Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

'Single Standard': from Europe to Asia on BT/SK C, QR & SQ J

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    The bus driver takes us to the main, not the PT and asks all of us to disembark. I notice that this is not the PT, and that something is wrong, however and for no reason I decide jump off the bus as well. Then I find out the mistake. I waste five or ten minutes asking where to go for the PT and at the end I arrive next to gate 01, where a bus comes in a few minutes to finally take us to the PT. I go through security control and time has now come for an extensive perfumes sampling session. Amazed by the Hermes Caliche (a 1961 perfume) and also by the Hermes 24 Faubourg (another ladies perfume), I decide to go for a Kouros EdT, an Amouage Men Gold EdP and a Dior Intense EdP. The YSL Kouros has been reformulated some years back and has lost some of its magic, but still it is a classic scent I had to own, so for a nice 50 ml bottle (perfect for travels as well) I thought I had to give it a go. Amouage, on the other hand, is an Oman based perfume house (from what I know) and their range is pretty dear, price-wise. Interesting scents, but check basenotes.net before you buy, in the case you have not tried them extensively before.

    Needless to say that QR ground staff started to make announcements in the DFS area for remaining pax for the QR888 flight to Shanghai (who was late again, I wonder?) but I was close to the counter getting (finally) ready to pay, so I let them know I was to approach the small PT boarding gate #04 soon. Boarding the fairly new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was quick thereafter, my seat being 5F (facing the bulkhead, front row of the aft J cabin). Admittedly, this new QR J product is very good indeed. Plenty of seat pitch and leg space, large screen and a fully flat seat. Top and bottom pajamas handed out and a small handy toiletries pouch with Molton Brown products inside.


    Cabin lights switched off, plenty of time remaining en route to our destination, PVG.


    Seat 5F on the QR B777-300ER.


    Ditto.


    Still row 05, stbd side this time.

    In 15-20 minutes we are done with boarding and start taxiing for take-off. As soon as we are up in the air, I change to pajamas and get ready for some sleep. It is already around 1am, and since I had dinner on the ATH-DOH flight, I check the QR888 menu and inform the cabin crew that it will be breakfast just before arrival to PVG for me.


    I did get some sleep, about 3-4 hours. Then I started writing my trip report, having some green tea with honey.
    I seldom use the screen or watch movies when flying.



    Fruit and yoghurt platter as a starter for breakfast. Breakfast was a-la-carte – nice indeed.


    Breakfast main for me was omelette with chicken.

    Overall QR’s J culinary experience is good but still clearly lags behind that of SQ. If we, however, consider the prices paid for such a travel experience (and dare to compare them to SQ J prices) then it is not bad at all. The Greek psychiatrist sitting next to me on the ATH-DOH leg told me that about a month ago QR in ATH had an offer to HKG for Eur 1,000 in J class – if true, this is something one should snatch for a long weekend. The price is extremely low for such a destination with such an airline.


    Seat controls.


    Green tea with honey again after breakfast.


    Shanghai, here I come again.





    With this and that, the 8+ hrs to PVG went by fairly quickly. Soon it was time for us to land in Shanghai’s Pudong (PVG) airport.
    Last edited by N_Architect; 29 June 2010, 02:15 PM. Reason: Corrected grammar error.

    Comment


    • #32
      I'm sorry about your godfather.

      Originally posted by N_Architect View Post
      Life is short, very short indeed – we come with nothing and leave in just the same way. That is why I have said it before and I will say it again: it must be enjoyed to its fullest, with no remorse or regrets. Every passion, every obsession, every desire (as long as it does not interfere with other people’s freedoms) must be pursued mercilessly.
      Well said, N_Architect.

      Comment


      • #33
        It was my second time in Shanghai. First time was a year and half back, again for a week. It is a nice city, vibrant and cosmopolitan – but I admit I have yet to get to know it to a sufficient extent. Our stay was to be at the JW Marriott, in Tomorrow Square. A nice property. During my time there, the Shanghai Expo 2010 was held, but in the midst of meetings, work and jetlag recovering, I did not get to pay a visit. I was told about long queues outside certain pavilions and seems certain it must have been a nice event.

