Journey To Middle Earth: Introduction

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Air Lines Economy/First ECP-ATL-ORD
  3. Aloft Chicago O’Hare
  4. Korean Air Lines Prestige Class ORD-ICN
  5. Conrad Seoul
  6. 24 Hours in Seoul
  7. China Southern Airlines Business Class ICN-CAN-CHC
  8. BreakFree on Cashel Christchurch
  9. Christchurch
  10. South Island Road Trip
  11. Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa
  12. Air New Zealand Economy ZQN-AKL
  13. Hilton Auckland
  14. Auckland
  15. China Eastern Airlines Business Class AKL-PVG-JFK
  16. Delta Air Lines Economy Class JFK-ATL-ECP
  17. Conclusion

Introduction
I had only been home from my Around The World Trip for a few months, when I started plotting my next big trip. I thought that the RTW would have been my last big one for a while, but I started to look at the long term schedule for work and noticed that I had this opportunity in the Spring of 2016 to go somewhere and take a decent amount of time off. In this case, it really would be the last opportunity for quite a long while where I would be able to take off more than a week and not feel irresponsible about everything that was going on.

So where do you go to follow up the epic journey that was the RTW trip? Well the best thing I could think of was Antarctica; I still have that goal of getting there before I turn 30 (which is fast approaching, I might add), but that is also extremely expensive. I started thinking through through all the other great destinations that I had rattling around in my head as well as could I get there with SkyMiles in Business Class. Another component to this is that I wanted to continue spending my hundreds of thousands of SkyMiles down given all the changes to the program and my fear that SkyMiles will eventually transition to a revenue-based redemption model. To that end, I wanted wherever I decided to fly to to be the greatest combination and bang for the buck in terms of Business Class flying and with as many new (to me) airlines.

I knew that this would pivot my thinking towards Asia. However I had visited a fair amount of Asia in the past several years between Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand. I looked south; there’s Australia which I have been wanting to go back to since I went there to bury my head in the sand for a week after graduating college and then there’s New Zealand.

Like most people, New Zealand has been on the travel wish list for quite a long time for me. For whatever reason, I hadn’t ever really made it a priority or even subject to my random planning of trip possibilities. In comparison, I had planned a complete South Africa trip twice before heading there as part of my RTW trip.

Planning
So I sat down over the Christmas and New Year time frame, taking advantage of minimal work distractions, to start figuring out flights, where to visit and everything else. I wanted to maximize this award as much as possible since a Business Class award to Australia/New Zealand costs a whopping 160,000 SkyMiles at the low level, or just 20,000 SkyMiles less than what my RTW in Economy cost. One advantage that I quickly discovered is that since no SkyTeam or Delta partner flies from the US to New Zealand, is that the routing is pretty generous.

The most direct would be to fly Delta or Virgin Australia to Australia and then Virgin Australia to New Zealand. However, those are also some of the most difficult awards to book, given the popularity of the route. And thus the manic searching of partner airlines and gateway cities began.

Around this same time, I discovered that Korean Air Lines had been rolling out a Suite-style Business Class seat on their 747-8I aircraft; I figured this would be the holy grail if I could do an upper-deck Business Class suite seat. Korean Air Lines has a number of North American gateways and so the searching began! Thankfully I was able to use Delta.com to hone in on the availability, and eventually I found space on a day in late March from Chicago to O’Hare that was on the 747-8I. Yes!

From there, I was able to easily enough find Business Class award availability on China Southern Airlines from Seoul to Guangzhou and onward to Christchurch. This would include flying on the 787, although unlike last year on Kenya Airways, this would give me an opportunity to fly in Business. Even better, since Delta had killed off stopovers on award tickets, the way these flights worked out was that I was able to schedule a 23 Hour and 45 Minute “layover”, giving me a night in Seoul and being 15 minutes under the window for the maximum layover time. I was surprised how easily and perfect these flights were working out!

For the return, I figured why not try see if I could get another airline into the mix. Since I knew I would be flying out of Auckland, I started looking to see what I could find with China Eastern Airlines and China Airlines. I found a few options via Taipei on China Airlines, but they either made the trip shorter or longer than I would have preferred. China Eastern however, had plenty of availability; ultimately I opted to route Auckland to Shanghai and onward to New York-JFK.

The only downside to this was that I would need to book separate flights to position myself in Chicago to catch the Korean Air flight and to get me home from NYC. Hardly something to worry about when you realize how much of an amazing award you just constructed! There would also need to be an New Zealand Domestic flight that would need to be booked as well to get me from wherever I wound up on the South Island to Auckland. That would mean flying Air New Zealand, which is a Star Alliance airline. I would just wind up paying cash for that.

You’re There, Now What?
Once I had it figured out that I was arriving in Christchurch on this day and leaving from Auckland on this other day, I could start figuring out what exactly I wanted to do and where to go. New Zealand definitely has plenty of options and variety of things to see and do. I almost became overwhelmed with the choices that I had. Should I spend most of my time on the North Island or South Island? Do I try to go to Stewart Island (NZ’s “third island”) or do I explore Hobbiton? I knew there was at least one thing I was going to do: Penguins. Surprised?

As I started reading and exploring the map and everything else, my trip really started to just all seem to fall right into place. I would spend several nights in Christchurch before heading south to Oamaru (home to a bunch of Penguins) and then continuing the road trip up into the central part of the South Island and eventually to Queenstown. Queenstown is pretty touristy, but for good reason; the area that surrounds it is phenomenally beautiful and I would take advantage of that by ultimately taking a Lord of the Rings Tour, taking a helicopter to the top of a mountain, and going hiking. All of this would still leave me a couple of days in Auckland, which although it would have been nice to have a few more days to explore some of the surrounding areas, was going to be enough to at least explore the city.

So there I had it; a good basic itinerary that also still left a few things in the wind. I wasn’t exactly sure of some of the places I would be staying; in fact one night during my road trip across the South Island I wound up sleeping in a pub in a small town (not as bad as that might sound).

All I had to do now was to get to New Zealand! Thankfully I had to only wait about two months between booking and getting there compared with the six months of anticipation that I had with my RTW. I couldn’t wait for the trip to begin, especially with all the unique things that I would get to see and experience and of course….penguins!

Posted in New Zealand, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Conclusion

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines First Class ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Where do I even begin to sum up this trip? Is it even possible?

I suppose that I could use words like “amazing” or “unbelievable” or “once-in-a-lifetime” to try to boil my experience of crossing the globe in three short weeks with all those stops at exceptionally varied destinations. None of those words or phases by themselves can accurately capture the experiences, feelings, and personal growth that came from this trip.

I know, I know, that sounds exceptionally cliche. However, the reality is that travel should always be about those things. Travel forces ourselves outside of our comfort zones, which is where I think you learn the most about yourself through the experiences that you have. Granted this trip wasn’t like some expedition to the top of Mount Everest or hiking the Appalachian Trail, so I am not going to try to say that I had the insights or personal reflection that one might have from a trip of that magnitude.

One of the things that I recognize is that between my travels to the often distant corners of the globe over the past few years is how much I have grown as a traveler. If you look at many of my previous trips, even going back to my spring breaks in college when I would jet off to Europe, often the story was for me to try to cram as much in a short week as possible. Whether that meant Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands in one week back in 2007 or flying to Alaska for an actual long weekend (from Florida, mind you), it’s been all about little time, many things.

This trip, I think was the beginning of the end of that mindset or approach to travel. Granted, I found myself visiting five different countries again, but I spread it out over three weeks. Of course unlike trip in 2007, where all those countries bordered one another, in this version, I had to keep shuttling between continents. But let’s look at the first aspect of this trip: I took three weeks off to have this journey. I had never done anything close to that before! Even when I could, like when I went to “bury my head in the sand” in Australia for a week after graduating from the University of Central Florida. I had been convinced that taking a trip for more than a week or so would just not be feasible, whether for the cost or for the sake of my career.

—-

The more that I reflect on this trip, the more I am convinced that despite my extreme dislike of the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime”, this trip really was. You only have one chance to be in your 20s and fly to the diverse and unique destinations that I went to. What is the likelihood that I’ll stand at the Southernmost Point of Africa, look out to the desert from the world’s tallest building, relax on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, hang out with a friend in Bangkok and enjoy the neon city of Tokyo again? Those are all things, that I wouldn’t be surprised that I find myself doing again later in my life, but in conjunction with one another while I’m at this point in my life? Perhaps it really is once-in-a-lifetime.

I also think back to many of the various routes I tried to get to work through the course of my hours upon hours of planning that never quite worked out and the destinations that they took me to. Sometimes I do wonder if I should have tried to get to more out of the way destinations to go along with the Seychelles, but there will be a time for that in the future! I’m sure the Maldives, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar, India, Palau or any of the others that I tried to make work will be on future trips of mine.

—-

I had high hopes that I was going to have completed writing all about this some time ago. Unfortunately, I’m still a slacker in that arena, but I think this extended period between then and now has helped me reflect more on my trip and how it has impacted me. This also continues to remind me though that I do need to work on being more quick to my writing; with this wrapping up I still have to write about my trip to New Zealand and a two-day train journey across the United States both from 2016! I’m certainly going to be busy if I am going to get those cranked out!

In the end, I find it extremely disappointing that all the major airlines have managed to kill off Around The World awards. These were exceptional values and I am just glad that I was able to get one of these awards before they disappeared. Despite the fact that the awards are not there any more, I do encourage others to look into either a paid RTW ticket (which the major airline alliances still offer) or stitching together an RTW-lite itinerary now that almost all the major US airlines price everything as one-ways. Do yourself a favor and take the trip of a life time!

Posted in RTW, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Delta Air Lines First Class ATL-ECP

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines First Class ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
The final leg; a short domestic hop where the actual flying time rarely exceeds 50 minutes would be the one that would take me back home. As I touched on the other posts, this wound up not being the night before due to the complexity of planning out my itinerary. Even six months out, this was the only possible combination with the flights that I had found back to the US that would have allowed me to get back home all on the same ticket. I was certainly willing to compromise on this, but in the end this was “easy” solution. Having a flight on this morning, actually turned out a good thing, given that I was making a mid-week return to work. This would allow me to spend the bulk of a day at home, doing laundry, unpacking and taking care of everything else at home that had been neglected after being gone for three weeks!

