Experiences of a Redneck

[drron]

I must be a redneck as many seem to think that over on the TA thread.
Which got me to thinking.Why is red so denigrated as a colour?The right hate the reds,the left hate the rednecks.Then there are the red shirts in Thailand who are hated by the Bangkok elite.And I really dislike red bandannas.
But then you can also go out and paint the town red.And I love a good red especially on a winters night.

So this TR will start in the middle of what now many I guess will view as redneck territory.Tamworth,now represented by that man Barnaby.On this occasion we forsook the acquiring of an extra 40 QF SCs by incorporating a BNE-SYD sector into our Circle Asia fare.As we are spending Christmas with our family in Sydney and New Years with them in the Southern Highlands driving was the better option.
Looking at motels in Tamworth we were incredulous of the online prices.Best Western at over $180 a night.But on wotif we noted the Stockman's Homestead motel at $110 so decided to give it a try.We did not book with Wotif.
Now the motel is a few Kms south of Tamworth in an awful position.It is under a Mortgagees sale.But we gave it a go.When we turned up we were offered a CC price,a cash price and a special price.We paid south of $90 for the night.It is new,the room was large with microwave and fridge.WQifi was free but way to slow and basically unuseable.But as it was just an overnight stop and we intended to leave early it was fine by us.If that is all you need give it a try especially over these holidays.

In Sydney we stated at Rydges Sydney Airport the night before our flight.Review here-
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-and-reviews/rydges-sydney-airport-56057.html
Sure it is convenient but for me price is also important and generally the quotes I have seen for this property are on the high side.
We had dinner here with 2 of our family,we get a 25% discount on food as a shareholder,and as with the Mercure the restaurant was good.I had the veal schnitzel-

Two shared the pork belly and veggies-

And with a scallops and crab dish,4 desserts and 2 bottles SB it came to $205.Quite reasonable.
Next-the flights begin.

 

[RB]

Doesn't your old cruise mate Peter FitzSimons wear a red bandana? Looking forward to another good read

 

[drron]

QF23. SYD-BKK. ETD-1035. Push back-1029. Take off-1045.
ETA-1535. Landed-1540. At gate-1546.

It was really good to leave the hotel at 0720 and be at the checkin as the flight opened at 0730.We had been assigned seats 2A,C.
Straight to the Flounge.As we got to the top of the escalator a blonde woman walked past with a young boy and a QF hostess towards the QP.As we entered the Flounge mrsdrron said-you don't know who that was do you.I replied some blonde and then she informed me it was Charlise Theron then had to explain who that was.See I have the social skills of a redneck.

We had our brekkie in the Flounge.Thought quite rightly it would be better than the hotel.I had the corn fritters followed by a Toasted BLT-thought that would make a nice café breakfast..Mrsdrron had a fruit platter followed by the corn fritters.Very enjoyable.
Missed seeing Crum-he was still at checkin just after 0900 and we were called early for boarding.Would have got away early apart from 1 missing pax.In 1A was Justice Michael Kirby.A little kerfuffle as the young lass in 1C had occupied 1A when she boarded.The justice stood beside me until the seating arrangements were corrected.

Champagne pre take off.Once again no Sauvignon Blanc only chardys.At least mrsdrron found the Leeuwin Estate one drinkable.I read the Sunday papers and did the Sudoko filling in the couple of hours until lunch was served.Mrsdrron started with the Yamba prawn salad and I the game terrine with mustard herbs.The FA seemed surprised that we both refused to accept NPs mixed green leaves before the appetiser-neither of us want to even see it again.

.

.

I the n switched to the Vasse Felix cab sav/merlot which was very drinkable.For mains mrsdrron had the herb crusted lamb rack with onions and potatoes whilst I had the Sri Lankan fish curry-

.

.

We then both had the baked orange custard with pistachios whilst I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Seppetsfields DP63 muscat.

.