        We go through immigration in PVG pretty fast. The typical taxi drivers approaching you as soon as you exit to the arrivals hall – no thank you, I just cannot trust easily anyone here. I’ll go out and get a standard taxi. It is Sunday 3pm and the arrivals hall is literally flooded with hundreds of people, waiting for family members, businessmen, colleagues, tourists. As soon as you exit from the customs line you feel as if you are a member of the Brazilian football team arriving in Sao Paolo airport; you walk and walk and still so many people on your left and right anchored and pressured to the supporting rails, giving you the impression they are all looking at you (should have taken a shot here…)



        Taxi to hotel is fine this time (last time he was speeding like hell), I have two hundred something Yuan (Chinese Yuan Renminbi, RMB) with me, so it should be ok. We arrive at the hotel some 45 minutes later, the cost being 160 RMB (about Eur 19.20) and I am taken straight to 38th floor where the JW Marriott Shanghai reception is located.


        JW Marriott Shanghai 38th floor reception area.


        Partial view of Shanghai from the 38th floor of the JW Marriott.






        An attempt to take a descent shot in one of JW Marriott’s elevators.

        Check-in at the hotel takes its time; I have actually arrived late, we are a large group and the schedule (meetings, lectures, etc. most of them held at the hotel’s 5th floor facilities) has already commenced with lunch earlier the same day. Irrelevant to me, of course, though they are completely unaware of it. Arrival day used to be Sunday for this type of events, I originally booked to arrive on Sunday, no changes needed plus that I had to see my godfather so I couldn’t avoid arriving earlier than Sunday anyway.


        43rd floor area, straight as you exit the elevators.

        I am assigned a room in the 43rd floor. Last year it was on the 47th, marginally better view from there. It was up there last year that I took the shots with Shanghai burning under my feet during the eve of Chinese New Year. The JW Marriott has serviced apartments from the lower floors up to the thirty something floor, then it is the hotel’s floors up to the 50th floor, including Club level lounge, bar, etc. Gym, spa, pools, etc. are located in floors 6 & 7 and conference facilities in floor 5. There is a Starbucks on the ground floor, together with a few shops, one of which is a tailor. He calls the shop ‘Tai Pan Row’, which is the same name of a Hong Kong tailor that has three (to my knowledge) outlets in Hong Kong, one of which is actually in IFC. As I happened to be a happy TPR HKG customer, I paid this fella a visit, only to be told he is not the same company. He told me he is Hongkonese, and that he knows all of them in TPR HKG, not surprises here since he must be in the business for years (I noted the edges of his fingers pretty worn out from the use of pins all those years). Naturally he was claiming his shirt and suit making is superior to anyone else’s.

        The information I have in my hands, however, is different. Last year we were again in the same hotel and there was an offer with this particular shop for shirts, skirts and suits tailor made. I believe it was around US$100-150 per suit, and many people went for it. This year someone told me she was not happy with it. In any case, the city here has plenty of tailors at your disposal, from economical to expensive ones. Some you have to go out and visit them, they take your measures and deliver the goods in a day or two at your hotel, while others can also visit you in your hotel room and save you the trouble of going out.




        Outside our hotel.

        It is getting 5-6pm by now, time to go out for a walk and get a feel of the city. What better that visiting the nearby Xin Tian Di area and combining that with dinner at Din Tai Fung?

        Comment


        • #34
          Dinner at Din Tai Fung was nice – my favorite double boiled chicken soup, fried rice, vegetables, fried pork. Had to wait 20 minutes but it is worth it. Not nice eating alone, of course but this is reality when you fly to places on your own. Dinner is over and off for a walk in the area with all the bars and cafes. Some girls, few though as it is pretty early, are looking for ‘company’ as usual in Xin Tian Di. Not in the mood this time, too tired and fed up with this (a ‘mood’ that would however change drastically a week later in Singapore…) I sampled the local ‘delicacies’ here in Shanghai last year, anyway.

          I stop by in one of the shops and get a 10-yr old Chinese tea, 200 RMB. So far I haven’t unpacked it, the tea inside is in an air-tight sealed package. I left it back home (ATH) actually and brought with me here all the TWG teas I got a week later in Singapore (more on this coming up.)