Atlanta Departure
How is it that Atlanta has probably the worst security lines of any major airport in the country? For an otherwise efficient airport the security lanes in Atlanta tend to very quickly extend out of the checkpoint area, down the hall and around the corner. Knowing this in advance, I made sure to get up early enough in the morning to where I was able to enjoy breakfast at the hotel and still get to the airport about two hours before my flight. That being said, even with Sky Priority line access, after checking my bag, it took a good solid 30 minutes to get through and make it to the airside of the terminal.

Since I was no longer on a same day international itinerary, I would not have Sky Club access, nor would it be very worthwhile to pay the $29 reduced entry fee that comes with the Platinum Delta SkyMiles credit card. I took my time getting to my gate and even stopped to stand and watch the sunrise over the concourses.

Sunrise From Concourse C

Delta Air Lines #2427
Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Panama City, FL (ECP)
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Depart: 9:05AM Arrive: 9:07AM
Aircraft: Boeing 717 Seat: 1A (First Class)

My upgrade to First Class had cleared a few days in advance, much like my outbound flight. I have found that there tends to usually be a fairly light load on the first departure to Panama City in the mornings (although the opposite is true for the leg that turns right back around to Atlanta), and that nearly every time I find myself on this flight, I tend to get the upgrade.

With only maybe half the plane full, boarding was quick and efficient. With fewer passengers to get on board, the flight attendants had plenty of time to do a pre-departure beverage service without being rushed or holding up the boarding of the remainder of the Economy Class passengers.

It really was a superb morning for flying; the day was turning out to be just an outstandingly gorgeous day everywhere along the route from Atlanta to Panama City. A perfect day to be enjoying many cups of coffee while at 30,000 feet!

Got To Have That Morning Coffee!

Especially coming back into Panama City, we were routed out over the St. Andrews Bay instead of coming straight in from the North. This approach doesn’t happen as often, or at least based on my experience, and I always enjoy it as usually there’s a nice view of the town I call home. In even rarer circumstances, arrivals will be routed out to over the Gulf, which is even better!

St. Andrews Bay and Panama City Beach (Off In The Distance)

Home
Touching down on the runway, meant that at it was all finally over. The flight came to an unceremonious end and I made my way back down the jet bridge to the familiar sites and sounds of “my” airport. Even coming down the escalator on the way to baggage claim, familiar faces started to appear, such as my Mom who was picking me up to take me to my apartment. Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to take one of the terrible Panama City Beach taxi companies!

Almost…

I don’t think it finally though sunk in that my trip was over until I dropped my heavy duffel bag in front of my third-floor apartment door. It really was the end. Just had to unlock that door, kick my bag in and promptly take a nap. I arrived early enough to back home that I could have gone into work for the afternoon, but after traveling over 33,000 miles and 16 flight segments in three weeks, I just needed a day to adjust to being back and not being in constant motion!

The End.

Posted in Delta, RTW, SkyTeam, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: DoubleTree Atlanta Airport

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
The Atlanta Airport area is home to many, many hotels. Honestly, I’ve never had a good experience at any, but then that has always been due to the fact that the reason that I tend to wind up in those hotels thanks to Delta operational issues. That has meant that I’ve seen everything from the Days Inn Atlanta Airport North to the Days Inn Atlanta Airport South. The last time I had a missed connection, I actually went and stayed in Midtown Atlanta, but that was a different scenario where I was going to be stuck for 24 hours. This time, however I had purposefully chosen to overnight in Atlanta, and thus I actually had a few options.

I went back and forth between the various Hilton and SPG properties that surround the airport. There really are plenty of options that I would be able to leverage my Hilton HHonors Gold status or SPG Gold status, although to be honest, for a one night stay where the duration is measured in hours, does status really matter?

The answer is that it doesn’t, but hey perks are nice!

I had originally intended to stay at the Westin Atlanta Airport. However, for whatever reason, the rates at this property were higher than I had seen in the past, and to be honest, for a barely one night stay, wasn’t really a good points redemption…at least by SPG standards. On the Hilton HHonors front, there were several options around the 20,000 points/night point, which for a quick stay like this is where I want to be for a points redemption. Of the available options, the DoubleTree Atlanta Airport, seemed like the best and safest bet.

Arrival
I was quite tired by the time I had grabbed my bag from baggage claim, and to be honest wasn’t exactly looking forward to dragging my ridiculously heavy duffel out to the hotel shuttle pick up point. Especially on a night like tonight where the bag started feeling heavier and heavier with every step that I took.

A thought that often drifts through my head as I stand at any airport’s hotel shuttle area, is ‘why is it that I keep seeing the same shuttles come by multiple times, but why is mine not here yet?’ It certainly at least always seem that way, and tonight was no different. I probably wound up waiting for about 20 minutes until the DoubleTree shuttle showed up to whisk me away to my bed for the night.

Like most of the hotels near by the Atlanta airport, the ride wasn’t very long, and I soon myself walking into the lobby to check in. I wasn’t going to be given any upgrade, but at least they did offer me a breakfast voucher, as a result of my Gold status, that was good for the buffet in the morning. The buffet was pretty average, but at least it was a hot meal that I was able to save a few bucks on before I made it back to Panama City.

Breakfast Coupons Galore!

The Room
The room, much like the rest of the hotel, was a little bit on the dated side. Oddly enough, I found myself in the ADA-compliant room, which did fortunately mean that I had a ton of space. Not that I exactly need it all the space or anything. Was the room clean? Check. Was the bed comfortable? Check.

When you are looking for a quick turn hotel room can you ask for anything more? Not really. Certainly beats out the hotels that Delta seems to offer up to those distressed passengers. Oddly, I only somehow wound up with a single picture of the room, and it was a relatively zoomed in one of the bed.

I Felt Like I was Missing Pillows…

Conclusion
On a side note, this almost seemed like the unceremonious end of my RTW trip. I had gone around the world, and here I was at an almost easy-to-forget airport hotel next to a runway in Atlanta. Just barely a week prior, I had been on a tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. And then there was the fact that I was just a short 43 minute flight from home, but here I was sleeping 250 miles, as the crow flies, from my own bed. It was almost like the delayed end to my trip, but to be honest, it felt like my trip had already been over since I left Japan.

As a result, I think this wound up being the most basic, and probably least informative hotel review that I have ever done. It’s one part a factor based on how long it has taken me to get here to this point, but also because I wasn’t even at the DoubleTree for eight hours before I was stepping off the hotel shuttle and back into the airport terminal. Was this the best stay that I’ve had at an Atlanta Airport hotel? Of course! It’s definitely worth in the future, where if they have availability I would gladly pay up for this hotel on my own versus taking Delta’s provided hotel during a travel disruption.

Posted in Hilton HHonors, Hotels, RTW, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
Standing on the platform at Shinagawa Station waiting for the Narita Express train to pull into the station seemed like an eternity. I didn’t want this trip to over and I knew that once I got on the train, it really would be the beginning of the end. As much as I really did need to get back to the real world, the longer the train took, the more I got to delay the inevitable. Sadly that was not indefinite and after about 15 minutes of standing on the platform the train doors opened and I took my seat.

Waiting On The Train

It’s a relatively long train ride, taking about an hour to pass through the sprawling Tokyo metropolis and through the more rural fields that surround Narita. Much like the ride into Tokyo, just a few days before, it was very quiet. I spent the majority of the time staring out the window, wondering “when will I be back?”

Before I knew it, the train pulled into the the station at Tokyo-Narita and it was time to make my way into the departures hall.

Narita Airport
The last time I was leaving from Tokyo, the 2011 Earthquake had just happened and the airport was a complete mess. Long lines, distressed travelers, and clearly frazzled employees trying to get through as many people as possible, especially those who had missed their flights in the days the airport had been closed. This time, however, it was much different for obvious reasons.

The departures hall was relatively quiet for a large international airport, and I made my way to the Sky Priority check-in line where I quickly had my bag checked and boarding passes printed. Thankfully, Tokyo-Narita features a security checkpoint for Sky Priority (and other Business Class and elite passengers) and with no wait at exit immigration controls, I was airside in no time.

Tokyo-Narita Departures

Delta 747 Being Towed Into Gate

Lounges
Within Terminal 1, where Delta operates from, there are two Delta Sky Clubs as well as the Korean Air Lines Lounge. There had previously been an Air France Lounge that I had visited back in 2011, but that lounge had since been closed. Still, this represents a decent selection and plenty of opportunity should you find one to be just too crowded.

Korean Air Lines Lounge
I started out with the Korean Air Lines Lounge as I had never visited this lounge before or any other Korean Air Lines Lounge. I wasn’t sure what to expect, so after doing some shopping at the duty free shops, I stepped through the sliding doors and handed over my boarding pass for admittance.

Korean Air Line Lounge Entrance

Upon entering the lounge, I was pretty quickly disappointed. It’s a decent sized lounge, but it is essentially one giant square room. Sure it’s bright thanks to the large windows looking out towards the ramp, but they didn’t do anything to try to break up the space within. Overall, however they did have fairly modern furnishings and everything looked clean and orderly.

Korean Air Lines Lounge

Korean Air Lines Lounge

On the food front, I would have expected a much better spread. I think that is what we come to expect from those major foreign airlines, however I will say that I think in Tokyo, Delta has the much better food and drink selection at Tokyo-Narita. In the end I wound up just having a beer and some nuts as I wasn’t feeling the instant noodles.

Korean Air Lines Lounge Food And Drink Area

Delta Sky Club
I could have tried to visit both of the Delta Sky Clubs at Tokyo-Narita, but I decided since I’ve been to both multiple times, it would just be best to pick one and wait out for my flight. With that said, I headed to the Satellite 1 Sky Club, which in my opinion is the better of the two lounges. Why? It definitely feels like the more modern and bright lounge compared to the smaller one in Satellite 2.

