Houston-NY-HK-Perth

So..... Let me tell you about my loooooooong journey to Perth.

Continental airlines was kind enough to give me an upgrade for my flight from Houston to New York. This was much appreciated considering we have been having a ten day Barmitzvah party. I was pretty exhausted, having to leave home at 6.30am on Sunday. So it was a pleasant relaxing flight.

On arriving in New York, I found my way to the Continental President's Club lounge. It was quite full. As I had just had a decent breakfast of corn flakes, yoghurt, fressh fruit and coffee on the plane, I did not really want more to eat. I got a cup of tea and went to sit in the quiet TV viewing room to watch the football. The TV colors were on the blink, so it was not so good.

The monitors showed that the flight to Hong Kong was on time, so I went to the gate. When I got there, it was obvious that the plane was not there. They announved that there was some issue with getting the aircraft to the gate, so we should return to the lounge and await an announcement. To get back into the lounge it was necessary to "check in" again. No problem.

After another half hour they asked us to return to the gate. We did. The plane was there, but they said it would be a fifteen minutes more before we could board. After thirty minutes they said we should return to the lounge as they expected another hour delay. So... back to the lounge and at least ten minutes to "check in" once again.

As soon as we were allowed back in they announced that we should return IMMEDIATELY to the gate for boarding. Ho Hum!

Luckily for me, they decided to upgrade me into business/first class. It was fantastic! 180 Degree sleeper bed. Good food. Good drink. Lage TV screen. Kudos to Continental. Even the service was excellent.

I arrived in Hong Kong feeling good. Immigration took only a few minutes. luckily. I had no checked-in luggage, so I merely walked out of the customs and went directly to catch the quick, clean and efficient airport express train to Kowloon station. From there, I got onto a small shuttle bus which took me to the Shangri-la hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Now this is an experience of quality! As I stepped off the shuttle, a uniformed lady met me and insisted on pulling my small roll-a-board case. She escorted me to the registration desk for the hotel in the Horizon Club on the 20th floor. She effectively handed me over to the staff at th desk. I sat down and handed them my passport and credit card. The registration papers had been pre-printed, so check in took only a few minutes. I was in my room shortly: Free internet, comfortable bed, fresh fruit, free bottles of drinking water. I returned to the Horizon lounge for a cup of Earle Grey tea while looking over Hong Kong harbor, before retiring for the night.

I got up early and had a delicious healthy breakfast in the lounge on the 21st floor. After catching up on e-mail, I went to the gym for a "get over jetlag" workout. The gym was remarkably well equipped for a hotel facility.

I attended my noon meeting refreshed. I decided to have the meeting in the Horizon Lounge because it is quiet and peaceful, while the staff there provide adequate refreshments and snacks with unobtrusive efficiency.

After my noon meeting, I checked out, in the lounge (easy), and was picked up for a meeting in an Hong Kong office after which I was dropped at the airport for my onward journey.

The Star Alliance gold counter at Singapore Airlines in Hong was a breeze. The man was friendly and helpful. After a very short time taken to get through emmigration and security, I went to the Kris lounge. It was quite large with good food. I had a cuppacino, and an ice-cream while doing my e-mail.

The economy flight to Singapore was pretty good. The seat was comfortable, the 0n-demand movies were current and the food was excellent. They gave me a glass of wine. Why can't American airlines do this on international flights? Go figger?

I arrived in Singapore and went to sit in the lounge while waiting for my onward flight to Perth. I totally lost track of time. Sudeenly I noticed the clock. Oops! I threw my stuff into my backpack and RAN to the gate. As luck would have it, it was the furthest gate possible. I made it, last one.

I sat in my seat to find that the man next to me was large and flowed over into my section. He slept all the time from before I sat there until after the plane had landed in Perth. I had to keep pushig him back to his side. They woke us at about 3.30am for breakfast. Wonderful! (Sarcasm) Not really Singapore Airlines' fault, but it was not a pleasant flight, at all.

So now I'm in Perth enjoying seeing my family here, while I work on confirming and rescheduling my appointments for next week.

Til next time......