had rear-ended a Hong Kong taxi.  My taxi driver and I jointly went “OOOOOOOOOOOhahahaooooooooo” as the poor Lambo’s front bumper had a nice smear of the red paint common to Hong Kong’s taxis all over it.  Everyone appeared to be fine, which is why it was ok to laugh, I justified later.

Back at Kowloon Station, I made my way for the MTR station and arrived at Hong Kong International Airport a short 23 minutes later.  I found the check-in areas for Cathay Pacific and made my way towards a regular desk, where I was promptly greeted by an attendant, “Good morning, how can I help you sir?”  I had a sudden mental lightbulb and said “HI, OOPS, SORRY, NO YOU CAN’T HELP ME” and businessmanishly walked away, leaving a bewildered attendant.  I had almost forgotten a crucial piece on the Travel Blogger Checklist: using First Class Check-in Areas whenever possible.  I remembered that Cathay has a nice area set apart from the rest of the check-in area, and thank goodness I remembered, or else I would’ve been courteously and professionally assisted by the man at the other check-in desk!

If you’re facing the check-in area, all the way to the left is Cathay Pacific’s First Class Check-in area.

First Class Check-in

Similar to my experience at the First Class Terminal, I was greeted promptly and customer serviceishly by one of the staff members, while another whisked away my baggage, tagged it all the way to Dallas, and presented me with the luggage tag.  The check-in process didn’t take but 2-3 minutes, and I made my way through security and immigration, which was very barren at about 11:30am.

Cathay Pacific has a variety of lounges in the expansive Hong Kong airport, all named after inanimate objects: The Wing, The Pier, The Cabin, The Arrival, The Slightly Less Large Lounge Similar In Design To The Cabin, etc.  I was particularly excited (that’s the life-stage I’m at: Excited To Visit Airline Lounges) to visit The Wing, as it had recently undergone The Closing, followed by The Renovation, and recently The Re-Opening.  It’s located just after the requisite duty-free lounge complex after customs.  The duty-free area reminded me of Frankfurt’s airport, in that I was constantly heading towards what I thought was the way out yet ended up getting lost amidst all the booze and tobacco.

Eventually, I found The Exit, turned left, and found The Cardboard Cutout of a Cathay Pacific attendant pointing you to The Lounge.  I walked in, and The Staff greeted me, checked The Boarding Pass, and gave me The Access to The Wing.  It’s brand new and has a very classy feel, almost like an old lounge you’d imagine Frank Sinatra singing in if he was fond of singing at airports.

[reference to some Frank Sinatra song]

I was a fan of The Couch

As you can see, classy to a fault.  As you walk in, the first thing that catches your eye is The Champagne Bar, because there’s an attendant there, and I bet she’ll give me some.  She asked which of The Champagnes I preferred, and, upon The Selection, poured a pretty healthy glass for me.  I walked around, and due to The Forgetfulness didn’t take that many pictures (#fail), but was very impressed by The Renovation.  I had intended to visit some other lounges, but seeing as my flight was departing from Gate 4, which was literally one floor below The Wing, I decided to stay and wing it (HA).

My gate (the one on The Far Left) in relation to The Wing

First stop after The Champagne Bar was the dining area, called The Haven.  They had The Lunch available from a nice buffet, and the attendants were nice enough to ensure The Champagne Glass remained full, and even indulged me in a Bailey’s on The Rocks.  Very well-liquored and well-fed, I thought my readers would appreciate seeing what The Business Class side looked like, but before I could, my name was called on The Intercom.  I made my way to The Desk up front, and was informed there was a couple who would like to sit together, and would I mind switching my seat with one of them?  I felt really bad, but politely gave the lady The Rejection, as I really wanted my seat, and, after all, had paid a pretty large amount of nothing (67,500 AAdvantage miles and $10-15 in fees) for this flight.

I really did, despite my obnoxiousness in the preceding paragraph, feel bad for splitting up a couple, so I tweeted at a few mileage bloggers, who confirmed that I had done nothing wrong.  Their responses gave me The Confidence, and I decided to grab a shower to freshen up a little before the flight.  One of the highlights of The Wing are The Cabanas.  They’re simply fantastic, even better than the First Class Terminal.