Sky Club Entrance

I wasn’t sure if I was starting to come down with something or not, so I decided to pass on any further alcohol in the lounge and decided to partake in some orange juice to pair with my sushi and meat on a stick.

Sky Club Snacks

I spent my time here after enjoying my snack mostly trying to sit back and relax. I’d be crammed into my economy class seat for the long flight to Detroit, and so I wanted the bit of breathing room that I would get in the lounge before the flight. I used the time to watch the other flights come and go out of the adjacent gates before making my towards my waiting aircraft. Of course on the way out, I did ask at the counter how full the flight was in an attempt to find my way into Business Class, but I was not so lucky.

View From The Sky Club

Delta Air Lines #276
Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT) to Detroit, MI (DTW)
Monday, June 22, 2015
Depart: 4:55PM Arrive: 3:48PM
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400 Seat: 25H (Economy Class)

Detroit-Bound 747 Parked At Gate 21

Gate 21

Much like how Southwest Airlines likes to line people up by boarding group, here in Tokyo, the agents in the gate area will go through and hold up signs to get people lined up by boarding zone. I mean, if it weren’t for that, let’s face it we would all be crowding the gate area anyways, right? I’m sure we all say that we don’t…but then I wouldn’t be trying to push my way through large crowds when they call PREM or SKY boarding groups.

Once on the aircraft, I settled into my seat on the right side of the aircraft in a Comfort+ aisle seat. Although it’s still really Economy Class, I do find that those few extra inches of legroom definitely help make the flight more comfortable. Especially once I change into more comfortable clothes, I can usually get stretched out enough to at least get some intermittent sleep.

The meal services on this flight were exactly what you would expect in Delta’s Economy Class; unlike the first international leg of this trip flying Atlanta to Johannesburg where the second meal looked more like a meal that you would see in Delta’s domestic First Class.

For the dinner service, which was served about two hours after takeoff, I opted for the chicken and rice main course that came with a fried chicken starter, salad, roll, and a slice of cake. It was generally decent, and definitely much better than my meals on Vietnam Airlines from Bangkok to Tokyo!

Delta Air Lines Dinner

For the breakfast service, I opted for Omelette, served with broccoli and a tiny hashbrown wedge, fruit and a roll. It was a dinner roll, which was a little odd, but at least it wasn’t pretending to be a breakfast pastry like on Vietnam Airlines. Overall, it was decent enough and comparable to other omelettes that I’ve had when flying Delta.

Delta Air Lines Breakfast

Detroit Arrival
A slightly earlier-than-scheduled arrival marked my first time landing at Detroit from an international destination. I was pleasantly surprised that in Detroit, Delta has a separate baggage claim belt that is solely for all Sky Priority bags, regardless of flight. While in theory all Sky Priority bags should come out first, this at least could make the the whole having to push through crowds after a long flight on a large plane. This was certainly the case on this trip, where I only waited for a brief five minutes after clearing immigration (which was also pretty painless!).

Detroit Sky Priority Baggage Claim

Working my way towards the Customs check, I did manage to get singled out for a secondary inspection, which seems to happen nearly every other trip. The CBP agents at customs, were friendly and professional as always, and the one who stopped me even pointed out the small stuffed Totoro that I bought at the duty free in Tokyo-Nartia to spend some of my remaining yen. I’m sure the decision to send me for the secondary inspection was based on the relatively exotic list of countries I had listed on my declaration form, and I wasn’t really even surprised that it happened. The CBP agent performing the actual inspection, quickly opened up my duffel, confirmed my declarations, and then sent my bags through X-Ray. With nothing suspicious in my bags, I was on my way to the security re-check in a few short minutes. As always, being honest and providing direct answers is the best policy when dealing with Immigration or Customs in any country!

Of course, I would go on to win what I call the “DHS Lotto”, in that in clearing security after customs to go into the terminal resulted in me getting a secondary screening too! Again, I figured all the electronics in my carry-on probably was the trigger and they quickly had me back on my way. Just kinda funny when I look back at it.

Delta Sky Club
I made my way to the only spot in the Detroit airport that I have spent any considerable amount of time: The Sky Club located at the center of Concourse A. Immediately after getting to the top of the escalator, I made my request for a shower and settled into a chair thinking that it was going to be a bit of a wait. Thankfully, I think hardly enough people know that showers exist within the lounge, so just a after getting settled into a corner of the lounge, I was called right back up to the desk to be let into one of the few shower rooms. It’s definitely time for the showers in Detroit to be updated, as they were looking a bit worn out; additionally I had to go back to ask for towels, as there wasn’t any left in my shower room after they cleaned it.

Could Use An Update…

After getting that super-relaxing shower, I finally took the opportunity to sit down, and enjoyed a few cups of coffee and several of those oddly delicious cookies that were originally found only in those former Northwest Airlines World Club locations. I think I did get a little stir crazy after only a bit in the lounge, so I decided to head to the gate a little on the early side.

Perhaps Totoro Likes Coffee?

Delta Air Lines #1269
Detroit, MI (DTW) to Atlanta, GA (ATL)
Monday, June 22, 2015
Depart: 7:10PM Arrive: 9:05PM
Aircraft: Boeing 737 Seat: 12C (Economy Class)

I Always Find These Little Dots On The Window Annoying, Even If They Serve A Purpose

Getting to the gate early, it turned out I got to see something that would make this flight unique. As I waited, I eventually saw a large quantity of armed police and Federal Agents approach the gate; in the middle of the group of law enforcement, someone who was clearly in custody. The took the person in question, on the plane, and I never saw them again. I assume they were seated at the rear of the aircraft, and I was pretty near the front.

The two hour flight down to Atlanta was pretty average otherwise. Snack and beverage service was on point and I spent most of the flight partaking in the in-flight entertainment options while trying to continue staying awake; upon arriving in Atlanta I would need to make my way to my final hotel of the night. The best part? My bag was already on the belt by the time I made it to baggage claim, so I just had schlep my bag to the hotel shuttle area.

Posted in Delta, Japan, RTW, SkyTeam, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Back In Tokyo!

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
I found myself standing just outside the doors of Shinagawa Station in central Tokyo. For starters, after nearly three weeks on the road and 26,000+ miles flown, I was starting to get a bit worn down. Jet lag might be your first thought, but that wasn’t necessarily the cause. I’m nearly certain it was the carting my heavy and awkward duffel around from place to place. You see, you don’t get a good workout until you experience carrying this overstuffed bag through a bustling train station. In reality is that the weight isn’t the problem, but unless you use the backpack straps, there’s just no good way to carry it. Oh and those backpack straps? They don’t work very well when your day-to-day bag is a messenger.

So, I was there, mere feet from the taxi stand outside the station catching my breath. The city had this familiar feel despite having only visited Japan once before; perhaps it was the beautifully sunny day. Despite knowing that the trip was nearly over, there was still a level of excitement. One of the things that had happened in the four years that since I had visited Japan prior to this is that I experienced tremendous growth in who I am as a traveler. And by that, I don’t mean having a ridiculous amount of airline and hotel points and all the flavors of elite status.

It was 2011 when I first came to Japan for a week away from work and everything else in Florida. Admittedly, I was still young in very many ways; I hadn’t even been out of college for a full year yet! Sure I had been to Europe twice while in college, took a train down the West Coast, and flew to Australia for a week on a whim right after graduation. So, although I had some good travel experience under my belt, I hadn’t been somewhere as “foreign” as Japan was until then. What did that mean in 2011? Well, like all my trips up to that point, it was short! But it also meant I never really fully immersed myself and more or less just bounced from tourist attraction to tourist attraction. Sure there were those moments in 2011 where I did, but it really was the race to see everything.

This time it would be different.

In those four years since, I had refined who I was as a traveler. Back then, I was decidedly less adventurous; in a sense I had come out of my shell in regards to travel as I gained more confidence in traveling. One could argue that I merely saw Japan, but didn’t even experience it. I think there would be some credence to that statement, considering that in 2011, I didn’t even a single piece of sushi. But now, I found myself a sushi-lover and many more miles under my belt. It was time to make the most of a two night stay in Tokyo.

Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo
We start out my time in Tokyo at the Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo; located in the Minato Ward of Tokyo, the hotel is a short taxi ride from Shinagawa Station and within walking distance of the Shirokanedai Metro Station (the hotel offers shuttle service to the station, but it only takes less than 10 minutes to walk). I arrived fairly early in the morning, definitely before check-in time, after having flown in from Bangkok via Hanoi the night before. As expected, they did not have a room ready for me yet, but when I came back a few hours later, they were ready for me to head up to my room. Which was great, because after spending a day in Bangkok, flying through the night, and walking around nearby areas in Tokyo, I needed a hot shower!

Sheraton Entrance

The Room
I booked my award stay for 10,000 Starpoints per night about a month in advance for a room with two single beds. I had not been upgraded in advance as often happens as an SPG Gold member, but when checking in I had inquired about what the possibility might be for at least a single queen bed. Thankfully, since I had to wait anyways, they were able to get me into the a room with a King Bed by the time I returned from my walkabout.

The room, while not massive, was plenty spacious for myself, and felt like countless other Sheraton hotels that I have stayed at over the years. Nothing unique, nothing special, but all that so familiar.

Room Entrance

The Location Of The Bed Would Be Awkward With A Travel Companion

Thankfully I Was Not Here For Work…That Desk Is Tiny!

Services and Amenities
During most of my hotel stays, I find myself in a hotel restaurant or bar at least once during my stay. This time however, I would not once step foot in any of their F&B outlets or even take advantage of other hotel services. I just hardly spent any time at the hotel other than to sleep! There was a lot on my agenda for Tokyo, of which spending time in a very average looking Sheraton in a quiet neighborhood, hadn’t made the cut. Of course I’m sure no one blames me for that! There is one service that I did take advantage of a few times and that is the hotel shuttle that drops off at the nearby Tokyo Metro and JR stations. While the walk wasn’t bad, when there is a minibus waiting right outside the door when you’re leaving, it can be an easy choice to make!