I then had a crack at fixing my computer which started acting weird.Kept saying it was a new computer every time I turned it on whilst eating up free disc space.No luck-hence the late start of this TR.Before landing I had a snack of a chicken schnitzel with gruyere on focaccia-again would be a reasonable café brekkie.In fact all the "snacks offered were left over lunch items.
We were on time until put into a holding pattern just before final approach.After deplaning we noted no lines at Immigration when we got there so went into the general queue and were at the baggage carousel before the bags and before those that used the fast track lanes.A funny incident walking out from customs.I walked to the side I normally go and the fellow holding the SGS sign breaks into a broad smile ans signals me over-I had to say no we are off to Pattaya this time.
We booked our transfers through Oriental escapes-an SUV to pattaya for 2000 baht.No extras.The fellow was waiting for us on the side opposite to the SGS fellow.We were on our way by 1615.Our driver-Wit was very good-the best driver we have ever had in Thailand.We felt really safe.
Next-Pattaya.

 

[drron]

Doesn't your old cruise mate Peter FitzSimons wear a red bandana? Looking forward to another good read

You nailed that one RB.

 

[drron]

This is our first visit to Pattaya and the truth is it was not pattaya itself that brought us here.We got on with Tomo the previous 2 IC at the SGS.He has been the GM at the Pattaya Sheraton resort for just on 12 months now so it was time we paid him a visit.The review here-
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....nd-reviews/sheraton-pattaya-resort-56058.html

We really enjoyed it and never left the resort so still haven't experienced Pattaya but we will be back this time next year en route to Myanmar.So a mainly pictorial piece about our stay.One afternoon we had happy our at the Illusions bar on the "beach".Every guest gets 2 hours of half priced drinks.So here is the bar-

.

.

.

.

On the day we went we were the only 2 customers.People are missing out.The resort has been open 8 years and this bar has never been successful-mainly because it is down several flights of stairs.However a lift is now being installed.There is a landing above the bar which used to be a fine dining restaurant.Now not used but still well appointed and with a soothing view-

.

.

.

Sunset from the bar was great-

.

.

 

[drron]

Some more of the sunset-

.

.

.

.

Also watching various vessels heading to port-

.

.

.

Then we walked up to Elements restaurant via the middle pool-

.

.

.

 

[get me outta here]

drron, and the TRs are an inspiration.

 

[drron]

And the play of lights as we made our way to the restaurant-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

At night there were long lines of green lights out to sea.These are the early ones.From squid boats with the light attracting the squid-

.

 

[Major]

I'm sure Pattaya looks a lot different now than when I was last there in the early 80's

Great photos...keep them coming

 

[drron]

The grounds were well maintained.Many flowers especially orchids.Spirit houses and shrines.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-JdE83yM4zvE/Up6xx_KXMtI/AAAAAAABNVg/rpebjZb4Y2o/s400/pattaya%2520108.JPG

.

And that is mrsdrron going back to our room-the lower floor of this villa.

 

[drron]

Until the last few years we have not been fans of eating in hotel restaurants.Mostly we still don't but we have been accustomed to doing that at the SGS in BKK.The 2 restaurants at the Sheraton Pattaya have both been in the Trip Advisor top 10 for Pattaya over this last 12 months and at one stage were rated 1 and 2.We thought this unusual for an upmarket hotel on TA so we looked forward to trying their food.
The first night we didn't feel very hungry so we went to Infiniti and mrsdrron had the entrée lobster salad.I had the pumpkin,tomato,caramelised onion and garlic pizza.Both were good though the pizza was definitely not a small meal-

.

.

Our first lunch was with the GM in Infiniti-we both had the pasta marinara which was very good.For the next 2 lunches we shared a mushroom pizza.It was really good-

.

On the second night we went to Elements and had some Thai dishes.Good standard but the usual Thai meals.There was a seafood buffet which did look very good and reasonably priced.They had some coconut desserts as a special promotion and mrsdrron couldn't resist one just called creamy coconut.It was good-

.

On the last night we went back to Infiniti.We had scallops with a pea puree as an entrée,scallops plus twice cooked pork belly as a main and a side of the wok fried mushrooms with garlic.We shared those 3-

.

The scallops were very good and the mushrooms fantastic.
So we did enjoy the food and were happy to eat in house for our stay.

 

[drron]

So to our last night in Pattaya.The sunset wasn't as good,a little too much cloud-

.

