The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other things.

[drron]

OK not quite an accurate quote from Lewis Carroll but relevant to my next Trip Report.
When we cruised the Arctic we missed out on seeing Walrus.Then we saw this cruise from Reykjavik to Churchill,Hudson Bay.And one of the stops is Walrus Island.I hope the reason for calling it so is that it is indeed a walrus habitat.So we booked 18 months ago.
Of course the trip is not just about the cruise.Our usual way of doing things is to book a basic Circle Asia fare in D class.This time it is-
QF 537 BNE-SYD.
JL772 SYD-NRT
JL 3085 NRT-NGO
CX 533 NGO-HKG followed by CX751 HKG-BKK.
QF24 BKK-SYD.

Then there are the additions.First an Aaward naturally in first.
AA154 NRT-ORD followed by AA 288 ORD-BOS.With a huge taxes of $US52.20 each.
Then FI 634 BOS-KEF.A first for us on Iceland air.
Then our first flight on Westjet.WS 493.YWG-YYC.
AA694 YYC-DFW.
And another Aaward in F.AA175. DFW-NRT plus a massive $US2.50 each in taxes.
Finally probably our last JASA. QF520 SYD-BNE.

So tomorrow we set off on the first leg of the trip.Might get a bit slow when we board the Explorer.

 

[sjd]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Enjoy the trip, looking forward to updates.

 

[amaroo]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Check-in.

Safe travels.

 

[markis10]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Check-in.

Safe travels.

You could say DRRON is about as safe as you could be in PNG, at 36000Ft!

 

[JessicaTam]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

I am looking forward to the updates.

Enjoy!

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

We are now under way.But first a little background.Mrsdrron was in Sydney just over a month ago helping her sister in her new house.Unfortunately she managed to fall off a ladder landing on her back.X rays show a fine crack in T12 vertebra.So she has been having a difficult time.Wasn't helped by QF when she flew to meet me in Armidale where she had selected aisle seat in row 2 only to be moved to the back row when a change of equipment.FA told her she was the only WP on board.

So now to the trip.Her predictament had no affect on her travel decisions.We always leave early for an airport just in case.For our 1525 flight we left the Sunny Coast at 1145 in our usual limo service.Ended up having our quickest trip in 10 years.Easy check in.But at security Mrsdrron couldn't get her carry on open to get out the aerosols.I had already gone through security.We wait for some 20 seconds until the secondary screener picks another victim and then head for the J lounge.
They had Italian Meatballs and pasta as the hot dish but the first 3 times I walked past someone had fished out all the meatballs.Finally when I took a last walk past about 30 minutes before leaving the lounge another new batch had just been brought out so I got my meatballs.Surprisingly no one recognised us in the lounge.:shock:

We left about 10 minutes before boarding was meant to start and when we arrived the gate agent was signalling for people to come forward.Amazingly there was no line at all.So we walked straight into the premium lane and we handed our BPs over the boarding call was made.

QF537. BNE-SYD. ETD-1525. push back-1530. Take off-1553.
ETA-1710. Landed-1655. At gate-1707.
Seats 2A,C.
Uneventful flight.No need of any food but a glass of St.Hallet's Eden valley reisling was nice.
Raining in Sydney.As usual bags not out in the first 30 but fortunately the Mercure shuttle bus was there and left as soon as we boarded.

 

[KitKat]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

sorry to hear about mrs.drron's back injury. hope she gets better soon and have a wonderful trip. looking forward to the instalments!