Walking The Streets Of Japan
I think I did more aimless wandering through the streets of Tokyo than anything else during my time here. I didn’t go back to make any repeat
visits to tourist attractions that I had been to the last time I was here; instead I focused on taking things in slowly and not rushing from place to place.

As I walked on that first evening, I did make my way back to Shibuya and it’s famous pedestrian street crossing, as that is always impressive to watch the crowds go back and forth. Plus, with it getting dark, that area has plenty of dining and entertainment options.

So Many People!

In my case, I decided to visit a “robotic sushi” restaurant, UOBEI. Unlike the conveyor belt sushi restaurants where you just grab plates as they go by, at UOBEI, you order sushi on a tablet and then the food is carried from the kitchen to your seat on an automated roller system. It works out pretty well (and the tablet has an English option, which is perfect for me!

Sushi Ordering Tablet

Just Delivered Sushi, Via The Conveyor Belt

Akihabara is one of my favorite places in Tokyo to spend time; and no, I personally am not into Japanese Animation. Akihabara for me is all about the electronics stores ranging from the towering stores like Sofmap to the little stalls on the backstreets selling used electronics and equipment. As an Engineer, it is fun to wander through all of these places; you never are quite sure what you will find for sale at some of these places. 5.25″ Floppy Disks anyone? Or about a vending machine with Integrated Circuit chips in little pods instead of toys?

On The Streets Of Akihabara

Floppy Disks Anyone?

South of Uneo station and both adjacent to and underneath the the tracks of the Yammanote Line, lays another area that I enjoy walking around in. While the weather was not very good to me on this trip, this area feels a little more grittier, with shops of all odds and ends and a few good places to get ramen in the alley way under the elevated rail line. If the weather had cooperated for me, I would have head to nearby Ueno Park, which really is a gem in the middle of Tokyo, but with the rain I figured I was already getting wet enough as I walked around!

Market In Ueno

Shrine In Ueno

Just A Little Bit Wet That Day…

If one is a fan of yakitori, then in Tokyo the place to head for is Yurakucho Station. Near the station and under the elevated tracks (picking up a theme here?), are many places to indulge in a yakitori delight. You really cannot go wrong with any of the options either accessible from the road the runs along the tracks or from the ones in the “yakitori alley” under the tracks. I sat down for a late lunch myself at one whos’s name I wouldn’t be able to tell you, but I basically found myself sitting on a crate. Good Stuff!

Down This Hallway Under The Railroad Tracks You’ll Find Plenty Of Yakitori Joints

Literally Sitting On Crates

Who Doesn’t Like Meat On A Stick

An advantage of heading to Yurakucho Station is that the Imperial Palace and Gardens are a very short walk away. I had not planned to stop by here at all, but with the sun setting behind the palace, I figured it might be a good opportunity to capture this landmark in a different light. I think I was somewhat successful, and it was interesting walking along the edge of the moat as the sun disappeared and Tokyo turned to night.

Yurakucho Station

Imperial Palace At Sunet

Tokyo Skyline At Sunset

The only thing I regret is that I headed over to Hibya Park right after, which I had never visited, but I figured why not! Unfortunately, at one point I was walking up a slippery hill, and I well….slipped. Camera in hand too. Thankfully, I nothing got banged up and I just wound up with mud on my hand.

Couple In Hibya Park

Hibya Park

Karaoke
As a mega-city, filled to the brim with neon lights, Tokyo has plenty of options to keep anyone entertained into the middle of the night. Or even the next morning, if that is your style! (Disclaimer: I most definitely was in bed before seeing the sun come up the next day; I wasn’t going to spend an entire day sleeping when I had a very short time here.)

One of the things that I had always incorrectly assumed about Japan, and despite having been to Tokyo before, is that there would be a plethora of karaoke bars where one can make a fool of yourself in front of a crowd of strangers. Turns out, there might be more of those kinds of establishments in my small beach town in Florida, than in Tokyo. There are a ton of karaoke establishments in Tokyo, however they are designed to where you rent a room, typically with others, and you singalong in some relatively privacy. I certainly wasn’t going to do that, as I can do that for free in my hotel room. The hunt for an actual karaoke bar thus commenced.

In flipping through my Lonely Planet Tokyo guidebook, I stumbled on the entry for the Fiesta International Karaoke Bar. Located in the basement of a building next to a police station in the Roppongi district, it was exactly what we all picture when we think of a karaoke bar. Taking the elevator down to the basement, you open up right to the bar counter. Upon paying a ¥3500 entry fee (which includes three drink tickets), you’re free to sit back or sing as much as you want. Curiously, I was the only foreigner, and with being at least 5,000 miles away from anyone that I knew, I figured that I would get up on stage. The only problem? I didn’t go up there just once; I may have been up there quite a bit singing what seemed like everything under the sun! There may have even been a bit of country music, which I had noted in the song book, which I think mostly left the audience confused. Oddly, it took me to get up there and sing some Journey, which was probably the only song that managed to get everyone involved! Seriously, at one point a random guy jumps up on stage with me wearing a wig and holding an inflatable prop guitar and starts to pretending to jam! It was a fantastic way to cap off that night, and I bid my farewell and hopped into a cab as the crowd dwindled to a select few who started to sing along to YouTube videos.

It Was A Party At The Fiesta That Night

Conclusion
While the rest of this globetrotting adventure was focused on going to new and unfamiliar destinations, Tokyo was about going back to the familiar. It was probably the best way to cap off this trip, and definitely gave me a different perspective on this city. Straying from most of the major tourist stops it was about finding some of those things I liked from the last time I was here as well as finding those hidden gems in the city. I never would have in 2011 step foot in a karaoke bar, let alone get up on stage multiple times! As I mentioned early on, this part of my trip really allowed me to contrast with how I’ve grown as a traveler in what seemed like just four short years.

Sometimes it can be a good thing even when you are spending considerable time and money planning and going on a trip to consider those places that you have been to before. I originally had tried hard to find anywhere but Tokyo to be my final stop; Seoul, Beijing, Melbourne, and even Palau. But as I kept searching and searching, I just couldn’t make anything work! I honestly at one point I thought the trip was going to be in jeopardy of being able to be completed without able to find away to get from somewhere in the Asia-Pacific reason back to the US. I was even willing to do whatever even just got me back to US soil, even if that meant buying a separate one-way flight back from the gateway city to home. Thankfully, when I was playing around with Tokyo, I was able to get flights all the way back to Panama City on the same ticket, I knew it was just meant to be! Sometimes this is how things work out, and as I keep saying, I’m glad it did. Besides, there’s plenty of other opportunities to visit other cities and countries in the future!

Posted in Asia, Hotels, Japan, RTW, SPG, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
Vietnam Airlines.

Who would have thought that I would be taking a couple of flights on the national airline of Vietnam? Well, much like Kenya Airways, they are one of the newer SkyTeam airlines that joined in the earlier part of this decade. As such that made them an easy target for trying to piece my itinerary together from Bangkok to Tokyo. Although Delta flies that route direct, as always when booking on Delta flights (or at least it seems), it’s difficult to get award availability. On the other hand, partner flights tend to be much easier. So instead of taking a relatively quick non-stop I found myself with only one apparent option: flying to Tokyo with a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam.

I did not set out to specifically fly on Vietnam Airlines; in searching for award availability it really came down to my only option. In theory there should have been many opportunities in Asia thanks to SkyTeam members China Southern, China Eastern, China Airlines, Korean Air, and Xiamen Air in addition to Vietnam Airlines, but surprisingly they were the only ones with availability on flights that were on that day. Well, without having to leave early in the morning, which would have given me even less time in Bangkok! I think that made the decision an easy one!

I didn’t know fully what to expect of my flights, as there wasn’t many people who had written about flying on Vietnam Airlines. The only things that I did see didn’t get my hopes up and when I saw pictures of what was the terminal in Hanoi, all I could think is that I could be making a connection in an airport that looked like a 1980s shopping mall and hardly a major hub of a growing regional international airline. Some things, would not be what I expected…

Bangkok Departure
After cramming as much as I could into the final bit of my third day of being in Bangkok, it was back to the W Bangkok to take a quick shower, throw my luggage back together and make my way to the airport. This time, my taxi cost nowhere near what the ride into the city cost thanks to the meter being used and not falling to easy tourist/visitor trap of agreeing to a higher non-metered fixed price. It was easily half the cost of what I paid just a few days prior!

The day was definitely wearing down with my arrival on the curb of the terminal at just a few minutes past 17:00. The good news? It meant that I had maximized my time in this city!

Both Familiar and Unfamiliar Airines

I quickly made my way into the large terminal and not after long found the Vietnam Airlines counter. I headed to the Sky Priority line which had no one in it, but then the Economy Class line only had a few people waiting, so it wasn’t going to be bad either way. They quickly tagged my bag and issued me boarding passes, but there was some confusion when i had asked about lounge access. “You want to buy access to the lounge?” After some back and forth it appeared my Delta SkyMiles number hadn’t carried through to their reservation, so I had to show them my Gold Medallion card to secure a lounge invitation (also, one of the reasons, I don’t like that Delta has discontinued physical cards for Gold Medallions).

Finding My Way Within The Airport

The Entrance To The Sky Priority Line Was Very Well Signed

With the lounge invitation in hand, I made my way through exit immigration, security and into the airside of the terminal.

Louis Tavern CIP Lounge
Vietnam Airlines had contracted with the generic ‘Louis Tavern CIP Lounge’ to be it’s Business Class / SkyTeam Elite Plus lounge in Bangkok. I wish I knew what CIP stood for, but it was a perfectly decent lounge. Nothing super fancy, but also not a dingy dark closet like some third party (or even a few airline-run) lounges that I have encountered in my travels.

