tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55365259314626206172024-03-28T01:00:22.918-07:00Adventures of Lydia & CalvinFlying, traveling, eating, drinking & diving our way thru the world...Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-36335328493021029312014-06-22T00:17:00.000-07:002014-06-22T00:17:23.187-07:00Double Wedding Holiday: Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddings-penang-to-hong.html">Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddingshong-kong-to.html">Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/06/double-wedding-holiday-tokyo-to-los.html">Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</a></li>
</ul>
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My brother and my "new" sister in law was kind enough to pick us up from Haneda airport and arranged for a cozy hotel room for our short stay in Tokyo nearby his place in Yokohama. Even though we were still full from the whole day of eating, my brother insisted we made a stop at a ramen shop before calling it a night. It was one of the best decisions of the trip. We split two bowls of ramen between us and they were one of the best ramen I've had! We had a bowl of pork based soup ramen that was just packed of flavor and a clear, salt based soup that had an addition of orange peel to the broth that added such unique taste to the broth.<br />
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We killed the next couple of hours the next morning at a nearby mall just doing window shopping and trying as much food as possible before my brother dropped us off for the an hour and half bus ride to Narita airport. As usual, first class check-in was quick and efficient with the agent profusely apologizing that there were no more "couple seats" left which was not a big deal for us anyway. Since we had a ton of time to kill, we made a quick round through the landside shops and a stop for some duty free cosmetics before heading to the JAL first class lounge.<br />
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First stop in the lounge was the buffet for some lunch. The food itself was pretty ordinary for a first class lounge but I definitely enjoyed the Japanese curry. The drinks selection however was definitely first class with several decent wine and Japanese whiskeys.<br />
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After lunch, there was just the right amount of time for the complimentary fifteen minute massage and a shower to freshen up before the 12 hour flight to LAX. The massage itself was rather mediocre and I would not make an effort to have one in the future.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 77W taking us to LAX</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>We both had a window seat on the same side of the plane and we ended up liking this seat arrangment better than the "middle couple seats" since we got the windows for views, easy access to Lydia's seat to help her with luggage and stuff without having to make a round through the galley and best of all, we got to still eat together.<br />
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Since it was our first time on this cabin, we took a couple of minutes exploring the nooks and cranny of the seat. Everything was as expected of a first class cabin except for the space between the seat and the plane where it was just an ugly mess of cobwebs.<br />
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Prior to take off, the purser came around and introduced herself and brought over pajamas and a rather impressive Shisedo amenity kit. The only thing missing was a glass of champagne prior to taking off and I later learned that it was something Japanese airlines do not do due to to some obscure Japanese regulations.<br />
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The drinks did start flowing once we got airborne. I had the champagne where as Lydia ordered the JAL"Sky Time" citrus based soft drink. I moved over to join Lydia in seat 2A once dinner was ready to be served. I opted for the Japanese selection where as Lydia chose the Western selection and a braise beef cheeks for her main course.<br />
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I'll let the pictures do most of the talking but I'll summarize and say that this meal was one of the best meals we've had on a plane. The food was modern, unique and most importantly it tasted good. The best part was western dessert of a pudding and ice-cream topped with a crunchy crumble.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starters</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Selection</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese Selection</td></tr>
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I tried staying up the rest of the flight to maximize the flight. Once we were done with dinner, the stewardess made up our seats into a comfy bed where I relaxed catching up on missed movies the rest of the flight topped off with some after dinner coffee and Japanese whisky.<br />
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After three back to back movies, we were already flying off the west coast of the US and an hour or so from LAX. Time for a snack! It's been a long time since I had Japanese tea rice porridge with some yakitori and it hit the spot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snack time</td></tr>
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After a final cup of really Japanese green tea, we made our descent into LAX. As with international arrivals into LAX, we were lucky to get out of immigration within fifteen minutes since the queue only had the tail end of a Korean Air flight that arrived before us. For whatever reason, even the premium American Airlines security line was backed up causing it to take more than thirty minutes to get back airside after rechecking into Austin. Thanks to our Japan Airlines first class tickets, we were allowed into the American Airlines Flagship lounge before a final uneventful flight back to Austin</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-65242783422238426492014-06-02T14:34:00.000-07:002014-06-02T14:34:40.030-07:00Austin Ong<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a whirlwind couple of months. The biggest update is that we're now proud parents of the cutest baby boy. Austin decided that he didn't want to share a birthday with his uncle and came a few days earlier than the planned C-section on April 25th 2014. He was nice enough to let both his grandmas (who are in Austin to help out) and us a nice dinner out in town before coming out a couple of hours later after getting home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEy8881QJe_WsdDTDGcWBxywKMjOhiB-BzTgg2y2UHA0YLPDqEbp4gVrwG_h8qqkGTO6ymee-1NUpnZ3ky7Ds7-bNMKDZn-u4SDiCpqma_fjoR7CsDYcW6_3U5LYB-lhS5cWFY5v-bUs/s1600/IMG_0919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEy8881QJe_WsdDTDGcWBxywKMjOhiB-BzTgg2y2UHA0YLPDqEbp4gVrwG_h8qqkGTO6ymee-1NUpnZ3ky7Ds7-bNMKDZn-u4SDiCpqma_fjoR7CsDYcW6_3U5LYB-lhS5cWFY5v-bUs/s1600/IMG_0919.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Austin a couple of minutes old</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Our plans to stay in Austin long term didn't pan out so we're heading back to Malaysia and hopefully just for a couple of weeks before taking an offer to move to California. Due to the unexpected move back to Malaysia, it was a mad rush to get his travel documents in place. We had to drive to Houston to get his US passport rushed in time and fly to DC to get his Malaysian papers in order. Let's just state the obvious that traveling with a 5 week old baby is different than what we're used to and we'll be sure to blog more about it future post.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jDJ01dkwT6XWYdiPwQIaGGJOtpxiHjh53UojKaOUIFrboqiPljcg-X1HlD1tT18yL66sXBPzCfXIszoATuTLy1cG7cFfGExpPnjo1ruSNOFWUJwUHPwrfJUxiz0Nn4Nr0KgomIqDtwg/s1600/IMG_1001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3jDJ01dkwT6XWYdiPwQIaGGJOtpxiHjh53UojKaOUIFrboqiPljcg-X1HlD1tT18yL66sXBPzCfXIszoATuTLy1cG7cFfGExpPnjo1ruSNOFWUJwUHPwrfJUxiz0Nn4Nr0KgomIqDtwg/s1600/IMG_1001.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dad and Austin in DC</td></tr>
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We look forward to finishing up our last trip report (JAL first class) hopefully soon enough and start sharing our travel experience with Austin to DC and back to Penang. *Fingers crossed* that our SWU upgrade on AA clears!</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-61782858989792634612014-04-19T13:14:00.001-07:002014-06-22T00:17:30.032-07:00Double Wedding Holiday: Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddings-penang-to-hong.html">Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddingshong-kong-to.html">Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/06/double-wedding-holiday-tokyo-to-los.html">Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</a></li>
</ul>
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<br />
I was personally super excited about our three hour layover in Hong Kong since this would be our first time trying out the famous Cathay lounges in their home base of Hong Kong. It was a bit of a walk from our arrival gate to the security re-screen but thankfully the lines were short. Since we were around gate 23, we first stopped by "The Cabin" lounge which is one of the newer Cathay lounges even though it did not have a first class section.<br />
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The lounge was relatively good for a business class lounge. We didn't spend too much time in it and just did a walk about and grabbed some of the healthy juices on offer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapJuUryRWE3o6VB1au71fUKkhrBs0F7dt0lzi1O3wCQS0PsuD4NhAX7TTC3xohSTrQd9QXvgxLefnZQ09-NW_LSt3k_mOPMAUmJe1eyo5ItPgdgH7B1xuyhl9ZkEu-X5l7nC8ZsLOz90/s1600/HKG2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapJuUryRWE3o6VB1au71fUKkhrBs0F7dt0lzi1O3wCQS0PsuD4NhAX7TTC3xohSTrQd9QXvgxLefnZQ09-NW_LSt3k_mOPMAUmJe1eyo5ItPgdgH7B1xuyhl9ZkEu-X5l7nC8ZsLOz90/s1600/HKG2.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cabin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Next up was "The Wing" lounge which was a pretty good walk away from where we were. Kinda wish they were trains to zip us from one end of the terminal to the other. The First Class section of the Wing was renovated about a year ago and it still felt new. The furnishings were similar to the Cabin but there was definitely less people and much easier to find a place to sit. Since we were still full from our flight from Hong Kong, I caught up on some work while enjoying a glass of champagne of course. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTYb_IqpY6D9iVrUg4CUZMmQihg5YoJRc_uXe7Mb9LCXGPWcGljUtE1o79L0QJOqpY9245bYA4RlhU7YR82Ay4AkN1glKYFnTxds0SE9WeHNj_wALyLNHWFy7_mJO_mEyc341KM8WYek/s1600/HKG3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqTYb_IqpY6D9iVrUg4CUZMmQihg5YoJRc_uXe7Mb9LCXGPWcGljUtE1o79L0QJOqpY9245bYA4RlhU7YR82Ay4AkN1glKYFnTxds0SE9WeHNj_wALyLNHWFy7_mJO_mEyc341KM8WYek/s1600/HKG3.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Even though we really didn't need the food, we had to make a visit to "the Haven" which is the first class dining area that's catered by the Peninsula hotel. They had a buffet in addition to several ala carte options. The food was pretty good and I rank it on par with the food in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, Singapore Airlines Private Room and Thai's First Class Lounge. The service however was somewhat lackluster as it we were having a hard time flagging the server down for more orders and top up of our drinks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigt77KuUb5rBgpGAIt3YXuSx7-fPkZOpf74ChPOFAuozDYggl5oHS_4IgDqOwsY1Ss4ZQVdMOhf8pJFdo_KRX_3RIeX6nTSkPd2WAZtvvoRAvvhVLIem75t5EVtv-ENq6RaY_wPMQ8Z3I/s1600/HKG1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigt77KuUb5rBgpGAIt3YXuSx7-fPkZOpf74ChPOFAuozDYggl5oHS_4IgDqOwsY1Ss4ZQVdMOhf8pJFdo_KRX_3RIeX6nTSkPd2WAZtvvoRAvvhVLIem75t5EVtv-ENq6RaY_wPMQ8Z3I/s1600/HKG1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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Our last stop was the cabana for a much needed relaxing dip in the tub and shower. The cabana was top notch and a great way to relax or freshen up between flights.<br />
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With all the fun we were having in The Wing, the couple of hours just flew by and it was time to get on the 747 to Haneda. I was again particularly excited about this flight as this was our first time flying first on Cathay and probably the last time on the 747 since Cathay has started retiring the 747. <br />
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<a name='more'></a>I was really impressed with the first class seat in the nose of the 747. Sure it doesn't have the bling of Emirates but the seats were angled in such a way in the nose that it gave the right amount of privacy and spaciousness. I could see why now many people praising this first class product. <br />
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My only minor complaint was that there really isn't a good couple seat but the ability to dine together makes up for it. Cathay also provides a table extension to give more room when two people dine together. I'll say again that nothing beats sharing a wonderful meal with your loved on 30,000 feet above ground and enjoying the view of the sun set. <br />
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Dinner was served about an hour after take-off. I opted for the Japanese Kyo Kaseikei meal while Lydia stuck with the "safer" Chinese options. Both options ended to be really excellent! I particularly enjoyed the Japanese sake that was paired with the sashimi course so much so that I just stuck to that for the rest of the meal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPTw_Qv4Ys-PQTB2w0WPTwVEqOCa-JqpywYHZ_eKdNGjt5s50edt8wLl3b1-pNqEZ2kVDjdQst_7IYGjvXvjfhaJ1BKpPJjhB8_euK8z8z-dZnLWnVm6nvV8mbfyDn-cyXtBAhrWaC44/s1600/HKGtoHND1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPTw_Qv4Ys-PQTB2w0WPTwVEqOCa-JqpywYHZ_eKdNGjt5s50edt8wLl3b1-pNqEZ2kVDjdQst_7IYGjvXvjfhaJ1BKpPJjhB8_euK8z8z-dZnLWnVm6nvV8mbfyDn-cyXtBAhrWaC44/s1600/HKGtoHND1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Japanese Meal</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese Meal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Dinner ended with a pot of good jasmine tea and some pralines that I enjoyed while watching some Hong Kong movies. Gotta get my dose of non-Hollywood movies when I get the chance. Overall, we truly enjoyed our first time in first class on Cathay Pacific and we look forward to flying them again.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-86187183860426941072014-04-13T13:28:00.001-07:002014-06-22T00:17:39.132-07:00Double Wedding Holiday: Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddings-penang-to-hong.html">Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddingshong-kong-to.html">Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/06/double-wedding-holiday-tokyo-to-los.html">Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</a></li>
</ul>
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For our trip back to the US, we decided to fly this multiple stopover route in order to try the MAS A380 and Cathay Pacific First Class which we never flew on before.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penang International Airport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We flew from Penang to KL before we boarded the A380 to HK. In Penang, we got to use the MAS lounge at the domestic wing because the Golden Lounge at the International side was still under construction. The lounge had the standard nasi lemak food and some sandwiches. After a cup of coffee, it was time to head to the departure gate.<br />
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My brother and his new wife had spent the week with us in Penang and was on the same Penang to Kuala Lumpur as us before flying back to Perth. We insisted to switch seats with them on the short hop so they could enjoy the business class service. Even though it was just a 45 minute flight, a light breakfast/snack was served.<br />
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We arrived in KL with an hour layover which gave us enough time to relax at the Golden Lounge. Unfortunately their First class lounge was not due to open until later that month, so we were shown to a cordoned off area in the Business class lounge. It was a small area along the windows of the lounge. The space was just separated with plush sofa but food and drinks were the one offered for all at the Business class area. There was nothing which interested me so I just had a cup of coffee and an ice cream (the same ice cream which would later be served on the plane).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MAS Golden Lounge</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a>We headed to the gate just before departure time and were greeted by a long line at the security screen. We felt lucky because we were flying First and did not have to wait in line. When we walked to the First / Business class line, lo and behold, it was closed. We were told there was no premium line for the security screen. There was however a line for ladies only - how weird. We waited for the line to get shorter, before I headed in through the "ladies-only" line and Calvin through the longer men only line.<br />