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Review of the Mercure here-
http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../mercure-sydney-airport-52695.html#post871194

Once again mrsdrron had us up early.0430 wake up call and catching the 0500 shuttle.Fortunately arrived at the checkin just as it opened.Fast track though at that hour was in name only.No barrier between the general queue and fast track queue so several were coming across and getting indignant if a fast track passenger went first.Same with security.Mrsdrron got to try out the body scanner.
We then went to get the GST back on my new scanner.Missed the signage-it is at the back of the Duty Free shop you walk through now so wasted a few minutes.Then straight to the Flounge.Spent a little time on the computers before breakfast.Mrsdrron had the fruit salad and then the corn fritters.I had the Bircher Muesli and fried eggs with nearly the lot.Had a cappuccino-it has taken a long time but I now don't have to have something just because it is free and available.
The Japanese fellow next to us had the eggs Benedict,brioche with bacon and egg and then asked for a 5 egg omelette with hollandaise sauce.Had a chat to the server who told us he had already been there an hour and you didn't see the 4 dishes he had before you arrived.:shock:
Also having breakfast with us was Robbie Deans.
Strolled to the gate as usual 10 minutes before boarding was due to start.Only had a minute or 2 wait before boarding so took a couple of pictures.First the big and the small-

And our plane-

The flight is next.

 

[JessicaTam]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

I hope mrs.drron's back doesn't curtail any adventures you have planned. Surely you must prescribe sitting at the pointy end from now on "for medical reasons" - and you need to accompany her as her treating physician.

 

[markis10]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Sounds like the Japanese at Breakfast was ex Sumo!

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Thanks KitKat and Jessica.The back is still giving problems but slowly resolving.She just hopes things are OK when we hit Dallas for some shopping!And we do fly at the pointy end as much as we can anyway!
And no the Japanese fellow was no sumo.It is amazing how much some Japanese people can partake of at buffets.Similiar amazement at the Hilton NRT breakfast this morning with an elderly Japanese couple.I couldn't put away what each of them consumed.

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

JL772. SYD-NRT.ETD-0815. Push back-0827. Take off-0851.
ETA-1705. Landed-1653. At gate-1658.

We had preselected 2A,C but at checkin were given 1K,H.No pre take off drinks,just given a bottle of water each.However on taxiing we had 2 JAL staffers do what Japanese do best-

.

Great leg room-

Was a problem with my seat as it was nowhere near lie flat.Mrsdrron's got a lot closer.Service however was close to perfect.Always checking if we needed anything,offered to take our photo when I was caught taking shots of the meal.Good recognition for mrsdrron and easy to talk to.At one point mrsdrron accidentally hit the call button.The FA was there in seconds.
Lunch was served just before 1000.Didn't deter mr. 7 breakfasts who tucked in and devoured everything.I chose the Japanese menu.Mrsdrron the western with salmon-

.

The chocolate cake for dessesrt was good-

So the menu and wine list-

.

.

To be continued.

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

After lunch I was quite tired so tried to sleep.The seat though was uncomfortable so only fitful sleep.I came to just south of Guam about 4 hours after NRT.Nothing really on the entertainment program so I read my Kindle.About 1500 NRT time we were given a snack-

.

Once again an offer to take my photo.But as I didn't have a fluoro vest and red and white beanie to disguise myself the offer was also declined.With the snack was a very nice mango ice cream.
On landing and waiting to deplane one of the FAs struck up a conversation with us.Impressed we were headed to Iceland.We were off numbers 2 and 4 but soon took the lead despite out mobility issues.first to the shuttle as we had landed at the Annexe.It looked like 3 planes had all landed within a short time.So a longish queue at Immigration where I again came face to face with Robbie Deans-maybe a lucrative Japanese contract coming up?
when we got near the front of the line there was nobody at the Japanese passport area so we were sent over there and through quickly.
First to the carousel after the FAs who all bowed to us again.Our bags were just coming out at the head of the queue as we arrived.Unfortunately though we just missed a Hilton shuttle.It is no longer a Hilton bus though.The Hilton booking was in mrsdrron's name as she is still diamond so we were upgraded to a larger room with airport views.Looked out at the Cargo terminal.I was able to try out my new nearly idiot proof camera with it's 50x zoom-

.

.

.

.

Unfortunately quite a heavy smog but got a TG 380 taking off-

.

.

.

.

