Mon 9 Apr
Now you're entering the Virgin Australia Lounge at SYD T2
I approached the front desk at the lounge and explained the situation with my checked bag and wanting to use the lounge. The front desk attendant seemed a bit annoyed at my story, so when she asked how long was I going to be in the lounge, I decided not to push my luck and just explained that I wanted a shower, a coffee and then be on my way. After showing her my bag tag details, she said she would inform baggage services and allowed me into the lounge.
I've written up about the VA Lounge at SYD T2 before, which you can find in [post=513234]this trip report starting from this post[/post]. I do like the fact that there's been more effort put into creating nice shower facilities in SYD compared to my home port of BNE. Unlike the newer MEL T3 lounge, where the shower rooms are outfitted with brilliant shiny black tile, the SYD shower rooms are more dull and subtle by comparison. But all the essentials were there and still enough space to swing a kitten.
Love a warm shower when the body isn't feeling right up to the day.... feeling a bit better after it, I headed out to the bar and got a barista-made soy latte (yes, a
human barista), then to the servery for a couple of pikelets with jam and cream.
Coffee and pikelets... oh, and did I mention I have a penchant for the biscotti and panforte?
I checked the watch after a polishing off the coffee - 10.45 am. My flight to BKK was due to depart 1555h, which left me until 1455h to check-in. That's less than 4 hours to get what I need to get done. Better get moving... and especially before baggage services thinks I'm pulling a funny one and decide to destroy my bag.
Out of the lounge and to arrivals, I picked up my bag and did a bit of repacking. The prospect of running a few errands with a checked bag behind me wasn't a good one, so I walked over to SYD T3 to the QF arrivals level where SmartCarte have a storage facility. It's not manned all the time, but luckily when I called them on the service phone this time they were relatively prompt. $10 and my piece of baggage put behind the counter, it was off to the public bus stop to catch the 400.
Love... Keeping Busy
I was optimistically hoping that within 3 and a bit hours I could achieve all I needed to and get back to the airport on time for international check-in. The public bus is the cheapest way to get to and from Sydney city, albeit it was not the most convenient, and pot luck on the frequency given it was a public holiday today. It requires a change of buses (usually) and, short of a MyZone ticket, requires one to purchase a ticket for each leg of the journey (rather than just one ticket with transfers). In peak hour, one may also be forced to get a MyZone ticket because cash tickets aren't accepted or sold on key flow routes. So the 400 to Mascot Shops, then almost anything else from the other side of the street to the city. It's definitely longer than the train, but paying $15.00 one way for the train is a little bit extortionate.
Once in the city, first thing was to head on down to the supermarket and pick up some Australian fare for our expat friend in LON, who was in need of his Australian food fix (less the Vegemite). The Woolworths on George seemed good enough for purpose, so loaded up on Tim Tams, Shapes and In-A-Biskits. You'd think that England would take a shine to at least Tim Tams to the extent they'd either import them or copy them, but whatever. I was thinking about picking up some Lamingtons as well, but I'm thinking that supermarket packet Lamingtons are probably not worth it, so I passed on it. Also managed to pick up a nice congratulations card before heading to the checkout.
Next errand - wedding gift. I'd only thought about this gift at the last minute, and it was a book. Now here's a
real challenge...
- First, who reads a paper book these days when e-books are more common?
- Second, are there any bookstores in Sydney city at all? Bookstores these days have been dropping like flies for obvious reasons. Not a big deal if you'd ordered in advance, but if you need one now then a bricks and mortar store is the only way to get your hands on a copy.
- Third, I wonder if there is any bookstore that will have the book that I'm looking for?!!!
Such a dilemma!
Fired up my portable wireless hotspot and the iPod touch to look for bookstores around George and Pitt, and was glad to find out that there was a Dymocks a couple of blocks away. Thank goodness some are still around. Found the Dymocks and was glad to also find it was a pretty big store, so the chances of their having a great selection of books was high.