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On the plane I was greeted by friendly smiles from the air steward and stewardess on board. They came to offer drinks and newspaper. I ordered a Milo ice (Chocolate ice drink). Some of you may think I am crazy for ordering that in First Class what with all the champagne and expensive wine option I could get. I guess that's the sacrifice one has to make when growing a little human inside you. A few minutes later the air stewardess served my drink and asked if I was flying alone as Calvin took longer than expected to board the plane. I explained that there was no first class security screen and they were quite surprised and apologized for the inconvenience.<br />
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The first class cabin had 8 seats but did not feel claustrophobic as there was a lot of space in front. I liked the red interior and the spacious seats. I have to say the seat was designed well. There was a lot of storage on the side where one could put their laptop and books. There was also a small compartment for smaller items.<br />
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For brunch, we decided to dine together. First, bread was served in a basket then they offered jams, I was going for the standard strawberry jam when I was offered "kaya" (Malaysian coconut jam). I was so happy I nearly jump out of my seat. I had been deprived of kaya since we moved to US but recently manage to find them at some Asian supermarket. So, "kaya" on board MAS flight made MAS one of my favorite first class airline. :)<br />
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For our main course, Calvin had prawn noodle soup and I had the chicken rice. The food was just ok and not wow. After the meal we settled back in our seat to watch movies. Movie selection was good, although head set was crap. They did not have the Bose QuietComfort 15 like some airlines do in their First Class cabin. Throughout the flight there were countless passenger walking up and down the aisle in the First Class cabin which was a bit disturbing. </div>
Lydiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06892855586635219564noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-34133880783385327442014-03-30T17:25:00.001-07:002014-06-22T00:17:47.355-07:00Double Weddings Holiday: LHR to SIN<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddings-penang-to-hong.html">Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddingshong-kong-to.html">Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/06/double-wedding-holiday-tokyo-to-los.html">Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</a></li>
</ul>
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Heathrow was sure busy but we managed to get past security and back air side a relatively quick ten minutes thanks to the premium line. The main British Airways business class lounge was super packed and we had a tough time finding a place to sit. Thankfully Lydia found out from the shower attendant about business class lounge in the satellite building. It was not only quiet and empty but there was also a complimentary 15 fifteen minute chair massage. The chair massage was equally as disappointing as <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/03/spending-christmas-and-new-year-in_23.html">our first experience</a> in the First Class spa.<br />
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I was not impressed with the British Airways business class cabin. With a 2-4-2 configuration, it was definitely a "J-minus" experience. The seat was "too low" it felt like plopping down every time I got back to my seat. Furthermore, there was little privacy since the passenger next to you could look directly at you during take-off and landing when the privacy partitions were lowered.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I wasn't able to make any free seat assignments prior to check-in so both of us were seated in the aisle seats across next to each other instead of the preferable middle "couple seats" or the two window seats. <br />
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The in-flight service got underway with a drink service. I opted for a British choice of a Kir Royale. Dinner followed soon after and once again, I opted for the British option of a meat pie, salad and cheese which was just okay and not something I'd order again. Lydia had the Asian selection of chicken and rice which was again rather normal but thankfully satisfying.<br />
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I managed to get a couple of hours of sleep after dinner in spite of the tight seat which was fully flat. I paid a visit to the galley and was disappointed that the only snacks available were some packaged chips and cookies. In spite of the rather limited in flight movie selection, I managed to catch up on a couple of movies I've yet to watch for the remaining of the flight.<br />
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Two hours before arrival, lights were turned back on and breakfast was served. Since we had a couple of weeks of good Asian food ahead of us, I once again opted for the British option and was left not disappointed this time. The sausage, ham, eggs and potatoes were surprisingly decent.<br />
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Overall, we weren't too impressed with British Airways business class. The food was pretty mediocre and in spite of being fully flat, we didn't like the seats at all. We wouldn't be rushing back to fly them in the future.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-68950310608025202002014-03-03T07:29:00.000-08:002014-06-22T00:17:54.389-07:00Double Weddings Holiday: LHR Layover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddings-penang-to-hong.html">Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddingshong-kong-to.html">Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/06/double-wedding-holiday-tokyo-to-los.html">Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</a></li>
</ul>
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Despite a ten hour layover, we decided against heading to London proper since there was nothing in London itself that interested us. Instead we opted to visit Windsor Castle which was an easy 45 minute public bus ride directly from Heathrow Terminal 5. Instead of the usual cloudy and gloomy weather, the sun was out and it was not too cold. What a perfect day!<br />
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On arrival at Windsor, we managed to catch up and sneak into a complimentary tour group that just started. The guide was really good and he shared personal stories of how his family has been working for the royal family for generations and how he was lucky enough to be allowed to get married in the church.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>By the time we finished the tour and did some of our own sight seeing, it was already two in the afternoon. We quickly browsed through the nearby shops in Windsor itself before settling at one of the many pubs for a classic English fish & chips which was just okay.<br />
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We headed back to the Heathrow with plenty of time to spare worrying that security lines would be long due to the extra holiday traffic. I thoroughly enjoyed our short visit to Windsor and did wish we had more time to explore Windsor itself. There were plenty of shops and interesting restaurants and pubs. We will definitely continue to opt for Windsor instead making the trek down to London if such layover pops up again in the future.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-11392935925423168302014-02-23T12:37:00.001-08:002014-06-22T00:18:03.428-07:00Double Weddings Holiday: Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddings-penang-to-hong.html">Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/04/double-holiday-weddingshong-kong-to.html">Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/06/double-wedding-holiday-tokyo-to-los.html">Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</a></li>
</ul>
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Barely a month after our <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Maldives adventure</a>, it was time again for a ton of flying. We had to fly back to Malaysia since both my brother and Lydia's brother were getting married. Our flights back to Asia were the return portion of our ex-CMB business class fare that we had purchased to get ourselves back to the US from the Maldives.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The flying we would be doing over the holidays</td></tr>
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We were scheduled to leave Austin to Dallas around 4pm to connect to our flight to London. During that morning, we saw reports of ice/snow in Dallas and sure enough a bunch of the morning flights were either cancelled and delayed. I kept an eye on our flight and despite showing a on-time departure earlier during the day, the flight was finally delayed around noon by an hour giving us only 5 minutes to connect to our London flight which would have been impossible. I immediately got on the phone to try to get on something earlier but all flights to Dallas were booked solid. While the agent looked for other options, I mentally calculated that there was still time to make the drive to Dallas instead of flying. The agent was glad to make the changes to our ticket to start in Dallas and refund the ticket and I quickly booked a one way rental from Austin to Dallas.<br />
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The drive itself to Dallas was nerve wrecking as we weren't sure if we were going to make it on time. After picking up the one way rental from Austin airport, the first hour was uneventful. We eventually hit it bad stretch of traffic on I35 and we wasted about thirty minutes before being able to get on the access road and avoid the traffic. We eventually made it to the Hertz car return at DFW about an hour prior to departure and thankfully a kind Hertz employee drove us directly to the terminal in the rental instead of us having to take the shuttle. He earned a nice tip and we thankfully were able to check-in and drop off our luggage.<br />
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After a huge sigh of relief, we had enough time to swing by the Amex Centurion lounge for a much needed pee and shower before a glass of wine to calm the nerves. We would normally just take a later flight and not deal with the stress but we had two weddings to attend and missing his first flight would just be a big mess.<br />
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Thankfully, there were no other surprises or delays for the rest of the trip. We were happy to be back on board American's brand new 777. We were slightly disgusted to find that the cleaning folks did a bad job when we found empty bottles from probably the previous flight still around in our seats. Yuck!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left over bottle</td></tr>
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I was also pleasantly happy to find out that we were going to have the same excellent crew that we had on our<a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html"> first 77W LHR-DFW flight</a>. Most of the attendants were in the holiday mood by dressing up in Christmas ties and one even had an elf hat on.<br />
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We were slightly delayed due to having to wait for a couple more passengers but we were still going to arrive on time since the flight time was going to be super short ~8 hours only to London. An hour or so after we were in the air, dinner was served. Dinner was pretty good for business class standards. I enjoyed the moist chicken breast and the potato corn cake that accompanied it was really good as well.<br />
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I only managed to get a couple of hours of sleep for the rest of flight that I'm blaming to the timezone and the adrenaline from the drive to Dallas. Since I was awake, I opted to have breakfast and I was again pretty happy with the food. The omelet was fluffy and was accompanied by a delicious mustard sauce.<br />
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As usual with most flights into Heathrow, we had to make several turnarounds waiting for our turn to land. Thanks to Fastpass provided by American, we were through immigration and in the American Arrivals lounge fifteen minutes after we landed. There were plenty of showers to go around but more importantly, the water was hot and the pressure was strong. Definitely one of the best showers in an airport lounge I've had before. I grabbed a cup of coffee for a wake-me-up before we headed out to enjoy our couple of hours we had in London.<br />
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Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-32310191599396367492014-02-18T15:56:00.001-08:002014-02-19T18:30:56.952-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Heading back to Austin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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The main objective for our short stay in Manchester was to do the Manchester United Old Trafford tour. The tour itself was okay but Old Trafford itself ended up being slightly disappointing since it didn't have the jaw dropping affect one would have if they visited say a football stadium like the LA Colliseum. Christmas atmosphere was in full swing and we visited a couple of the markets after doing the tour.<br />
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Since we didn't have a complimentary chauffeur for the next segment, we instead took the train to the airport which was pretty easy since our hotel was located next to the train station. Check-in was a breeze in the business class line and we were in the British Airways lounge that American Airlines uses in Manchester soon after. We were still full from the breakfast at the hotel so I just grab a coffee while waiting for our flight.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKSkB_PuKjzHmmCUSQQvAzQ5MMCkCrOEqWHOlWVl4UjYspB_byCw-UIC3NahgFBLQYDgcmFwpGyJvCkfFWLlRIODYVqAsgBZGvVvXk-fldFhwQ86omW5NqjzB_hfmATADy5hawT3p48M/s1600/MAN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKSkB_PuKjzHmmCUSQQvAzQ5MMCkCrOEqWHOlWVl4UjYspB_byCw-UIC3NahgFBLQYDgcmFwpGyJvCkfFWLlRIODYVqAsgBZGvVvXk-fldFhwQ86omW5NqjzB_hfmATADy5hawT3p48M/s1600/MAN.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BA Lounge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I was initially pretty apprehensive and worried to be flying a narrow body 757 on our flight from Manchester to Chicago. As soon as we got settled in, I tested out the seats and found it to be surprisingly comfy. The seats were not lie flat but being a day flight, it was looking to not be a great deal. A cheery attendant came around with pre-departure champagne and water and it looks like it was going to be a great flight until the captain came on the PA and there was some mechanical problem with plane they were still trying to fix.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzo3Rp6jA0IsytUCNiwjWws4bZx_LLnB9OeVKdmBtd09CvHmDvvGwbcVm9S-7O09-Io1UeeucLXskj49JfrmPxbzuI7mtArW1j6mfq6iq_j5whdQx-woID_MkWAjBT8uHiYCvmh8KRXPI/s1600/MAN_LHRtoDFW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzo3Rp6jA0IsytUCNiwjWws4bZx_LLnB9OeVKdmBtd09CvHmDvvGwbcVm9S-7O09-Io1UeeucLXskj49JfrmPxbzuI7mtArW1j6mfq6iq_j5whdQx-woID_MkWAjBT8uHiYCvmh8KRXPI/s1600/MAN_LHRtoDFW.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AA 757 Business Class Cabin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The attendant kept drinks flowing and brought out snacks during the delay. The flight kept getting delayed every 30 minutes until the captain finally decided to cancel the flight about two and half hours after our scheduled departure. I immediately got on my iphone looking for options but things didn't look good since all of American's Manchester flights and their morning bank from London had already left.<br />
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We had to re-clear immigration, collect our bags and head back to the check-in counters to find out how we were getting home. When waiting for our bags, I saw the most hideous customer service by one of the flight attendants. A passenger had accidentally took her jacket which she manage to track down in the luggage area. She demanded her jacket back but couldn't even be bothered to bring the passenger back their own jacket or to help them with it. She took the jacket and just walked away. If that happened to me, I would have just kept hold of the attendant's jacket until she returned mine.<br />
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<br />
<a name='more'></a>Thankfully it was only a 757 that was cancelled and there was a business class/priority line so we were able to get an agent to rebook us on a flight to London connecting to Dallas tomorrow on their brand new 77W. American was also providing a lunch voucher and the hotel and meals in London.<br />
