City hops on Qantas/Cathay Pacific/JAL/Singapore Airlines

[KeithMEL]

CX784 DPS-HKG, 26JUL2008, Business Class

My time in Bali was truly way too short, and it was with great reluctance that I checked out of my luxurious villa and hopped into my ride to Denpasar airport. Extremely long queue for security at the entrance to the terminal, thankfully it wasn't too hot. Another v long queue for check in - only 1 JCL counter for J pax; I noticed the YCL queue was moving faster and hence wandered over - and subsequently got checked in before quite a few people who were ahead of me in the JCL queue.

Yet another long queue to pay departure tax, thankfully queues for emigration were short but Murphy's Law hit yet again as I was stuck behind a couple who hadn't quite got their documentation in order. I had turned up to the airport 2 hours before departure but it was just about boarding time by the time I got airside - so I simply proceeded straight to the gate where there was yet another long and slow moving queue for security. See the theme? Boarding was called as I was queuing up so at least there wasn't a wait at the gate area for boarding. Priority queues strictly enforced.

Now this must be the first time in a long time that I hit the crew jackpot with Cathay. One of those "if only every Cathay flight could be like this" kind of flights. Was welcomed very warmly at the entry to the aircraft by an FA - who's smiling brightly and looked most welcoming. The SP on the upper deck then welcomed me equally warmly, and asked whether I'd flown with their new JCL config before and to please ask her for assistance with the seat should I need any. She then proceeded to fuss with the small child next to me whilst his parents were busy settling in. My first impressions of this set of crew were one of spontaneity and enthusiasm. And human.

A bigger surprise was yet to come - the same white blouse who was so forthcoming with the Billecart on my flight into DPS was once again going to be serving us on this flight! Apparently she only does short hauls and DPS features v regularly in her roster. She was most surprised to see me again, "ahh you're the one who drank lots of champagne!" Got refills without asking this time.

We then had a v theatrical welcome PA from the ISM. I didn't see her the entire flight as she was downstairs but she sounded like a v fun individual to fly with. The SP came over to confirm my shellfish allergy, and I got first dips in choosing the main course. She saw me snapping away merrily with my camera and offered to take a pic of me.





The UD was completely full. Bali seems to attract v good loads up front.

Dinner was served after take off. We started off with satay - as I could not eat the crab cakes that accompanied the satay I got an extra stick of satay. Once again v yummy garlic bread on Cathay. The salmon entree was rather average, but the lamb main was absolutely delicious and mouth-meltingly good despite the usual lacklustre presentation. Had some cheese but was way too stuffed so passed on dessert.









Champagne flowed v generously this time, and this crew had great cabin presence as they circulated the cabin v regularly and topped up empty glasses or took drink orders. This is in contrast to my other Cathay flights prior where the crew were nowhere to be seen apart from when there was service to perform.

2nd go with the new seats, still not impressed I'm afraid. My previous comments still apply - overly narrow, anti-social, not nearly enough width (and I'm not a v big person either - as those who've met me would attest to), too little thigh support.

Had a chance to explore the brand new IFE system this time - I like the fact that it warns you prior to the start of a new program that you might not be able to finish it before the system has to be shut for landing, as it is quite annoying to have the system shut during the climax of a movie or TV show. Otherwise the content was pretty much the same as my previous flights, given that it's the same month of travel so I simply re-watched some movies that I'd liked.

From start to end there was a great atmosphere on this flight, as the service was top drawer all the way - with a v warm and light hearted human touch, punctuated with fun and interesting convos.

Next: Night out in HKG; QF30 HKG-MEL J

[YK@HKG]

2nd go with the new seats, still not impressed I'm afraid. My previous comments still apply - overly narrow, anti-social, not nearly enough width (and I'm not a v big person either - as those who've met me would attest to), too little thigh support.

Had a chance to explore the brand new IFE system this time - I like the fact that it warns you prior to the start of a new program that you might not be able to finish it before the system has to be shut for landing, as it is quite annoying to have the system shut during the climax of a movie or TV show. Otherwise the content was pretty much the same as my previous flights, given that it's the same month of travel so I simply re-watched some movies that I'd liked.

Having tried the new product on HKG-LAX (UD), I would agree with these comments. The seat "is not wide enough" for a J-seat and the sights of other ppl's foot sitting across the aisle from you is not really enjoyable

For the IFE, I think the Krisworld on the new B77W beats Studio CX hands down. Even the interactive map that I thought they have installed in the new CX's IFE (and commented by some in their TR here) was not there and we still see the same old boring map.

[Kiwi]

But I'm sure someone else out there would appreciate the French stuff and exotic coffee beans on SQ more than I do.