          I return to my hotel room. Xin Tian Di is about 20 minutes on foot from the hotel, or 5 minutes by taxi – very close in other words. Time for some shots of the room:











          Standard room, nothing extraordinary, overall very nice when compared to other rooms at similar quality level properties. A strong objection on the mattress though as it gave me a terrible back pain in the first few days, till I got used to it. Swimming at the pool(s) every night thereafter relieved me quite a bit, I have to say.

          Next: Breakfast at 06:30, imitation goods shopping and a few short walks in Shanghai, nearby our hotel.

          Comment


          • #35
            TR!

            Comment


            • #36
              I admire your self-control with the noisy party from ATH. I don't think I'd have had similar self-restraint.

              Very nice TR so far, N_Architect.
              ‘Lean into the sharp points’

              Comment


              • #37
                All right, next day comes. Taking into account that this is an East-bound trip and also that I have been long-haul ‘grounded’ for almost 9 months, I expected the jetlag to hit me pretty hard. To this respect, I tried to sleep on the plane, I exercised almost daily and drank a lot of water. It did help a lot, but still, the mid-day feeling of tiredness was still there. I am happy though, as this is a considerable improvement over what I was going through the years before.

                Having got a descent 6 hours of sleep, I take a shower and shave (what a difference the soft water makes in shaving…) then am off to enjoy a rich breakfast, where surprises are waiting.


                JW Marriott Shanghai 38th floor; on the right you can barely see the breakfast area.

                Breakfast opens at 6am, and I am there about 20 minutes after that. Few colleagues are already in, they have woken up early (probably jetlagged as well) and take breakfast. I am looking for a nice little quiet area to enjoy breakfast, drink my tea after that and read my newspaper but they invite me towards them. I am tired, jetlagged and breakfast is the most important meal of the day for me – I just want to enjoy it. I don’t want discussions, noise, debates or whatever else. I just want to have some quiet time for me. We barely know each other as we had met the day before, on the evening of my arrival. They are Americans, energetic, and just so keen to talk about business, about companies, about strategies and whatever else b******t that drives them this time of the year. Fine with me, lovely guys, really, but hay – I just woke up and came here to enjoy my meal. This is important to me. The marketing strategy of Home Depot isn’t, sorry to say folks.

                We are in China, in the land where modern day developments continuously take place as we speak; we are sitting by the windows of this tall building, on the 38th floor, and have the city right underneath us waking up slowly on a cloudy Monday morning; we can see numerous highways getting filled gradually with morning traffic; as we speak we are being served tea by Chinese nationals, people who are very different to us, who dress, speak, behave and look different; we are in a country with such a long history, with so many cultural treasures on its shoulders. These only should give us thousands of hours to talk about without even taking a step out of this bloody property, to silently observe, to stare, to debate, to quietly reflect – and you want me to talk about the strategy of Hewlett Packard or Home Depot?

                Globalization? Yes. Business? Yes. But take a step back, think where you are, pay attention to the surroundings, feel the place, smell the scents, absorb the energy. How does it feel? What do you make out of it? Life is not room service and reading the WSJ. It is much more than this.

                And since it is, later in the day I decide to skip some ‘guest speaker talks’ and instead take a walk around the nearby area. Here we go:




                In Tomorrow Square there is a small park – I decide to go and explore it a bit.











                Comment


                • #38
                  Our walk in Shanghai’s Tomorrow Square continues:

















                  Back out in the city streets:







                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Now I am already walking towards Huangpu river:
























                    Motion never stops in a vibrant city like Shanghai.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Approaching Tomorrow Square again:


                      This is a queue for the bus, actually.


                      A photographer is never short of photo opportunities in this city.



















                      Now a walk towards an ‘imitation goods only’ shopping mall located very close to our hotel.