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Once re-ticketed, we hopped over to the nearby Virgin counter to check in the short hop to London. Our bags were overweight by Virgin standards but thankfully the agent made an exception. Note to self in the future is to opt to get flights in the same alliance, i.e. British Airways if this happened again in the future. There was only thirty minutes before the flight to London so we quickly grabbed a fish and chips to go to be enjoyed on the flight. We still can't find fish & chips as good as the ones in UK over here in the US and this one was no exception - way better than most places in Austin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguT9ylz1ztWEFpi4JD178osyswSu8cBuyzA9uwTLIuIMqmrx1ghkrmZYMPiFdG4gRQ-2MDQQGl7tDH-c5GMrH9f0VVcQD_MbjzlGqFd5VbO81ASLUAbs3iSPCLbHzcuAsLwcl9k_Mzpnw/s1600/IMG_0694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguT9ylz1ztWEFpi4JD178osyswSu8cBuyzA9uwTLIuIMqmrx1ghkrmZYMPiFdG4gRQ-2MDQQGl7tDH-c5GMrH9f0VVcQD_MbjzlGqFd5VbO81ASLUAbs3iSPCLbHzcuAsLwcl9k_Mzpnw/s1600/IMG_0694.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The flight to London was probably on 40% full so we had an entire row for both of us. The flight itself was also uneventful with a round of drinks on the short flight. On arrival in London, we once again had to re-collect our bags, trek over to Terminal 3 where the American counters were to collect our hotel and meal vouchers before boarding the Hoppa to the Renaissance hotel that American was paying for. We personally would not pay for this hotel since it was badly in need of a renovation. The meals also were pretty bad and looked like a scene from Kitchen Nightmare that required Gordon Ramsay's intervention.<br />
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There were no more surprises the day after. Since we were bored at the hotel and wanted to give ample time in case of other unwanted surprises (Hoppa tires going flat? :P), we left for the airport an early three hours prior to departure. This gave us ample time to do some window shopping and check out both the Cathay Pacific and American Airlines lounges in Heathrow. It should not surprise anyone that the Cathay lounge was better than the American lounge. It was way quieter and had better and wider selection of food and drinks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP15LCBp_8V-isuWqxVQMwcX5Zwl6A6ZeWccSmSqx0NTuDr9OX5RmBY4QK3r1R4ne_9Us34suCocbjYVp6h9LIVLuo2ssLH7ESkXuaYt5Oj68HqmVB3vbt-TjRZRE0XUi-RKmmihIe_k/s1600/MAN_LHRtoDFW1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCP15LCBp_8V-isuWqxVQMwcX5Zwl6A6ZeWccSmSqx0NTuDr9OX5RmBY4QK3r1R4ne_9Us34suCocbjYVp6h9LIVLuo2ssLH7ESkXuaYt5Oj68HqmVB3vbt-TjRZRE0XUi-RKmmihIe_k/s1600/MAN_LHRtoDFW1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CX LHR Lounge</td></tr>
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Boarding for our flight to Dallas was a complete mess. It didn't look like there was dedicated line for first/business/premier passengers so folks just kept crowding the gate area when boarding was called. Things got much better was on board and first impression of the the new business class cabin was WOW. Seats for comfortable and had the right amount of privacy. It was definitely way better than the business class seat in the 757 were just on yesterday. <br />
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We were going to have another great crew serving us today. The attendant serving my row personally introduced herself when taking orders and made sure glasses were never empty through out the flight. I don't remember what we had on the flight but I do remember that it was somewhat decent.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-93Qcz3Wp5k_zG60ss46RY75aMFowGZGrH4KSkydZJFcMZauIMmaJ88nRKUP7W1ZPoEhu7JG1y-xAHR6aMVblvZsd_Pcj772CfjuqB3zao0CegfCvZkn1d6if3naIXVM9O1APq9lIaGE/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-93Qcz3Wp5k_zG60ss46RY75aMFowGZGrH4KSkydZJFcMZauIMmaJ88nRKUP7W1ZPoEhu7JG1y-xAHR6aMVblvZsd_Pcj772CfjuqB3zao0CegfCvZkn1d6if3naIXVM9O1APq9lIaGE/s1600/IMG_0696.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starter & Salad</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After lunch, I got the seat reclined, relaxed and finish a movie before falling asleep and only waking up an hour before landing. The pre-landing snack selection of a pizza didn't sound too appetizing so I just skipped it and saving space for the food in the Amex Centurion lounge after arrive in Dallas. I was particularly impressed that the attendant serving my aisle made sure to check if I still wanted to snack when I went to the restroom.<br />
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Immigration was a relatively breeze compared to other airports like Los Angeles. I later found out that we were on the last and only flight to Austin for the day. All other flights to Austin were cancelled due to the weather and ice in Dallas. We ended up being on the ground longer than our flight time of 50 minutes due to having to de-ice but we were happy to finally end this vacation and get home to Austin instead of another delay and the need to stay the night in Dallas.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-51528390399900778222014-02-15T08:20:00.000-08:002014-02-19T18:13:20.643-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;"></ul>
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It's always sad to leave the Maldives. Thankfully, there was no screw up on our departure arrangements unlike for our arrival. We were granted late checkout till 4pm and was going to take the last seaplane of the day that left the Conrad about 5pm arriving in Male around the same time (Male is one hour behind the Conrad).<br />
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Our Sri Lankan flight to Colombo was scheduled to depart 10.30pm so we had a couple of hours to kill in Male. We decided on the easy and cheap option to just hang out in the new air-conditioned food court that had a coffee and Thai place and the only Burger King in Maldives instead of paying to stay in the Conrad Lounge or hop over to Male itself during this time.<br />
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It was during this time that I almost lost a bag no thanks to my own fault. I forgot to pick up one of the bags when the seaplane staff returned the bags in the terminal only realizing a couple of hours later. By then it was almost 7.30pm and the seaplane counter and office was closed. I was lucky that there was still staff from the seaplane company around. Even though they were about to leave for the day, they made the extra effort to track down the bag and return it. Losing that bag would have sucked and I was grateful the staff was so helpful.<br />
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Since we were flying in economy and there was no Priority Pass lounges in the international terminal in Male, we just hung out at another coffee place in the departure lounge waiting for our flight to Colombo. Thirty minutes before departure we proceeded to the departure gate but there was no signs that boarding was going to start soon. We waited and sure enough boarding didn't begin even past the scheduled departure time. There were no announcements or more information of the delay which was not too helpful. The plane eventually did arrive in Male and boarding begun about an hour and a half later.<br />
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This would be our first time flying Sri Lankan despite the delay and hiccups pre-departure, things got much better on the plane. We were warmly welcomed by the crew on board the aircraft. The load was rather light on our flight today especially on the back of the A340 we were taking today. A rather delicious and spicy warm meal was served even on the short 1.5 hour flight. The meal was way better than the cold plate served on <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/02/spending-christmas-and-new-year-in_24.html">Emirates on the same route</a>.<br />
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The good part of the initial delay was that our layover in Colombo was going to be much shorter . By the time cleared immigration, collected our bags and re-checked in for our Etihad flight, we only had about an hour before our flight to Abu Dhabi which was just enough time to grab a shower and a drink in the contract lounge used by Etihad.<br />
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Eithad operates a narrow body A320 on the four hour or so flight from Colombo to Abu Dhabi. A flat bed would be nice for this awkwardly timed 5ish in the morning flight. The leg room itself was great and even though the seats weren't lie flat, I managed to find a comfortable position and get some sleep after the late supper/early breakfast served after take off.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The Etihad business class lounge was a zoo. It was packed and we couldn't find any empty seats. We were able to at least get a shower without waiting and just hung out the remaining time at the bar enjoying some food from the buffet and coffee.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBNoN4myMBUrSQNsZXwzdKZaKMEKepEE61siZHa9YiISAVo32nIZvaUKBh4zg7gERvHApCpKiujDdb89wygv6Gs8gjwSBMNjEotJ6fTk49pnnFzGn2by2Qj16Lr4q9WF1yj0lAxvs0xo/s1600/AUH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBNoN4myMBUrSQNsZXwzdKZaKMEKepEE61siZHa9YiISAVo32nIZvaUKBh4zg7gERvHApCpKiujDdb89wygv6Gs8gjwSBMNjEotJ6fTk49pnnFzGn2by2Qj16Lr4q9WF1yj0lAxvs0xo/s1600/AUH.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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We were departing via a remote gate and the gate area was another zoo. However, there was a staff walking around pulling out business class passengers out of the line informing them to take a seat and wait for the business class bus instead of cramming with the folks at the back of the plane. Everyone got their cameras out when we arrived at the plane to find out we would be going to Manchester on a Manchester City FC theme plane. Oh the irony in that a Manchester City FC plane was taking me to Manchester to visit Old Trafford, home of Manchester United.<br />
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Etihad operates a "staggered" business class seats and I had initially booked for both of us to be in one of the "couple seats". I didn't realize until it was too late that we had lost our original eat assignments and was now seated across the aisle together.<br />
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Even though, the flight today was completely full in business class the service was still great. Etihad offers a dine on demand even in business class which I noticed several passengers taking fully advantage of it. A couple traveling with a baby took turns taking care of the baby while one of them ate. About an hour or so after take off we had a late brunch. I had the Middle Eastern option of prawns and rice which was one of the best business class meals I've had.<br />
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As usual, we spent the rest of the flight catching up on movies before enjoying a steak sandwich from the snack menu an hour or so before we landed in Manchester. There were no lines through immigration in Manchester and we were in our complimentary Etihad chauffeur to our hotel an efficient fifteen minutes after we got off the plane. Overall, I was pretty impressed with our first experience flying Eithad in business class minus the crappy lounges in Abu Dhabi</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-51202066686355022262014-02-09T13:03:00.003-08:002014-02-19T18:13:31.463-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Conrad Maldives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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As mentioned in the previous post, we were shocked to find out our seaplane transfer to the Conrad was scheduled to be at 2pm instead of the earliest possible transfer as requested. We were even more pissed off to find out that there were indeed a bunch of other guests getting transferred earlier in the morning when we managed to sneak a peek at the guest list the Conrad rep was holding on to. There was nothing the Conrad rep could do at this point, since the seaplane office was now closed and he promised to call us in the morning if they managed to get us on an earlier flight.<br />
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I did not sleep well that night due to both jet lag and the worry that might waste a day in Male instead of enjoying ourselves on the beach at the Conrad. I even called the Conrad on my cell phone hoping that talking to a manager might quickly resolve the problem. The manager I spoke to knew of the situation and promised to call in the morning once the "transportation" manager got in. Thankfully the situation was resolved when we got a call around 7 that morning that they managed to get us on a 9 am transfer to the Conrad. This start to the holidays definitely left a bad taste. For a luxury resort, I'd expect them to proactively catch mistakes like this. There was also no apology or service recovery when we got to the resort but we did get a couple of thousand Hilton points after filing a complaint once we got back to Austin. Very disappointing indeed!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7Qv1SuAKNhVKFOGgguvIyoVvAf3FIHDM2WgohT_iBXOp49-2Ur7lfz14IyeJFJQNBOwpWkYFdkpNvJkiQuPsL7QfksobQ4HQRSbIiHmoT5VTOGG8G3Q092EH0T2ew7LU0WHplJDd4i8/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7Qv1SuAKNhVKFOGgguvIyoVvAf3FIHDM2WgohT_iBXOp49-2Ur7lfz14IyeJFJQNBOwpWkYFdkpNvJkiQuPsL7QfksobQ4HQRSbIiHmoT5VTOGG8G3Q092EH0T2ew7LU0WHplJDd4i8/s1600/IMG_0683.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lydia enjoying a massage in the Conrad Seaplane Lounge</td></tr>
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The rest of the stay went much better especially since we have somewhat low expectations and Maldives is just a happy place for us that it would take a lot to get us unhappy. Sandy white beach and crystal clear water = heaven for us!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4-yhwCwVHery9rA-ft4m6jFof9rcMnpQwGWOpK9mUbbZXTT7C5CjTvF8Vshs7AZL1WfybL29bseht7wWZRriXWJupfTeKznIRnwZxtgNK6So2lG900A1WyXHzCQLh4O_6prmNsAMXVo/s1600/P1070624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy4-yhwCwVHery9rA-ft4m6jFof9rcMnpQwGWOpK9mUbbZXTT7C5CjTvF8Vshs7AZL1WfybL29bseht7wWZRriXWJupfTeKznIRnwZxtgNK6So2lG900A1WyXHzCQLh4O_6prmNsAMXVo/s1600/P1070624.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome Drink</td></tr>
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Since we already covered the Conrad Maldives before, I'll focus on the differences during this trip (previous review<a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/02/spending-christmas-and-new-year-in_18.html"> here)</a>. We decided it was not worth the money to upgrade from a standard beach villa to a water villa since we wanted to be close to the house reef and would rather spend the upgrade money in the spa or diving.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2acD6cSr2-UryDKpdkpd4O01AVsBWnyQE6830XdBqkqHDEg5pDBHOhJiz2M-72FS6QtMTnsZBU7geVWS6zCUwimiC_hLeiM_2Ec7jYGagwhDSJf2bF4xPZEJwNfdGLAZDzN8uNU9zlSw/s1600/P1070626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2acD6cSr2-UryDKpdkpd4O01AVsBWnyQE6830XdBqkqHDEg5pDBHOhJiz2M-72FS6QtMTnsZBU7geVWS6zCUwimiC_hLeiM_2Ec7jYGagwhDSJf2bF4xPZEJwNfdGLAZDzN8uNU9zlSw/s1600/P1070626.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome Amenity</td></tr>
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The main highlight for this stay (especially for me) was definitely the diving. After recently getting certified and training in murky lake water in Austin, this was heaven. Lydia was also certified as part of the plan for the trip but she got pregnant after that so no diving for her. I ended up doing dives everyday we were there except for the no-dive day that day before we left. The dives were in the morning after breakfast and we would be back after two dives by around lunch time. I also did a whole day dive trip where it was a 3 tank dive and also looking for whalesharks. We got so lucky that we saw a whaleshark on three different occasion and by the third time, all of us were too tired to even go in the water. One of the best dives was the only one night dive I did where there was much more sea life coming out - we saw a lobster nest of like twenty lobsters but best of all was turning off our lights during our safety stop and seeing bio-luminescence plankton all around us. Felt like an astronaut surrounded by stars!<br />
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I have to also add that the dive center was certainly top notch. It ended up being ~$100USD per dive (I brought my own scuba gear) which was not that expensive considering the small groups we were in, the amazing guides and dive sites, tips included and the luxurious diving dhoni we were on.<br />
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Highlight video of the diving:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/IE2n642NVgs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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The rest of the time I was not diving, we would spend lazing by the beach and snorkeling by the house reef. We didn't get as lucky this time round as to see<a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/02/spending-christmas-and-new-year-in_21.html"> a whale shark by the house reef</a> but we did manage to see some dolphins and a couple of sharks.<br />
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As usual, we would end the day at the daily complimentary happy hour at Vilu enjoying a cold one. The happy hour seem much more busy and packed and the last time we visited to the two servers looked overwhelmed most of the time keeping up with the drink orders. <br />
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Lydia also enjoyed the spa a couple of of times during this trip when I was out diving to make up for missing out on the diving. The spa at the Conrad Maldives continues to be one of the best we've been to.<br />