:raises hand:

mmmm Kenyan AA Kilimanjaro mmmmm

[KeithMEL]

Night out in HKG

I didn't meet the MCT at HKG to connect from CX784 DPS-HKG to the QF86 HKG-MEL departure of the same evening. Hence it was either the last Cathay flight of the day, or overnighting to catch QF30 the next morning - given that I try to maximise my QF experiences as much as possible I opted for the overnighting. I was able to get Cathay at DPS to check my bags all the way to MEL, and they'd even issued my bp for QF30.

So all I had to do when I arrived at HKG after clearing CIQ was to catch the Airport Express into town and checked my hand carry items in with the left luggage facility at HK AE station. Given that it was a Saturday night and QF30 departs the next morning at 9ish my plan was obviously to stay out all night partying, and hence getting a hotel would be fairly pointless as I could shower in the lounge.

To avoid drinking on an empty stomach I toddled over to one of my favourite noodle places in Hong Kong, Wong Chi Kei on Wellington St and had some nice beef brisket noodles. I miss the prawn dumpling ones... they were eggcellent at this restaurant.

Without further ado, I then proceeded to Prive for some cocktails. Met some cool people there (who were from Melbourne too!) and we kicked on to Insomnia for some tunes and frivolous fun - better cover bands than its Singapore-based sibling.





At about 1.30am I proceeded to Propaganda, which was as per the norm on a weekend horrendously crowded. Met flight attendants from 2 different airlines there, namely BA and LH - the whackiest individuals I've ever met, so much for the stereotype of LH cabin crew members as soulless Teutonics.

Along with some other people we'd met, we continued on to another club further down the same laneway, name of which I can't remember but it was more chiled out, has great cocktails and played some nice House.

Finally at 6am, I got ready to get back to the airport but got persuaded to stay for Maccas (!). I was hungry and needed something greasy to sober up. I'd thought about some noodle soup at the Wing/Pier but it'd be nice to chat some more with the people I'd met. So I agreed and proceeded to a Maccas on one of the main streets, think it was Queen's where I wolfed down 2 Sausage & Egg McMuffins.

After bidding my new friends farewell, I wandered back to the AE station in good timing as the train was still sitting there waiting for more pax - and I was back at the airport at about 7am.

Next: QF30 HKG-MEL J

[Paint Horse]

Nice set of reports I must say, but up all night; what a maniac.

[HUGE AL]

You're not kidding! That seat looks claustrophobic!

...my plan was obviously to stay out all night partying, and hence getting a hotel would be fairly pointless as I could shower in the lounge...think it was Queen's where I wolfed down 2 Sausage & Egg McMuffins.

And there he goes again...

[jjpb3]

I sympathize about the variance in the CX crews' quality. I've experienced the same, and it doesn't fit the perceptions of CX that I had from a couple of years back.

[KeithMEL]

QF30 HKG-MEL, 27JUL2008, Business Class

Passed through passport control in a jiffy. Was getting my laptop ready for security when I felt a sharp pain on my left foot - the woman in front of me was standing on me with her stiletto. Had to register my Epi Pen again but they didn't give me any hassles this time around. I hobbled the rest of the way to the Wing, thankful to finally sink into a seat.

Decided to have a shower - but all the shower rooms were full. I was placed on a waitlist, which I'd cleared in less than 10 minutes. These were v nice showers for a J lounge, with Dermalogica toiletries. I examined my poor left foot - there was a bruise where I'd been stepped on.







I made by way to the gate (think it was 24) a bit early as I wanted to see if I could change to row 16, the emergency exit row which Qantas blocks for their Platinums. No can do, says the QF staffer. She lifted the ticket coupon from my boarding pass and promptly replaced my Cathay stock bp with a nice red barcoded Qantas one. It was my first time seeing a barcoded Qantas bp - i don't mind either the regular bps or the barcoded ones but the new bp was of a different size to the old bps, which is a bit irritating as i collect bps and put them all together in a folder.

Soon enough boarding was called, priority boarding was also extended to Premium Economy which I thought was pretty cool as it differentiates W from Y and goes towards making a case for shelling out the extra to fly W.

As I was ascending the stairs to the giddy heights of the UD, I was greeted like an old friend from the top of the stairs by one of the UD FAs. Ahh back on the Flying Roo - it already felt like I was already home. There is something inherently nice about that sense of familiarity I get when flying the Roo. My coat was hung up, and I was soon offered a glass of champagne - they were serving both Lanson and CH MEC today. She then stayed to chat as there weren't any other pax around. Inevitably the conversation turned to the QF30 decompression incident that occurred 2 days before. I ended up having the same convo with my seat mate. His ex gf was apparently an FA on duty on the same flight, and he showed me the smses she sent from Manila - quite calm for someone who'd endured something so scary.