I Probably Could Have Tried Some Other Lounges…

One thing that I had wish I had done was to go and try to check out a few other lounges operated by SkyTeam airlines. Both China Airlines and Air France have lounges at Bangkok, and being an Elite Plus passenger, I would have been able to go into either if they were open. However, the Louis Tavern CIP Lounge that Vietnam Airlines sent me to was much closer to the gate than any of the others would have been.

The Lounge Is Located In The Glass “Building Within A Building” Across From The Gates (To The Right)

It was easy enough getting into the lounge, I handed my invitation over and proceeded to find a nice quiet spot to sit. The lounge had plenty of seating areas broken up into multiple spaces giving plenty of opportunities to spread out and be alone or to sit with a large group. There is also an upper level that has seating as well.

Louis Tavern CIP Lounge

Looking Towards The Buffet Area And Entrance

Speaking of food…they had a decent spread out of both hot and cold options as well as drinks, all self-serve. It wasn’t necessarily gourmet food, but it did the trick of being a snack to hold one over until they got on the plane. I sat down to have a mix of rice, mini-sandwiches, and other things.

Food Spread

Mini-Sandwiches

But soon enough, my time in the lounge would be over and I would head to the gate. Not trusting that they would make an announcement (or that I would hear it), I headed down a little bit early to wait it out with the other passengers.

Vietnam Airlines #612
Bangkok, Thailand (BKK) to Hanoi, Vietnam (HAN)
Friday, June 19, 2015
Depart: 7:05PM Arrive: 8:54PM
Aircraft: Airbus A321 Seat: 28C (Economy Class)

To The Gate…And Hanoi

The Vietnam Airlines Airbus A321 Was Ready And Waiting

Boarding more or less commenced on-time. It was a bit of a mad rush when they did announce boarding, but luckily they had used two separate doors from the boarding area for Economy Class and Sky Priority, so most of the crowd was at the other door. Plus I had positioned myself next to the Sky Priority door, so it was an easy move to make it on to the plane first.

Waiting For Boarding To Commence

Once onboard the aircraft, I found that I had managed to be seated in the emergency row. Huzzah! I hadn’t even asked, nor had I been able to select seats in advance, so this was a nice welcome surprise.

Looking Forward On The A321

More Legroom Than I Knew What To Do With!

With one of the flight attendant seats being right across the aisle from me and facing back, I felt like I had a fair amount of attention during the flight. Service onboard was fairly decent with all of the flight attendants coming across as friendly and wanting to provide a good service. This even made up for the fact that their English language skills were not the best, but they definitely tried. When you fly on some of these more regional airlines or routes, it’s definitely important to remember that the flight attendants may not have the best command of English and may only know simple phrases. My experience is that if you understand this and don’t become a “Why don’t you speak English, because I speak English” type of traveler, you get pretty good service. And that is exactly what happened…the service received was good.

Onboard this flight, Vietnam Airlines offered a dinner service to Economy Class passengers. There was a choice, of which I do not remember what the two options were, but I did go with the beef and noodle dish. It was served with vegetables, glass noodles and chicken (as the starter), a roll, and a gelatin-desert that I couldn’t figure out. It was surprisingly edible.

Dinner Onboard Vietnam Airlines

While cruising over Southeast Asia, I also managed to try my first Vietnamese Beer. It unfortunately may take the spot of the worst beer that I have had, unfortunately.

Hanoi Beer

Soon enough the Airbus touched down on one of Hanoi’s runways.

Hanoi Arrival
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect upon landing in Hanoi. Most of the very little information about the Hanoi airport was about the previous international terminal that looked very much like a shopping mall designed in the 1980s and featured less-than-stellar looking amenities. However, I kept reading about a brand new international terminal that had opened in late 2014, but there wasn’t really any information on it! Nothing about lounges or experiences or anything.

The first thing I noted upon entering the terminal was noticing how modern it was. It still had the feel of a new space and hadn’t looked the slightest bit worn down yet.

As a transfer passenger, the process was remarkably easy as well with clearly posted signs for the transit exit right before passport control to go back into the terminal. Of course there was a security re-screen, but it was extremely painless with hardly a line to wait in. In fact from the time I got off the plane to being back airside in the terminal had to take 15 minutes…at worst.

Once in the terminal, I decided that I had more than enough to try to spend in the lounge, so I opted to walk the terminal and see what exactly was in a Vietnamese airport.

Noi Bai International Airport’s Modern Terminal

I first stumbled on a coffee shop after having cleared security that looked a bit like Starbucks, called Star Cafe featuring a prominent red star, and I assumed that this would be indicative of many of the other shops within the terminal. Something that looked almost like a globalized western brand, but something home-grown. And largely that was true.

Until that is until I saw the Popeyes Chicken (Express).

I Didn’t Believe it At First…

My first thought was, man this must be a knock-off! But no, it was a no kidding legitimately franchised Popeyes restaurant, located in the heart of the international airport in Hanoi, Vietnam. I found it very interesting that given the history of our two nations and with diplomatic relations only having been restored 20 years prior in 1995, that you would find a Popeyes of all things. It turned out doing some research that there are actually a number across Vietnam. Perhaps the Vietnamese like that Cajun fried chicken and biscuits?

For the record however, I did not grab anything to eat there, as much as a novelty as it would have been. I decided instead to browse the duty free shops (where everything was priced in US Dollars), and while I didn’t buy anything, I probably should have since I was on the tail end of my trip. Oh well.

Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge
The theme for this layover, was not knowing what to expect. I literally could not find anything about the Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge online in advance of my travel, except for about the lounges in the former International Terminal.

Follow The Cardboard Cutouts Towards The Lounge Entrance

Up a set of escalators from the main terminal, you’ll find the entrance to the Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge.

Lounge Entrance

Past the sliding glass doors, I handed over my boarding pass and Gold Medallion card to gain entrance since my connecting boarding pass didn’t reflect my Delta status. Either they didn’t reprint my connecting boarding pass in Bangkok or there was yet another disconnect in the systems.

Once inside, I found a very open and large lounge that looked over the rest of the terminal below. There were plenty of chairs, couches, and tables available and the lounge never really got that crowded, despite all the middle of the night regional flights heading off all over Asia.

Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge

Vietnam Airlines Lotus Lounge

There was a small buffet area in the corner which offered a fairly simple selection of snacks, although there were plenty of noodles available. I settled down with a bowl myself to go with another Vietnamese beer, in my quest to sample as much as I could.

Noodles And Beer

There were a few side rooms off from the main lounge area that seemed to be quiet rooms and a massage chair room. I did not utilize either as the main lounge space worked pretty well for me. It didn’t get very loud and there wasn’t much noise from the terminal below either. All around, while there wasn’t anything unique really about the lounge, it really was a solid lounge. I could imagine however, if you were here during a busier time, it might not be quite as quiet, but in the middle of the night, it was perfect.

Of The Three Vietnamese Beers I Tried, This One Was The Best

After finishing up, I decided to leave the lounge a little early to walk the terminal again in anticipation of my next flight. Had to stretch those legs before the overnight flight to Tokyo!

Hanoi Departures

Vietnam Airlines #310
Hanoi, Vietnam (HAN) to Tokyo-Narita, Japan (NRT)
Saturday, June 20, 2015
Depart: 12:45AM Arrive: 7:25AM
Aircraft: Airbus A330 Seat: 21C (Economy Class)

Waiting At The Gate

Anticipating that there would be another mad rush to the gate, much like in Bangkok I staged myself near the gate for boarding so I could get on when they actually called for Sky Priority boarding. I don’t like to crowd the gate, but then again, I also don’t like being the last one on. Again, I found myself as one of the first ones onboard the aircraft.

Vietnam Airlines A330

As I made my way through the plane to row 21, I quickly found out I was not going to be as lucky on this flight as I had been on the Bangkok-Hanoi flight earlier in the day. There was no exit row seating for me this time, instead I would be getting the normal Vietnam Airlines Economy Class experience. Although I had seen online that the seat pitch was fairly normal, I don’t know why, but it seemed much narrower than I thought. My knees for the most part were pressed into the seat in front of me for the entire flight. Perhaps it was because I was trying to sleep on this flight a little bit and I was slid a bit forward. Either way, I felt it.

Looking Out The Window, Waiting For Boarding To Finish

Don’t Expect Much Leg Room

I did have only one seat mate on the flight, in the window seat next to me. Upon spying his passport, I found it somewhat interesting that at least two of the Americans on this plane were seated next to one another. Coincidence?

After changing into more comfortable clothing, I tried to get a little bit of sleep while watching some of the available inflight entertainment, but didn’t really have much success. I think I may have managed to get 2-2.5 hours of “sleep”.

As soon as the flight attendants came through the cabin to start the breakfast service, I knew it was time to give up on trying to get anymore sleep, as we were likely just over an hour out of Tokyo-Narita. They had offered two options on this flight for a meal: Western or Japanese. I decided to go with the Western option as I was thinking that it would probably be some sort of egg-based something or another, but I was rather surprised when I had a beef and noodles entry placed in front of me instead. Sure there was fruit on the side, and a roll that looked like a croissant (but had the texture of a dinner roll), but there wasn’t really anything about this that said “breakfast” or “western”. But, hey food is food, right? Well the noodles and beef were both overcooked, making this meal not exactly the most edible.

Breakfast

Tokyo Arrival
The Vietnam Airlines A330 touched down on a sunny Saturday morning at Tokyo-Narita International Airport; I was back in Japan! This was my first time visiting Japan via Narita Airport versus the much-closer-to-the-city Haneda Airport, but the immigration and customs process was just as straight forward and with minimal delay found myself standing there with my bags and the little sticker they put in your passport. Now, I had a few choices that I could make for getting into the city and my hotel.

Vietnam Airlines A330 On The Ground In Tokyo

There are two easy ways to get into Tokyo from Narita, taking either a Limousine Bus or the Narita Express train. In the arrivals hall, I thought about it for a bit and although the Limousine Bus would take me straight to the Sheraton, I decided on the Narita Express train. I wasn’t sure what morning traffic in Tokyo would be like, so in the interest of getting to the hotel in the hopes that I would be able to check in right away, I opted for the faster Narita Express.