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We already have plans to return again during Christmas this year thanks to a pre-devaluation Hilton Honors points booking. I can't wait to go diving again and this time with Lydia. We just have not figured out what to do with the baby by then :P</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-3948644897241453752014-02-08T13:19:00.001-08:002014-02-19T18:13:47.723-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Bangkok to Male via Singapore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;"></ul>
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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A ground staff and a buggy was waiting for us as soon as we got off the plane to take us through security and to the First Class lounge. The lounge was rather packed when we got there which was not surprisingly given most of Thai's European flights arrives around the same time. Thankfully, there was still an empty "living room" available for us.<br />
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While waiting for our spa appointment time, we caught up on email and ordered a light breakfast of pork and fish rice soup. We made our own way to the spa lounge when no one came to escort us when it was our appointment time. I went with the hour long oil massage while Lydia had the shoulder massage since couldn't do the oil massage since she was pregnant. The massage and the shower was relaxing and still one of the best ways to spend a layover.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Food in the lounge</td></tr>
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We got peckish again after the massage and ordered several more items of the menu when we got back to the lounge while enjoying the San Francisco 49ers demolish the New York Giants on TV. Overall this has to be one of the best lounges in the world but the service this time round was lackluster compared the the last time we were there. The servers just stood around at the bar talking to themselves and I had to step out of the living room and grab their attention every time we needed something.<br />
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There was also no escort or buggy service to our flight to Singapore. We later found out the escort/buggy was only offered for passengers connecting to a first class flight. Worst still, we were provided the wrong gate information by the front desk agent so we had to make a long trek across the terminal to our gate. Things didn't get any better when we found out we had a bus gate. We were sweaty and hot by the time we got onto the plane.<br />
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The plane was not much better as we got an ancient A330 for our flight to Singapore. The seats were dated and there was no AVOD on the plane. Lydia ended up sleeping for most of the flight and only waking up for a couple of bites of the duck rice served for lunch while I ended watching a surprisingly interesting documentary on tea.<br />
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Thankfully the layover/transfer in Singapore was much more relaxing. It was a breeze collecting our luggage in Terminal 1, repacking some of our stuff and heading over to Terminal 2 to re-check in for our flight to Male. We did however encountered an immigration officer that was probably dyslexia that kept re-checking our boarding passes and passports and took more than 5 minutes to clear each passenger. I'm all for giving jobs to folks with disabilities but maybe this guy would have been better in a back office job?<br />
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We spent the rest of the time in Singapore relaxing in the Silverkris lounge in Terminal 3 before heading back to Terminal 2 for our flight to Male. At this point, we so just wanted to get to Male and start the vacation proper. We were so tired after flying for almost two days at this point and thankfully this was our last flight and we had one of the best Singapore Airlines crew. There were energetic and gave us genuine warm service. Christmas decorations were also up and helped with the mood.<br />
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Instead of the "normal" menu, both us had pre-ordered of selection for dinner via the Book-the-Cook service Singapore Airlines offers for its Business and First Class passengers. I had the nasi lemak last time round and had a hard time deciding between that or trying the laksa. The laksa was equally as good and definitely satisfied my craving for good Malaysian/Singaporean food. I'm going to have a hard time deciding next time we fly Singapore Airlines. Lydia had the braised duck and yam rice which was also pretty good.<br />
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After dinner, the cabin lights were dimmed and I took a much needed nap before we arrived on time in Male. We were first off the plane and a couple of minutes later, we already had our luggage and looking forward to return to the Conrad Maldives tomorrow. A Conrad rep was waiting for us as we got out of the terminal to inform us our transfer to the Conrad would only be at 2pm tomorrow causing us to waste almost a day in Male in spite of us requesting earliest possible transfer. This was definitely not the way we imagined starting the holiday!<br />
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Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-54373583577374661052014-02-04T16:13:00.003-08:002014-02-19T18:14:15.194-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Rome to Bangkok<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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It wasn't fun lugging all the luggage from the hotel to the Termini station and to the airport but I guess saving a couple of Euros when taking the Leonardo Express instead of taking a cab was money worth saving. Check-in was a breeze with no one in line and our boarding passes already printed ahead of time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thai Check-in Area</td></tr>
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Thai uses the Alitalia Giotto Lounge and I was surprised that it was rather decent for a business class lounge. Internet was fast and there were plenty of seating when we were there and we managed to find a quiet corner with a pair of slumber chairs to relax in. We skipped the meager snacks and wine but we couldn't say no to the handmade espresso macchiato and latte.<br />
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I also paid a visit to the next door "le Anforce" VIP lounge thanks to my Priority Pass card. The lounge offerings very pretty much similar to the Alitalia lounge next door but I preferred the more modern feel of the Alitalia lounge.<br />
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Boarding was announced in the lounge and it was slightly chaotic to maneuver past people to board through the first class/premium line. It was the same agent from check-in who scanned our boarding passes and she made a point to inform us that she's confirmed that our bags were loaded on the plane. Nice touch!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thai 747 taking us to Bangkok</td></tr>
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We were the first on board and after quickly settling in, the attendants serving us today came around with the usual round of newspapers, magazines and pre-departure beverages (Dom for me of course!).<br />
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Pajamas and amenity kits were also provided and this was the only slight disappointment of the flight. The medium sized pants were too small for Lydia (being a couple of months pregnant) and she wanted a large pair and keep the medium sized top. The attendant wasn't sure if she should do so and had to check with the pursuer and she was only allowed to keep parts of the "mismatch" pajamas instead of offering the two complete sets to her. The pursuer also never came by to said hi at all during the flight and had a hands off approach to the service which was so different than our l<a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/04/heading-home-for-chinese-new-year_23.html">ast Thai first class flight</a>. Luckily the two attendants who served us during the flight were great.<br />
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Once we were airborne and at cruising altitude, service began with more Dom for me and warm nuts. One of our most memorable things to do is to eat together when we're flying and that's only possible when flying first. Nothing beats gourmet food, excellent wines and the best view in the house with the special someone.<br />
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I had pre-ordered the lobster thermidor partially expecting to be possibly dry and overcooked but it ended up being one of the best lobsters I've eaten. Lydia stuck to the comforting rice soup and meatballs which was pretty good. We also ordered an extra plate of chicken rice which ended up being the most disappointing dish.<br />
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Since the only thing left for this part of the trip was to get to Maldives and do nothing, I decided I was going to "maximize" the flight and not sleep. Lydia was more sane and did go to bed after the meal service. I got my bed made, got into a comfortable position and watched movies for the rest of the flight while enjoying plenty of water, Johnny Walker Blue Label and one of the best airplane cappuccinos I've had. It probably was instant and out of a packet but it was so good I probably had six or seven of them through the flight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywoXE_dxhZ2M1SwViXpECgK4y3u6ovQ5FM_SQhN0t7ZsPPaffp9EZDHrwM7C8wo3NaCokCr8fvBw1F-sfVaePpjMmlmW-LZtQ7vFKOV2AY0cHLoryl59xTnNv8xVc1VVUVlU8myY8FYQ/s1600/P1070570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywoXE_dxhZ2M1SwViXpECgK4y3u6ovQ5FM_SQhN0t7ZsPPaffp9EZDHrwM7C8wo3NaCokCr8fvBw1F-sfVaePpjMmlmW-LZtQ7vFKOV2AY0cHLoryl59xTnNv8xVc1VVUVlU8myY8FYQ/s1600/P1070570.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best Cappuccino</td></tr>
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A couple of hours before landing, I was getting peckish and ordered the wonton and pork noodle soup which hit the right spot. I skipped the pre-arrival breakfast since I figured the food in the Thai first class lounge was going to be better than the options that were offered on the plane.<br />
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Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-62381710957726169572014-02-02T14:04:00.001-08:002014-02-19T18:14:25.379-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Rome Layover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
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We were determined to make the most of our short stay in Rome even with the slight delay on arrival due to dealing the luggage and the jetlag kicking in. After checking in and dropping of our bags at the Best Western Hotel Universo, we headed back to the nearby Termini station and took the metro to the Trevi Fountain. I visited Rome and the Trevi fountain during the day years ago and without Lydia and the fountain looked much more beautiful than I remembered especially this time with Lydia and with the lights turned on at night and less of a crowd than during the day.<br />
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We then made our way to the Spanish Steps which we didn't spend much too time since it wasn't too interesting. We headed back to the Termini station and made a detour at one of the many McDonald's around the area for a late dinner/snack. We ordered a ciabatta type sandwich that I assumed was unique to Italy and it was pretty disappointing. The fries also came out soggy and we both agreed this was probably the worst McD we've tried.<br />
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We got up bright and early next the day to again maximize our time in Rome and hopefully beat most of the lines. The day started of with the mandatory espresso and croissant at one of the many espresso bars nearby the hotel. There's one thing I love about Rome is the endless supply of amazing espresso.<br />
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The main objective of the day was the Vatican and St Peter's Basilica. The sun was only coming out when we got there and I was happy to get some pretty good pictures of the Basilica and the square.<br />
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The only good thing about arriving early was the lack of lines and crowd. We got in as soon as the Basilica was opened and was even able to get close to the <span class="st">Michelangelo's Pieta. The downside was that half the Basilica was closed for a private mass that was going to happen later so we couldn't see much. </span><br />
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<span class="st">Since we still had time due to the partial close of the basilica, we made another stop at the Colosseum. We were too cheap to pay for a ticket to enter since we didn't really have time, we just did the touristy thing of walking around and snapping a few pictures. I must say that the LA Coliseum that the USC Trojans play in is much more impressive :P</span><br />
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<span class="st">With that, we returned to the hotel for a late complimentry breakfast/brunch before packing up and heading back to the airport via the Leonardo express for our flight to Rome.</span> </div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-76097012090394725102014-02-02T13:17:00.001-08:002014-02-19T18:14:38.486-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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We had about a five hour layover in Frankfurt which was just the right amount of time to make use of the <a href="http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/in/info_and_services/at_the_airport?nodeid=1979569664&l=en&cid=18002">"Porsche experience"</a> that's offered to Lufthansa First Class or Honor Circle members. For ~99 Euro, we had a Porsche for 3 hours/150 km. 99 Euros might seem pretty steep for a 3 hour car rental but it included the insurance and fuel as well and it was like a once in the lifetime experience for us.<br />
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There were no lines at both immigration and Avis counter so we were in the car a quick 20 minutes after we landed. We were slightly disappointed to be getting the less sexy Porsche Panamera instead of the 911 but we didn't want to waste time arguing for one (more reason to fly through Frankfurt again in the future to try the 911!). We sat in the car for a good fifteen minutes getting used to the car but for the most part trying to switch the navigation controls/GPS from German to English. Thankfully my iPhone had data roaming but so we gave up in the end and relied on maps from coming the iPhone.<br />
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We did some research prior to the trip and read about the Avis' recommended routes <a href="http://www.lufthansa.com/mediapool/pdf/80/media_959042380.pdf?blt_p=IN&blt_l=en&blt_t=Info_and_Services%3EAt_the_Airport&blt_e=Content&blt_n=Route%20suggestions%20for%20your%20pleasurable%20Porsche%20dri&blt_z=Avis%20route%20suggestions">available here</a>. We had decided to try the Weinheim to Rüsselsheim route since it looked like there were a couple of straight portions on the Autobahn and views of Auerbach Castle. I was somewhat nervous initially driving the car since it would not have been fun if we were to have gotten into an accident but we were eventually driving up to speeds of 220+ km/hour once we were on the Autobahn. It was so much fun! The Porsche handled and accelerated so smoothly and it felt safe even going at such high speeds.<br />
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<span id="goog_1189639834">The problem with all the fun of driving at such high speeds was that we used up the 150km quota rather quickly. It only took us slightly less than 45 minutes to reach </span>the half way mark at the city of Bensheim where we caught glimpses of the Auerbach Castle from a far. We got out of the car for a couple of minutes to stretch our legs and get from fresh air before making our way back to the First Class Terminal.<br />
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We returned the Porsche at the First Class Terminal only about one and a half hour after taking it out and wished we had more kilometers to drive the car although we were slightly tired by this point anyway. Ah, the pleasures of departing Frankfurt as a first class passenger - someone to pick up the car and we were past security, enjoying a relaxing bath with a glass of champagne five minutes later. <br />
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This was our fourth time visiting the First Class Terminal and I'll say again that it has not gotten old (previous reviews <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/01/spending-christmas-and-new-year-in_26.html">here</a>, <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2011/09/almaty-adventure-fra-ala-on-lufthansa.html">here</a> and <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2011/03/moscow-2011-frankfurtlufthansa-first.html">here</a>). After refreshing ourselves with a much needed shower, we helped ourselves to a late lunch. In addition to the usual wide selection of buffet and ala carte items, they were running a "Born to be Wild" theme meals which featured wild game like pheasant. I tried the pheasant and risotto which was really good and worth of any fine dining restaurant.<br />