Couch/daybed, tub, and sink area (behind couch)

Bathtub next to an exposed shower

The Amenities

They also had a cabinet where you could hang a shirt, press a button, close the door, and someone would use a hidden door to get the shirt and press it for you.  Very nice service, since I’d be doing business when I landed it was very appreciated.

After I was sufficiently freshened, I complained to myself about the lack of a rubber ducky and decided to leave The Wing, but not before catching a glimpse of my 747 landing and making its way to The Gate.

My plane taxiing to The Gate

After a moderate wait (which consisted of me overpaying for some cigars at the Duty-Free shop), we were ready to board (really quick turnaround for a long-haul international flight, I thought).  First Class guests, just like Singapore, weren’t paged to board, rather were ushered to the front of the line (savoring The Glares from the other passengers) and onto the plane.  My flight attendant welcomed me aboard, taking note of my proper attire, and guided me to Seat 1A.

Seat 1A

Notice the curvature of the 747’s nose, you’re pretty much looking straight ahead from the windows

I love Cathay Pacific’s seat.  It’s very well-cushioned, and is a bit more versatile than Singapore’s seats, even the Suites.  It’s very wide, almost too wide, and I’m embarrassed to say I missed out on a crucial detail when I flew on Cathay last year: the armrest that folds down.

Looks too wide, right?

Pull down on this tab right here

Boom…The Armrest

I was ceremoniously presented with some Shanghai Tang pajamas (in a nice blue color, I liked them better than the black ones I got last year) and went to change in the restroom to beat the rush.  As I walked out of the restroom, my flight attendant was waiting with hangers for my clothes and insisted on hanging them for me.  Ok, if you insist.

I sat back down and another attendant went through a demonstration I called “3 Steps To Happiness”.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Now, after my Singapore flights I found I preferred Dom to Krug, but in a pinch I’ll settle for whatever premium champagne someone offers me.  I proceeded to Krug my face while boarding was completed.  The only difference between the First Class seats in the 747 vs. the 777 is there are 9 seats on the 747 and 6 on the 777, with the same number of flight attendants, so some claim you get more attentive service on the 777.  We were a full 9/9 on this flight.

The Cabin

I was really looking forward to the flight, and before I knew it we made our way to the runway, the massive engines on the 747 kicked into gear, and we flew through some initial turbulence into some beautiful flying weather.

The Sky

After a refill of everyone’s glasses, the moderately paced dining service began.

Table setting

It began with a caviar service, and, the caviar veteran I now am, I confidently scarfed it down with class.

I like their display

I had the soup, and remembered after the attendant took my bowl that I should’ve gotten a picture of it.  But that was ok, because STEAK.

Enormous

The steak looked appetizing, but was just overcooked like whoa.  Maybe when I said “medium rare” my flight attendant heard “in no way close to medium rare”, in which case bravo.  Next time I’ll try saying “I want the meat just on the dead side of mooing” and see if that gets me medium rare.  I could only eat a bit of it before it was just too tough.  I was still pretty full, but went ahead and made room for The Dessert.

Bread pudding with vanilla ice cream

I watched a few TV shows on the in-flight entertainment system, then had the attendant turn my seat into an incredible bed.  Turned out I was still tired I guess, because I was out for about 8 hours!  In the interim, tail winds picked up, and we had a consistent 175mph tail wind back to San Francisco, so by the time I awoke, breakfast was just about ready to be served.

Fruit plate

Scrambled eggs and suspicious looking sausage

I know a lot of you are probably wondering why I didn’t take more pictures.  I just wanted to be selfish and enjoy this flight.  I took a tour of the plane, escorted by a flight attendant who told me all the various features of the seats (annoying the passengers in lower classes), joked around with them in the galley, and just made the best of everything.  I knew what to expect from Cathay Pacific from flying them before, and I’m happy to report this flight was just as good.  I knew this time that Cathay does not like walking around and disturbing passengers, they prefer you ring your call button and they will almost sprint to your side to help.  I knew this time to change into my pajamas early.  I guess in summary, I’m not sure if this flight was better than last year’s (LAX-HKG), but I sure felt like I was a better passenger.

