Introduction
Seattle to San Jose
San Jose
San Jose to Narita
Narita to Hong Kong
Hong Kong Part 1
Hong Kong Part 2
Hong Kong Part 3
Hong Kong to Narita
Narita to Seattle
Conclusion

                                                                                                                                                                   

The trip is all done and dusted. It was a total blast. I would have to say probably one of my best trips to date. It wasn’t about visiting friends or family or anything like that. It was the experiences that made this trip unique. Flying Business Class with ANA was great and I totally enjoyed it, but the once in a lifetime experiences made this journey amazing. I doubt I will ever have something as special again.

Let’s break down the journey for a bit of a summation:

Southwest: It’s good for what it is. It gets you from A to B, effectively and efficiently. The service was ok, the seats were ok. The free seating was a bit different but I can manage that. All in all I can’t really complain.

Fairfield Inn & Suites San Jose Airport: Pretty nice hotel for what I paid for it ($44+tax). For a quick overnight stop it fulfilled all my usual requirements in an airport hotel. Shuttle on site, clean, comfortable, non hotel food options close by, a good gym (or somewhere to run). The breakfast at the hotel, though lacking decent fruit options, was pretty good. The renovations they had been through made it spick and span and I did like it. I would definitely return!

All Nippon Airways: I won’t break down each invidiual flight but I will just say outright, they still are great. I last flew them back in 2011, when I flew around the world. I flew them from London to Narita and that flight was fantastic. I still think they are a fantastic airline. The service I received on my flights was great (albeit at times with a language barrier) and the food was good. The Japanese meals are still only really all that good out of Japan (and my contact at ANA agrees with this point) so that is one thing to be mindful of for those lovers of Japanese cuisine.

The Seats are good. I really did like the new “Business Cradle” seat for short duration flights and the “Business Staggered” is good, albeit felt a little bit smaller on the 787 vs the 777. The older business though still comfortable, was definitely a product that would be eventually phased out (hopefully). The 787 is not a scary aircraft and you can feel the differences with the cabin environment after you step off the 787 and get onto a different aircraft, it is not till then that all the changes are noticeable. I would not hesitate in any way to fly on a 787.

Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong: Wow… just WOW! What a hotel. I don’t know if I could ever afford to stay there on my own dime, but this experience showed that they are worth the money in my opinion. The service, the food, the room, everything was just downright perfect. Nothing was ever to much for the staff and the service levels represented that. All the fun we had at the hotel with the Dim Sum class, the spa treatments, the heli ride etc were amazing and it was a great second visit to Hong Kong for me. I wondered to myself just what I would do in Hong Kong a second time around originally, I am glad I didn’t have to decide because I don’t think I would of done some of these things but they were fun and I had a blast.

After travelling 14,303 miles on this trip, it is good to be back to earth, back to reality, but now comes the daunting task of writing up all the articles and then the even scarier thought. Can I top this trip?

ANA Ambassador