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While waiting for our flight to Rome, I enjoyed a couple more after lunch whiskeys from the wide selection at the bar while Lydia helped herself to the large selection of different kinds of water at the water bar since she had to stay away from alcohol. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water Bar</td></tr>
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We lucked out today to be getting another Porsche as the ride over to our flight to Rome. Too bad we didn't get a much longer ride today as our A320 to Rome today was departing from one of the nearer gates to the terminal. A remote gate would be nice :P<br />
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Boarding was almost completed by the time we got to the plane and the load was light in business class today with both Lydia and I having an entire row to ourselves. Since we were full from the wonderful lunch and tired and probably jetlagged, we just took a couple of bites from the cold plate served on the flight to Rome and stuck to water. I did manage to take a couple of short naps in between trying to finish my book.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Intra Europe Business Class</td></tr>
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I enjoyed the sunset on the plane and a couple of minutes later, we started the descent into Rome. It took a good twenty minutes after we got to the baggage carousel for the bags to come out and we were further delayed when we had to go file a claim when one of the wheels of our bags were damaged. We eventually made it into Rome itself via the Leonardo express for our one night stay in Rome.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-33734333546649929902014-01-26T15:05:00.003-08:002014-02-19T18:14:51.879-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Austin to Frankfurt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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It was freezing cold in Austin and most of the United States the week of Thanksgiving and we were happy and excited to be getting some sun and warmth in the Maldives. We had booked a revenue flight on American to Denver via Dallas as part of hitting the 30k miles required to hit Executive Platinum.<br />
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I was looking forward to switching over to AA/Oneworld after United hugely devalued their miles but we've been having constant flight delays on AA flights we were taking which I'm partly blaming on the aging MD80 fleet. It was no difference this time as there was a water leak in the forward galley but thankfully they managed to get it fix with "only a 45 minute" delay to Dallas. The delay ate into our layover time in Dallas but we still did manage to squeeze a early lunch in the <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/american-express-centurion-lounge-dallas.html">Amex Centurion Lounge. </a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early lunch in the Amex Lounge</td></tr>
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Thankfully the flight to Denver was uneventful but more importantly, it left and arrived on-time! It would have really sucked to have the flight delayed or cancelled and missing the Frankfurt flight. After a quick check-in with no issues having our luggage short checked to Rome, we headed for the American Airlines lounge which we got in thanks to my Amex Platinum card. I knew ahead of time that the United lounge that Lufthansa uses was nothing special and the AA lounge was actually way close to the Lufthansa gate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lufthansa Check-in Area</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AA Lounge</td></tr>
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We arrived at the departure gate right as boarding was about to begin. There was a sizeable crowd that we manage to squeeze through to get into the first class line and soon enough we were in the exclusive confines of the upper deck of the 747 taking us to Frankfurt today.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>A stewardess was on-hand to greet us and help us get settled into our seats before bringing around some champagne for me and water for Lydia prior to take-off. We had a slight delay due to loading of luggage and I spent the extra delay enjoying more champagne while enjoying the beautiful Denver sunset.<br />
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Once we were airborne, the pursuer came to say hi and to make sure everything was per our liking. The dinner service started soon after with an amuse bouche of salmon roe followed extra servings of caviar and vodka. Instead of the tiered appetizer plates we had the last time we flew first class on Lufthansa, the stewardess came around with the trolley full of appetizers and told us to take as many choices as we wanted. I opted for all the three choices and to my surprise and beets and cheese was my favorite. I had the beef for my main course which was nothing special although Lydia very much enjoyed her butter poached lobster. The cheeses looked to good to pass on when the cart came through so I had a sample of everything although I did end up just taking small bites from each of the sample. The vanilla bean caramel flan was also really good especially with the specially ordered scoop of ice-cream that was supposed to be part of the other dessert.<br />
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Both of us were really stuff after that wonderful meal. Since we were planning on heading out during our layover in Frankfurt and I was the one driving, I opted out of further drinking and instead headed to get some sleep on my favorite bed in the sky. I love the view of the stars while lying in bed!<br />
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After 6-7 hours of good sleep, it was time to get changed and enjoy a couple of cups of cappuccino before we made our way into Frankfurt. I was happy that the sun was out and what looked like amazing weather waiting for us for our drive around Frankfurt. </div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-63981532144218147002014-01-26T13:42:00.001-08:002014-02-19T18:15:16.607-08:00Thanksgiving 2013 in Maldives: Introduction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-austin-to.html">Austin to Frankfurt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-frankfurt.html">Frankfurt Layover & Frankfurt to Rome</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome.html">Rome Layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-rome-to.html">Rome to Bangkok</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-bangkok.html">Bangkok to Male via Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-conrad.html">Conrad Maldives</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-male-to.html">Male to Manchester via Colombo and Abu Dhabi</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/thanksgiving-2013-in-maldives-heading.html">Heading back to Austin</a> </li>
</ul>
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Another long overdue report! :( Hopefully, I'll finish this as soon as possible.<br />
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After only visiting <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-long-way-to-paradise-introduction.html">Conrad Maldives last Christmas</a> and already visiting twice before that (reports <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2011/04/maldives-honeymoon-getting-there.html">here</a> and <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2011/05/second-honeymoon-in-maldives.html">here</a>), we were not planning to return to Maldives that soon. Yes, it's one of our favorite places on earth but it can be expensive to make it a yearly tradition.<br />
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We had gone on the whale shark excursion during the last visit and had signed up to the non profit <a href="http://maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org/">Maldives Whaleshark Research</a> program mailing list/facebook page that ran the excursion since we wanted to learn more about the maginificent whale sharks. Early in 2013, there ran a silent charity auction for a stay at the Conrad Maldives which we ended up winning much to our surprise!<br />
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We had initially booked a more direct Turkish Airlines Houston to Male via Istanbul in business class through my United miles to get to Maldives. I was reasonably happy with the redemption since it would give us a chance to try Turkish Airlines and their much acclaimed lounge in Istanbul.<br />
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Two weeks prior to departure, I got restless and managed to come up with a much long winded way of getting to Maldives albeit in First Class:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Austin to Denver on revenue tickets on American Airlines</li>
<li>Denver to Frankfurt in Lufthansa First Class and onto Rome</li>
<li>Rome to Bangkok in Thai First Class</li>
<li>Bangkok to Maldives via Singapore on Thai and Singapore Business Class</li>
</ul>
Although the flight experience wasn't new having tried both Lufthansa and Thai in first class before, we decided the difference in miles and the additional day traveling required was worth it since it was first class for the most part (First is still First :)), we got to take a Porsche out for a drive during our layover in Frankfurt and had a day for a quick look in Rome.<br />
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For the flights back to Austin, we opted for one of the ex-CMB AA fares since we needed the AA miles for the AA 30k EXP challenge that both of us managed to sign up for. By the time we got around to booking the ticket, the first class fare was no longer available and routing on AA metal or codeshare was somewhat limited which resulted in another long winded multi-hop flight back:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Male to Colombo on Srilankan Airways</li>
<li>Colombo to Manchester via Abu Dhabi on Etihad in Business</li>
<li>Manchester to Austin via Chicago on American Airlines in Business </li>
</ul>
</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-30752595775355698742014-01-26T10:57:00.002-08:002014-04-12T15:10:43.738-07:00Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/02/double-holiday-weddings-quick.html">Quick Introduction and DFW to LHR (AA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-layover.html">LHR layover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/03/double-holiday-weddings-lhr-to-sin.html">LHR to SIN (BA Business)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2014/01/ritz-carlton-kuala-lumpur.html">Ritz Carlton Kuala Lumpur</a></li>
<li>Penang to Hong Kong (Malaysia First Class)</li>
<li>Hong Kong to Haneda (Cathay Pacific First Class)</li>
<li>Tokyo Layover</li>
<li>Tokyo to Los Angeles (JAL First Class)</li>
</ul>
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Lydia and I had to spend a night in Kuala Lumpur on our recent trip back to Malaysia (full trip report coming!) to get your US visas renewed. Instead of staying at our usual <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2011/11/great-service-at-doubletree-kuala.html">Doubletree</a> or Hilton Kuala Lumpur spots, we decided to stay at the Ritz Carlton due to a pretty good deal from booking with American Express Platinum Leading Hotels & Resorts program. As part of booking with Amex, we would be getting a room upgrade, complimentary breakfast and guaranteed late checkout till 4pm. On top of those perks, Amex offers a hotel specific perk like a free lunch or spa credit. In our case, it was a $100 USD dining credit per stay which was the kicker for us considering the room rate was $180 USD after taxes. A $80USD per night rate at a Ritz Carlton seems like a awesome deal!<br />
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Since we had a ton of luggage, we arrived at the Ritz from KLIA via taxi. A porter was on hand on greet us and help with the luggage. What was amazing was that the porter addressed me by name when he handed me the luggage stubs. I'm guessing the took a peek at our airline luggage tags to figure out our names - what great service to start.<br />
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They did manage to find a room ready even though we arrived earlier than the check-in time at around nine in the morning. The front desk agent than went over our perks as part of booking with Amex and we were caught surprised that instead of the $100 USD dining credit, we were offered a afternoon tea instead. I didn't make a big fuss about it then since we were given lounge access even though this was not an entitlement.<br />
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We did later found out that there was no afternoon tea available on the day we were at the Ritz which was really disappointing. Since it wasn't available, the front desk should have proactively swapped out the perk for something else. We eventually went back to the front desk to make a fuss about it and only after standing firm did the front desk manager "replaced" the afternoon tea with the $100USD dining credit.<br />
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It looked like we had been upgraded to a next category room from the cheapest room that we had booked. It wasn't terribly large but I found the room nicely furnished and functional. I liked the fact that the TV was both in front of the sofa and bed allowing me to either laze in bed or relax by the sofa and watch the TV.<br />
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The bathroom was huge and almost the same size as the bed room. It was stocked with high-end amenities and Ritz branded towels.<br />
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We also noticed what looked like last night's turn down amenity left behind and not cleaned up when we checked-in. This was definitely another no-no as a Ritz.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKubR1rp-UDdbRAvxsL4fOv-Vw52KgaHm835uI6wPJ9qCva88X5G_MHlW1Y512QK1KRSYlB25K3sJPaa4Fc1hUBFB8olrFH8b2S3N_fkQSu3jL03B4UMJSPIYXxrAgx8G7TDQF9s12l8/s1600/P1110544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKKubR1rp-UDdbRAvxsL4fOv-Vw52KgaHm835uI6wPJ9qCva88X5G_MHlW1Y512QK1KRSYlB25K3sJPaa4Fc1hUBFB8olrFH8b2S3N_fkQSu3jL03B4UMJSPIYXxrAgx8G7TDQF9s12l8/s1600/P1110544.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last night's turn down amenity</td></tr>
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Since we had arrived early, we managed to sample breakfast at both the lounge and the main restaurant. The breakfast at the lounge was disappointing in that it was very chaotic with not enough tables and the staff having a hard time keeping up with cleaning up the tables and taking orders. The selection in the lounge was as usual, less than the main restaurant but what was supposedly a more relaxed atmosphere was supposed to make up for it. Definitely not in this case.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Breakfast at the main restaurant the next day was a much more enjoyable experience. There was a good selection of cold cuts, fruits, yogurt and cereal as part of the buffet and a wide selection of made to order hot foods like nasi lemak, noodles, pancakes and truffle omelet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhP9yr0x9UcJUd0W7rwYDsfizXl_DfB9NqvQ0aytZ3clqUYNTz39nzLeXjv2ZHSPd3vPvGqpqa5TlDIvBl6KyftFuYCqxk178H2s7iQYI1NcKkL2qInmd7bVkiFeJl18OZo-KkKkkCA8/s1600/RitzKL_bfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwhP9yr0x9UcJUd0W7rwYDsfizXl_DfB9NqvQ0aytZ3clqUYNTz39nzLeXjv2ZHSPd3vPvGqpqa5TlDIvBl6KyftFuYCqxk178H2s7iQYI1NcKkL2qInmd7bVkiFeJl18OZo-KkKkkCA8/s1600/RitzKL_bfast.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at the main restaurant</td></tr>
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The lounge experience did somewhat recover during other parts of the day when there was less of a crowd. The lounge at the Ritz always has something to eat and drink throughout the day but we did not make the extra effort to try the different offerings during the day since we were either out or too full after enjoying much better local food outside of the hotel. We did swing by for a drink before dinner and the light nibbles and drinks were pretty good.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZS_QbFTyYzqo6Ic3S71byAcy59q9jFF9s_5Z3E2FHiR-cspAwNdH17MOf53eeuyEMuUNp54b3ooxYTrQeu8L351VNpGGLroof2gifNeV18iJ0NiNm3uA4prwlw37RqQ5jY74Wrxm55Yw/s1600/RitzKL_lounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZS_QbFTyYzqo6Ic3S71byAcy59q9jFF9s_5Z3E2FHiR-cspAwNdH17MOf53eeuyEMuUNp54b3ooxYTrQeu8L351VNpGGLroof2gifNeV18iJ0NiNm3uA4prwlw37RqQ5jY74Wrxm55Yw/s1600/RitzKL_lounge.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Club Lounge</td></tr>
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We spent the $100 USD dining credit at the Ritz's Chinese restaurant which was supposedly a highly rated Chinese restaurant in Kuala Lumpur. It was definitely hard to order $100 USD worth of food for just the two of us so we ended up sharing a bowl of $70USD bird nest soup between both of us for dessert on top of the other stuff we ordered. The food was definitely good but not super outstanding.<br />
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We returned to the room that night to be pleasantly surprised by an extensive turn down amenity of a fruit plate and a ton of chocolate and truffles. <br />