Reminiscing about a great trip, I changed back into my civilian clothes, stowed all of my baggage, and enjoyed the views as we passed the western coast of the USA.

Northern California

We started our descent, and my last little bit of preparation paid off: I knew to sit on the left side of the plane, for a great view of some great tourist attractions.

Golden Gate Bridge and The Rock

We touched down ahead of schedule (dang it) and I had a really dumb smile on my face from how much I enjoyed the flight.  The rental car desk is easy to find at San Francisco, you just get on the inter-terminal train and take a train about halfway to Los Angeles, which is where the rental car desks are.  I made quick work of my client in Palo Alto and returned to the airport for my last flight, on American Airlines Domestic First Class

You know what?  I loved it.  The service didn’t compare to Cathay, Singapore, or Lufthansa, but it was something I’m used to and I guess just felt like home.  The food available on these international First Class flights is great, but the descriptions for each are about 2-3 paragraphs long, talking about how the chicken was “ethically raised, cage-free, organic, vegetarian-fed, valedictorian of its class, of high moral quality, and managed its finances well”.  My flight attendant on American simply and politely said, “Mr. Travel Blog, we have chicken and pasta.”  Made it easy.  I don’t know why, I guess the flights that take you home are sometimes the sweetest, but I loved this flight almost as much as all the others.

Dinner (with iPad in-flight entertainment)

I landed at DFW airport, made my way to the parking lot, and drove home to many texts welcoming me home and my mom calling to make sure I landed safely.  I was finally home.  But, all of you flyers know what getting home means: time to plan the next trip!

Summary
Some of you are reading this for the fun of it, and some of you are close to booking travel and need to know which airline to select.  Singapore Suites versus Cathay Pacific will probably be the most asked question.  It all depends on the route for me.  If you’re on a Singapore Suites flight with a full dinner service (versus the supper service they offer from SFO-HKG, for example), go with Singapore.  It’s a unique experience and the service was great.  Sometimes people say the attendants on Singapore are robotic, so if you’re looking for a very consistent level of service on comfortable, private seats, go with Cathay.  You really can’t go wrong with either.  I don’t feel like it’s fair to compare Lufthansa to the other two, as I was flying on a dated hard product.  The service was on-par with Singapore and Cathay, just with a different style.

I guess my summary would be: Singapore Suites was the most exciting experience, Cathay Pacific was the most comfortable flight, and Lufthansa’s service and food service made up for outdated seats. If you’re on a 777, choose Singapore Business over Singapore First Class.

Thanks
I wanted to say thanks to all of you for reading this and for your comments and thoughts.  I have a mostly sarcastic and irreverent writing style, and hopefully it made you laugh at least once or twice.  I didn’t quite realize how much work went into putting these together, which makes me admire the trip reports of Gary Leff (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/), Ben Schlappig (http://boardingarea.com/blogs/onemileatatime/), and Brian Kelly (www.thepointsguy.com) even more.  They’re some of the guys, along with Chris Guillebeau and Matt Harding, who helped me learn the miles game (not to mention the inspiration to travel) and have been incredibly helpful with tips along the way.

Until, next time, I’ll see you in the skies!

Andy

Hong Kong: First Class 30th Birthday Trip, Second to Last Part

Planning
Re-planning
Lufthansa A330 Old First Class DFW-FRA
Driving the Nurburgring Nordschleife
Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Oslo to celebrate Chris Guillebeau
Singapore A380 Suites Class FRA-SIN
Singapore Airlines Private Room and Singapore 777-300ER First Class SIN-HKG
Hong Kong and the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui
Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Lounge and 747 First Class HKG-SFO

[witty and interesting introduction]

Having been to Hong Kong last year, I was an experienced veteran at getting from the airport to Hong Kong proper.  That’s because I’m an expert travel veteran and not at all because Hong Kong International Airport is incredibly easy, I promise.  I hopped on the Airport Express train for the easy 30 minute ride into  Hong Kong.