Narita Express Train

After pulling out some Yen from the ATM, I bought my ticket, and wandered down to the train platform. There was a little bit of a wait for the train, but once onboard with my bags stowed, we sped across the Japanese country side and then eventually through the heart of Tokyo. At Shinagawa Station, which was not far from my hotel, I would disembark the train. I was now in the middle of Tokyo. Exiting the station, I stood there for a moment before walking up to the Taxi stand. Trying, as much as I could, to take it all in and not let the excitement show that I was back in this amazing city, even if it would be for a few short days.

Posted in Asia, Japan, RTW, SkyTeam, Thailand, Travel, Trip Report, Vietnam Airlines | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Exploring Bangkok

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
Bangkok, the capital and largest city in the Kingdom of Thailand. Mentioning the name almost always conjures up images of it’s renowned nightlife, temples, markets, food, and the hectic ways of riding in a tuk tuk through the crowded city. For the most part, those thoughts are pretty much spot on. There are more temples than one could ever visit in a day (or two or three), the markets and the foods you can find in them are exciting, the nightlife is pretty much one giant party, and tuk tuks can be a bit of an adventure (we’ll get into that later).

So why Bangkok? Well, my experience in Asia had so far precluded any part of Southeast Asia, having only been to Japan, Hong Kong and Macau. Southeast Asia has that bit of mystique to it and with Thailand being a relatively safe destination, I figured that it would be a good introduction. Of course, the desire to go anywhere on this trip was based around the availability of flights; thankfully Kenya Airways has a flight between Nairobi and Guangzhou that stops in Bangkok.

There was one downside with how my itinerary turned out; with the first two weeks of my three week trip split between South Africa, Dubai, and the Seychelles, my time in Bangkok and Tokyo would be very short. I had contemplated spending three nights in Bangkok and just one in Tokyo, as I had been to Tokyo before, but decided as much as I would prefer to have more time in a new destination, it wouldn’t make any sense to essentially not spend any time in Japan either. The best use of my limited time, I felt, was to split my time evenly between the two cities. While it would be less-than-ideal, it still would afford me enough time to sample the city and get a taste of what Thailand has to offer.

Reconnecting With An Old Friend
Bangkok is definitely a city that could easily overwhelm your senses, if you jump right into it. I tend however to not jump right into things when in a new place, especially right after getting off of a long international flight; I much prefer to take it easy at least that first day and night. What better of a way to take it easy and get the lay of the land than to reconnect with an old friend?

Ben was one of the first friends that I made when my family moved to Florida at the start of sixth grade. We went to the same schools, both of us were in scouts (we actually got our Eagle Scout awards the same night – yeah, I’m that nerd), and even went to Italy with a other friends as part of a Latin Class trip in high school. However, as it tends to go with those older friendships, you get to the point where you don’t see each other much and you don’t talk quite as much. The last time I had the chance to hangout with Ben was in early 2014 when I had decided to make an impromptu trip to Portland where he was living with another one of our friends at the time.

Now I knew that he had gone overseas to teach English, but I didn’t know all of the details. Thankfully, he had seen on Facebook a few days before I was set to land in Bangkok that I was heading there myself, which is where he happened to be. We put together loose plans for my first night in Bangkok, a weekday night, since I was not going be there for the weekend. That was probably a good thing, just to keep it from getting too crazy!

My friend didn’t live in heart of Bangkok, so I summoned a taxi from the hotel to drop me off in the neighborhood that he lived in next to a large convention center North of Bangkok. He had tried to convince me to take a cheap minibus, but as confident as I am in traveling in, I was not quite feeling that adventurous. Cheap Thai beer started off the night and capped off the night at the late hour of 1AM. In the middle there was an enjoyable cheap meal at the outdoor Muangthong Thani Food Center, which is a collection of food stalls behind the convention center. With the area being a somewhat residential area, there wasn’t any crazy shenanigans, unless you count sitting outside a bar on wooden crates drinking more cheap beer. It was good to catch up with him and in all of the most unexpected places in the world!

Let’s Go For A Ride In A Tuk Tuk
The morning of my one and only full day in Bangkok thankfully was one without a hangover. It was a good thing my friend had to work the next day! With being up at a reasonable time, it meant hitting the sights would be an easy task. My first task was to head down to the Chao Phraya River to catch the the boat up the river to start my sightseeing.

Cruising up and down the river is one of those essential Bangkok experiences; although one must be careful. There is a popular scam that involves the offer of a personal tour on a longtail boat that could have you stranded several meters away from the pier on your return with the dilemma of paying an amount of cash or making a swim for it. Sticking the ‘Tourist Boat’ or other public water taxi services that go up and down stopping at piers along the way is most definitely the way to do it. Plus the fares are cheap!

Chao Phraya River

I didn’t go very far on my first trip up the river. From Sathorn Pier, I disembarked at Pak Khlong Market with the intention that I would walk around the market for a bit and then walk the streets of Bangkok to the nearby Grand Palace and Wat Pho. I spent my time meandering and taking in the sights and smells, but I did not buy anything or even eat anything.

Wandering The Market

From there, things got interesting. I was walking down the road and I fell for a scam.

Yes, you heard me right. With all my travel experience and ability to recognize a scam, I somehow fell prey to one of the most famous and common in Bangkok: the Tuk Tuk Scam.

It takes a lot for one to usually admit that they fall for something like this (if they even recognize that they fell for the scam in the first place), but I owned up to it pretty quickly to my friends and family. Why? Well, if I don’t share it then more and more will continue to fall for these scams!

In short, while walking along the road I was approached by a friendly person who claimed to be a teacher and that the temple (Wat Pho) was closed until later in the day, claiming that something that the Monks would be doing something until then. As a tourist who is less than familiar with the religion and customs you think “Well, that certainly sounds plausible”. From there, they’ve got you. He pulls out a map and starts putting together an alternative sightseeing list and then without missing a beat walks over to a Tuk Tuk driver and “negotiates” a price to take me around for a ridiculously low amount – I think 20 Baht, if I recall correctly.

That alone should be a red flag! Even a beer will still set you back 100 Baht, so 20 Baht is beyond low for an afternoon of being driven around! Strangely enough, I agreed, jumped in and of we went. It took about a minute for it to sink in what had happened. I wasn’t sure what the best course of action was, so I decided to stick with it. At the first temple (some random one that tourists wouldn’t go to), I saw other tourists being dropped off here as well, and it seemed innoculous, so I went in and walked around. And you know what happened? A friendly person approached me! He started going off on how I should go check out the Thai Suit Factory, which miracously was only open to foreigners today! Oh my goodness, how could I be so lucky! Guess where I was going to wind up next?

The Culprit

I should have bailed through a back exit then, but I hopped back in and found myself at this ‘suit factory’. The place was crowded, not for it’s quality I’m sure, but based off all the tourists they prey on. I wound up buying a couple of ties as I figured if I bought something it’s at least better than nothing.

From there it was off to another temple (with another friendly person extolling the virtues of buying gems) and then to the next opportunity to rip you off at…can you guess it? A gem shop!

I was at this point pretty fed up and was seriously calling the Bangkok Tourist Police; instead I decided to make the Tuk Tuk driver an offer he couldn’t refuse to end this charade: money. I decided handing over 1000 Baht was the easiest solution and to be honest had he not taken the cash, I was going to be jumping out of the back. I was done and I was ready to get on with my day.

So while this ended my perfect track record of not falling for travel scams, I share it so that others can hopefully recognize these types of scams and not wind up in the same boat as myself. And as far as if I am embarrassed about falling for it? We’re all human and we make mistakes from time to time; if I was embarrassed I wouldn’t have said anything!

Wat Pho
Eventually, I made it to Wat Pho, my original destination earlier in the day before I found myself far away. The Temple complex itself is fairly large and located right next to another tourist site, the Grand Palace. There’s a small entry fee to enter the Wat Pho complex, but it is most definitely worth it!

So Much Color!

You Could Spend An Entire Afternoon Trying To Take All Of The Temple Complex

The most popular stop within the temple is the giant golden reclining Buddha that became extremely crowded with all the other tourists. Outside of this building however you can and will find spots throughout the complex where there are far fewer people milling about. The important thing is that there are a wide variety of things to check out, whether it be the architecture of the buildings themselves, to statues and other forms of art.

It’s Big.

As the birthplace of Thai Massage, it is also possible to get a massage at the massage school located on the temple grounds. Being that it is extremely popular, I had to wait for about 30 minutes before my massage. Now, unlike what everyone is probably thinking, the massages are done clothed and in a very crowded room. It’s not going to be a spiritual or relaxful massage, but it was definitely a relief for some sore muscles for 30 minutes from having walked all over Bangkok.

Out On The Town
Having spent my first night in Bangkok with my friend, I decided for my second and last night to explore some of the popular tourist nightlife areas. I felt like it would be essential as part of my Bangkok experience. So after kicking off my evening at WOOBAR at the W Bangkok, I hopped in a cab bound for Khao San Road: the center of the party in Bangkok. There’s bars everywhere; in the buildings lining the streets, on the street, and on the side streets and alleys that snake out from the main road.

Khao San Road

The good thing is that the street is closed off, and nearly everyone is here, or at least it seems. It didn’t take me long to feel like I was at home (and that’s not counting the guy in a Panama City Beach t-shirt I saw earlier in the day), with hearing a band playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. I stopped at this outdoor and in-the-street establishment and enjoy a cheap beer while taking in the music on this relatively hot night. But after my one drink, there was more exploring to do!

Stop #1 – Sweet Home….Bangkok?

There really seems to be something that caters to every whim. There’s even the bar with the sign that states that they don’t check ID and make strong cocktails. Only in Bangkok! There’s plenty of places where tourists can make the mistake of drinking too much, but once you get off the main drag you can find some nice little gems that are more laid back.

Only In Bangkok, Would This Be A Sign!

I’ll be honest, I spent probably the most of my time just walking up and down the street taking it all in. Eventually, I did settle on the second and final establishment of the night on one of the side streets.