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We did have the chance to laze by the pool a couple of times after getting tired of shopping and eating. The hotel has two pools and we found the "second" pool by the spa area much more enjoyable since kids were not allowed and it was empty for most of the time we were there. The pool was also long enough if one wanted to do some lap. My biggest complain would be the lack of service around the pool area. There were no one around to help with towels or clean up towels/seats that were previously used.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPwOAi50435L2fzhtkyveXOxRptCI7N21iLeiVYsOZdiTq89AD5V-YF8UgDP8uO73fZwLDDqPj0w09C4YOGdlhK7I9SR3wj-7kNKkqQrxQnhziqXN-h9smQaxIOq4I99L4MbMGj8MAiA/s1600/P1110543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPwOAi50435L2fzhtkyveXOxRptCI7N21iLeiVYsOZdiTq89AD5V-YF8UgDP8uO73fZwLDDqPj0w09C4YOGdlhK7I9SR3wj-7kNKkqQrxQnhziqXN-h9smQaxIOq4I99L4MbMGj8MAiA/s1600/P1110543.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "main" pool</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHS78qbkuFHNPSVV3deSg3cMudkCHtDt3s7Fv-63RNoG6GBMHNcMyiC1umQF5V8ARAESLxy0CF3yEti_wc8N80TXMfl9UKEPn_q0BI_BeMNh0ZytRhBMvuCProTtuiX3WI0zFSRyKuJyE/s1600/RitzKL_pool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHS78qbkuFHNPSVV3deSg3cMudkCHtDt3s7Fv-63RNoG6GBMHNcMyiC1umQF5V8ARAESLxy0CF3yEti_wc8N80TXMfl9UKEPn_q0BI_BeMNh0ZytRhBMvuCProTtuiX3WI0zFSRyKuJyE/s1600/RitzKL_pool.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Spa Pool</td></tr>
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One thing we did enjoy as part of staying at the Ritz was its location in Kuala Lumpur's main shopping area. With the Ritz's connected walk way to the Starhill shopping mall and easy access to Pavilion mall, we did not have to take a cab or worry about transportation at all during this trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUabDmihwgfCOZg2vJn1KlblQZOOde0XRrtwef1M7d2h-K0Z9cNSc6yY0Bpy24iimtx5-oGuhQ8lL6WlMt1bupmAUHAUFd0-KLXXT_Sg4H8CvfYUt9iBDcYrHUoLuzuspGGphT8rk44-c/s1600/P1110558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUabDmihwgfCOZg2vJn1KlblQZOOde0XRrtwef1M7d2h-K0Z9cNSc6yY0Bpy24iimtx5-oGuhQ8lL6WlMt1bupmAUHAUFd0-KLXXT_Sg4H8CvfYUt9iBDcYrHUoLuzuspGGphT8rk44-c/s1600/P1110558.JPG" height="223" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pavilion all ready for Chinese New Year</td></tr>
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For the most part, the stay was just OK and definitely not a truly luxury experience we expected at staying at a Ritz Carlton with all the hiccups we encountered. During check out, the front desk manager did wish to see us again and did clarify that the Amex website was wrong and it should have been an afternoon tea listed instead of the dining credit. We're definitely not in a rush to return on our next trip to Kuala Lumpur and might end up back at the Doubletree or Kuala Lumpur since the rates are often half what the Ritz are.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-83494487308430114132014-01-01T05:45:00.000-08:002014-01-01T05:45:03.572-08:00Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Overall, it has been an wonderful 2013. Most of my travels this year has been for leisure since the move to Austin has negated the need to travel from Penang to Austin for work. I did however was lucky to had to Guadalajara for a week on business which cultivated my taste for real Mexican cuisine and tequila.<br />
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One of the the main highlights for the year includes the flying what was one the longest airplane route from Newark to Singapore before Singapore Airlines discontinued the flight late in 2013.<br />
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We've also add <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/04/heading-home-for-chinese-new-year-swiss.html">Swiss Air </a>and<a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/05/heading-home-for-chinese-new-year_28.html"> Singapore Airlines </a>to the list of new first class flights that we've tried. We're also not in a hurry to fly Swiss Air again since they've made it a personal mission to not honor the ex-Rangoon first class fare.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SQ Suites</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swiss First Class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Lydia and I have also managed to tick off some more places of our places to visit in the US in 2013 by visiting <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/04/home-for-chinese-new-year-introduction.html">Miami</a>, Washington DC, New Orleans and <a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/06/memorial-weekend-in-philadelphia.html">Philadelphia</a> and enjoying some pretty good food along the way. The only city left on the list is Chicago and we hope to pay Alinea restaurant a visit during that trip eventually. <br />
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The most memorable trip and memory of 2013 has to be the unexpected return to Conrad Maldives during Thanksgiving with a scuba certification. Trip report to follow as soon as possible I promise!<br />
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Major changes are coming for both Lydia and I in 2014. We're not sure if we're sticking around Austin in 2014 but more significantly we're expecting a baby boy sometime in late April/early May. We have 1-2 trips at most until we're grounded due to the baby but we've promised ourselves that the baby is not going to ground us and we look forward to sharing the different perspective of having to travel with a kid now.<br />
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As always, thanks for reading the blog and looking forward to sharing our future adventures.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy New Year!</span></div>
</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-7030809297834025372013-11-17T22:33:00.002-08:002013-11-17T22:33:43.542-08:004th July Getaway: Taipei to Austin<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/08/4th-july-getaway-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-getting-to-ewr.html">Getting to EWR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-newark-to-singapore.html">Newark to Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-singapore-to-koh-samui.html">Singapore to Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-kc-beach-club-koh-samui.html">KC Beach Club Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-conrad-koh-samui.html">Conrad Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-koh-samui-to-penang.html">Koh Samui to Penang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-penang-to-macau-via.html">Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-conrad-macau.html">Conrad Macau</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-macau-to-taipei.html">Macau to Taipei</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-taipei-to-austin.html">Taipei to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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It did take us a while to locate Eva's lounges since it was our first time flying through Taipei. Eva operates a number a number of business class lounges in Taipei and we opted for the Infinity Lounge despite Ben's somewhat negative comments' on this recent visit. I guess it is a matter of personal preference but we actually liked the retro/cool look of the lounge.<br />
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First up on priorities was a how shower before a transpacific flight. The shower was stocked with pretty good amenities and more importantly a toilet (which some showers like the Krisflyer lounge does not have). I managed to squeeze in a couple of espressos paired with delicious Movenpick ice-cream after the shower to make sure I stayed a wake for the next couple of hours into the flight. It was already midnight by now mind you. There was also an extensive selection of local snacks.<br />
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Boarding was already underway when we got to the departure gate and thankfully there was no line in the priority lane to board the plane. Once we got settled in, the flight attendants come around with pre-departure drinks. I obviously went with the champagne knowing it was Dom. I guess it's business class when the attendants don't come around with the bottle and pour the champagne in front of you.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Once we got airborne supper was served. We had again pre-booked our selection via Eva's website and thankfully the food was much better on this flight. I had the Din Tai Fung Dumplings and it was really good. Lydia also enjoyed her chicken and rice dish.<br />
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We changed to pajamas we had brought on our own after supper and tried to sleep while watching a movie. It did take a while for me which I blame to the espresso in the lounge but once I was out, I managed to get a good 6-7 hours of shut eye. I must say that this is now my favorite business class seat to sleep on. It's even better than Singapore Airlines long haul business class seat.<br />
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About two hours prior to landing, the lights came on and the cabin was prepared for breakfast. The flight attendants went around with a refreshing hot towel, water and juices. We both stuck to the Asian selection for breakfast with the congee for me and the chicken noodle soup for Lydia. The choice was definitely a good one and I'd have that over eggs and bacon anyday.<br />
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We overall enjoyed the flight and would have no hesitate to take Eva in the future. I was surprised that we parked at a remote gate and had to be bussed in. First time it's happened to me at LAX. We thankfully missed most of the crowd at immigration and was able to get through customs and immigration in about thirty minutes.<br />
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We had another four hour wait in Los Angeles before our flight home to Austin via Houston. I was disappointed to find out at the departure gate that originally scheduled 787 to Houston had been swapped for a 777. I guess I should be thankful it didn't get swapped for a 737 and we still had a lie flat bed for the red-eye to Houston. After a couple of donuts in Houston and a short hop to Austin, we were finally back home.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-41505215959975017552013-11-17T12:23:00.001-08:002013-11-17T22:33:51.965-08:004th July Getaway: Macau to Taipei<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/08/4th-july-getaway-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-getting-to-ewr.html">Getting to EWR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-newark-to-singapore.html">Newark to Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-singapore-to-koh-samui.html">Singapore to Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-kc-beach-club-koh-samui.html">KC Beach Club Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-conrad-koh-samui.html">Conrad Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-koh-samui-to-penang.html">Koh Samui to Penang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-penang-to-macau-via.html">Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-conrad-macau.html">Conrad Macau</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-macau-to-taipei.html">Macau to Taipei</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-taipei-to-austin.html">Taipei to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
____________________________________________________________________________________<br />
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<br />
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You can get to most of the attractions in Macau using the
free bus rides and heading to the airport from the Conrad wasn’t an exception. We
had a wait a little in the lobby for the shuttle to show up but A short ride
later we were at the airport with no lines at all at the Eva counters. It did
take a while for the check-in agent to properly issue our boarding passes and
tagged our bags all the way to Austin. I’m guessing she’s never tagged luggage
on a four segment trip?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Eva uses the only contract lounge in Macau which was
overall pretty crappy and left like it came from the 80s. The carpet was old and the furnishing was dated. There
was a selection of questionable hot food which I just skipped. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinD98q-hChvtrbbz5CVgZHn8lkPszYMFzsB6ArUqN7xkPT7txqB83uDLjjCHyAADXUMCixdZijA04Vmcp8XHWK9-bogK4Wg5V2LGv75kjnZGQntaOUjLagMY9OxmQNsXjwd4sm1OYTM90/s1600/MFMLounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinD98q-hChvtrbbz5CVgZHn8lkPszYMFzsB6ArUqN7xkPT7txqB83uDLjjCHyAADXUMCixdZijA04Vmcp8XHWK9-bogK4Wg5V2LGv75kjnZGQntaOUjLagMY9OxmQNsXjwd4sm1OYTM90/s640/MFMLounge.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was initially disappointed that we couldn’t get award
seats on the Airbus A330 flight that was supposed to leave an hour or so
earlier since we would have more time to explore the lounges in Taipei and I’d
pick a widebody aircraft over a narrow body MD90 any day.. This turned out to
be another blessing in surprise when that flight was delayed and our flight left
even earlier. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicztMzQ9X0m-JkBQlSFdzjuqm1M7zINqhRxPpr_c95zyzKD9tZxFPjOK4bzz7btaoIj2aglgNp9Rf61qCtUHyhikU5w1EvKEDgiXGpxHMSD7la8VuSnwwidbCyVM4dUGlV8pZQrsHSqcM/s1600/P1070026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicztMzQ9X0m-JkBQlSFdzjuqm1M7zINqhRxPpr_c95zyzKD9tZxFPjOK4bzz7btaoIj2aglgNp9Rf61qCtUHyhikU5w1EvKEDgiXGpxHMSD7la8VuSnwwidbCyVM4dUGlV8pZQrsHSqcM/s400/P1070026.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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There were only 3 passengers in business class on this
flight with Lydia and I taking the right side of the aircraft and the other
passenger the left side. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAscHH4GCYn-MHRyUStTuaQZg0a15ni04HJtgGbrEgSWaTEpANQMcG3wbHGt9ibA2oH5U2-u0FwZ_IG3FSyOZ11IB30pSWECEYRdxTN3aW-I7cDDGqNqF5J2LGKsIOMWmu2jvSUruegkU/s1600/MD90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAscHH4GCYn-MHRyUStTuaQZg0a15ni04HJtgGbrEgSWaTEpANQMcG3wbHGt9ibA2oH5U2-u0FwZ_IG3FSyOZ11IB30pSWECEYRdxTN3aW-I7cDDGqNqF5J2LGKsIOMWmu2jvSUruegkU/s640/MD90.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>We had prebooked our dinner selection through EVA's website and the food on this flight turned out to be really bad. It was a "one tray" meal and similar to coach standards on some airlines. The fried rice was dry and tasteless and the shrimp didn't taste or look like shrimp at all. I gave up after a couple of bites.<br />
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As with most Asian airlines, the service on this flight was again top notch in spite of the lack of English from the stewardess serving us. She did keep coming around making sure out water was topped up and brought a couple of rounds of pretty good green tea. </div>
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There were some short clips shown on the overhead monitors on the hour or so flight to Taipei which we didn't pay attention to. Soon after, we landed in Taipei and proceeded to a remote gate and had to wait for everyone on the plane to get on a bus before proceeding to the terminal. </div>
</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-32180299585737444992013-11-16T09:46:00.002-08:002013-11-17T22:34:05.950-08:004th July Getaway: Conrad Macau<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/08/4th-july-getaway-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-getting-to-ewr.html">Getting to EWR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-newark-to-singapore.html">Newark to Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-singapore-to-koh-samui.html">Singapore to Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-kc-beach-club-koh-samui.html">KC Beach Club Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-conrad-koh-samui.html">Conrad Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-koh-samui-to-penang.html">Koh Samui to Penang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-penang-to-macau-via.html">Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-conrad-macau.html">Conrad Macau</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-macau-to-taipei.html">Macau to Taipei</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-taipei-to-austin.html">Taipei to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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Prior to arrival, the Conrad Macau had reached out and
confirmed an update and my perks at the hotel as a Diamond member. The same
Guest Relations Manager was present during our arrival and assisted with the
check-in process. She also personally escorted us to the room and showed us the
many features of the room before leaving us with her name card and reminding us
to just call if we needed anything during our stay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did keep her part of the offer when she
made sure we got both types of the Conrad Macau rubber ducky in spite of
several hiccups that Lydia was determined to collect. Major kudos! <br />
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The suite we were upgraded to was definitely one of the
nicest rooms we’ve stayed in before. It was HUGE and very nicely furnished.
