by ·Comments Off on Blah

I would of been posting a final trip report conclusion along with a whole heap of photos by now but just so you all know I have had some major pc problems this weekend.

My pc died twice in the same day as I slowly try to rebuild the damn thing.  So 4 fresh hard drives (I have a lot of photos to store) later I have had to do a fresh install of windows and everything else.

Major panics while I thought I had lost all my photos but all is ok!  The photos are fine and I’ve already backed up twice and will back up to their new home tonight.

Stay tuned for a full trip report close out in the coming days.

by ·Comments Off on Reality.. =(

Well I am back home now. Back to Reality, back to work, back to getting into a daily routine of commuting to and from work.

The trip was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I loved every minute of it. The frustrations made it so much more of a challenge at times. Life has frustrations and you just have to deal with it, but these frustrations come regardless of where you are or what you are doing, so you just keep life plodding along.

I have returned back to reality already with my 2nd day at work today. Boy what a change really. Trying to fit back in with so many changes etc and then having such an experience I need to keep focused on what I have just acheived so I don’t end up in the Post Trip Depression like I had last time. I have already been back to the gym as well, with a full session of weights yesterday my muscles are aching. Shouldnt have avoided doing them so much while I was away. Running this morning with sore muscles was not easy at all.

Some silly stats have come out of this trip though. I have taken 20,000 photos. Thats right 20 Thousand photos (plus about 10 or 15 videos). I have to start sorting all of these out. a Giant chunk of this is spotting photos (probably around the 8000 mark or so which will mean less to deal with straight away) which needed to be sorted, touched up and edited but that can wait really as there is no rush with those and I like to go through and choose which ones I am going to touch up (same with the panoramas really, which i have to stitch together and edit anyway).

I haven’t even started totally up the mileage I have covered on this trip or the points earned. The mileage covered I will probably need to try and manually work out with all the different modes of transport used it will be a bit crazy really. I don’t even want to think, it would be upwards of like 50,000 miles I would say (i think the flights alone are around 35-40 thousand).

I need to get back to reality fast as I have so many things on with engagement parties, baptisms, work trips etc that I cant afford to be still off in La La land. But i will tell you the memories that flood back each and every night while I look at the photos or some of the stuff that I had sent home. It’s crazy. The memories that get triggered by the smallest thing.

I still have not yet recieved 2 of the boxes from canada (first two sent home and could be another month or two before it arrives unfortunately) so cant really even finish off sorting out the stuff I want to keep or trash or scrapbook from there (yes I am going to do a scrap book sad I know). Anyway I should stop slacking off and get back to work now that my break is almost over.

Current Location: Work 🙁
Countries Visited: 12

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Singapore to Brisbane

The usual start to my flight day. An OMG oclock wake up, a gym work out followed by a taxi to the airport but with a few differences. Today was the final leg of my journey so I was a little bit sad. At check out it meant a bit extra time required due to needing to get some contact information of the GM and then it was in the taxi to go and pick up my friend from her hotel.

Once all together a taxi full of bags we were airport bound and shortly arriving at Changi T3 and dropped in front of the business check in. As we walked in we were waived over to an open desk (first class not business) and check in was swiftly progressed. Again no points were showing in my file (seriously don’t they recognise A3?) but this was swiftly added but meant my gold recognition was not there which was quite dissapointing as I was given a 2nd rate seat (middle aisle).

After check in we cleared immigration with ease and I cleared out my account of SGD ready for a final conversion to AUD. We headed towards the SilverKris lounge and I guested my friend into the lounge and I got a request made for a new seat and I headed towards the foreign currency exchange, some last minute burning of $$ and scoped out the Gold lounge (which was just a small version of the silverkris).

Once I was back in the lounge I was grabbing some breakfast and then I spotted someone I did not think I would see. The owner of the company I work for! Total craziness. We had a good chat in the lounge and discussed the travel we had been doing over the last few months. It was just a mind blow to run into him and as we both headed towards the gates I bid farewell and cleared security at the lead in to the first set of B gates.

Once through I rejoined my friend who had gone off to shop and after getting my seat request checked (window seat confirmed but no new boarding pass print booo) and then shortly after that boarding was called.