Next, I went to a customer service point and asked if they had the book I wanted. So glad they catalogue these things! Few taps on the system, and yes they have it! Woo hoo! And a quick dash upstairs to the section confirmed they had a copy of the book. To top it all off, the store has a gift wrapping service for gold coin donation - wonderful.
For those that are interested, I highly recommend the book,
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.
The lady who gift wrapped my purchase was a pleasure to talk to and also helped me with the public transport for my next stop, which was a Chemist Warehouse which I'd located at Bondi Junction. I had to head back to the train station at the QVB, and whilst I got a bit lost I did find it eventually, got myself a ticket and was soon amusing myself by playing #cityrail10 whilst waiting for the next train to Bondi Junction.
The watch told me I had a bit under 2 hours to go - better hurry up...
One of the things about traveling in an area you've never been to before with respect to public transport is leaving the station and then working out where you are on the map (and your orientation). Luckily I was just sharp enough today to realise which direction I had to go, and soon found the small Chemist Warehouse. Found what I needed after a bit of a confusion over getting the correct potency, but that was soon sorted and now I had to head back to the airport.
The first thought that came to mind was the train - Bondi Junction back to the city loop, then to the airport. At least $15.00. Then I remembered that the 400 runs all the way between Burwood and Bondi Junction. I'm in Bondi Junction, why can't I take the bus? Thinking how clever I was to be in position, I inquired where the bus stops were and found the one labelled 400 to the airport. Waited around 10 minutes for the correct 400 bus to arrive, got a ticket and hopped on.
Sometimes I think I should really think these things through properly.
The bus lurched on. And winded here and there. Half an hour passes and it doesn't seem we're getting anywhere near the domestic airport or Mascot. The bus shifted between full to the brim to standing room only and back again. My watch was telling me I was going to be down to the wire getting to check-in on time. And my brain was telling me that if I didn't get to check-in on time, my entire flight schedule could be in utter ruins.
I didn't really have a backup plan, short of hopping off the bus randomly, calling for a taxi, praying it would arrive in less than 10 minutes, then telling it to take me to the domestic then the international airports. Expensive but worth it not to miss my check-in cut off.
Suddenly, that extortionate train probably was a much better idea.
Eventually, I we arrived at the public bus stop at SYD T3. My watch told me I had 30 minutes before close of check-in. No time to waste at all. I jogged to SmartCarte, which was thankfully open, so retrieving my bag was pretty simple, even though I had arrived slightly after my predicted collection time (but not over my limit of payment terms). I found an empty bench, opened up my checked bag, quickly fitted in my shopping into the checked bag, and re-zip it back up. At this point, I would normally go to the train or T-Bus (the former I know well) and pay the $5.50 or whatever to get to T1. Heck, even the 400 goes to the international terminal as well. But, there was no time today - I rushed to the taxi rank as a line of taxis came to fill up and take on the half-dozen of us waiting, including me.
I apologised to my driver that I was offering him such a trivial fare, but he took it in his stride and even made good on getting me there as fast as he possibly could. Got to T1, paid the driver with my credit card and was into the terminal. A shade less than 10 minutes to check-in closure.
Love... Relief! (well, almost...)
TG, like several airlines away from their home base, don't have their own staff here (except for a single customer service manager), but rather use contracted services. They were situated near Air New Zealand at the furthest end of the check-in counters (from the perspective of the departures entrance).
I have to say that in general, I don't really like contracted services, and I'm not good favour of airlines using contracted services (even though I recognise in many cases, they don't have a practical alternative). The main reason I find is that, overall, contracted airline services (
not airline employees working under contract for another airline, I mean like Menzies or Toll) lack the customer service that airline employees have. They do their jobs very rigidly and seem to struggle a lot in service recovery. We may complain about airline employees not being able to do their jobs properly, or not being empowered enough to solve problems, but these seem to be magnified
n-fold with contracted services. This has quite a bit of repercussions, too, when considering premium check-in (i.e. Business, First or elite level check-in).