I’ll just let the pictures do the talking.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyLho_5_cbJ2nAktKhu2WeYfzzgRqRM2K_3z7_Khr4zQif8E7Glg2-cFol68-O4fwTb0CtSmL_dpbQu-dyJGdRf2G4PqogsXP0ZtveOv3O9o1qD9jHhHf65T2ShQU4CgmKdqaWRZ2-bg/s1600/ConradMacauRoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyLho_5_cbJ2nAktKhu2WeYfzzgRqRM2K_3z7_Khr4zQif8E7Glg2-cFol68-O4fwTb0CtSmL_dpbQu-dyJGdRf2G4PqogsXP0ZtveOv3O9o1qD9jHhHf65T2ShQU4CgmKdqaWRZ2-bg/s640/ConradMacauRoom.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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When we got back to the room that night, there was a
turndown service with bottle water provided bedside and a gift of a teddy bear.
</div>
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One of my initial disappointments was finding out that
there was not an executive lounge in the hotel. This in fact turned out to be a
blessing in disguise since I actually preferred the perks that replaced the
lounge was in fact better. This included free breakfast either in the main
restaurant or room service. Despite the large selection of food available in
the main restaurant, nothing beats breakfast brought up to your room after
you’ve just worked out in the gym.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATdJ4D80ElRonMgQUZcIdfRUh28MB35wGPKtQY4-1QCzogCRK6OREKhG4FFYPEowwSRPUxEdfUZasYFVXJhB84rjrRdvHe0YIaJtdC50gaqfBZdZueIzrBC8g8MJTSvUzbkyzpPdM1YY/s1600/P1060914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjATdJ4D80ElRonMgQUZcIdfRUh28MB35wGPKtQY4-1QCzogCRK6OREKhG4FFYPEowwSRPUxEdfUZasYFVXJhB84rjrRdvHe0YIaJtdC50gaqfBZdZueIzrBC8g8MJTSvUzbkyzpPdM1YY/s400/P1060914.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dim Sum </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyTtyrvgC0nmSzfRR5dFhn-3e_F8WKZB6HMilSEVz3O6nnI_Hbe8OjzCc56MlbYRXz7Dme59PeYE9FeW9ZZN-Y_Qm5Xi0sE2lgYLj06z-Iw2Nt16Krm85pfgXtn2zljpDJ45nown8I2w/s1600/P1060915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFyTtyrvgC0nmSzfRR5dFhn-3e_F8WKZB6HMilSEVz3O6nnI_Hbe8OjzCc56MlbYRXz7Dme59PeYE9FeW9ZZN-Y_Qm5Xi0sE2lgYLj06z-Iw2Nt16Krm85pfgXtn2zljpDJ45nown8I2w/s400/P1060915.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main Restaurant</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqKM_H7vmVVdT8p-Amd6rZw2WwGxnC8mDDrmZzedGsQpZ4fE8NszE7NbR-ST4cm_Wy2og0ZyVafXrU5vaaYHPIhtaoGMciYEo1X9xCgHUmcJIIXI1DiWCVLbxquTTUUhdN2uyL2N8CSjw/s1600/P1060979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqKM_H7vmVVdT8p-Amd6rZw2WwGxnC8mDDrmZzedGsQpZ4fE8NszE7NbR-ST4cm_Wy2og0ZyVafXrU5vaaYHPIhtaoGMciYEo1X9xCgHUmcJIIXI1DiWCVLbxquTTUUhdN2uyL2N8CSjw/s400/P1060979.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Room Service</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We were also provided tea during the afternoons which
included a large selection of pastries. Despite the large selections, the
pastries itself were just bleh that we didn’t go for it during the second day
we were day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6_wcyBvw6makuz758NNVHuzBJY6cF3VfwuD15zdJFeJXS5gTLPZN_6wKj9x7m39SKueqzEsOUn3NS4T-MnHbvM7tt4qCh7iAetJmYkYSTNnZggmFFTPEsHfyVYt1-vfpgCaoBuKH1n8/s1600/ConradMacauTea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW6_wcyBvw6makuz758NNVHuzBJY6cF3VfwuD15zdJFeJXS5gTLPZN_6wKj9x7m39SKueqzEsOUn3NS4T-MnHbvM7tt4qCh7iAetJmYkYSTNnZggmFFTPEsHfyVYt1-vfpgCaoBuKH1n8/s640/ConradMacauTea.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>During the evenings, there was complimentary cocktails
and drinks in the lobby lounge. The wines and champagne was pretty good and
they also had some pretty yummy and strong cocktails. Perfect start to the
evening before going out for dinner.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKsF5VJ_4Sf3TugJKMofWIbNs2giIWcxDDLIjcX8dwebzP36nZTCdTuy_EACjOVGpr8pyOo4HiW5NeV3KDY4hZH9cEqnhbOQi839JeAtYN2aR7nd_q5G3zSIV0ZSYAV4lCzmpl94hvYo/s1600/ConradMacauCocktail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKsF5VJ_4Sf3TugJKMofWIbNs2giIWcxDDLIjcX8dwebzP36nZTCdTuy_EACjOVGpr8pyOo4HiW5NeV3KDY4hZH9cEqnhbOQi839JeAtYN2aR7nd_q5G3zSIV0ZSYAV4lCzmpl94hvYo/s640/ConradMacauCocktail.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I did spend some time getting some sun by the pool or
should I say multiple tiny pools. Some were just big enough to do some short
laps but kinda wish they just had one big pool instead. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOafZ0VDnqzGFoTTHBmUD11IZqcw-zsDcFlzn7MdI9_KwGB621a1gQKHvHst_xCub5lwVO32ImetkqFt8GsZt-8Fs65etAE5p95UzTkNxudqBBuMOmsm9rWBWgHODFfhEMkosrFl5CN5I/s1600/ConradMacauPool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOafZ0VDnqzGFoTTHBmUD11IZqcw-zsDcFlzn7MdI9_KwGB621a1gQKHvHst_xCub5lwVO32ImetkqFt8GsZt-8Fs65etAE5p95UzTkNxudqBBuMOmsm9rWBWgHODFfhEMkosrFl5CN5I/s640/ConradMacauPool.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Overall, we really REALLY enjoyed our stay at the Conrad
Macau but we’re not sure if we’re going to come back since Macau itself was not
all that interesting and we don’t gamble. Maybe we should just come back and
find an excuse for what I think are the best egg tarts in the world.
</div>
</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-24288609540513826442013-11-16T09:32:00.001-08:002013-11-17T22:34:17.717-08:004th July Getaway: Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/08/4th-july-getaway-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-getting-to-ewr.html">Getting to EWR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-newark-to-singapore.html">Newark to Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-singapore-to-koh-samui.html">Singapore to Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-kc-beach-club-koh-samui.html">KC Beach Club Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-conrad-koh-samui.html">Conrad Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-koh-samui-to-penang.html">Koh Samui to Penang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-penang-to-macau-via.html">Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-conrad-macau.html">Conrad Macau</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-macau-to-taipei.html">Macau to Taipei</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-taipei-to-austin.html">Taipei to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A friend was kind enough to drop us at the airport even
with the super early morning Penang to Kuala Lumpur flight. With Malaysia
Airlines just recently joining Oneworld and thanks to my British Airways Silver
Status (complimentary of the demise of BMI), check in was a breeze. The
Malaysia Airlines lounge in Penang (which we’ve visited before) was closed for
renovations and we were instead provided invitations to the Plaza Premium
Lounge that was only recently opened after the Penang airport upgrade.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was having a really bad wisdom tooth infection at this
point of the trip so I sadly skipped the nasi lemak and instead had some decent porridge for breakfast. The lounge itself was nothing spectacular but met
all the requirements of a decent lounge. It had adequate seating, decent food,
free Wifi and even a shower. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2spSoIB6RtIbgrltL3cPN7F-vZW2iAXERmFSvOvGqoLiDg0sdpQDWZv6mnrvPacYDcLBdRc7qh8J5tYymD3rz7ykhzccLng7qV_lUn1aQILEoymZFdUjOWrbbpVNgfU-1tZw8oRymV8/s1600/PENPlaza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2spSoIB6RtIbgrltL3cPN7F-vZW2iAXERmFSvOvGqoLiDg0sdpQDWZv6mnrvPacYDcLBdRc7qh8J5tYymD3rz7ykhzccLng7qV_lUn1aQILEoymZFdUjOWrbbpVNgfU-1tZw8oRymV8/s400/PENPlaza.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The 45 minute hop down to Kuala Lumpur was nothing too
interesting with the flight attendants doing a round of drinks. In transit in
Kuala Lumpur, we were caught up in a line trying to go through immigration
formalities. Similar to my last experience ages ago flying through Kuala Lumpur
on trips back to college at USC. It was frustrating that there were no automated
passport check gates for Malaysian passport holders to speed things up.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntkVCH3WpyHR63EKLG2JAOJhvtZbiyC5573Op15kNOHZNjdtC9gKoeWZd1ASj7L905Z0KUGyHdj7COTwPnLhBoG8qQ5ena4qVS540POQf2WeTQytNUMM-TDwxtUJz1_VvwdVGNjc76BE/s1600/P1060805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjntkVCH3WpyHR63EKLG2JAOJhvtZbiyC5573Op15kNOHZNjdtC9gKoeWZd1ASj7L905Z0KUGyHdj7COTwPnLhBoG8qQ5ena4qVS540POQf2WeTQytNUMM-TDwxtUJz1_VvwdVGNjc76BE/s400/P1060805.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colorful 737 seats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We did have time to quickly swing by the Malaysia
Airlines Business Class Lounge in the Satellite terminal. Overall, we were
overly impressed with the lounge considering the lounge was supposed to be
Malaysia Airline’s flagship lounge. The lounge was huge with plenty of seating
but it was still hard to find a place to sit. There was a bar but it wasn’t
staffed in the morning we were there so I’m not sure what alcohol was available.
