so leaving oman from my prior thread, my itinerary was oman air first MCT-BKK, 7h layover, BKK-HKG on emirates first.
i've never flown emirates before as it is not tightly allied with others for points, plus their routes; but i happened to notice there's no cheaper premium class flight for them in the world than BKK-HKG. is is simply the cheapest business and first. it's on an a380 which i'm rarely on as well and which are in the air less these days as well. this route is really competitively priced and about a 3h flight. thai/emirates/cathay fly a 777/a380/a350 for 393/540/550 in business class one way. grabbing some other days and doing a return, emirates basically becomes free, eg. i found a round trip for 528. cathay becomes 607 and thai 800. emirates is a no brainer. emirates first you can find down to $887. i bought a first round trip for cash.
emirates specifically excludes their limo service i believe only in BKK and for this flight, normally a first option. i have also read they don't serve caviar originating from BKK - although they did on my plane. in any case i had to get to BKK first, so back to starting from MCT. this was a 787 with oman air's rare first class, i think this cabin may only normally be scheduled to bangkok and london.
this longboi has tons of room. i was also the only person in the cabin. which is great because i feel less like a gomer trying to take video then.
their pajamas were actually really nice, i kept them.
had a lobster amuse bouche and caviar.
prawns with stuffed squid appetizer
omani fish main
i had 2 desserts, a fig and berry slice cake thing, and pecan parfait.
i usually just am happy to make a mess of any bedding and blanket to get comfortable, but the flight attendant did it for me and brought some snacks.
arrived in BKK, i had checked my bag because i didn't want to deal with it during transit in muscat. i have a carry-on and 2 backpacks, one full of expensive electronics and another full of bullshit, i was already carrying those. since i checked the bag though, i had to go through thai immigration to get it, then back in to leave. i also needed to check in for emirates, but they don't even staff that unless there is a flight within the next 3 hours. i didn't just keep the bag with me and check in online because i wanted to credit the emirates miles to air canada, and was told i'd have to do that with the check in agent. (not sure if i could have done this with someone in the emirates lounge.)
anyway i went out, luckily there was an earlier flight so emirates staff were operating the check-in. the let me do it early only if i carried my bag on (and couldn't change this) and told me i couldn't use their lounge until 3h from departure. this was fine as priority pass gives access to maybe more lounges in BKK than any other airport, plus BKK is just one huge terminal so you have access to them all right there. BKK is known to be hard to sleep in and i almost even left and booked a hotel to try and get some more restful sleep, then i found probably the best place to sleep ever here. i can't share it publicly because it was free for me and there are only 2 beds, and if i let this cat out of the bag i might never get one again. after my nappy nap i went to the emirates lounge, cute wifi password.
i sampled a little of the food for a taste, but really i woke up so full of all this food that i wasn't sure how much more i could really eat. like their caviar is expensive, and i paid for this, of course i should eat it, right? but i also didn't like the idea of pounding down another serving, especially since it's not like i'm some huge caviar fan - i'm just opportunistically eating everything i wouldn't normally pay for.
the cabin always seems gaudy in pics and videos, although it felt less so in real life. i dunno the other champagne i had been drinking (it was pricey though) - emirates had dom perignon 2013 though. guy just kept pouring me it so i stuck with it instead of switching to wine.
a qatar bird and an extra engine than i'm used to seeing
i had the arabic mezze, prawn machbous, and salted caramel cheesecake.
i thought the caviar was just a given, sometimes there's a bunch of stuff listed but it's small so you get each appetizer and only need to pick a main. i picked an app and a main and just assumed i'd get the caviar but i guess it needs to be requested too. no big as in a rarity i was kind of fooded out. flight attendant felt slow to clean the mezze, prawns didn't compare to the ones i had in oman (how could they?) cheesecake was aight - really i enjoyed the oman air experience a lot more. i was also watching blackberry, which was good and i can recommend. unfortunately i had planned to try both the shower and the bar (behind in business class on the 2nd floor) - and i did neither. my plan on the return to BKK is to not watch a movie and do both. the bathroom is big. shower to my right
they gave us a parting box of arabic treats.
i took a cab into the city, i had more bullshit than i wanted to deal with on public transit. 2 bags fine, 3 bags meh. this is actually right outside the airport and not in central hk where i'm at now, but basically there's just tall residential buildings everywhere.