                      What can I say on this… No pictures, had to go for a few things my mother and sister wanted. Plenty of stuff, watches, bags, clothes, all imitations. All you need is time and patience for bargaining, nothing else. You could see westerners coming out of that shopping mall with plenty of plastic bags in their hands. I do not like imitation goods. There is a reason for a watch to cost 5 or 10k, and once you sample one then you realize that it is worth it. Same with bags. The plus with fake goods, though, is that if you happen to lose it, you could not care less. This is a luxury in itself, it really is.

                      I know the prices that are to be paid, but since I am not willing to spend half an hour there just to get the price of a single imitation Cartier or Rolex watch down to 150 RMB from 700 or 800, I decide to do something else. How many watches do I need? Two. Ok. How much am I willing to pay for them? 300 RMB max. Ok. They should be thankful, that is Eur 18 per piece – no offense but it shouldn’t cost them more than Eur 5 to make the watch somewhere 500 miles from here. Anyway, once I realized they will not let you go away even if you pay them considerably less than what some of the other (perhaps less informed) westerners are paying, I was fine. I know they will take the 150 RMB for a piece, so this is how we will play, with the addition that I’m not going to sit here for half a day and waste my time. Yesterday I got a Cartier from the guy next door for 180 RMB (what a fool, me is). Then I thought about it, and said to myself “Is it really worth it spending an extra 20 minutes there just to get a couple of Euros off? What a waste of time…”

                      Anyway, I go up in the 2nd floor, choose a shop (they’re hundreds of them). I only have 300 RMB in my jean’s pockets, and the JW Marriott room key card – nothing else. The bargaining starts. He takes off from 790 RMB. Anyway, five minutes later I am in a state where he says to me “You are lying, you have money in your other pockets, in your socks!” I open all my pockets, I take his hand and put it in my butt so that he can feel I have nothing in the back pockets. After debating for a couple of minutes in friendly attitude, he takes a hopeless smile and says “Ok…” So 300 RMB for a fake white gold Daytona and a new model Cartier Santos with the rubber wristband it finally is.

                      I am not good in bargaining. I just don’t like it, anywhere in life. This was more fun for me than anything else. I always admire people who are good at it, mainly in a business environment, of course.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        The next day I decide to walk towards the Xin Tian Di area, in pursuit of a Uni-Qlo store there is reportedly nearby.







                        The store was a small one, sizes were too small for me (nothing beats the U.S. in sizes), so Uni-Qlo shopping postponed for November when I visit NYC again.

                        We are now towards the end of my Shanghai week. The experiences with colleagues/classmates become richer and richer, it is such a privilege to be able and go successfully through a rigorous executive education program and to be exposed to so many new ideas. I watched an old video from Harvard Business School on a cost management accounting case and thought that the Americans, no matter what we sometimes say about them, have really turned almost everything into a science in contemporary business. The depth, the work, the detail in what they get down to do is impressive. You watch in the video these HBS MBA students (year 1982) and think that these guys are now probably CEOs or whatever else, possibly at the top of their business. These are the institutions where in actual reality modern and future leaders are being coached. Of course nothing in this world for them would be possible without networking and all the other stuff that goes with it, but still, no one can dispute the fact that in modern management and business the Americans are true pioneers (my subjective opinion, of course).

                        Now if you ask me if this is what matters in life, I will tell you no. Success is not measured by the drive to become a CEO or to build a company from scratch. Success is a very personal thing, and for this we only report to our conscience and to nobody else. If you are happy with what you do, no matter what that is, this is happiness. If you create or get the chance to give in life, even better. There are no rules, no judgment standards, no recipes for success. Sales targets, budgets, shareholders, market share, rising up the career ladder are all ‘side dishes’ of a bitter illusion that many of us fell into early on in our lives.

                        The real life is elsewhere, not there.

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          On Wednesday, a visit to Kunshan. A place referenced as ‘model’ for state entrepreneurship, development and evolution of a business model during the last 30 years. An interesting proposal, but I decide to skip. I need to go and visit our office in Shanghai, need the networking much more than anything else. This is what is going to get me where I want to be. The Kunshan experience can wait. Ok, perhaps I won’t have the chance to meet the Mayor if I come alone a year later – but you are supposed to know me by now. Incognito visits are much more preferred. I prefer to shoot what and when I like, to dine where and when I like. You will never get acquainted with the real China through 3-hr industrial visits. I am also a tourist, but I have to overcome that.