Singapore Airlines
SQ245
Singapore to Brisbane
0950-1930
Airbus – A330-300 (9V-STS)
Business Class – Seat 14K
Boarding: 0915 (Gate B1)
Push Back: 0959
Take Off Roll: 1039 (Runway 20C)
Top of Descent: 1845
Touch Down: 1919 (Runway 19)
Shut Down: 1925 (Gate 80)

I bid my friend safe journeys as we headed towards the gate. I head down the airbridge for the final time on this journey and was chastised by someone for taking a photo and instructed to delete the photo (which I promptly faked the process of doing) and stepped onboard. My seatmate was already at the seat and quite difficult to deal with. But I was not going to let that change anything.

I settled into my seat and got myself sorted. Boarding continued and pre departure beverages were offered. I had just a water as usual and before departing drink offers were taken for after take off. Push back was delayed as we waited for our slot and when we finally pushed, I had a feeling it was going to be a slow slow journey to the active as we were a number of planes behind (soon confirmed by the captain).

We taxiied towards the active 20C and were informed of a flight time of 6 hours 40 minutes so we must be getting some great tailwinds. The captain came back shortly thereafter and informed us that we were #8 in line for takeoff. O great.

After waiting in line and getting some good photos of some rare stuff (Evergreen 747, Xiamen Airlines, Cebu Pacific, some private birds) we were lining up, captain delivered his takeoff positions instruction to the crew and we were heading to the skies with grace. The climb out was long out over the golf clubs around Changi and it was a little time before the seat belt sign came off.

After being released from our seats I climbed out and over my seat mate, who had promptly decided to try and go to sleep blocking the aisle, and did the same thing as dozens of others, queued for the bathroom. Drink service began shortly soon after and the lovely nut mix was served (I am now a fan of a good salty roasted nut after this trip where as I loathed them before).

I set the seat for a good lounge style and sat back to enjoy watching an old movie (Robocop) while chowing down on the nut mix. In comparison the seat on the A330 with SQ is pretty good for a daytime regional flight. Plenty of storage spaces, goes flat and nice and comfy to lounge on. A downside though, when reclined the seat is lowered below window height so difficult to see out the window with really. No big issues though.

Lunch orders were taken and I took the Duck option which was the chefs special option. After my drink was constantly topped up and a request for some more crunchy snacks provided without an issue the full service began. I was constantly addressed by name by the crew and my table set for lunch.

Lunch today was a fusion mix it seemed with a thai style starter, a french/asian style main and the usual traditional dessert. I chose the Creme Brulee and followed it up with some lovely fruit and cheese. All up lunch took about an hour by the time i finished my coffee and chocolates but by this stage there was only about 4 hours left of the flight.

After trying to visit my friend down the back and not being able to see her, I gave up and headed back to my seat where I settled in to watch some movies. About 3 hours out, we started to hit Australian soil. Looking down onto my home below had me in mixed feelings. Happy to see the country I had missed so much while I was away, sad to be heading to the finish of this amazing journey.

The whole thing hit home and just made it all the more difficult to focus. I tried to distract myself with the TV but it didn’t work. I was to busy thinking about all the amazing and crazy experiences I have had on this trip.

About 2 hours out a round of dink orders was taken which pretty much meant the 2nd service was going to begin shortly there after. About 90 mins out the 2nd service began. Choices were again a western or Asian option and decided to take the asian option as I would be returning to normal western food for a while anyway, may as well enjoy it while I can. The lotus leaf encased parcel of rice, mushrooms, pork and chinese sausage was tasty and fantastic with some iced tea.

With service completed I got myself slowly ready for landing as I knew it would get a bit busy when the pre descent notice was given and the panic would set in with everyone. After thanking the crew and grabbing a last minute souveneir of the flight (postcard) I agreed to fill in a feedback form for the crew as they were faultless and probably the best I have had so far out of 14 flights and 9 different *A carriers.

With descent underway the leading steward Peter came by to thank me for the kind words and I thanked him for his crews fantastic service (credit where credit is due). A great way to end this journey with the famed SQ service. As we descended into Brisbane it was most definately dark outside and we came around for what I was predicting as an 01 arrival as the airshow was showing a roundabout descent profile.

