Asia 2010 - A trip of epic proportions

[Princess Fiona]

+1 for the trackpants. These items of clothing should only be worn in the gym, en-route to the gym or in the privacy of your own house/ garden!
Great stuff so far

 

[Princess Fiona]

Can I ask a dumb question (well I will anyway)....
How did you get into the J lounge at T1 when you are a QF NB and were travelling in Y for the flight to NRT?

(runs for cover due to embarassment at the dumb question)

I'm pretty sure The Winchester is a QP member and the J lounge at T1 is the international QP and accessible regardless of travel class

 

[bjm76]

Thank you Fiona.... that does make sense.
I had always wondered where the "normal" QP was in T1 as I have only ever noticed the J lounge!

 

[thewinchester]

Can I ask a dumb question (well I will anyway)....
How did you get into the J lounge at T1 when you are a QF NB and were travelling in Y for the flight to NRT?

(runs for cover due to embarassment at the dumb question)

I'm pretty sure The Winchester is a QP member and the J lounge at T1 is the international QP and accessible regardless of travel class

Thanks Fiona, beat me to it - and yes I'm a QPNB. Info on benefits of QP are available here.

 

[Katie]

Are yoga pants in the same category? I normally put them on in-flight & take them off before landing.
Suddenly hoping I'm not on a flight with either of you and offend you greatly ...

 

[oz_mark]

Penne pasta and pesto served, despite tasting reasonable its presentation is lacking, and too little sauce causes some of the pasta to dry up.

tasting reasonable????? There are possibly a few around these parts that may disagree with your taste buds :mrgreen:

 

[ejb]

Are yoga pants in the same category? I normally put them on in-flight & take them off before landing.
Suddenly hoping I'm not on a flight with either of you and offend you greatly ...

Do you do much Yoga onboard? If not I think they are referred to as fancy trackies:shock:

ejb

 

[Princess Fiona]

Are yoga pants in the same category? I normally put them on in-flight & take them off before landing.
Suddenly hoping I'm not on a flight with either of you and offend you greatly ...

Ok Katie I can make an exception for you as you appear to be using them as PJ's

 

[drron]

Are yoga pants in the same category? I normally put them on in-flight & take them off before landing.
Suddenly hoping I'm not on a flight with either of you and offend you greatly ...

Now Katie you have been around here long enough to know one of us wise guys would pick you up on that one.:shock:

 

[VirginiaF]

TheWinchester - your TRs certainly are of high quality and set the bar for future TRs.

The multimedia content is great (I'm not sure if I would publish my personal details as in your the NGCI clip, on YouTube though) even if I had to (instinctively) dash off and get my Bose QuietComfort 2s to watch the AVOD clip . As for "Most children are more that capable of operating the on-screen system" I have seen many adults struggle with the in arm remote controls that are still in vogue on most aircraft (even to the point of having to monoploise FA time in IFE Remote 101 tuition). Perhaps the children of today are a little more tech savvy and open to working these devices intuitively.

So, I must say, they (the TRs) have resonated with me enough to raise the following comments:

1. If you love turbulence, hairy take offs and aborted landings (not only because of strong winds, but the occasional small aircraft threatening entry into the flight path or slow in taking off) go no further than WLG (having experienced - lots - of all of the above). YouTube is littered with landing shots of WLG with wing tips almost hitting the tarmac, and aircraft landing at almost 45 degree angles longitudinally to the (very short with water at both ends) runway, e.g.

YouTube - Wellington Airport, New Zealand

I have to admit that in all my flying time, WLG is the only place in the world I have genuinely thought that my days were over. You will enjoy it immensely, I'm sure.

2. Track pants. If not flying J (and therefore bereft of the Pete Morrisey prison uniform), and it is a night flight, I tend to slip into a track suit (that's matching zip top and pants). They are generally of muted tone and do not display inordinately prominent wording or logos, and I find them comfortable to sleep in. I trust this is not too over powering on the eye to my fellow pax. To be honest, I have seen a lot worse than track pants. I trust that in future, I, and pax in similar attire to mine, will be forgiven by your good style sense selves in that situation.

3. Crocs. I think an abomination far greater than Crocs are, fake Crocs. And amongst those that, in my mind, the very worst are fake Crocs in lurid colours. I only have one word for them. Why. But hey, there's no arguing over tastes, is there?

I look forward to more tales of your adventures!

 

[thewinchester]

Are yoga pants in the same category? I normally put them on in-flight & take them off before landing.
Suddenly hoping I'm not on a flight with either of you and offend you greatly ...

I'm with ejb and drron on this. Keep those yoga pants in the checked or carry-on, and don't make fellow pax suffer seeing you in them or similar. Sorry Princess Fiona, you're on the outer with this one.

Meanwhile, I don't get what it is with women wearing tight pants, to quote Robin Williams from his Night at the Met routine, "pants so tight you can tell what religion they are".

I was waiting at Shibuya Crossing last night for anat0l who's also in Tokyo at the moment - and the number of women wearing them was astounding. And as my Robin Williams quote suggests, not only could you determine what religion they are, but also if the Groundskeeper has been frequently maintaining and looking after 'the pitch'.

Yes, that last remark was a euphemism for something, and the cleanest I can make it while hoping not to offend.

tasting reasonable????? There are possibly a few around these parts that may disagree with your taste buds :mrgreen:

You're speaking to a guy who's used to Y food

Of the meals available in the last few months, it's not the worst but it's not the best either. The meal will be enough to get you through with strong, clean tastes that won't have you reaching for the nearest toilet cubicle or purser's handbag.

TheWinchester - your TRs certainly are of high quality and set the bar for future TRs.

I wouldn't put my TR's on that high a pedestal, but thank you for the compliment all the same.