This Picture Does Not Translate How Humid It Was That Night…

This bar was one of a few next to each other that had live music, wasn’t crowded, and sidewalk seating. I settled down while I listened to the cover band play a song list that was the best of 90s Alt Rock before I would wander my way back to the hotel. It was a relatively early night, but that was by design. I was flying on towards Tokyo the next day, so I didn’t want to lose my last few hours in Bangkok nursing a hangover.

Bangkok Live Music

The Final Hours
Although I was flying out that evening, I was able to get up early enough to be able to tackle some last minute sightseeing in Bangkok. Especially after the detour that the Tuk Tuk caused for me the day prior, this would be my last chance to see a few more things. Once again, I headed up the river on the boat, with the intentions of going to the Grand Palace. However, between the dress code and baggage policy on top of the entrance fee, I just didn’t feel up for it, so instead I set out to wander. My first stop? The Post Office across the street so that I could mail myself a post card, continuing the tradition I started on my first international trip. They make some of the best and cheapest souvenirs!

Mailing Things Is Exciting, Right?

From there, I found myself wandering the streets in the immediate vicinity, taking it the sights, sounds and smells. As I would get near any of the river piers where there seemed to always be a small market out front, which all seemed to have quite the assortments of interesting foods for sale.

Tree Lined Streets And Really Pink Taxi Cabs

Neighborhood Market

I think just wandering around without any set agenda of things to see or do was the best way for me to end my very short time in Bangkok. It left me not feeling like I had rushed myself by resigning to the fact that I just wasn’t going to see it all. As a result, I could focus on just relaxing and enjoying my vacation.

On The Pier

Even though I tell people all the time that I take it easy with my trips, historically I have tried to cram so much in over a short period of time. I mean, the first time I traveled outside of the US on my own, I had visited five countries in the span of a week. When you only have two nights in a destination, sometimes you have to remind yourself that it is ok to not see or do it all. I think it has become easier over the years for me to accept this as the years have gone on, I’ve continued to travel all over the world. There was a point where I used to always think “this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip” as I set out to visit somewhere new. And while there are some destinations I may never make it back to in the course of my life, there are many that I have and will.

I Think This Sums Up How I Feel About My Time In Bangkok

I can say with certainty that Bangkok is a city that I will be back to in the future. It deserves a proper visit, and there is of course so much more to do and see within Thailand outside of Bangkok that would be worthwhile as well. Did I find Bangkok to be a generally welcoming city? Of course! And really, the whole Tuk Tuk experience is solely my own fault for letting my guard down, and I can’t hold that as some reason to not want to come back. Travel isn’t necessarily about everything going perfect all the time; too many get hung up on the “perfect trip”. From my perspective, my time in Bangkok, even with that experience, was almost perfect. I think there’s a lot more in general that I want to see in Southeast Asia with everything it has to offer. My only hope is that I am back sooner rather than later to dive a bit deeper. Who knows, maybe there’s a moped trip in my future.

There’s many more pictures from my short time in Bangkok, here on Flickr.

Posted in Asia, RTW, Thailand, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: W Bangkok Hotel

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
If you know me well, you know that I really like staying at W Hotels. I’ve stayed at ones in New York, Hong Kong, Seattle, Santiago, Chicago, Atlanta, and Montreal previously. With there being a W Hotel in Bangkok, I had a pretty good idea where I was going to wind up staying. Especially when I was able to grab a SPG Cash AND Points award for US$75 + 5,000 points per night for my two night stay.

Arrival
I arrived at the W Bangkok via a taxi that I had hired from the airport, taking about 30-45 minutes. Pulling up, it has what I would call a pretty typical W Hotel exterior; modern, grey, and large doors opening up to the lobby. What does make pulling up to this hotel though a little bit different is that right next to the modern hotel building, is the historic colonial style building that once housed the Russian Embassy to Thailand. As a note, this building has since opened up as The House on Sathorn, with dining options, a bar, and function spaces; when I was there it had not yet been opened as a transformed space.

Former Russian Embassy, Now ‘House On Sathorn’

W Bangkok Exterior

I was helped with my bags into the very W-esque and large lobby, heading straight for the first available front desk agent. She was able to check me in quickly and had informed me that I had been upgraded from the Wonderful to Spectacular Room. I’m always glad to get an upgrade, and soon enough I was heading up to my room with one of the bellhops carting my heavy duffel to the 18th floor.

The Room
Typically, an upgrade to a Spectacular Room isn’t really much to write home about. These are usually identical to the Wonderful Rooms at a number of W Hotels, but often just a higher floor or with a better view. It does help though for us Golds to feel a little bit more special however when we get ‘upgraded’ to these rooms! Now, at the W Bangkok, the Spectacular and Wonderful rooms appear to be similarly outfitted, but there is one difference that sets them apart: the room shape. The Spectacular Rooms are more triangular shaped (or more like a really skewed trapezoid), with it being narrow towards the door and opening outwards at the bed and window.

Entering The Room

The Bathroom was not physically separate from the rest of the room aside from a colored divider between the room and the tub and shower and a door for the toilet. There was a curtain one could pull across the opening that spanned from the front door to the bedroom area, if some privacy was desired. Being a solo traveler, that wasn’t exactly a problem for me! I found the bathroom to be of decent sized, plenty of counter space (for my few things), and with a shower with ample pressure and temperature. I never did use the tub during my stay, but having flown a good distance, my first activity was to jump in the shower and wash off all that travel funk!

Bathroom

Tub And Shower

The rest of the room had a very ample amount of space for my two days. The King Bed was super comfy as always, which tends to only be a problem in that I do not want to get out of bed in the mornings! There was a glass desk setup in front of the window, giving a view out to Bangkok; in my case this was of the former Russian Embassy and an office building across the entrance from the hotel. Not the most scenic, but then again I was in the middle of Bangkok…

W Bangkok – Spectacular Room

One thing of note is that this is one of the few hotels that I’ve stayed at that have a tablet-like remote that controls all the features in the room, from lights to curtains to air conditioning and more. It could be a convenience, say if you were working all evening at the desk and didn’t want to necessarily get up to adjust those things. Or you just want to lay in bed and open the shades just a tad to start letting the morning light in!

This Tablet Controls Nearly Everything In The Room

Dining and Drinking
I sat down at the Kitchen Table one evening to sit outside and partake in the “My Burger, My Style” offer, which was basically design your own burger starting at 550THB (or ~US$15) and also included one beverage. I went crazy filling out the form; going with lamb, adding an egg on top, and what is this, a squid-ink bun? Sure, why not! Sometimes, choices are a bad thing, and I may have went a little crazy, but it was a pretty solid burger. And the squid-ink bun that was black didn’t really taste any different compared to a normal bun. The one thing that was probably not the best idea? Sitting outside on that hot and muggy night, especially since I was going to be outside all evening. Probably should have relished a few minutes in the AC, but then I wouldn’t have enjoyed the sounds of the city!

My Burger…

It Was Quite Hot Out Even At Night

The Kitchen Table also does breakfast, which I did partake in on my last morning. It was fairly comprehensive with a number of Western and Asian options, and overall was good. It didn’t really overly wow me though like the spread at the W Hong Kong, but it still did the trick.

As for drinking there, seeing as I was given a voucher for a drink upon check-in, I decided to head over to WOOBAR, which is right off the lobby on the ground floor. This is the second time that I’ve been to a WOOBAR in an W Hotel, and like my first experience at the W Hong Kong, it was fairly quiet when I showed up. Of course I was just here to kick off my evening before heading out, but at that early evening hour, it was nice calm and relaxed. I’m sure as the night rolled on though, the place picked up and got busy. On the plus side, since it was a little bit calmer, I was able to chat with the bartender for a bit and try some new cocktails. Can’t complain about that!

Overall Impressions
The W Bangkok definitely hits the W brand in all the right ways; it feels like a W Hotel through and through. It was a comfortable stay in that it was familiar in all the right ways while being a little bit new. The staff were all equally eager to help out and were not slacking in any which way. The location is great for getting around; the metro station is located just on the opposite side of a neighboring office building, no more than a 5 minute walk. The river for taking a boat to some of the tourist sites is only 20 minutes on foot. The only way the location would be better is if it was on the river. In the end, you basically can’t go wrong by picking the W Bangkok for a stay in this city!

A Beacon In The Night

Posted in Asia, Hotels, RTW, SPG, Thailand, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Around The World In 21 Days: Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK

Index:

  1. Introduction
  2. Delta Comfort+ ECP-ATL-JNB
  3. Hilton Sandton
  4. British Airways Economy JNB-PLZ
  5. Conrad Pezula
  6. Knysna and the Garden Route
  7. Westin Cape Town
  8. Exploring Cape Town + Penguins!
  9. British Airways Economy CPT-JNB
  10. Protea Hotel OR Tambo Airport
  11. Kenya Airways Economy JNB-NBO-DXB
  12. DoubleTree Hotel Jumeirah Beach
  13. Exploring Dubai
  14. Kenya Airways Economy DXB-NBO-SEZ
  15. Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort
  16. Exploring Mahe Island
  17. Kenya Airways Economy SEZ-NBO-BKK
  18. W Bangkok Hotel
  19. Exploring Bangkok
  20. Vietnam Airlines Economy BKK-HAN-NRT
  21. Back In Tokyo!
  22. Delta Air Lines Main Cabin NRT-DTW-ATL
  23. DoubleTree Atlanta Airport
  24. Delta Air Lines Comfort+ ATL-ECP
  25. Conclusion

Introduction
At this point in my trip I really started to feel like I was becoming an expert at Kenya Airways, with this leg of my journey being the 5th and 6th flights on the carrier in about a week’s time. When I was originally booking my trip, I had surveyed all the possible destinations that I could get to in Asia via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. There weren’t a large number of options, however they did have a Nairobi to Guangzhou flight that made an intermediate stop in Bangkok. Thailand had been one of the destinations that I had wanted to visit for some time and this made the decision easy for where to make my stop for two nights. Also, the flight on the NBO-BKK leg also was on the Boeing 787, which after my Dubai flights were changed to 777s, would make for my first time flying this aircraft!