Temperatures in Brisbane were predicted at 15 so the warm climate experience I had been enjoying the last few weeks was well and truly over, back to the cold cold reality… nooooo. Turns out we were not heading for 01 but towards 19. As we came in for a Bay approach we landed pretty close to the keys at BNE and I knew from that instant, it was all over and that this was truly an amazing trip.

We taxied fairly quickly towards the gate and was soon pulling up at gate 80, pretty much from the same gate I had taken off from only a few months ago. Immigration was a breeze once I had picked up my Duty Free that I had left behind in storage and I was into the waiting arms of my loving family.

by ·Comments Off on Fusion

This will be my last post from the road. At the moment I am chilling out in the Silverkris Lounge at Changi Airport. Unfortunately I board my last flight in about 90 minutes to head towards Australia and home, but I wont talk about that much in this post.

Looking back at my time in Singapore though, I am really happy with the time here. It was a smart way to readjust not only for myself but also for my friend Cat who is moving to Aus and is joining us on the same flight. Crazy times were had, with lots more relaxed pace since both Hong Kong where it was a flurry of determined shopping and sightseeing to random sightseeing, slow meandering shopping to see if I could find something and just exploring areas.

The main thing I have loved about Singapore is the cheap food. It is everywhere, plentiful and just amazingly good. The hawker centres have been fantastic. It is where so many of the locals eat and they just have the most amazing patience as they will line up for what is good. So that was the easiest way to work out what to eat, just line up and the longer the line, obviously the better.

I had the traditional items you would expect in Singapore, Chicken Rice but I also managed a little indian, some indonesian and some malay as well. It was all so good. But the highlight of this stay has been a dinner at Sky on 57. Touted as one of the best restaurants in Singapore it is located on the 57th Floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and it is right on the roof. Such an amazing view, the food was mind blowingly good. I was jealous of my friends vegetarian meal as she had it so much better than me!

I will post more when I get to Australia but the whole journey has been amazing stay!

Current Location: SilverKris Lounge, Changi Airport Singapore

by ·Comments Off on Hong Kong redo

Ok since my last post about Hong Kong was way to short I thought I would just give a bit of a post to add some more thoughts to it.

I did love Hong Kong. Craziness aside it was awesome! The food was great, the street food especially. I ate a number of times on Temple St (near my hotel but the big market area) and the food was great. The location may not have been the most cleanest but it was so good. I ate the staples that needed to be eaten. Hong Kong Egg Tarts, Mooncake (its that time of year), BBQ Pork, Garoupa and also some lovingly prepared dim sum.

The are a few things about Hong Kong that I would like to address though.

1. Public Transport – wow… so awesome the system is great, buses go everywhere, trains are quick and fast, the star ferry is cheap as all hell (about 40c), but there are a number of little nit pick issues. One, there is no integrated ticketing price. All the different companies charge different prices. So if you have a tourist pass for the trains, it wont work on the buses etc. Makes it a bit of a rude shock really when you dont know this or not told this!

2. Air Quality – the smog is BAD, very very bad. If you have breathing problems you are going to struggle. It also makes seeing across the harbour a bitch. It was really difficult to see things at times because the smog was so thick and just choking

3. Shopping – wow… i think this place is shoppers paradise. From markets to high end goodies, Hong Kong has it all. I managed to spend up a storm on just about everything I needed and in the end, was extremely happy with myself. Can’t believe that I had to go out and buy a new suitcase just to fit it all in because the extra bag I had with me was not big enough!

Anyway now that I am in singapore things are just as good. The food here is awesome, the variety is mind blowing. I don’t have the time or the appetite to try everything so I am just trying what I can and I have already had the staple Chicken Rice at the most famous stand in town really. Lets hope Singapore treats me well, just like Hong Kong did.

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Hong Kong to Singapore

A lazy morning for once considering I am normally up at OMG o clock (and will be for my final flight). I copped out on the gym as I just couldn’t deal with it and decided not to rush my morning and just potter around the hotel getting myself good to go.