 

[sjd]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Nice pics, any sign of an ANA 787?

 

[docjames]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Great pics (as always).

Sorry to hear mrs.dr.ron has # t12. Ouch.

I'm sure shell make a full recovery in time for outlet shopping (being a black belt and all). If not fully recovered, I'm sure it'll be "retail therapy".... ;-)

 

[kelvedon]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Nice pics, any sign of an ANA 787?

The 787 was the cause of the smog.

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

Nice pics, any sign of an ANA 787?

No but I got one of a JAL 787.There was a shot of an ANA 787 on one of my previous TRs on Sapporo.

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

We had eaten fairly well on the flight so for dinner we just bought a couple of cakes.Slept soundly.Diamonds(and golds) still get the full buffet at breakfast as complimentary.Mrsdrron's back was playing up so we did not go into Narita town as we usually do.Unfortunately it was still very smoggy as you can see out the window and from the distant shot-

.

.

The place did start to clear and there was some blue sky.Thay meant of course that take off was now from the opposite direction-

.

Again we didn't feel hungry so decided to wait for the lounge.The Hilton has changed it's restaurants and both the Chinese and Japanese restaurants were offering all you can eat buffets which were priced much more reasonably than before.
The Hilton is also used by several airlines staff.Younger members might enjoy lobby watching.We however went on the 1420 shuttle and the only crew in the lobby then were from United.Say no more.
No wait for checkin and quickly through the premium security.No lines at Immigration.As mrsdrron didn't feel her back would take a massage we went to the Admiral's Club.I like it.Large,light and as usual hardly anyone there.Good for plane spotting.Our plane was in and in the new AA livery-

.

.

The JAL 737 looked a little out of place-

.

Jetstar and air asia park remotely-

.

.

A JAL 787 arrived-

.

More to come

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

The plane spotting continued.First 2 JL 777s arriving-

Then 2 AA 777s-

By the time boarding was to start we had a line up of tails out our window-

AA 154. NRT-ORD. ETD-1815. Push back-1807. Take off-1827.
ETA-1600. Landed-1539. At Gate-1544.
Seats-2D,G.We prefer 2 seats together in the middle.I really like the AA 772 seats.Fit my body perfectly.
The FAs in F are all older especially the Purser.Served a Gosset champagne when seated.When airborne some warm nuts,another champagne and then the feature I like-being able to taste all the wines available-

.

.

.

.

Mrsdrron preferred the Pinot Gris.There was a special selection of a Napa SB from Groom which I found unpleasant.The Graves was very light.I preffered the Spotted Owl.No idea of grape type as nothing on the label but it was a pleasant easy drinking red.
Then of course time for dinner.So the menu-

.

The seafood puff was nice-

.

To be continued.

 

[drron]

Re: The time has come the walrus said to talk of planes and ships and many other thin

I enjoyed the tomato and mozzarella-

.

The soup was more a ginger soup than carrot but then I like ginger.I originally ordered the Wok BBQ shrimp but they had run out of that when they reached Mrsdrron so I let her have my shrimp and I switched to the Wasabi chicken.The chicken was moist,a definite wasabi taste but not hot.

.

.

The FAs let me keep the bottle of red to finish at my leisure.I do like AA.

.

As I had missed out on the salad I convinced the FA to allow me to have a sundae and then the cheese plate.Naturally I had a port with the cheese.

.

.

.

.

After dinner Mrsdrron started her knitting.The Purser was a knitter so had a long conversation with mrsdrron.The other FA who was working in the cabin was watching closely.Mrsdrron then gave her a quick lesson and the pattern for the scarf she was making.The third FA in the F cabin worked in the galley preparing all the meals.I made a point of thanking him and he seemed pleased at being recognised thanking me profusely.

A little later the FA made up my bed.The duvet certainly makes it much more comfortable.I awoke after about 5 hours.The seat belt sign was on but after 30 minutes I just had to get up and visit the little room.

Next-the rest of the flight.