Part 1: Seven Hours in ORD
Part 2: Cathay Pacific – First Class (CLE > ORD > HKG)
Part 3: Cathay Pacific – Business Class (HKG > BKK)
Part 4: Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel and Bangkok Airways Economy (BKK > USM)
Part 5: Conrad Koh Samui
Part 6: Thai Business Class (USM > BKK) & Singapore Business Class (BKK > SIN)
Part 7: Singapore & The Marina Bay Sands Casino & Hotel
Part 8: Bali: Anika Tailor & Grand Hyatt
Part 9: Bali: A Day with Wayan
Part 10: Bali: The Laguna Resort
Part 11: The Final Stops – Beijing, LA, and Home
It had been a long trip. It started in Cleveland, on November 28th in the wee hours of the morning, continued to Chicago O’hare, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Koh Samui, Bangkok again, Singapore and finally, Bali. This all had been within the previous week. Now – it was in First Class, eating cavier, talik salmon, drinking Krug, sleeping in villas off the Gulf of Thailand with private infiniti pools, swimming on 50-story high rooftop pools and 4-star resorts. The total cost had been below $1,000 for two – and if taking into account our gambling wins, under a few hundred. All-in. But it wasn’t enough. We wanted to see and experience more.
We started out in the airport in Bali, and accessed the Priority Pass lounge. While we were in Business Class for our Singapore > Beijing and Beijing > Los Angeles segments, we – queue the horror – had to fly economy for 2.5 hours to get to Singapore. It was rather lame, but the Priority Pass lounge wouldn’t let NSPfiance in because we had an economy segment leaving Bali. $27 – probably not worth it – but it gave us Wifi, drinks, light food and a relaxing place to hang out and wait for our flight.
USM Priority Pass Lounge
USM Priority Pass Lounge
Despite the word “economy,” our flight was more like US Domestic First, with a free meal and even a newspaper:
SG Economy Class Cattle Call
SG Economy Class Newspaper
SG Economy Class Meal
When we arrived in Singapore, we went straight to our gate, and shortly after boarded our flight to Beijing:
CA Business Class Amenity Kit
One thing that I hadn’t checked, was the seats on this flight…unfortunately they were angled-seats, not lie-flat!
CA Business Class Seats
The meals were good, not great – but it was late at night (a red-eye flight), and we were anxious to get some sleep.
CA Business Class Beer & Nuts for a Light Snack
CA Business Class Appetizer
CA Business Class NSPfiance’s Ramen Dinner
We booked a layover in Beijing, for seven hours. Why did we spend weeks, if not months, to find a flight that stopped in Beijing, flying Air China, instead of a stopover in Tapei, on Eva Airlines? Well, there were actually two reasons: First, the Eva Airlines flight was on an old 747 with angled seats and not the lie-flats that Air China offered. Second, with a 7-hour layover, we could see the Great Wall!
We landed in Beijing around 6am – and having checked our luggage straight through to Los Angeles, went directly through customs and found the driver which we had booked the day before while we were still in Bali. She took us to the Great Wall, and since it was only 25 degrees, lent me a coat. We were riding up the chairlift just over an hour later, having bought hats and gloves in the market at the base of the wall.
Chairlift Up to the Great Wall
While short, the 45-minute trek on the Great Wall was incredible. It was almost surreal to think about how long this wall was, how a civilization could build it today, let alone over 2,000 years ago.
The Great Wall
The views were down-right stunning:
View from the Great Wall
View on the Great Wall
View on the Great Wall
View on the Great Wall
NSPfiance and I on the Great Wall
We opted for a toboggan ride back down the mountain, and made in back to the airport with about an hour to spare.
Toboggan Ride down the Great Wall
By this point, we were exhausted, and excited to head back home. The airport lounges had lost their luster, staring at the free beer – with it staring back at me – and feeling too tired to pick it up. The free food, sitting in front of me, but without energy to pick up my fork. It was time to head home.
We made our way to our gate, boarded the plane, and sat down heavily. Of course, it didn’t stop NSPfiance or I from having a final farewell toast of Champagne – although not of Krug caliber – strap in, take off, put down the bed and go to sleep.
A Final Toast
CA Business Class
CA Business Class with Lie-Flat Seats!
CA Business Class Entertainment System
The menu offered a Chinese option or Western option:
CA Business Class Chinese Lunch Options
CA Business Class Western Lunch Options
CA Business Class Snack Options
CA Business Class Tea Menu
CA Business Class Wine Menu
CA Business Class Wine Menu
Snacks and dinner were good, but nothing to write home about:
CA Business Class Snack
CA Business Class Appetizer
CA Business Class Dinner
CA Business Class Dessert
It had been an amazing trip. 10 flights in 11 days. Not a single one delayed – and a few arriving early. That was, until we arrived back in the US. We grabbed our bags and headed to the Southwest check-in counter. Why were we flying Southwest instead of taking a Star Alliance Partner back to Cleveland? Well, new United routing rules dictate that you can only have 4 segments on a one-way award, which we burned from USM > SIN > PEK > LAX. Despite trying multiple agents, this seemed to be a commonly known rule and one the system wouldn’t allow even if an agent tried to put it in the computer.
I had a standard Southwest award still, which mean $2.50/person was the cost to fly across the country, and since Southwest has Wifi, this was also a preferable option so I could catch up on work.
But…Delayed. Multiple hours. We were going to miss our connection in Chicago, and were told we would have to spend the night in LA. That was not what either of us wanted to hear. We started looking through every possible option, and within a few minutes had found we could re-route through Nashville and possibly still make it home that night. Southwest re-ticketed us for free, and we had about an hour and a half to kill. So what to do at LAX, with a 90-minute layover?
That’s right:
In-N-Out Burger!
For those of you that don’t know this great trick, The Parking Spot in Los Angeles is about 15 yards away from In-N-Out. Jump on the free shuttle, tell the driver that you want to be let off in the “self-park” lot, and you are dropped off about as close as one could be to the front door of In-N-Out Burger:
We experienced a delightful and exhausting lunch, caught the free shuttle back to LAX, and caught our final two legs of the trip: LAX > BNA and BNA > CLE. As we rolled into our house, it was hard to fathom the experience we had just had. All of the places we had been. All of the flights we had taken. And all the memories we had made. Ten hours later, we would be on our way back to work – but despite the tiredness, the journey was certainly worth it.
Home
Now, time to plan our next trip…
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