After having issues at Breakfast in regards to how to cook a poached egg, I checked out around 10am (as planned) and dragged myself, my new suitcase, my old suitcase, my backpack and camera bag to a cab to the station. After again having the driver try to take me somewhere I did not want to go, I had to keep telling him “JUST TAKE ME TO KOWLOON STATION.” I didn’t have to lug my bags far as when we pulled up it was right infront of the In Town Check In for the Airport Express.

The check in was painless and after negotiating for a half decent seat (ended up in the Forward mini Cabin) I was out of the check in area and headed downstairs for a train. Now you might be thinking why is he going to the airport so so early for an afternoon flight. Well I was intending (note the word intending for later) on doing some spotting, some last minute shopping and also lounge hopping my way around Hong Kong Airport.

Once at the airport it was out into Terminal 2 rather than Terminal 1 to do a bit of spotting. However the skydeck was not quite open when I arrived so instead hit up a few shops and then went up to the Skydeck and thankfully used up some of my last HKD on my octopus card. The Skydeck is the “official” spotting location at HKIA and overlooks both the approaches for runways 25L&R. Awesome shots were obtained but the light was crazy++ No retro jet though (but not without trying) so I guess that part of the trip list is going not done.

After loosing track of time and then hiking my way back to the terminal later than I thought and having to get my boarding pass reissued with my Aegean number on the pass as for some reason it is just not crediting properly, it was through security, immigration and out into the massive terminal. I tried to find my way through to some of the shops and then realising what the time was, was going to skip the lounge hopping (i did it in Narita anyway) and just head to the SQ lounge. But a few of the shops were all the way down near the TG and UA lounge. But it didn’t last either because I never ended up buying anything at those shops.

I got told that I can’t come back on the train from the middle gate area, I had to walk which took me a solid 15 minutes at my pace so that was a bit annoying but you deal with what you can do. This ate into my time and I managed to get what I could shopping wise with about 30 minutes of lounge time. I rushed into the SQ lounge, took a few photos, grabbed a quick nut snack, posted on the web and pretty soon the 30 minutes was almost up.

I rushed out to the bathroom (bathrooms at this lounge are on the outside none inside) for a quick pit stop pre flight and missed the boarding call which was early! As everyone was boarding as I headed to the gate.

Singapore Airlines
SQ861
Hong Kong to Singapore
1520-1905
Airbus – A380-800 (9V-SKA)
Business Class – Seat 14A

Boarding: 1445 (Gate 15)
Push Back: 1531
Take Off Roll: 1556 (Runway 07R)
Top of Descent: 1834
Touch Down: 1901 (Runway 02R)
Shut Down: 1906 (Gate B7)

For the first time I was heading upstairs on an A380 and ticking it off my list of things to do in life. The little upward incline meant time for a few photos unfortunately couldn’t get a clear shot of the bird flying me to Singapore. When I stepped into the upper deck I was shocked at how low the roof felt and then I saw the size of the seats. The SQ business seats are MASSIVE. Wider than I thought they would be. Way wider.

The seat was just huge and they had heaps of cushions to try and keep you in the seat and they just did not help at all! Another thing I noticed is even though the windows are at a good level, because your on the upper deck, you are set further back from the windows making it difficult to get many photos of the ground or down below you.

We waited for a while to push back due to the brakes not being cool enough according to the Captain after his pre flight briefing and the Singapore Girls just could not do more to keep you happy. The service was great. We taxiied out eventually towards 07R (runway switch must of happened as when I was spotting it was the 25s) and it was a long long taxi. Eventually we took off, and headed for the sky.

Service began extremely quickly after take off as orders had been taken on the ground for both drinks and “dinner.” The menu had plenty of choices and I was looking forward to some good cuisine (although I am tempted to “book the cook” on my next flight. As I settled in for a movie and dinner progressed through the courses I was totally lost in the moment and not realising how time was going or what was going on.

The lunch service was a little slow and was suspended for a few minutes due to some turbulence which wasn’t all that bad imo but eventually we were heading towards Top of Descent. I had to get my AVOD system to be rebooted after it crashed and then pretty much 5 minutes after it came back up, it was shut off for landing and approach. O well.