I was excited to see Hong Kong at night.  My trip last year was a long layover during the morning, and I immediately got lost upon leaving Kowloon station and wandered for about 2 hours before finding anything (since I didn’t bother to consult a map or anything before arriving, dumb).  I had my bearings better this time and knew exactly what I wanted to see: the Hong Kong skyline at night.  I strategically chose the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui for my stay, based upon the stringent criteria of them having availability and that I could use Hyatt points.

The hotel was just off Nathan Road in a massive complex called K11.  After two trips, I’ve decided everything on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong is basically one big shopping centre.  All I could deduce from the map on Hyatt’s site is that I needed to walk into the K11 mall and then I’d find the entrance to the lobby.  I hopped in a cab at Kowloon station (the cabs are reasonably priced in Hong Kong) and through my expert Cantonese (I pointed at a map I had pulled up on my iPhone), we took off for: a big traffic jam.  But after that, he found a place pretty close to where the K11 mall entrance was, and I told him I’d go the rest of the way on foot.  I entered the scrum of an evening in Hong Kong and promptly heard the dulcet tones echoing after me: “Hey man, you want a fake watch?”  No, I did not.

I eventually found my way to the massive complex I was looking for, at the bottom of a really nice building.

K11

Now, most of you will notice that I’m a decidedly amateur photographer.  Like all amateur photographers, I’m stuck in the Everything Looks Better In HDR Especially At Night phase of my knowledge.  So, get ready for HDR and heavy tonemapping (like the above), because it’s going to come at you strong.

I found my way to the lobby of the Hyatt and told the guy at the desk that I’d like to check in.  He very courteously invited me to proceed to actual lobby on the 3rd floor to check in.  Oh.  So I went to the 3rd floor lobby and was promptly helped by a very nice lady, who informed me that I’d been upgraded to a suite (yes!) and she would like to invite me to check in at the Regency Club on the 24th floor.  Oh.  When we got to the club, I asked, rather concernedly, if I was actually going to be able to check in, or if we needed to go anywhere else.  Nope, I had found the golden ticket it turned out.  I was checked in and given the key to my suite.  Which was on the 15th floor.  So again to the elevators.  But a small price to pay for an AMAZING room.

Hallway at the Hyatt (my suite is the door at the end)

Entryway

Sitting room

Closet looking into bathroom

Shower and toilet areas, facing each other but separated by a glass wall…kind of awkward

Master suite, bed unmade (and proud of it)

View from the floor to ceiling windows

The Hyatt was an excellent hotel.  The staff were friendly and went out of their way to make me feel comfortable.  There was one glaring event that left me pretty upset, but to their credit they sincerely apologized when I was checking out and I received numerous emails from them when I returned home informing me of the results of their investigation.  I’m confident that should any of you go to Hong Kong, you’ll have an excellent stay at this Hyatt, which I thought was a great value for 18,000 Hyatt points.

The humidity wasn’t too bad (only about 138%) when I went out for an evening stroll.  And by evening stroll, I mean “get asked over and over if I’d like to buy a fake watch, custom suit, custom shoes”.  A trick I learned from a stand-up comedian: if you can pull off a good Russian accent, reply to the street hawkers in a Russian accent and act all offended and they will never bug you again (yes, this actually worked: “Are you calling my watch fake? [Russianly]” “OH NO NO NO IT’S A NICE WATCH [Hong Kongishly scampers away]”).

I’m very glad I added an overnight in Hong Kong, loved grabbing the following pictures.

Outside of a building

 

Building the previous picture was outside of

Love this one with the skyline in the background

Hong Kong

Another Hong Kong

The following is one of my favorite pictures I’ve taken, outside of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Love it (little mirror pillars reflected the colors nicely)

My photo bug and Russian accent getting a little tired, I made my way back towards the hotel.  It’s easy to find any place in Hong Kong: remember what the top of your building looks like and, when lost, just look up.