The multimedia content is great (I'm not sure if I would publish my personal details as in your the NGCI clip, on YouTube though) even if I had to (instinctively) dash off and get my Bose QuietComfort 2s to watch the AVOD clip .

Thanks for that. There were some screens removed from the clip for reasons of privacy. However, my name is widely known and be found online if you have a reason to look. There's nothing online where my full name alone would risk my privacy and financial security, so the name doesn't worry me.

 

[Katie]

Ok Katie I can make an exception for you as you appear to be using them as PJ's

I do use them as PJs (as I think bringing on my Morissey J ones from one trip, and wearing them in Y or Y+ would make me look like a try hard, or bitter, or just wishing I was in J!!). But they also came in handy after the exploding nappy during turbulence incident with Little Miss when she was 18mths old, and we were on our way to LHR. Otherwise I would have been in poo-ey jeans for about 18 hours...

Now Katie you have been around here long enough to know one of us wise guys would pick you up on that one.

Much as I may get frustrated with the queues and space in Y loos, I do take my yoga pants off there, and replace them with jeans or chinos.

I'm with ejb and drron on this. Keep those yoga pants in the checked or carry-on, and don't make fellow pax suffer seeing you in them or similar. Sorry Princess Fiona, you're on the outer with this one.

OK, so if I'm on a flight with you, I'll endeavour not to wear my yoga pants. I'll try to find an appropriate alternative lower-half covering, not too tight.

OK, now back to the interesting TR, and enough of my yoga pants!!

 

[thewinchester]

OK, now back to the interesting TR, and enough of my yoga pants!!

*insert crass joke about this being the closest any AFF member will ever get to your pants*
Six and beyond is in a holding pattern, as I need to start collating and sorting through pictures. That's Monday's job as I travel to Seoul by two trains and a ferry.

 

[totalk]

Very epic indeed.

 

[thewinchester]

I've just posted Chapter 6, Once more with feeling (or, the story of how I made it to Japan in Business).

This is the instalment that gets me to NRT, 12hrs later than planned. Sadly, that's what happens when weather delays proceedings.

 

[thewinchester]

Chapter 6 has been updated to include the missing pictures, and Chapter 7 - Review of the Sheraton Miyako Tokyo has been uploaded for your reading pleasure (pics included too).

And just for fun, there's photos of weird Japanese toilets - just in case you wanted some more toilet humour around these parts

New photos from the trip are also available, and I'm just finishing off information of our travels around Tokyo as well as a review of the ANA Crowne Plaza Osaka.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Great TR report mate.

makes me want to visit JL once again.

so you have had a positive effect!!!

 

[Princess Fiona]

Excellent reading, the photos are great, what camera do you have ?

 

[thewinchester]

A little update first. It's very say to say this, but I'm actually looking forward to my flight home this evening.

I've been sick as a dog since Tuesday/Wednesday, having caught something on the JR Beetle ferry from Hakata to Busan AKA the vomit comet (some people's hygiene aboard was disgraceful). I won't gross you out with the details, but I've been doing my best to ensure my festering Petri dish of germs aren't passed on to other unsuspecting souls.

Flying my usual QF78 SIN-PER tonight, and thanks to the A380 issues continuing to affect capacity across the QF network the metal has been downgraded to a 767 from an A330. A friend who flew out yesterday in J also had his metal downed to 767, and was called in advance and provided an AUD300 credit for the inconvenience.

70+ more photos have been uploaded from Seoul, and sadly there won't be too many of Singapore as I've spent at least one whole day in bed feeling like a walking pharmac_. Thankfully the nearest chemist was only a block away from the Novotel, and the 7-Eleven here has a good range of medical basics on shelf.

I've been writing this TR in an MS Word document, and it's telling me that to date I have written some 17,500+ words so far. Still to write are Tokyo, the CX flights, Singapore, the final leg home, the wrap-up, tip summary, and a small piece on accessibility when travelling (to assist those with mobility, sight or other impairments).

I should note that while I don't have accessibility needs when travelling, as someone who works with people who have these needs day in day out, I do pay attention to that stuff when out and about. I'm not aware how often people with various impairments go travelling, but if I can write something based on what I both know and have seen that helps even one person who normally wouldn't go exploring - then it's worth sharing information and experience.

I dare say I'll be cracking 20k+ before the report is finished.

Look forward to posting more of the TR shortly, and just praying that my CX flights credit before tonight, and I'm the lucky recipient of an op-up to J from Y.

Great TR report mate.

makes me want to visit JL once again.

so you have had a positive effect!!!

Thanks, and I've not even got to the stuff we've done around Japan yet. As I've been really under the weather I've not finished writing everything about Japan.

Excellent reading, the photos are great, what camera do you have ?

The overall majority of my photos uploaded to date were shot on a Canon IXUS 870 IS. I do play around with the settings on the camera a bit to get the best shot possible - and night shots are the most difficult.

The occasional one that I upload from my phone is a Nokia N97, which while being a PITA is good for a quick shot that I want to upload & share via twitter instantly.

I also have access to (sadly not my own) SLR cameras, a Canon 60D and 450D which I will borrow to shoot occasionally. I've not even gone through and grabbed any of my pics from these camera yet.

 

[thewinchester]

Finally, five months after this trip and one destroyed laptop later - two more new instalments now available for your reading pleasure:

• Chapter 8 – Understanding Tokyo Part I: this is where we get our bearings around Tokyo and venture out to some of the sights, including Mt Fuji and Hakone.http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ewinchester/188-asia-2010-chapter-4-life.html
• Chapter 9 – Understanding Tokyo Part II: because I can't fit the Tokyo portion into a single post (thanks to the 10k char limit), I've had to split it up into two. Friday begins here, and it's the best lookout in Tokyo bar none.