Ironically the 'Qantas Special Edition' of the newspaper the FAs distributed didn't bother with editing out an article of the incident - there were some v disturbing pics and I'm sure first time or nervous flyers wouldn't appreciate it. Then again I remember the same when I flew Singapore the day after the SQ006 disaster, which was a much more serious incident. IMO airlines ought to be a bit more discreet with such things. Oh and what on earth is the Sydney Morning Herald doing on a Melbourne-bound flight? But I digress...

I'd used to go with row 11, the bulkhead but now, perhaps influenced by those who prefer sitting at the back, tend to go with row 17 instead. There was still plenty of room, and that row makes access to champagne or having a chat with the FAs in the galley easier. I had 17J, an aisle seat.







Departure was prompt and right on schedule. And the crew sprang into action once again once we reached cruising altitude. Had champagne once again with the first bar service - someone must have requested for a v strong scotch and coke as I could smell the scotch all the way from my seat. Another FA came around and confirmed that they know of my shellfish allergy, and asked what I'd like to eat so they would reserve my choices for me.

An announcement was made regarding the unserviceability of the IFE, which still worked manually (ie if you scrolled channel by channel), just that the AVOiD software itself was down.

Even though this was a rather early flight, the first meal service was lunch not breakfast. The menu looked v interesting. We started with a wintermelon soup - which sounded and looked much better than it actually tasted, ie v bland. The main of duck in orange sauce was OTOH most delicious, with a lovely blend of flavours. Feeling rather full, I declined the rest of the meal - which was a shame as I quite liked the Maggie Beer spiced pear paste, but i thought it'd be a waste to ask for the cheese plate just to have the paste.





At this stage I couldn't help but notice that the champagne tasted different. Better. More buttery, less acidic than the MEC or Lanson, and with a lovely chocolatey aroma. It couldn't be could it - I asked to look at the bottle, she was serving CH Blanc des Millenaires 1995 from FCL! She tried to talk my seat mate into having some but he responded that champagne was "too fizzy" for him and chose to stuck to his reds. I asked what's the occassion, to which the FA responded that she does nice things for nice pax. A lovely gesture indeed, but she seemed to hint that nice pax were the exception rather than the norm which I hope isn't the case.

I dozed off after a few more glasses, the lack of sleep had finally caught up with me. And awoke with over 2 hours to go. Went through some of the IFE; I'd watched most of the movies already so just browsed the TV selection. The FA happened to be patrolling the aisles and came around with yet more drinks as soon as I was awake. And the refreshment service commenced not long after - this time I had braised pork, another yummy number. And finished up with the cheese plate. The other FA asked if I'd like the fruit platter AND the tart as I'd missed dessert the first time around - which I declined after putting up a stiff resistance, which reminds me abit of dear old Grandpa who always didn't think that I ate or drank nearly enough (he doesn't consider wine/champagne to be real drinks you see - only beer and gin count).







Another of those "damn this flight's too short" experience - the concept of a flight that's "too short" probably doesn't make sense to most who view the journey from point A to B as something to get over and done with soonest possible, but to me when the journey is in itself a great experience it is something to be savoured. We landed at Tulla with all parts of the plane attached (ok... bad joke), where there was a 30 degree temperature change from Hong Kong. But I was home, and after being on the road for 4 weeks there was nowhere else that I'd rather be at that point.

The End

See y'all (as in within the Trip Reports forum) again in September, when you'd be reading a v different TR from this one for I've purchased an Economy RTW ticket for that quick 2 week jaunt to Honolulu/LA/Vienna/Shanghai/HK!

Signing off for now,
KeithMEL

[nickbot]

Excellent stuff KeithMEL

[Lobster]

Great TR thanks for sharing

[jjpb3]

Epic TR, KeithMEL. Must have been great to have it capped by a wonderful flight.

[jhm]

Thanks, KeithMEL for your TR! A most satisfying read.

[jhm]

Maggie Beer spiced pear paste

I succumbed to curiosity and Googled this. I see that it's not (as I thought) a weird Aussie alcoholic pear paste but actually the name of a person.

[planemad]

Thanks for the final installment KeithMEL. I really enjoyed reading about your whirlwind jaunt. Totally agree that getting to the destination is half the fun!

[phaleesy]

Wulai and hotsprings

KeithMEL,
Was the Wulai trip a daytrip from Taipei or did you stay overnight?

The hotspring bath seems to be an individual little tub in the hotel room! Do they not do big communal ones like in Japan?

Would you know if there were any other hot spring resorts nearish Taipei?

Food looks good. I am so tempted.