As we approached into Singapore I was again snap happy as much as I could but it was not possible to get as many photos as I normally do. O well. Gotta deal with it. We landed on 02R and taxiied quickly to B7 one of the A380 gates. This is where things got wierd for me as when we deboarded it was out into the normal terminal area. No sectioned off area for arriving guests. Crazy. Immigration was a breeze (was one of the first people there) waited about 10 mins for my bag to pop out and then I was in a Limosuine Taxi (wanted the pre set price option) on my way to my hotel. A Quick flight that just made my day.

by ·Comments Off on Honkers

Well Hong Kong was a blast. Although I didn’t do much around town other than get lost, shop and eat, it was pretty damn successful if I must say so.

Unfortunately I don’t have much time at the moment since we will be boarding shortly and I want to at least relax a little bit before my flight and be first onboard so I can take some photos of my much awaited flight. But I will give you some of the highlights of my trip:

* Eating at the worlds largest floating restaurant
* Stumbling into a Michelen Star Restaurant and eating lunch for around $30AUD
* Enjoying a cruise on the harbour with some aussies
* Getting the Star Ferry and then working out it barely cost me 40c
* Seeing Pandas for the first time

Well it was a random time in Hong Kong. They love to shop and there are mass shopping malls. I managed to shop my way around Both islands while still keeping my back balance fairly in check really. I didn’t spend nearly as much as I thought I would and to be honest, I am pretty sure that my back balance thanks me but I am sure my credit card company is sorely dissapointed. But I did managed to get myself fitted for a new suit, custom made for less than what I thought it would cost me. Which is awesome. I had to buy a new suitcase though, the small pack down bag I bought in Portland just would not cut it with the amount of shopping I did do (a lot of gifts for people).

Pretty soon I am making my last flight off to Singapore for the final leg of this trip. I am kinda sad while excited at the same time!

by ·Comments Off on Heading to China…

Well it is my 2nd last day here in Hong Kong and I will post more about my impressions of Hong Kong tommorrow (as I haven’t really done all that much that is extraordinary etc) but what i will tell you about was my day on Saturday where I went to China, for only a few hours really.

When originally planning this holiday I had decided that I wanted to try and visit China, originally I was tossing up just visiting Shanghai for a day to get on the Maglev, but the flights were crap and I couldn’t justify it. Then I read about Shenzen. Easily accessible for a day trip from Hong Kong and fantastic shopping for fakes. Hello!!!! So really although my visit to “China” was not all that long or extensive (probably never strayed more than a few hundred metres from the border really) but it was a great day.

The shopping in Shenzen is pretty damn good and I only went to one of the big shopping areas “Louhu Commercial City.” Although not the true experience of China it is the true experience of shopping for fakes in China. Touts galore, crazy hassling but if you can bargain (and I probably can’t bargain all that well) you can do yourself a good deal. I managed to pick up quite a haul of stuff for around $400 AUD. A couple of fake rolexs, mont blanc pens and some clothes, some cufflinks, ring and even some sunglasses.

Now you might be chastising me in your head right about now for buying a fake rolex. I mean seriously, have you ever not wanted to buy a fake rolex? Now these are not crappy quality ones either. The weight is dead on right, nice and heavy just the way a rolex should be, the movement of the piece was right, the look was spot on, the quality was there, so a fake rolex for $100 compared to $2000+ for the real thing. I don’t mind. To be honest, I won’t wear it all that much as it is more a dress watch for me, but I like the look of it, and it was good enough for me! The clothes, it remains to be seen how long they last but hey, I don’t mind. If they don’t last long thats all fine and dandy, means my better clothes don’t get warn as much.

The shopping area was pretty packed full of both chinese and international tourists and people coming over to visit for the day from Hong Kong but people going the other way were just as prolifferant. To be honest, the longest parts of my day were spent queueing up for immigration. But I got a chinese visa, immigration stamp and an extra one for Hong Kong, adding more stamps to my passport. Love it!