K11

I took a nice long bath in the tub (for some reason whenever I travel I take baths) (and now you know the bath habits of some random blogging guy you’ve probably never met) and recounted my blessings and gave thanks for the ability to go on such an amazing trip.  Even though I was excited about the next day, I didn’t want to go home.  Usually, when I’m on the road I miss being at home and when I’m home I miss being on the road, but for the first time I was on the road and missed being on the road.

My head barely hit the very soft and nice pillow before I was out like a light.

Up next: the end of my trip.  The Wing, Cathay Pacific First Class, and American First Class

Singapore Airlines Suites Class FRA-SIN: First Class 30th Birthday Trip, Suite Part

See the rest of the trip report at the following links!
Planning
Re-planning
Lufthansa A330 Old First Class DFW-FRA
Driving the Nurburgring Nordschleife
Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Oslo to celebrate Chris Guillebeau
Singapore A380 Suites Class FRA-SIN
Singapore Airlines Private Room and Singapore 777-300ER First Class SIN-HKG
Hong Kong and the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui
Cathay Pacific’s The Wing Lounge and 747 First Class HKG-SFO

Everyone has a great flying story.  For me, one of my first memories was OK ALREADY I’LL GET TO THE SINGAPORE SUITES PART.

So how did I get to ride up front on the A380?  Amex recently ran a one-day 100,000 MR points promotion for their platinum card, which I was going to get anyway.  Conveniently enough, the trip from Frankfurt-Singapore in Suites and Singapore-Hong Kong in First cost 105,000 Singapore Krisflyer points, so I transferred the points over (it took about 6 hours to update my Krisflyer account), confirmed my flights, and pretty much squealed like a little girl for about 3 weeks as the flight approached.

But first, a lot of unnecessary build-up.

Oslo-Frankfurt

I caught the 4:10am Flytoget train back to Gardermoen airport.  It was about as painless as it could possibly be, and, after a short wait, checked my bag to Frankfurt.  I was flying coach to Frankfurt, which isn’t really that bad provided you’re not a very tall person.  And, by very tall person, I mean have legs.

About an hour and a half and two torn knee ligaments later, we had a soft touchdown at zie airport in Frankfurt, where my “zie” schtick is no doubt still funny.  I immediately went to claim my bag.  Full disclosure: I checked a bag so I’d have a reason to go into the main terminal and experience what I was sure would be excellent ground service from Singapore Airlines.  I went into the arrivals area and promptly: got lost.  Those of you who have tried to transit Frankfurt know what I’m talking about (in fact, most of you are probably still there, trying to find your way out.  Good luck.).

I eventually found my way over to the Star Alliance section, so I thought, and perused the various airlines for the Singapore Airlines desk.  I later found it precisely nowhere near the other Star Alliance airlines.  I took my first steps onto the beautiful Suites rug and waited for a few moments while the lone agent finished checking in another passenger (I was really early, so I wasn’t expecting a full staff quite yet).  Other passenger shooed away, I confidently approached and said, “Hello, how are you today?”  The agent customer servicedly responded, “I’m…how you say…very congested” and proceeded to prove it by blowing a huge chunky honker into a waiting handkerchief.  Only about 80% disgusted, I then remembered everyone saying “Singapore’s ground service is a bit inconsistent”.  I don’t quite recall anyone saying “Singapore’s ground service is full of snot” but I could’ve just not been listening I guess.  The lady used some hand sanitizer, sniffled, but I didn’t care, because all of a sudden I was in possession of The Golden Ticket.

Sloppily blurred out name

I almost jumped with joy, but that would’ve been a little too wonky.  I took my ticket, sped through security (light crowds this early in the morning) and found my way to Lufthansa’s Senator Lounge.  It was an extremely nice lounge, almost comparable (in amenities at least, not the service) to the First Class Terminal from a few days ago.  I really enjoyed the decorations.  I frequently say to friends back home “I love it when people put big block letters in places that don’t really convey any sense of meaning”…BOY WAS I IN LUCK.