Seychelles Departure
I arrived from the Hilton Northolme in the early afternoon to the open air terminal at the Seychelles International Airport. The place was hardly busy, and I made my way to the Kenya Airways counter located at the end of the row. There was no one in the Sky Priority line, so I managed to have my bags tagged and boarding passes issued fairly quickly. From there it was through Immigration to be stamped out, which again was painless and security wasn’t rushed either. I mean, really my departure from the Seychelles was about as relaxed as my stay for the duration!

Departures Hall – Seychelles International Airport

Kenya Airways Check In

The Unique Seychelles Immigration Stamps

Air Seychelles Salon Vallée de Mai Premium Lounge
As a SkyTeam Elite Plus member, Kenya Airways provided me with an invitation to use Air Seychelles Lounge post-security. Located on the second floor of the terminal, it is the only lounge at the airport.

Air Seychelles Lounge

Upon Entering, I handed over my invitation to one of the lounge agents, and proceeded into the fairly large and mostly empty lounge. I’m sure when there are multiple flights leaving at the same time in the evening and night it gets pretty busy, but thankfully in the afternoon it was not.

Air Seychelles Lounge

Air Seychelles Lounge

The space is broken up into a couple of different seating areas, which helps break up the space a bit, and also features nice large windows running along one of the walls. The result is a very good amount of natural light being let in, which means less use of lamps, and being able to enjoy one last view of the Indian Ocean before boarding your flight! Of the food selection, there was a decent spread of snack foods laid out and a decent selection of beverages. Everything was self-serve which makes things easy; they were good though of making sure everything was kept fully stocked, and I saw the staff come out a number of times to top off both food and beverages.

Food And Drink Area (More Behind Me)

A Sampling Of What’s Available

View From The Lounge

As it got close to boarding, I decided to head downstairs to the gate area. There’s only a couple of gates here and the area is quite small with just a small duty free shop and small cafe available for the majority of passengers. I guess I was a little too anxious, because although I had left a good bit after the inbound flight had landed, I still found myself waiting at the gate for longer than I would have wanted to.

Departure Gates

Kenya Airways Embraer Landing

Kenya Airways #251
Mahe Island, Seychelles (SEZ) to Nairobi, Kenya (NBO)
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Depart: 4:20PM Arrive: 6:24PM
Aircraft: Embraer 190 Seat: 12A (Economy Class)

Boarding commenced a little late, but given that this was again not a very full flight, it did not take very long to get everyone on-board. I had picked a window seat again for this flight, although this time on the opposite side of the aircraft. This was to ensure that I would get another good view as we took off and departed paradise!

Walking Out To The Aircraft

Waiting On The Remaining Passengers

Take Off - Seychelles International Airport (Kenya Airways)
The service on the flight to Nairobi was nearly identical to my flight a few days earlier inbound to the Seychelles, and as such there isn’t too much to go into detail on. Like on that flight, a meal was served, and I had opted for the pasta dish this time. It wasn’t too terrible, being that it wasn’t super overcooked pasta.

Kenya Airways Economy Class Dinner SEZ-NBO

I also settled into watch a couple of movies on the seat-back IFE system, and amusing myself that the movie Dodgeball was considered a ‘Classic’.

You Can’t Any More Classic Than Dodgeball

Three hours after taking off from the Seychelles, I was back on the ground in Nairobi for the third time in less than two weeks. And yet, despite now having been through the airport in Nairobi that many times, I never once cleared through immigration and customs to add another country to my list and another passport stamp. Supposedly US Citizens can get a visa on arrival, but it didn’t really ever seem like a good idea for any of my layovers. That just means, I’ll give it a proper visit at some point in the future!

Disembarking In Nairobi

Back To the Kenya Airways Pride Lounge
With clearing transit security again very quickly, I made my way straight to the Pride Lounge as the better of the two lounges located at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. With a little under five hours to kill between, flights I settled in to start out with some dinner. The selection wasn’t much different than my previous visits, and overall was decent for lounge food. Definitely better than what Delta puts out in the Sky Clubs!

Dinner In The Pride Lounge

In my time here, I started trying to figure out what I would do during my stay in Bangkok, as much like the rest of this trip, I hadn’t actually planned too much despite all the research that I had completed! Thankfully, I was able to come up with a rough idea for my few days there and even managed to set up some tentative plans to meet an old friend who had moved over there earlier in the year to teach English.

As always, I headed to the gate way too early and found myself hanging around in a gate area for much longer than I had wanted to. Thankfully, unlike the gate used for the Dubai flight, you weren’t held captive!

Kenya Airways #886
Nairobi, Kenya (NBO) to Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Depart: 11:10PM Arrive: 12:50PM +1
Aircraft: Boeing 787 Seat: 12G (Economy Class)

Apparently, Row 12 is my favorite row on Kenya Airways! Every single flight that I flew with them was apparently in that row, across three different aircraft types.

With boarding being through the same gate as the flight to the Seychelles, it meant that tonight’s departure would be from a remote stand. As always, this is my favorite way to board aircraft, and for the first time boarding the 787, this really gave me an opportunity to take in the aircraft and the massive GEnx engines mounted under the wings.

Approaching the 787…

Check Out That Engine!

On-board, I found the aircraft to rather spacious, in that the cabin felt much higher than on other comparable Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Unfortunately, this did not translate to the pitch between seats (legroom), as it was still fairly cramped like my other Kenya Airways flights. According to the seat map prior to departure, it had appeared that I would be lucky and have all three seats to myself. As boarding continued with group after group being bused to the aircraft, it continued to look this way. Then someone came up and asked me if anyone was sitting in the window seat; I could tell he hadn’t booked that seat, so I told him that boarding was still in process and it might belong to someone. He walked away, and I thought I had achieved victory, but after boarding stopped he came back to take the seat. On the plus side I didn’t have anyone in the middle seat. Also meant that I didn’t get to play with the electric dimming “window shades”.

Tight Legroom!

Economy Class Row

My goal for this flight really was to try sleeping as much as possible. It was obviously difficult, but I managed to at least get a few hours here and there. I didn’t sleep so soundly that I missed any meal services, which were pretty similar to the other flights.

For dinner, I had decided to go with the lamb and rice meal which came with a desert and a roll. Fairly basic, but enough to round out the lounge food I had and help me fall asleep.

Lamb Dinner

As for the breakfast, I wish I could remember what it was. Was it an “omelette” or a quiche perhaps? All I have is this picture and it isn’t ringing the slightest of bells. Perhaps I was a little on the groggy/tired side by the time I ate this a few hours out of Bangkok.

The Now Mystery Breakfast; Let Me Know What You Think It Is!

Arrival in Bangkok
The flight landed in Bangkok in the middle of an absolutely gorgeous day with the sun shining brightly with a few clouds in the sky. We taxied into our gate passing by many unfamiliar and exotic airlines flying all across southeast Asia from Bangkok. Thankfully, we were not at a remote stand for our arrival, for a speedy disembarkation.

With Bangkok being an intermediate stop for this flight to Guangzhou, only a handful of passengers disembarked; certainly less than half of the aircraft. Back in Nairobi you could tell that the majority the plane appeared to be going all the way to Guangzhou, which makes sense given how much China has been making inroads in Africa.

After a stop at the Quarantine desk (since I was on a flight from a Yellow Fever country, despite not having entered that country), which unlike in the Seychelles didn’t want to see my Yellow Card since I was only transiting, I kept snaking my way through the airport to immigration. It was very busy at the immigration counters, but the lines moved fairly quickly, even in the foreign passport holder lines. And since there was the fairly long walk and the little wait at immigration, by the time I had made it to the baggage claim before customs, my duffel was already waiting for me, which gave me an easy exit out through customs and to a waiting taxi.

Navigating The Maze Of People Movers

Claimed My Bag, Ready To Go!

Conclusion
With the Seychelles – Nairobi and Nairobi – Bangkok flights being my fifth and sixth (and final) flights on Kenya Airways over a seven day period, i felt like I had plenty of opportunity to get a good evaluation of the airline and how it is run. I will say, when I fist told coworkers that I was going to be flying Kenya Airways, I got some confused looks. And to be honest, despite reading a number of positive reviews online beforehand, I didn’t really know what to expect in the end. If you have read my posts about flying to Johannesburg to Dubai or Dubai to the Seychelles, then you know that generally, I found my Kenya Airways experience to be positive.

The flights more or less ran on-time with no obscene delays nor a single cancellation (which really would have thrown my trip a curve ball!). I found the flight crews for the most part to be friendly, smiling and during the daytime flights passing through the cabins throughout the flights (the night flights not so much, but that’s pretty typical I have found across nearly all airlines). The aircraft, with the exception of my flight in and out of Dubai on a Boeing 777 were all on very new aircraft (Boeing 737-800, Embraer 190, and Boeing 787). The 777 did feel a little bit dingier and worn out, and I hope that Kenya Airways moves to refresh those aircraft with the more modern interiors that their other aircraft are equipped with.

Transiting in Nairobi was extremely painless! Being near the front of the aircraft always helps, but I never experienced a wait to go through transit security (even if I had not used the Sky Priority line). The International Terminal was clean and modern, although the terminals are still in a bit of reconstruction. The large Pride Lounge is a very nice lounge, and the Simba Lounge isn’t bad for what it is. Although I do recommend just skipping the Simba Lounge and going to the Pride Lounge due to size and amenities. One thing that I do wish they had done differently with the lounges would be to make it easier to get a shower; you have to track down the bathroom attendant yourself to get let in or put on the list.

So overall, would I fly Kenya Airways again if I were in Africa? Sure! I think this airline is going to keep on getting better over the next several years, and with being a partner with Delta Air Lines, that means some great redemption opportunities for award tickets!

Posted in Africa, Kenya Airways, RTW, Seychelles, Thailand, Travel, Trip Report | Leave a comment
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