I had a good time in Shenzen and managed to spend every last RMB (Chinese Yuan pretty much) I took with me. Pretty good few hours spent shopping and then I returned to Hong Kong, to keep the shopping up for the real stuff then.

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Seoul to Hong Kong

After spending a good amount of time relaxing in the Asiana lounge and inhaling a good amount of lovely broccoli that was on offer (and some nuts to, o how my tastes have changed, I headed out to explore Incheon airport. I wasn’t really wanting to do or see anything, just wander and see what was out there. The light was fading fast so photos were still not really possible but I took what I could. After making it down to gates in the low 20s I decided it was about time I turned around and headed back towards my gate which was in the 40s. This may not sound like much, but at Incheon, that’s a fair hike.

I still kept browsing through random shops on the way and I swear the lady in the Tumi shop thought I was wasting her time but to be honest, I was genuinely interested in the price, but if I was going to buy anything it would have been in Hong Kong or Singapore. I wandered by the gate, saw that my aircraft was there and before the light disappeared entirely, grabbed a picture (along with the Star Alliance painted aircraft next door).

Pretty soon the boarding area did its usual thing of becoming a scrum with about 10 minutes to go till boarding. I was standing around waiting for a little bit when the business line filled considerably. So knowing that if I didn’t get in it shortly, I would be stuck. So I jumped in. Shortly thereafter (about a minute) they made announcements that the line was for Business and Star Gold only. Low and behold the entire line was for economy! Hah typical.

Asiana Airlines
OZ723
Seoul Incheon to Hong Kong
1950-2240
Boeing 777-200ER (HL7700)
Business Class – Seat 2K

Boarding: 1925 (Gate 43)
Push Back 1953
Take Off Roll: 2009 (Runway 33L)
Top of Descent: 2136
Touch Down: 2209 (Runway 22R)
Shut Down: 2221 (Gate 31)

Boarding was soon announced with the traditional bow greeting to begin the process and I was the first person through the gate, down the escalators and down the airbridge to the aircraft. I snapped a few photos while I could and then realized the person behind me in the queue, was my seat mate, but she did not look happy that she had someone next to her. Not my problem! I got myself settled then realized that this was a non AVOD fitted aircraft. O well. It’s only a 3 hour flight and they still show movies on a loop so I can still watch something!

Menus and pre departure drinks were handed out and unfortunately no Bibimbap on this flight either! But there was a Korean specialty and I was determined to try that. My seat mate as the doors closed tried to take up the spare seat that was on the other side of the aisle however once she moved over, she was sent back by a flight attendant as someone from down the back was apparently getting a battlefield upgrade. Lucky bugger.

We pushed back pretty much on time (and I got a little bit of a smirk for taking a photo of the crew as they prepared for their bow) and we taxied for a while out towards the parallel runways. It was a long taxi but gave me a good look at all the Korean Airlines aircraft that seemingly dominate the terminal (Asiana plays a close second really). The takeoff roll was definitely high power and so was the pull up at the rotate point as the pilots pulled as skywards towards Hong Kong.

Orders were taken and this time my seat mate was allowed to take the spare seat as the other person had not shown so I was 2 for 2 with empty seats next to me. Win! I was happy as larry as we reached 10000ft and the entertainment was switched on, headphones out and time to watch whatever was on the loop (Xmen First Class it is). I watched the movie as orders were taken and I asked if I could have a mixture of the Western and Korean menus as I really didn’t like the sound of the Korean dessert (fruit punch wtf?) . I was told they would see if they could if there was any left so I was hopeful.

As we cruised along dinner service started fairly slowly and the Korean meal seemed extremely healthy and light which was good. I ended up spilling diet coke all over my tray table (good work idiot) and managed to hide it well under the can for photos. When the main came out there was instructions in the menu on how to eat it and for a while I was ok with this, but the weird metal chopsticks which is apparently a Korean thing and just my inability to use them, I got fed up and just made up my own way. I ended up finishing the vegetables and one of the cabin crew tried to bring me more which I declined (I was struggling to eat what I had in front of me). The meal was good and spicy just the way I like it!