The food selection was decent, but I didn’t want to get too full before the real deal on my approaching flight.

Frankfurt-Singapore

My time passed in the lounge very slowly.  After what seemed to be about three weeks I decided to make my way to the gate and get my first look at the Airbus A380-800 that would be escorting me to Singapore.  Not the prettiest of sites, but I’m from Texas and we like things Big, and it definitely fit the bill.

I’m sure it has a nice personality

My plane creepily eyeing the ANA 777, probably out of your league buddy

On first sight, it looked like a bully in school, you know, the one with the thick hulky brows.  And that one eye that never quite seemed to be looking where the other was.  But you know what, I was impressed.  “Look!”  I said, to no one in particular.  “It’s big!”  This elicited a fierce yawn from a waiting passenger.  Right around this time I was paged over the intercom, I was needed at the gate desk, a massively impressive contraption with 6-7 boarding lanes to help board 500+ passengers as quickly as possible.  I showed my passport and was given an invitation to The Private Room at Singapore’s Changi Airport upon my arrival.

There was still about 20 minutes until boarding began, so I killed time around the gate area.

Ok I’ll board first

At last, boarding was called.  Well, not really called, for me anyway.  One of the gate agents found me and invited me to board before the other passengers.  Well buddy, you had me at “board before the other passengers”.

I walked down the jetway on the lower level.  The first jetbridge you come to is for Suites passengers, the one further down is for Economy.  A lady (judging by the fact my beard had grown out further and my attire, a t-shirt and jeans) saw me about to turn towards the Suites and said “Sir, Economy is this way.”  I confidently (and probably arrogantly) responded, “Well tell Economy I said hi, heading to my Suite” and somewhere a bunch of people were like “OOOOOOO BURN”.

I was greeted on the jetbridge by one of my attendants for the flight, who welcomed me to Suites Class and escorted me to Suite 3A.

Suite 3A

When they say it looks like a dentist’s chair, they’re not kidding.  The suite was huge, spacious, and had a surprising amount of storage.  I thought as I walked in, “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”.  Also, I thought “this is bigger than that hotel room in Oslo” and I wasn’t far off.  Everything found a place, and everywhere I looked I found another subtly placed nook, perfect for the National Geographic magazine I nerdily accepted from one of my attendants as she came by with an assortment of reading materials.

The seat cushion is even wide enough for the extremely obese

Looking down towards my footrest and little side desk

You have to get a Suite on row 3 so you get 3 windows to yourself

Fresh and clean

Kicking back

As I sat down, I was greeted eagerly by one of my flight attendants.  The Suites cabin was halfway full, but it felt like I had the entire crew to myself.  It’s hard to put into words how good they were.  When I needed something, they were at my side.  When I didn’t need anything, they’d very sneakily double-check to make sure.  When I hadn’t asked for anything in a while, they brought by a bottle of water and some potato chips, just in case I was hungry for a snack.  Everything was crisp, as I expected.  I’ve read plenty of reviews of Suites Class, and had high expectations.  My expectations were blown away.  When Singapore claim they’re the best in sky, they’re right.

My attendant insisted on taking a picture, since I was a big important travel blogger

EMPTY CHAMPAGNE GLASS?! THE HECK?!

and then you do that AND TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELVES

For the record, I preferred the 2000 vintage Dom.  I told my attendant to please inform the other guests that they were out of the 2000 vintage so I could have the rest of it to myself.  I don’t know if they took me seriously or not, but I had the rest of that bottle.  So good, much better than the Krug I had on Cathay Pacific last year.

The takeoff roll of an A380 is hard to put into words.  It feels powerful, yet really casual, like Mark Wahlberg walking in slow motion away from an explosion.  I wasn’t even sure we had gone full thrust but then we just casually strolled up into the sky, nary a bump to be found along the way.

As I settled in to the flight I perused the in-flight entertainment system (which was leaps and bounds nicer than Lufthansa, but not quite as nice as Cathay Pacific) and was overjoyed to find I could create my own playlists, and promptly added the best song ever.