                          Friday is here in Shanghai. Six days here and I really want to come again and explore the city more. I loved the nights up in the two swimming pools of the JW Marriott. The monsoon season is right in Shanghai’s doorstep. A couple of nights it was raining – I was spending 10 minutes in the long indoor pool, then another 10 in the outside one, in the rain. Alone. All yours. Unforgettable feeling. One more missed opportunity for taking pictures. But Singapore is waiting… And my godfather died yesterday. That is ok – he finally got his rest. I check-in (12K) on SQ827. A Saturday morning, 08:05 hrs departure flight. A J saver ticket. A retrofitted Boeing 777-200 (unknown to me, as I have been spending the last 6 months addicted in grooming forums…) The excitement of another SQ flight. The long awaited arrival and stay in beautiful Singapore.


                          Saturday morning, just before 6am on the 38th floor.
                          Checked out already and waiting for quick breakfast before taking a taxi to PVG.





                          On the cab a minute after leaving the hotel. It is 20 minutes past 6 in the morning.






                          On the way to PVG on a misty Shanghai morning.



                          Next: The flight to Singapore. Arrival and checking-in at the Shangri-La.

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            I arrive at Pudong about a hour before the scheduled departure time. Check-in is ok, had to wait a bit but when you have in front of you families travelling things take time. Y class check-in is faster, but ok, what to do. A colleague/classmate comes few minutes later and while I am still waiting first in line. He says to me in a kind of worrying mood “There may be a delay, if our flight ever leaves, this misty/foggy weather this morning is not good and I did not see any planes taking off while on the way to the airport.” I begin to think that either he has to be a complete idiot or totally inexperienced (not that I am experienced in flying, but this is way too much to worry about) and try to explain to him that the weather here is more or less like this most of the time, especially when the summer rainy season approaches. I ascertain him that our flight should depart as scheduled, which it did. He’s a very nice guy indeed but may be he comes from a place in the States where they do not have a reasonably sized airport in close proximity, I really do not know what to guess.

                            Anyway, no time for lounge sitting (i.e. no time to waste), instead some shopping. I get a tea for my sister and a cheap teapot for myself (intention: everyday use). The porcelain sets can come some years later when I make a family (if that ever happens). I arrive at the gate a bit late (as usual) and board the aircraft. We have 9V-SQM today taking us to Singapore. First thing I notice is the light beige colour of the J cabin and the very nice impression this newly retrofitted product makes. Next, the seat. The pitch is absolutely enormous, as I have 12K. The ergonomics are fantastic, naturally better than the SpaceBed and (to me) better than the 77W’s J seat (Diamond).


                            9V-SQM getting ready to take us to Singapore as SQ827 on a misty Shanghai Saturday morning.


                            View of the SQ Boeing 777-200 front J-class cabin as seen from 12K.


                            The IFS stands at the front door waiting for the few remaining pax to arrive.


                            The classic (SQFG TM) legroom shot through a 28mm perspective lens. Seat pitch is enormous.




                            All on board, taxiing to take-off position few minutes after scheduled departure.




                            The bird in front of us and then it is us for take off.


                            Turning to arrive in take-off position.


                            And off we go.


                            Good bye Shanghai.
                            Last edited by N_Architect; 30 June 2010, 07:08 PM. Reason: Modified legroom shot caption.

                            Comment


                            • #44

                              Still ascending to cruising altitude.




                              FSS taking meal preferences.






                              Row 12 stbd. side as seen from row 14 stbd. aisle position.


                              SQ827 serves brunch. Meal service started about an hour after we took off, if I remember correctly.


                              Fruit as a starter.




                              I chose dim sum as main. Apologies for the shot mid-meal.

                              Next: More in-cabin shots; approach and arrival in Singapore.
                              Last edited by N_Architect; 30 June 2010, 07:10 PM. Reason: Removed one photo.

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                I know the leaf-wrapped item is probably a lo mai kai, but I can't fathom what the other item on the dim sum platter is.
                                Le jour de Saint Eugène, en traversant la Calle Mayor...

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X