The Korean Dessert was handed out and I was told that if they had leftover Ice Cream they would bring it to me as well (score) and after a while they did, along with Coffee and then chocolates. I felt like I had made an absolute pig of myself. Overall the dinner service took up a good portion of the flight and really this was good as there was only roughly an hour and a quarter left of the flight by the time this happened and the seat belt sign came on for a little bit of turbulence.

Pretty soon we were heading for our descent point into Hong Kong. Where had this flight gone? It was a smooth descent followed by a lovely smooth touch down. Unfortunately due to cloud it was hard to see anything out the window and I had no view of Hong Kong at all. We taxied again what felt like an age all the way around to the far side of the terminal from our runway and pulled up at a gate in the low 30s. What I did not realize again was just how big Hong Kong Airport is.

When finally released out into the terminal, I turned toward immigration and saw the walk in front of me. It looked to be a solid kilometre or more to immigration. Which is good because I needed to walk off dessert. Which I did, no moving walkways for me tonight!. Immigration queues were long (no fast track offered) but they moved fairly rapidly and not even a word from the immigration officer, just a stamp and done.

After having walked all the way to one end of the terminal for immigration, I then had to walk all the way back it seemed for my bag as our carousel was all the way back the other direction. Typical. My bag was rolling around on the far side by the time I got through and then grabbed my bag went through customs which wasn’t even a hassle. I bought the tourist pass with the Hong Kong express and was on a train within 10 minutes speeding towards Kowloon and my home for the next 5 nights the Novotel Nathan Road Hong Kong.

by ·Comments Off on Trip Report – Around the World on a Star – Tokyo to Seoul

A relaxing morning work out in the Hotel gym, distracted by spotting before breakfast and after breakfast from the gorgeous views from my hotel room at the Hilton Narita. After getting distracted and almost missing the shuttle to the airport, I got my butt in gear, checked out and was on the shuttle to the airport a little early to get some spotting in with the morning traffic.

However plans as usual for me failed. I was unable to drop off my bag immediately upon arrival, even though being a newly appointed *G, I was unable to check in as they did not open for another 45 minutes. O well, time to drag my suitcase up to the observation deck and not spoil my morning of spotting I had been looking forward to since the observation deck is so easy to spot from.

With the observation deck at Terminal 1 overlooking the active departure runway, I was hoping to get some good shots and boy did I. Unfortunately out of the time I was up there, I could not get what I was chasing though (JAL new colours and a Retro Jet of course). As it got closer to 10am, I packed up my gear and lugged it all back down to the check in area, which as I approached it, was fully open and I walked straight up to the counter.

With check in slow and not really all that difficult except my boarding passes would not print to business so took a good 6 or 7 attempts to get them on the right boarding card stock before they were happy. With two freshly minted boarding passes in hand, 2 lounge invites for both Tokyo and Incheon (not that I needed them) it was time to do a bit more shopping around the upstairs area hunting for wierd flavoured Kit Kats and some airline goodies for friends back home. I did this and then headed down to security.

Security took a little time for me as usual as I have so much stuff to strip down and pull out and then reassemble on the other side, however I am getting better at the routine, people were starting to queue up behind me and i just told them to go past me it was easier this way. Once through, immigration was a breeze and I was the only person there. Once through, I decided to do a bit of lounge hopping (although I could only visit 3 lounges total). First up, ANA in Satelite 5, the furtherest away.

Off I trudged to Satelitte 5 where the ANA lounge was located for this area, a nice small lounge with some good views, but sadly, it was blocked of the active and only a barely used Taxiway connecting the two runways. So I just grabbed a quick drink and headed off to the other ANA lounge which I hoped would have better views. It didn’t This lounge in a different satelite (closer to the action though) was on the Ground floor and did not even have a single window. But I was in dire need of a snack, so sat down for a little bit, grabbed a drink and some rice crackers and did a touch of blogging. After this was done, I decided it was time to head off to the Red Carpet Club. The last lounge I could access, the closest to my gate and hopefully with the best views.

On my way to the Red Carpet club I ran a few errands, changing currency, doing a little shopping and just generally wandering my way down to the lounge. Once inside, this lounge was huge, but OLD. The seats had some wear and tear but meh, I didn’t mind, they had fantastic views of the runway and some edamame 😀 I grabbed a big heaping bowl of the beans and settled in by the window for some spotting.