Though it did lend itself to a classic shot-

.

And there were some lovely effects of the light-

.

.

.

.

.

.

And then there was the UFO-

Was too high and too fast to be a balloon or lantern.Absolutely no sound.I presume it was a rocket.Thais are known to build rather large rockets just for fun.
So next-off to Bangkok.

 

[drron]

Wit our driver was there waiting for us when we checked out at 1400.It is an interesting drive from Pattaya to Bangkok.A good road.You pass large areas of agriculture,industrial estates,fish farms and areas pretty close to natural.First some shots going down the main street of Pattaya CBD.

.

.

.

.

Then on the way including an Orthodox church-

.

.

.

And the service area with traditional Thai food-

 

[drron]

So to Bangkok and the SGS our home away from home.December is a great time to visit-the weather is much better with less humidity.It is also interesting to see the celebrations both natural and imported-

.

.

.

Though this time the Thais were a little distracted especially police headquarters-

.

.

Over the road at Terminal 21 the decorations were all up-

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

This time we were in Bangkok for the King's birthday for the first time.We joined in with a lot of the staff in a candle ceremony to celebrate the occasion.Everyone is given a candle which you light at 1929-the time of the King's birth.Then a song is sung in Thai and repeated.I thought I did a pretty good job on the second time around.So some shots of the event-

.

.

.

.

.

After the ceremony we had a chat with the hotel manager(not the GM) and his wife-

.

After we went back to the Living Room to finish Happy hour.The pianist for the last 12 months has been an Englishman Tim.We as usual get along well with the musicians mainly because we normally stay 6 nights so they do get to know us.That night we just had desserts-Coconut crème brulee and lemongrass pannacotta-

.

No more food shots from Bangkok but we did have our usual oyster omelettes and mango and sticky rice with mango.Plus went to a favourite-the Fuji restaurant-a Japanese chain but good salmon sashimi and several types of mushroom with garlic.Also went to a fusion restaurant mixing Korean BBQ with steamboat-it was good.
Naturally though we snacked whils at Happy hour.A new chef in the Italian restaurant at the SGS and the Carpaccio and the Foie gras with pumpkin emulsion both were fantastic.Plus our old favourites of soft shell crab with tamarind sauce and deep fried beef with lemongrass.
But alas only 3 nights this time at the SGS so now we are off to NYC.
That next.

 

[amaroo]

Looking good so far....

NYC - great timing....we're there for X-mas Be nice to get some drron and mrsdrron tips on where to eat and shop!

 

[drron]

Quick reply.Depends where in NYC you are staying,how many of you will there be and what sort of food you like.
If by yourself there are some of the most affordable Michelin starred restaurants anywhere.Yesterday we lunched at Le Bernadin,3 stars,always in world's top 50,fantastic seafood and lunch is $75 for 3 courses whereas dinner begins at $155.
Today at The Modern,only 1 star!
But if with trhe kids you will have to eat at a New York deli,take in a BBQ restaurant and probably an Italian.Read Trip advisor re restaurant reviews.
Hope to have the first NYC reviews by the weekend.

 

[amaroo]

Quick reply.Depends where in NYC you are staying,how many of you will there be and what sort of food you like.
If by yourself there are some of the most affordable Michelin starred restaurants anywhere.Yesterday we lunched at Le Bernadin,3 stars,always in world's top 50,fantastic seafood and lunch is $75 for 3 courses whereas dinner begins at $155.
Today at The Modern,only 1 star!
But if with trhe kids you will have to eat at a New York deli,take in a BBQ restaurant and probably an Italian.Read Trip advisor re restaurant reviews.
Hope to have the first NYC reviews by the weekend.

Look forward to the next instalment.

Answers:-

Family trip
Staying UES at The Surrey
We like all food....have already booked Balthazar and having X-mas lunch at Maloney and Porcelli (???? Concierge recommended) as we're doing Top of The Rock in the morning and waddling off to see the Rockettes in the afternoon.

Will probably take a seat at Momofuko-Noodlebar, Pok Pok NY, Benoit, Malalino, RiverCafe (if it opens in time) and a few other places...