Back to the story. There was a dedicated line for First Class (or Royal First) check-in and I was invited to come forward straightaway. Good sign - I'm in time for check-in!
Me: "Good afternoon."
Contractor Check-In Agent: "Afternoon. Where are you going to?"
Me: "London City, via Bangkok, Seoul-Incheon and Frankfurt"
Agent: "I beg your pardon?"
Then there was that look of, "Are you pulling my leg or are you an idiot?" At this time, I pulled out my US Dividend Miles booking and show her my ticket details. Yep - printing your reservations has some use even in this era of e-ticketing!
Once my reservation was in the agent's hands, along with my passport, I think things started to clear up. A bit of tapping away, a call to the supervisor ensued. Guess it's not everyday you get a multi-stop connecting ticket like this.
Agent: "You're going to London you said?"
Me: "Yes."
Agent: "It doesn't look like your final destination is London."
Me: "Yes - that's London City, LCY."
Agent: "No, London is LHR."
Me: "No, LCY is London City Airport - there are five main airports in the London area, and London City Airport is one of them."
Agent: "Hmmm....."
Another one of "those" looks ensued...
yes I know what I'm talking about....
The supervisor checks over what's going on, lends a helping hand and eventually it's all sorted out. I get my BPs for SYD-BKK and BKK-ICN, but I can't get any further BPs at the moment, so I'll have to collect them at a later point in time. Two bag tags were required to route my baggage all the way to my final destination, and I was told that I can use the Air New Zealand Koru Club in SYD T1 before my flight.
Bag with two tags - extra long journey!
Having spent about 10 minutes at check-in, it was now about 55 minutes to scheduled departure, and I'm still landside. Not great. Thankfully, Express Path works magic today, despite the usual silly arrangement at the immigration counters. I navigate my way through the maze Duty Free shop after security screening and make my way to the far pier where my flight was scheduled to depart and the NZ KC was located.
At the far pier of SYD T1, there's another Duty Free shop to navigate through in order to access the gates and lounges, but thankfully this one is more straightforward than the one just after security screening to airside. Up the stairs to the entrance of the Koru Club, which is tucked into the end of a hallway near the farthest point of SYD T1 terminal.
Welcome to the SYD T1 NZ Koru Club
With only limited time before scheduled boarding, there wasn't much time for me to soak in the ambiance of the lounge, which is a shame because I think NZ have done a great job of creating a good lounge which isn't at one of their home bases. It's very relaxing, the decor is pleasant and the food is quite acceptable - not spectacular, but certainly not insufficient.
The Koru Club seating area and decor - distinctly green, just like the best of New Zealand
The SYD T1 NZ KC servery with a decent assortment of mini savouries, sandwiches and salads. For those who want something slightly more substantial, there is a hot dog stand with large buns and hot dogs, sweet onion jam and condiments.
I took a couple of nibbles with me to a table to settle my hunger (hadn't had any lunch! Yes, I'm aware I was about to board) and get onto the free internet so I could pay a couple of bills and make a couple of calls to the credit card companies (always a great idea to do this before you head off on an international journey - or so I've been advised). Doing two things at once plus keeping an eye on the FIDs for your flight to board isn't easy. It doesn't make it easier when the free wifi works but is as slow and unreliable as a drunken pack mule. Back to the portable hotspot! Thank goodness it works so I can get those bills paid, and my phone calls were quickly tended to.
Done!
Now... pressure is off - time to board and get this journey going in earnest!
This was the first time I'd taken a trip using US Dividend Miles - yes, cue the groans and calls of, "not another bl**dy redemption story". So I contributed to the further dilution of the quality of Star Alliance award travel and had a great routing lined up, with a great sampling of products, as well as a couple of familiar ones (one that I so very much enjoy and this time did not disappoint).
) was just about ready to go. I thought I was going to be smart this morning - I had a shower the night before, you don't sweat overnight so in the morning a quick face wash and brush of the teeth and you're pretty set for the morning. Besides, that's what lounge showers are for. Saves time in the morning - and ditto that for breakfast at home, too...