As I was setting up though I noticed something out the window, a nice big giant Korean Airlines Tail. Could it be… yes it was! My last A380! The fresh and new Korean A380 was sitting just blocked from view, so it mean that once this plane moved, I could get a fantastic shot. So i checked to see what time Korean had departures and made sure to see what I could do about it getting that final shot.

With luck there was a departure around 1300 which was sure to be the A380 and that meant I just had to leave the lounge a little early for that perfect shot but I was not fussed, so after wandering around the lounge a little, I saw the A380 push back, quickly packed up and jumped outside the lounge to a good vantage point where i scored a perfect shot! I was happy as larry!

After the A380 departed I wandered around a little more before heading towards the gate area and waiting for boarding which was a little late.

Asiana Airlines
OZ103
Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon
1410-1630
Boeing 767-300 (HL7514)
Business Class – Seat 2A

Boarding: 1350 (Gate 35)
Push Back 1412
Take Off Roll: 1424 (Runway 16R)
Top of Descent: 1553
Touch Down: 1614 (Runway 34)
Shut Down: 1623 (Gate 47)

With boarding called a little bit late and a throng of *G travelling in Economy pushing their way to the front of the priority boarding queue, I was about the 10th person onboard. The flight was fairly empty really with only 5 people (plus an infant) in a 15 seat business class cabin and the back of the plane I did not see. The seats for Business were not lie flat or flat at all, but they were comfortable enough for what was to be a 2 hour flight. I can cope.

One passenger in 2K seemed to be getting pretty much all the attention from the Cabin Crew, at one point he had about 6 or 7 crew around him, pointing, chatting talking about something. I have no idea who he was. The couple with the infant got the rest of the attention with myself and the other passenger in business pretty much left alone it felt. A predeparture beverage was not offered till the doors were closed and then it was only water or juice (I was happy with water anyway). No entertainment system on the ground but I just read through the Wired magazine i appropriated from the RCC.

By the time we started to push back and taxi, I was off in La La land, enjoying myself and not worrying at all about anything, just the way I should be right? We taxiied pretty quickly and did not even stop at the end of the runway or taxiway, just turned onto the active and blasted down it, the same way a 767 does anywhere. We rotated pretty quickly (must be a light load for this short hop) and were heading skyward through the cloud.

Menus were distributed shortly after the seat belt sign came off, and the options were either Western or Japanese. I was hoping for Bibambap but that must have to wait for the next flight I guess, so chose the Japanese for one last hurrah. Shortly after ordering the meal was brought out and it looked beautiful. I did not want to destroy what was such a beautiful presentation. But I was hungry and this was lunch… o well!

After enjoying my Japense lunch while watching NCIS, and then promptly losing the menu that I was going to keep, I asked for another one and was gladly given one so that was ok. After enjoying one last final Red Bean sweet with some coffee, I was content to sit back, read my magazine and listen to some music and pretty soon (10 minutes or so) we were given a pre descent warning by the flight deck. The flight just sped through and did not feel like 2 hours at all.

Soon enough we started descent into a very hazy and glare filled Incheon where photo taking was just difficult, so I tried not to unless it was something good (which most of the planes on the ground were). We taxiied to the gate and was soon parked. However as the seat belt sign came off, the business class section filled with economy passengers pushing their way to the front, even pushing the Cabin Crew out of the way as they tried to block them from coming forward.

Once the doors were open and disembarking began, I noticed one thing, Incheon is HUGE! However the transfer security was only a minute or so stroll from the gate and I was shortly through, up into Incheon’s cavenous airport, where I had to walk what felt like almost a kilometre to get to the lounge.

Once inside the Asiana lounge I scoped it out for a while, was warned that no departure announcements were made, so decided I would leave early again to go scope out the airport really and tried to find a powerpoint to plug in the laptop which was MUCH harder than it seemed really. Not much in the way of food was on offer mainly some salads, noodles and a few soft drinks and beers. I wasn’t worried as I had a pretty good lunch so found a good spot and just camped out to blog on the free wifi.