my airbnb is tall (20 stories?) but on each floor has 2 apartments, and they are small. i'm in an airbnb that is basically 1 decent sized room, subdivided into 3 areas by stuff, a small bathroom, and a small kitchen where the room to roam about is basically just a hall.
this is actually not unlike many commercial places either, like they are pretty narrow, limited on space, enough room for a kitchen and a small dining area. i went to muay thai class and it was like a hall with some bags then a bigger area to do pad work but just enough to have 2 students in at a time. i think the entire place was limited to classes of 8 max.
food here is 4-5x the cost on my thai island. the first night i had a burger and a pretty simple burger joint and it was $28. it has been a little rainy since i've been here. i don't see how this umbrella hat helps much but this guy had one while i was putting down a shakshuka.
a slightly larger (second) burger joint i've been to.
i'm more apt to go to these places for dinner as a normal sit down restaurant is going to kick up my meal spend even more.
istanbul was hilly, but central hong kong is just hills and stairs. at least some parts of istanbul were still flat. you are rarely going level here, just up and down stairs all the time. there are many outdoor escalators as well.
just imagine a gazillion of these residential buildings on a bunch of hills and you have hong kong.
note the fellas in this pic on bamboo scaffolding
www.scmp.com
also look how skinny that building is next to it.
i took a look at the police married quarters (PMQ) today, now a bunch of artisan shops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMQ_(Hong_Kong)
it had a korean cultural center, which included a k-pop experience, with all these things on the wall. the only things i know about k-pop are 1. the girls are pretty adorable 2. the probably all need therapy from the insane demands of this career 3. stamp fairtex likes to do k-pop dances before entering the ring to elbow some girl in the face repeatedly
i am assuming
Mook can tell you every concert these are from
then i went to tai kwun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Kwun the former central police station, which now has restaurants, artisan shops, and an art gallery. unfortunately all the gallery stuff was under restoration so i didn't get to see much of that stuff, but still it was interesting to read about and poke around the prison grounds and read some stuff about prison life their and policing in hong kong's past. the cells were not made for my height.
then i spotted this gem from the street, it is even newly opened just 3 weeks ago. this will help me get some google maps expertise as an initial reviewer of a local place! so guess where we are going next??
i've never flown emirates before as it is not tightly allied with others for points, plus their routes; but i happened to notice there's no cheaper premium class flight for them in the world than BKK-HKG. is is simply the cheapest business and first. it's on an a380 which i'm rarely on as well and which are in the air less these days as well. this route is really competitively priced and about a 3h flight. thai/emirates/cathay fly a 777/a380/a350 for 393/540/550 in business class one way. grabbing some other days and doing a return, emirates basically becomes free, eg. i found a round trip for 528. cathay becomes 607 and thai 800. emirates is a no brainer. emirates first you can find down to $887. i bought a first round trip for cash.
emirates specifically excludes their limo service i believe only in BKK and for this flight, normally a first option. i have also read they don't serve caviar originating from BKK - although they did on my plane. in any case i had to get to BKK first, so back to starting from MCT. this was a 787 with oman air's rare first class, i think this cabin may only normally be scheduled to bangkok and london.
this longboi has tons of room. i was also the only person in the cabin. which is great because i feel less like a gomer trying to take video then.
their pajamas were actually really nice, i kept them.
had a lobster amuse bouche and caviar.
prawns with stuffed squid appetizer
omani fish main
i had 2 desserts, a fig and berry slice cake thing, and pecan parfait.
i usually just am happy to make a mess of any bedding and blanket to get comfortable, but the flight attendant did it for me and brought some snacks.
arrived in BKK, i had checked my bag because i didn't want to deal with it during transit in muscat. i have a carry-on and 2 backpacks, one full of expensive electronics and another full of bullshit, i was already carrying those. since i checked the bag though, i had to go through thai immigration to get it, then back in to leave. i also needed to check in for emirates, but they don't even staff that unless there is a flight within the next 3 hours. i didn't just keep the bag with me and check in online because i wanted to credit the emirates miles to air canada, and was told i'd have to do that with the check in agent. (not sure if i could have done this with someone in the emirates lounge.)