Pleasant view out the deceptively small window

Remote control

Haha is he kidding about this being the best song ever?

As I was contemplating maybe calling Carly Rae, the meal service began with a delicious satay.  And then came the caviar.  It was nice to confusingly try and eat the caviar properly without zie Germans judging me (in case you’re confused, read my Lufthansa flight post).  I had pre-ordered the knuckle of veal (which would be an amazing name for a heavy metal band) via Singapore’s Book the Cook option.  Before it was ready I enjoyed a nice soup.

The aforementioned satay that was delicious

This tasted better than the caviar on Lufthansa

It had something chickenish in it. The description in the menu was 8 paragraphs long, and I didn’t have the attention span

Then the main course arrived.  It was cooked to perfection (unlike the beef I’ve had on most airlines), juicy but not too much.  It was of course presented with much fanfare by my flight attendant.

It was THIS delicious (holds hands far apart)

Would I like some dessert?  WOULD I?!  It was raspberry tiramisu and I should’ve hired a poet to describe how delicious it was.

Literally should’ve sent a poet, I have nothing witty for this caption. WHY ARE YOU READING THE CAPTION, LOOK AT THE TIRAMISU

My flight attendant offered to make my bed for me if I’d like to have a nap, which sounded nice after eating 38 pounds of food.  I went and changed into my ultra-chique Singapore Airlines pajamas.  I asked my flight attendant how I looked, which I think she thought was her cue to take a picture.  So she did.

Easy ladies. Actually, no, not easy, come and get it

The bed was very comfortable, even though the cabin was a bit warm.

Comfy

No witty caption for this one either

I slept for about two hours, very pleasantly I might add.  When I started stirring about, my flight attendant magically appeared (no idea how she could tell I was awake, as the doors to the suite were shut) and asked if perhaps I’d like a snack, some crisps perhaps?  Well sure, and how about one of those Singapore Slings I’ve been hearing about?  And, naturally, my flight attendant thought it’d be another good time to take a picture of me with my first Singapore Sling.

It appeared within seconds

Me looking like I’m laughing at something someone behind the flight attendant said

So what does a Singapore Sling taste like?  Well, it’s hard to put into words, but: really sugary syrup.  All that said, it wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t pay whatever they’re asking for at the Raffles bar in Singapore for one.

I walked around the plane for a bit (in my pajamas, which felt exactly as awesome as it sounds, getting the weird looks from everyone on the plane).  I couldn’t take any pictures, because it would’ve just looked too creepy, but I did get this sweet shot of the staircase at the front of the Suites cabin.

I actually do like the lighting here

SLOW DOWN

I had a bad feeling the flight was coming to a close, and it turned out my premonitions were correct.  But no good flight should end without a great breakfast service, Singapore Airlines thought, so I took my seat for a great breakfast.

Fruit plate

Eggs and bacon on multigrain toast, with sour cream next to it for some reason

Apple Juice

As breakfast concluded, my flight attendant peculiarly asked me if perhaps I’d like another raspberry tiramisu since I had scarfed the one down so quickly last night.  I was actually a bit hesitant, but she insisted I would like it, so I said sure, why not?

A reminder: my birthday was the week before, which I in no way mentioned to the flight staff.  But accompanying the raspberry tiramisu was a Happy Birthday card (signed by the entire flight crew), two decks of Singapore Airlines playing cards, and four flight attendants very quietly singing Happy Birthday to me.

Made to feel like a king

We landed right on shedyool in Singapore and just like that the best flight of my life was over.  I’ll say it again: I expected prompt, professional service, and I got plenty of it.  What surprised me was the warmth and genuineness displayed by each member of the flight crew.  Regardless of whether they had seen me before or not, everyone addressed me by name and sincerely wanted to know if there was anything they could do to help.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I wasn’t expecting to feel so…cared for.  It’s hard to put everything into words, but I’ve tried my best and hope you’ve enjoyed the post I know most of you have been waiting for.

Up next: Singapore’s Private Room lounge and Singapore First Class from Singapore-Hong Kong