Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong

[henleybeach]

Yep, it's blown me away. Keep up the good work and have fun !!

There is even some nice golf courses here!

 

[craven morehead]

There is even some nice golf courses here!

Now you're talking! Wouldn't that put the wind up the lads at my local club

 

[henleybeach]

We Arrived at Almaty airport, it cost around $6 with a taxi, it makes my little home airport Adelaide look big! At least immigration and security was quick.

We got passes into the lounge and
Boy don’t bother. It’s clean , that’s the only good point. You have pay for drinks and food. The only items complimentary are water , tea and powder coffee, biscuits and some dried fruit like sultanas and prunes. The bloke behind the bar must cop it every night , at least 4 people have argued with him

 

[henleybeach]

 

[henleybeach]

 

[henleybeach]

Asiana Airlines

A330-300 business class

1110pm dep ALA-ICN



Business cabin was only half full, and likewise Y , so boarding was very quick.

This plane must be older then the one to Tashkent last week as the seat shells were slightly different, older and worn.

The actual seat was so worn there was basically no padding left, it’s had years of being flatten out and squashed to nothing, my seat had four bits of hard metal I could feel in my back.
Pre departure OJ and water offered , no champagne and no amenity kit.

Menus were provided after take-off, there was no meal service tonight only breakfast 2 hours before landing. If you wanted something to eat you could choose sandwiches or noodles off of the snack menu . We Decided not to order breakfast and have noodles and sandwiches with a glass of champagne after take off and try and sleep through.

The sandwich was actually really nice and more like a burger , reminded me of the old Etihad steak sandwich days. Mrs Hb had the noodles and they were nice and spicy, she got annoyed when I kept leaning over and pinching some.

After our snack we put the beds down for a sleep. They were very uncomfortable due to the padding but I did manage to sleep for 3 hours before the captain came on and announced we are 40 minutes away from landing. That’s the problem with these small red eyes, (4hr55m) they are too quick in business class, you don’t quite get a enough sleep if you eat at the start or before landing. The FAs were great and always walking around busy and looking like they are on a mission, I will definitely avoid Asiana and their A330 product into the future, I’m sure on their 777, 350, 380 it’s around a good solid product.

 

[henleybeach]

 

[henleybeach]

Asiana Airlines

A330-300

0900am dep ICN-HKG

We boarded and straight away we were offered a glass of champagne. Is there anything better then a really cold glass of champagne ? Even if you’ve had 3 hours sleep and your eyes feel like someone has thrown sand in them. You wouldn’t have a glass of champagne any other time except flying !

Our flight time today is just over 3 hours, we didn’t have breakfast on the last flight so we were starting to get peckish.

I ordered the shrimp salad to start , and the beef bulgogi while Mrs HB got the vegetable lasagne.

My beef was delicious, lots of flavour and tender , so good in fact I tucked into it before I took a photo! The lasagne on the other hand wasn’t nice at all. It was basically frozen peas, corn and carrots you buy from the freezer section in tomato sauce and a ton of cheese. Definitely not business class standard.

Shortly after the cheese trolley came around with some port and then some strawberry cake. I thought I better try it all just to make sure it’s all ok! We ended up having a nap for a hour and then before we knew it we were landing in Hong Kong.
It was Quick and easy through immigration and we were on the train and Into the City very quickly.

We have just checked into our hotel (hotelvic) and we have some stunning views across the harbor. Very happy wife!

 

[henleybeach]

 

[henleybeach]

Hotel vic north point

 

[drron]

Asiana do have some better/newer A330's.This was our J seat NRT-ICN.
.

 

[henleybeach]

Asiana do have some better/newer A330's.This was our J seat NRT-ICN.
View attachment 164290.

Yer that must of been a newer seat on our flight to Tashkent last week

 

[RooFlyer]

This plane must be older then the one to Tashkent last week as the seat shells were slightly different, older and worn.

The actual seat was so worn there was basically no padding left, it’s had years of being flatten out and squashed to nothing, my seat had four bits of hard metal I could feel in my back.
Pre departure OJ and water offered , no champagne and no amenity kit.

Menus were provided after take-off, there was no meal service tonight only breakfast 2 hours before landing.

Groan ... oh, well, I'll be prepared. Mine is a Lifemiles redemption, so cheapskates can't be choosy ... I must say when i flew SYD-ICN a year or so ago it was a pretty good seat.

 

[henleybeach]

Groan ... oh, well, I'll be prepared. Mine is a Lifemiles redemption, so cheapskates can't be choosy ... I must say when i flew SYD-ICN a year or so ago it was a pretty good seat.

Lifemiles here as well so I can’t complain too much either

 

[drron]

Lifemiles for me as well.

 

[jase05]

Great TR, shame about the OZ seats. Will definitely avoid the A330 if possible.
We transited through HKG Sunday night much to Mrs Jase’s disgust. Despite visiting far too many times to remember she always wants to stop for a day or two

 

[henleybeach]

I’ve done So many Singapore stopovers or
Holidays but this is first time in HK. So far so good. We just had some nice laksa and chicken and rice in north point for $10

 

[VPS]

Hey, HB, you mean 'definitely' not 'defiantly' .

I kept looking at that and wondering whether I was game to say anything but decided I wouldn't

Fantastic TR though

 

[henleybeach]

I will just summarise our Hong Kong Stay as most people have been here.

We both ended up with snotty noses the first night we arrived, our bodies maybe a little run down after the lack of sleep from flying and being on the go.

Our first day in Hong Kong we went to quarry bay for a look around and seen some nice cool old buildings. The wife wanted to do some Zara shopping so we went into a mall there. She wasn’t happy as she spent a hour in there and came out with one item and I waked in and 15 minutes later I had six items!

We have club access at the hotel so we went up for drinks and canapés every night and on Thursday night after drinks we went to hotel icon,above and beyond restaurant for dinner to see the light show. It had Sensational views, and great service, but without doubt the most expensive Chinese food I’ve ever had!

We caught the star ferry across to Kowloon and I noticed the difference straight away, people coming up with tailor pamphlets, harassing to buy watches and a lot more tourists. I really love our location of our hotel, great views, rooftop pool and bar, yet as soon as you walked out of the hotel it was more “local”. Heaps of cheap eats, locals walking around everywhere, and no one comes up to you and try to sell you something when you Walk past a shop.

We fly home tomorrow at 1900 on Cathay to Melb then Adelaide

 

[henleybeach]

Hotel pool
North point, where out hotel is