anyway i went out, luckily there was an earlier flight so emirates staff were operating the check-in. the let me do it early only if i carried my bag on (and couldn't change this) and told me i couldn't use their lounge until 3h from departure. this was fine as priority pass gives access to maybe more lounges in BKK than any other airport, plus BKK is just one huge terminal so you have access to them all right there. BKK is known to be hard to sleep in and i almost even left and booked a hotel to try and get some more restful sleep, then i found probably the best place to sleep ever here. i can't share it publicly because it was free for me and there are only 2 beds, and if i let this cat out of the bag i might never get one again. after my nappy nap i went to the emirates lounge, cute wifi password.
i sampled a little of the food for a taste, but really i woke up so full of all this food that i wasn't sure how much more i could really eat. like their caviar is expensive, and i paid for this, of course i should eat it, right? but i also didn't like the idea of pounding down another serving, especially since it's not like i'm some huge caviar fan - i'm just opportunistically eating everything i wouldn't normally pay for.
the cabin always seems gaudy in pics and videos, although it felt less so in real life. i dunno the other champagne i had been drinking (it was pricey though) - emirates had dom perignon 2013 though. guy just kept pouring me it so i stuck with it instead of switching to wine.
a qatar bird and an extra engine than i'm used to seeing
i had the arabic mezze, prawn machbous, and salted caramel cheesecake.
i thought the caviar was just a given, sometimes there's a bunch of stuff listed but it's small so you get each appetizer and only need to pick a main. i picked an app and a main and just assumed i'd get the caviar but i guess it needs to be requested too. no big as in a rarity i was kind of fooded out. flight attendant felt slow to clean the mezze, prawns didn't compare to the ones i had in oman (how could they?) cheesecake was aight - really i enjoyed the oman air experience a lot more. i was also watching blackberry, which was good and i can recommend. unfortunately i had planned to try both the shower and the bar (behind in business class on the 2nd floor) - and i did neither. my plan on the return to BKK is to not watch a movie and do both. the bathroom is big. shower to my right
they gave us a parting box of arabic treats.
i took a cab into the city, i had more bullshit than i wanted to deal with on public transit. 2 bags fine, 3 bags meh. this is actually right outside the airport and not in central hk where i'm at now, but basically there's just tall residential buildings everywhere.
my airbnb is tall (20 stories?) but on each floor has 2 apartments, and they are small. i'm in an airbnb that is basically 1 decent sized room, subdivided into 3 areas by stuff, a small bathroom, and a small kitchen where the room to roam about is basically just a hall.
this is actually not unlike many commercial places either, like they are pretty narrow, limited on space, enough room for a kitchen and a small dining area. i went to muay thai class and it was like a hall with some bags then a bigger area to do pad work but just enough to have 2 students in at a time. i think the entire place was limited to classes of 8 max.
food here is 4-5x the cost on my thai island. the first night i had a burger and a pretty simple burger joint and it was $28. it has been a little rainy since i've been here. i don't see how this umbrella hat helps much but this guy had one while i was putting down a shakshuka.
a slightly larger (second) burger joint i've been to.
i'm more apt to go to these places for dinner as a normal sit down restaurant is going to kick up my meal spend even more.
istanbul was hilly, but central hong kong is just hills and stairs. at least some parts of istanbul were still flat. you are rarely going level here, just up and down stairs all the time. there are many outdoor escalators as well.
just imagine a gazillion of these residential buildings on a bunch of hills and you have hong kong.
note the fellas in this pic on bamboo scaffolding
Stronger than steel? Why Hong Kong still uses bamboo scaffolding in construction
Everything you need to know about bamboo scaffolding, a construction material that is flexible, strong and cheaper than steel and aluminium.
www.scmp.com
also look how skinny that building is next to it.
i took a look at the police married quarters (PMQ) today, now a bunch of artisan shops https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PMQ_(Hong_Kong)
it had a korean cultural center, which included a k-pop experience, with all these things on the wall. the only things i know about k-pop are 1. the girls are pretty adorable 2. the probably all need therapy from the insane demands of this career 3. stamp fairtex likes to do k-pop dances before entering the ring to elbow some girl in the face repeatedly
i am assuming
Mook can tell you every concert these are fromthen i went to tai kwun https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_Kwun the former central police station, which now has restaurants, artisan shops, and an art gallery. unfortunately all the gallery stuff was under restoration so i didn't get to see much of that stuff, but still it was interesting to read about and poke around the prison grounds and read some stuff about prison life their and policing in hong kong's past. the cells were not made for my height.
then i spotted this gem from the street, it is even newly opened just 3 weeks ago. this will help me get some google maps expertise as an initial reviewer of a local place! so guess where we are going next??
