So, the next big event in my Batical calender is my whimsical flight to Hong Kong. Clearly I had enough time to waste looking for bargain flights on bizarre airlines when I could have been tapping my keys to keep you all informed.
So, I found a flight on Royal Jordanian, the national airline of Jordan. The best fare was out of Vienna (in Business of course or Crown Class as they call it - think Raffles Class but with a crown and not a palm tree). I also had to be able to get to Vienna and found quite a nice little fare on Niki Airlines - another low cost carrier which is owned by Air Berlin and therefore indirectly by Etihad.
Before I share with you the insights into my flight and the details of the leather stitching and the depth of the wine list, I have continued my culinary adventures. There have been some successes and some, well, I call them flops, but S still eats it. Hunger knows no bounds it seems!
So what have I been up to:
Well, enough about those exploits. I am sure most of you have scrolled down quickly to get to the plane porn! Well, who wouldn't!
Very early start from sunny little Einsiedeln. To get to the airport in time for a 9:00 am flight I had to take the 6:30 am train. There were more people on board than I expected. Lots of eager beavers here in Switzerland. I had already checked in online so I could go straight through security to the OneWorld lounge for a quick breakfast. Now, don't be too upset as I forgot to take photos of this little silver plane and the interior. So unlike me! Service on board was lovely actually and there was a little sandwich for a snack.
I did notice that the flight attendants (all female) wore skinny jeans as part of the uniform. Odd choice and not to mention very fitted. I am sure if you put on too may grams you would be grounded until you could scrape yourself back into those jeans. There were no boys on the flight so I cannot tell you if the same goes. If it does, there would be enough revealed to tell you their religion me thinks unless they had to go for some sort of tucking - not worth thinking about.
Anyway, got to Vienna International Airport which I have decided I don't like. It was poorly sign posted and had no transfer area. I had to exit and then go back to check-in which is on the first floor and hidden behind a series of walls. Not an airport you want to deal with if you are short on time! I had plenty of that, so much so that check-in was not even open for my next flight. So I had to wait in the general waiting area - no lounge - nothing - shudder! On the upside there was decent wifi so I could entertain myself.
Finally I was able to check in and head to the "lounge" which is a shared lounge experience and decorated in very bright colours. It had a lovely view over the apron and I could enjoy a wine and watch the planes come and go.
It was eventually time to board and clearly RJ do not pay a lot of money as we were taken by bus to the plane and not boarded by jetway. A nice touch was that all the economy passengers were on one bus and then a separate bus was brought for business class passengers.
When we arrived at the jet there were already people in Business and this is where my general angst about flying on RJ started. There were a couple of people who did not look so relaxed and as if they should be there. I was convincing myself that they were security. There were a number of times where seemingly random people were in Business not sure they should have been.
Anyway here are some pictures.....
The seats were quite comfortable in the Airbus A320 and the leather made it seem a bit like a private jet. Service was quite attentive and part of the meal was served from the trolley. Brings you back to the old days of flying. I managed to drink their champagne (Moet) and some of their wines including local Jordanian wine called St George. The food was not too bad but nothing sensational. Filled a hole as they say.
We then arrived at Amman's Queen Alia International Airport where I had a five hour transit until my flight to Hong Kong. Now the airport is brand new and they have a very nice new Crown Lounge but there is nothing much to do. It was very quiet and when I got to the lounge I was told my flight would likely be delayed by 30 minutes - oh dear. Now I have a high boredom threshold but even I was reaching the end of my tether here. In fact there were more staff than passengers and they spent most of their time enjoying the juices, having a gossip and getting comfortable on the seats.
Eventually it was time to board and I headed to the gate to meet the Airbus A330. Now this bird had seen some better days on the inside and was looking a bit tatty. There were the two or three random people already on board so my discomfort remained. Then I was greeted by a very enthusiastic flight attendant (Mohammad who likes to be called "MuMu) claiming that we had flown together before. This was not true of course but a lovely opening line. He remained VERY attentive for the rest of the flight and gave me a bottle of wine to remember it by.
Again the food was so so but at least my wine was kept topped up by the attentive MuMu. Here is what you can expect on the RJ A330:
It was quite comfortable and I did get some sleep. Now, as the title suggests there is a stop on the way to Hong Kong and that is in Bangkok. Not so great for the sleep and also we had to stay on board during the transit. That was quite odd and the cabin was filled with cleaners who performed their duties with zero enthusiasm or thoroughness and random people coming on and off the plane. My discomfort level did not abate.
I arrived safely into Hong Kong about 7:30 in the evening and took the Airport Express Train (yes, train, not limousine) to the hotel. In fact the station is directly below the hotel - the Ritz Carlton - currently the tallest hotel in the world. Check in is on level 103.
Was warmly welcomed in the Club Lounge by the team and a glass of champagne - lovely. Most of my angst dissipated and I settled into the check-in process and was shown to my room. They were very pleased to tell me I had received a double upgrade and, frankly, I was glad to accept it!
It is a great hotel with amazing staff. I was greeted each day by name by the team in the Club Lounge and they remember your preferences. They also went to a lot of effort to get me in to the Chinese Restaurant in the hotel. The only downside of the hotel is its location on Kowloon. Now I do not mind Kowloon but this was a bit out of the way.
So what else did I get up to....I met a friend of a friend to talk about job opportunities in Honkers (yes, I am considering this as an option). He batted for the same team as me so we had a few drinks at a couple of "pink" establishments. I met with a couple of recruiters and generally wandered about and enjoyed the city.They also have a giant floating rubber duck in the harbour! The locals are obsessed with it. Every shop sells rubber ducks it seems and it must be the most photographed duck in the world. I was told that it is on a world tour.
Thought I would end with a couple of photos from my solo Chinese dinner that was allegedly Two Michelin stars. It was nice but not sensational. They did do a mean XO sauce though and ended up being generous with the wine.
Then it was time to do the long schlep in reverse back to Zurich including a transit in Bangkok, another five hours in Amman followed by five hours in Vienna. This is NOT the quickest way to get to Hong Kong. Not sure it is the safest either!! On the way back there was a guy in Business who reclined his seat fully before take off and went to sleep. When the crew woke him to put his seat upright, he did, for about two minutes and then back down he went. He stayed that way for take off and landing. The crew literally did nothing. Freaked me out.
I know it sounds like I did not really enjoy it and that is true for some parts. I doubt that I would do it again. I just did not feel 100% safe and the transits were very long.
Next stop is Salzburg where the hills are alive and the schnitzels are frying. Stay tuned!!