There was a reasonable selection of food for breakfast but I personally
preferred the food down south in Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Lounge.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zr7F-kBaZ9vQNeMJrUwUdtd7sHTtgR2GsHkSaGdskoNRL2VoyDiIRUolwCjYHPfsh28dJIKVmtKqgzUuW0hq_Zehkl9yGLrt-TVVw2XYrDtLUon7DL-1vUbCdvpJ6x27BOn3TVU7pDA/s1600/KULLounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Zr7F-kBaZ9vQNeMJrUwUdtd7sHTtgR2GsHkSaGdskoNRL2VoyDiIRUolwCjYHPfsh28dJIKVmtKqgzUuW0hq_Zehkl9yGLrt-TVVw2XYrDtLUon7DL-1vUbCdvpJ6x27BOn3TVU7pDA/s640/KULLounge.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was pretty excited to try out Malaysia Airline’s Airbus
A380 albeit in economy class. I had prebooked us on the bulkhead seats on the
upper deck. The leg room was great but I did felt kinda squished with the door
protruding outwards. This was not a big deal on the three plus hour flight to
Hong Kong but would have sucked if I was stuck in this seat on a long haul
flight to say London.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmHtxMfVqgHZOUowiTvj5SMhWqPx8m8RX0Y_MpOYAdYs505Xh27C14AMyN2JjIoAGHbdCR0QLpnihzFkfCZ7U8lXrGr8r2vEPyiKAasNhOlHREl5rPRdZKekWmIYI75tliqfXbKKxddc/s1600/ToHKG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmHtxMfVqgHZOUowiTvj5SMhWqPx8m8RX0Y_MpOYAdYs505Xh27C14AMyN2JjIoAGHbdCR0QLpnihzFkfCZ7U8lXrGr8r2vEPyiKAasNhOlHREl5rPRdZKekWmIYI75tliqfXbKKxddc/s640/ToHKG.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Brunch was served shortly after take-off and the food was
rather good for coach. There was even ice-cream for dessert! </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAqVSCmuKmI4qxX-akuoAJUlBx-pviw-3OB91dJxsk5frM-1SOjdj2TrL7Cf8CarovHELS95OaikiZRPj3QfHBHMZ5vF_3KJzK1OfxO21rwh-91O9WeusSFx2nEEvfQdyx078SvQ2YhE/s1600/HKGFood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxAqVSCmuKmI4qxX-akuoAJUlBx-pviw-3OB91dJxsk5frM-1SOjdj2TrL7Cf8CarovHELS95OaikiZRPj3QfHBHMZ5vF_3KJzK1OfxO21rwh-91O9WeusSFx2nEEvfQdyx078SvQ2YhE/s640/HKGFood.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>Worried about the possibility of missing an earlier ferry
that left only an hour after we were supposed to arrive in Hong Kong, we had
another four hour wait in Hong Kong Airport to catch our prebooked<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turbojet ferry to Macau. I really wish there
were more frequency on the Hong Kong Airport to Macau ferries! We provided our
Malaysia Airlines luggage tags to the Turbojet check-in agent and we were told
to confirm later on one of the kiosks that our luggage did make it on the ferry
before proceeding to the ferry terminal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We periodically checked the kiosks with the confirmation that our bags
made it on the ferry about an hour before departure. I assume someone from the
ferry company goes over to the luggage belt and picks up the bags? During this
time, we were pretty bored since we were stuck in the waiting area but
thankfully there was the free airport Wifi that I used to catch up on email.
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8UY1eJti8xi0BfKIUYAO3K2MjZVBSlHbzKovZW1VGh5PkCSxEgI5_tOQeK1JyyCAgQO5mCzkoh073kuXXe9VF-nWW_mmPUKWozj6mZEJmWhJuz7yAVKYlWsef6NCTxwzIx6u5F2ukW8/s1600/IMG_0469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8UY1eJti8xi0BfKIUYAO3K2MjZVBSlHbzKovZW1VGh5PkCSxEgI5_tOQeK1JyyCAgQO5mCzkoh073kuXXe9VF-nWW_mmPUKWozj6mZEJmWhJuz7yAVKYlWsef6NCTxwzIx6u5F2ukW8/s400/IMG_0469.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Turbojet operates a two class cabin and we decided to not
spurge this time and go for the cheaper cabin. The standard cabin was more than
sufficient for the hour or so ferry ride over to Macau. There are no assigned
seating on the ferry so by the time we did get on board, all the window seats
were taken but we did manage to get some pretty good view of Hong Kong airport
and a Lufthansa 747-8 that just landed from our seats. There was food and
drinks for purchase which we skipped but I was tempted for a moment after
smelling the fellow behind me with what appeared to be delicious instant
noodles. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgWe6KyUmuJ_78ZPz1uwgmWLIfg4VZZ-UoM97j0zZJ5IDq3iSQDsxcikpEJtwJUiynmpCNg-NylHr8PDKerq0h9hABINLwxCZmkK9-1J7EdhkIz_US1C3cvTqFItsG7nTfiQWpoP10tw/s1600/IMG_0472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJgWe6KyUmuJ_78ZPz1uwgmWLIfg4VZZ-UoM97j0zZJ5IDq3iSQDsxcikpEJtwJUiynmpCNg-NylHr8PDKerq0h9hABINLwxCZmkK9-1J7EdhkIz_US1C3cvTqFItsG7nTfiQWpoP10tw/s400/IMG_0472.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HKIA in the distance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Our bags did take a while longer than we like to show up
after we cleared immigration formalities in Macau and we were worried if the bags
did actually make on the ferry. It would not have been fun if it did not. It
was then an easy free bus shuttle ride from the ferry terminal to the Conrad
Macau.
</div>
</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-677855413224834192013-10-29T16:24:00.000-07:002013-10-29T16:24:27.047-07:00American Express Centurion Lounge Dallas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We've been to some pretty outstanding airline lounges like the Lufthansa First Class Terminal In Frankfurt and Emirates First Class Lounge in Dubai. It's not surprising that there's no lounge in the US that makes that list until now at least. We just visited the American Express Centurion Lounge in Dallas Fort Worth airport and in short, it's one of our favorite lounges so far and I would head to the airport early for it. To put it in perspective, it beats any offering in the US and even ranks ahead of Malaysia Airlines business class lounge in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore Airlines business class lounge in Singapore.<br />
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The lounge which is located close to gate D16 just opened a week or so ago and is complimentary to American Express Centurion or Platinum card holders with up to two guest. Other American Express card holders get to pay $50 to enter the lounge. That might seem steep but I would pay for it for the facilities on offer especially if I have a long enough layover.<br />
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We visited the lounge early in the morning and the breakfast buffet beats anything that's available in the US currently. Gourmet breakfast tacos from celebrity chef Dean Fearing with a cappuccino and mimosa anyone? There's no crummy muffins and stale bagels or carrot sticks here.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>There's also an extensive alcohol list with several specialty cocktails on offer. I had the opportunity to try some of them out even though it was just seven in the morning and there were pretty good. Again, no annoying upcharge for premium alcohol/wine like other lounges in the US.<br />
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The lounge itself wasn't too big and would be interesting to see if it can handle the crowd when it gets busier later in the day. Amex obviously put thought into the lounge with plenty of power sockets available through out the lounge.<br />
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The lounge also boast a spa with complimentary manicure and massage treatments. Very first classy! Too bad the spa only opens at nine and we were too early. More importantly, there are also showers available which is crucial after a long flight to/from the US.<br />
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I'm sad that my next layover through DFW is only an hour long and probably not enough time to swing by the lounge. Both of us will still have plenty of opportunities to visit this lounge as we both complete our 30K Executive Platinum American Airlines challenge and switch over to American/Oneworld. The Amex Centurion lounge in DFW is definitely the cherry on top of the ice cream - bye bye United and the Houston layovers!</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-52505563333080977492013-10-20T17:29:00.001-07:002013-11-17T22:34:27.566-08:004th July Getaway: Koh Samui to Penang<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHj-re5-UrNsmYIa8DR_5hmTo0Y-OrRP8xdgGHrAjUilTcXe_nInG4NYHqUde-hA-Lx-dgtpE1HfCU876R_xY5Ui0g8gI-rs1-UyQ09LcFCulxfzCyEdpKvag3e-tCV_hyphenhyphen-VqackFX67Q/s1600/Lounge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/08/4th-july-getaway-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-getting-to-ewr.html">Getting to EWR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-newark-to-singapore.html">Newark to Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-singapore-to-koh-samui.html">Singapore to Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-kc-beach-club-koh-samui.html">KC Beach Club Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-conrad-koh-samui.html">Conrad Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-koh-samui-to-penang.html">Koh Samui to Penang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-penang-to-macau-via.html">Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-conrad-macau.html">Conrad Macau</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-macau-to-taipei.html">Macau to Taipei</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-taipei-to-austin.html">Taipei to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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Ko Samui Airport has got to be one of the most unique airports. Most of the airport is open air, i.e. no air conditioning but the great design that keeps reminding you that you're on vacation makes up for the heat. There's also a strip mall landside for some last minute souvenir shopping, massages and Thai food. We weren't particularly hungry but since we still had an hour or so till departure and we were "out massaged", we killed time enjoying a last Pad Thai and fresh coconut water.<br />
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After passing through security, we found out that our flight was delayed for 45 minutes. The wait wasn't fun without air-conditioning but thankfully we found lounge that accepted Priority Pass. There were a couple of snacks and even some ala carte options like Pad Thai and noodles. I enjoyed a couple of beers but more importantly we were in the comfort of an air-conditioned room. We would have headed straight here if we had known about the lounge.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The other unique thing about Koh Samui airport is that there are no aerobridges so everyone is bussed to the plane on some rather unique "trolleys". We had to stop for a couple of minutes on the way to the plane to give way to a Bangkok Airways Airbus that just landed.<br />
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Our Firefly flight to Penang was operated by a ATR-700 which was one of my favorite plane for a a short hop due to it's 2-2 seating. The two hour flight was uneventful with a round of drinks, nuts and pastries being offered. </div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5536525931462620617.post-6550837862838128422013-10-20T13:40:00.001-07:002013-11-17T22:34:35.761-08:004th July Getaway: Conrad Koh Samui<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/08/4th-july-getaway-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-getting-to-ewr.html">Getting to EWR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-newark-to-singapore.html">Newark to Singapore</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-singapore-to-koh-samui.html">Singapore to Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/09/4th-july-getaway-kc-beach-club-koh-samui.html">KC Beach Club Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-conrad-koh-samui.html">Conrad Koh Samui</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/10/4th-july-getaway-koh-samui-to-penang.html">Koh Samui to Penang</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-penang-to-macau-via.html">Penang to Macau (via Hong Kong)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-conrad-macau.html">Conrad Macau</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-macau-to-taipei.html">Macau to Taipei</a></li>
<li><a href="http://lydvin.blogspot.com/2013/11/4th-july-getaway-taipei-to-austin.html">Taipei to Austin</a></li>
</ul>
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We arrived at the Conrad about ten in the morning after an hour or so drive from Chaweng beach by Mr Samui. We were welcomed at the Conrad with cold drinks and towels but it did take longer than usual to complete check-in since the room wasn't ready which was not unexpected since we were trying to check-in early.<br />
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Once the room was ready, we were driven to our assigned villa of 312 by two of the front desk agents in a buggy. The two of them then explained the many features of the room and our Diamond Hilton Honors amenities which includes free breakfast, discount and bonus points to the spa and a couple of free drinks vouchers.<br />
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We were definitely WOWed by the room. The room was larger than our apartment in Austin with the bathroom larger than our bedroom back home! The highlight of the room was definitely the view from the balcony and the private pool that was large enough to even do some laps. The only slight disappointment was the crappy coffee machine that came with the room - no Nespresso machine here.<br />
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The beach at the Conrad was rather tiny and pretty disappointing to be honest - ain't no Maldives here. There were a couple of loungers by the beach but we decided to spend the time by the main pool itself. The pool was really quiet with only a couple of people joining us at the pool. I guess most people end up spending most of the time in the privacy of their villa.<br />
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The resort has several excursions and activities planned daily. There's a complimentary boat ride to a private/deserted beach that we didn't have time for. We did wake up for the sun rise yoga which was a good work out. We also attended a short massage lesson that ended up with us in an unplanned two hour massage treatment after they offered us some pretty good discounts. The treatment was still really expensive by Thai standards but it was one of the most memorable massage for both of us. Where else can you wake up after a massage enjoying the view of the Andaman sea.<br />
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We were disappointed that the highly acclaimed on-site modern Thai Jauhn restaurant was closed the day we visited. We decided instead to go with some thing easy and had a late lunch/early dinner by the pool before finishing with a Johnny Walker tasting.<br />
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Breakfast the next morning was top-notch. Even though the buffet selection was limited for Asian standards, the quality of the food made up for it. There were several on-order egg dishes and I loved the Thai eggs Benedict. More importantly, the specialty coffees like the ice lattes were really good.<br />
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Overall, we were happy to tick the Conrad Koh Samui of the must visit list and wish we had a day or two more at the resort. Anything more than 3 nights would be too much for us. We were definitely awed by the room itself but we would not be a rush to return especially considering the cost of the room in cash or Hilton Honors points after the devaluation. Anywhere in the Maldives still seems a better option for us.</div>
Calvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09353094495155219773noreply@blogger.com1