Always on the lookout for new recommendations! Pity, the stars didn't align for an AFF drink...

 

[drron]

Looks like you have pretty well got it sorted Amaroo.
But back to the TR.Today is the day we leave for colder climes.The SGS put up their Christmas tree on our last night-

.

Now on Sunday morning it was the 0530 wake up call for the 0615 departure for the airport.With mrsdrron she prefers to be at the airport 3 hours before departure even though that means we often hve a wait for checkin.Later though this will prove to be a good move.Fair amount of traffic for this hour but we are at BKK by 0645.The J checkin is fully occupied with a line but no one at the Y agents so that is where we went.Then through the fast lane which was a little slow today and off to the CX lounge at the intersection of the D wing.We often use this as generally hardly any one there and quiet.Not that way today.There are 2 older Chinese gentlemen talking at the top of their voices.Fortunately they leave a bit before 0730.

But then the lounge was invaded by several young Chinese couples who proceed to put all the packaged food plus cans and boxes of drink into their carryons and then leave.The place is denuded of food but soon replaced.
Then however 2 older Spanish couples(well they were speaking Spanish) arrived.They proceeded to take all the sandwhiches and non packaged snacks putting them into plastic bags they had brought along.They then proceeded to fill their empty water bottles.1 with OJ and 1 with milk plus took the 1 litre bottles of water from the fridge.They were on our flight.
We left a little early as a bit of a walk to the gate.Once there the 2 Spanish ladies arrived in wheelchairs.They had been walking around the lounge with no problems and on arrival at HKG their sudden immobility had fully recovered.We had about a 10 minute wait until boarding.

CX708. BKK-HKG. ETD-0925. Push back-0935. Take off-0951.
ETA-1305. landed-1255. At gate-1259.
New configuration 772.As before when using CX between BKK and HKG pick the service that continues to/comes from India-it has always been the new config craft.Seats 14D,F.Billecart champagne pre take off and Spy Valley SB in flight.So to the meal.Appetiser was a peppered hot smoked salmon which was nice-

.

I then had the Indian selection.It was a vegetarian curry served with yoghurt +cucumber and India pickles.Presentation was nothing but it did taste good-

.

Flight uneventful.Watched 2 episodes of An Idiot Abroad which were amusing.At HKG once again huge lines at the first transfer point so went to the Gate 27 transfer point-our next flight was from Gate 29 as well.No one at that transfer point so soon in the Cabin.I have to say this is my least favoured CX lounge particularly today with poor food selections and groups of Chinese gentlemen on the floor playing cards very loudly.
Next-off to NRT.

 

[drron]

CX500. HKG-NRT. ETD-1520. Push back-1517. Take off-1534.
ETA-2020. Landed-2016. At Gate-2021 (And the Captain apologised for being late!)
An old A330 with the old regional suites,an IFE tha was more IFFY than entertaining.Seats-14A,C.

HKG was very smoggy.At one point in the lounge we could only see the next 4 gates,certainly nothing out of the airport.Had cleared a little by departure time.Hint for young medicos-a great future in respiratory medicine in HKG.
The wine list was the same as the previous flight except that the champagne was Henriot.

.

.

Mrsdrron started with the prawns I with the soba noodles.Hers was the better choice-

.

.

I had the fish but decided to have the French Beaujolais with it.The fish was again poorly presented,overdone and tasteless.Thank goodness the wine was good-

.

Afterwards I had the cheese plate as I was hungry.Accompanied by a nice glass of Dews port.The trip was again uneventful.Appeared a very clear night as we went up the Japanese East coast-now if they only had Mt.Fuji flood lit we would have had a fabulous photo op.

There were lots of priority bags and ours were near the end of the priority bags but as there had been no lines at Immigration we were outside the terminal at 2034 so able to catch the 2040 shuttle to the Hilton NRT.
As a gold I got upgraded to a larger room on a high floor overlooking the airport-same standard room as mrsdrron got in August as an HH diamond.However I have had ~ 20 stays at this hotel.
Straight to sleep,full buffet breakfast in morning included and then the 0900 shuttle back to NRT.

Next-
Monday Monday, can't trust that day,
Monday Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way