now in Hong Kong airport a bit spaced but well rested after my hoped-for 8 hours of sleep in my really big seat/bed on Singapore Airlines from SFO
i got to the airport super early so I could go to every possible lounge and enjoy every bit of pampering - sadly, the Virgin Atlantic lounge closes at 4pm (I really tried to get this info online but was unsuccessful)
then went to the United Airlines Red Carpet Club where the agent frankly told me I was much better off at the Singapore lounge - what he did NOT tell me was that the UA International First lounge was down towards the gates, and by the time I saw the sign and got there they were closed (at 10pm) - pissed me off! i kind of understand the overly protective attitude of the famous lounge dragons to repel all invaders, but it's pointless to keep legit pax out - and who knows when I'll get to try that one?
went to the SQ lounge and was the first one there (pic to be uploaded when i'm somewhere that will allow me to access my camera's memory card) - nice selection of food - smoked salmon, roast beef (no mustard tho), very large chocolate-dipped strawberries, other sandwiches that all looked freshly made - plus a fairly complete bar with a small bottle of Domaine Chandon - the 'business center' was a very small room with about 6 terminals, and was busy the whole time i was there but aside from 2 guys who'd planted themselves there from before i arrived, everyone else was pretty good about using the space and then leaving in order to allow others to get in there
the First Class lounge started to fill up and i got to talking with 2 of my fellow pax, both of whom were going to meet up with a Silver Seas cruise - the other folks kept to themselves - i spent a couple of hours happily reading the Straits Times (from Singapore) and NY Times (from New York :-) )and before too long, it was time to board
and here's where the real fun began - from that moment until landing about 323 hours later, the flight attendants made sure we had every desire attended to - ONLY Dom Perignon before takeoff, but after that, Krug and Dom were available - I even had a glass of Dom with breakfast the next morning - yum yum
there was a TV screen bigger than either of the ones I have at home and so even tho i usually don't bother on flights, i did watch a movie (The Duchess) and played trivia (tho nobody on board had the guts to play along - i guess my reputation had preceded me) and played ABBA's greatest hits - I also played with the lighted mirrors on either side to ensure i looked as gorgeous as possible (sadly that turned out to be not so great, as you'll see from the pix I'll post later)
the FOOD was amazing - I'd ordered the jumbo scallops from Book the Cook and they were sooooo delish - as good as anything you'd get in a good restaurant in San Francisco - 1 demerit for the crew forgetting to bring my appetizer even though they'd asked me which one I wanted (I'd picked the crabmeat and I can't remember what the other choice was) - but i certainly didn't starve - for dessert i chose the fresh fruit and a very large bowl of tangerines, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and bananas was presented (btw of course the female flight attendant, who wore a green sarong, meaning according to the inflight magazine that she was a lead stewardess - always knelt in the aisle to speak with me at eye level, and because her hips were about 15" wide, she never came close to blocking anyone's passage through the cabin)
another glass of dom and 1 ambien later i got into my givenchy sleep suit and asked to have my seat turned into a bed - drifted off and woke up almost exactly 8 hours later - great!
breakfast was - fresh-squeezed OJ, granola (really muesli) with milk, egg, bacon (Canadian style), toast, tomato, potatoes and mushrooms (plus the aforementioned glass of Dom)
next thing I knew we were landing at HKG - i'd toyed with the idea of taking the train into town just for the ride but instead am just hanging out - found the Origins lip balm my friend Robin in Dubai asked for (if you're gonna ask a friend to bring something from duty free, could it be easier than lip balm??!!!) - tried out the Singapore lounge (pathetic, as I'd read in frequent flyer bulletin boards before - but I did have most of one of the tiny Haagen Dazs's with a cappucino and felt much better) - am now in the United Airlines RCC and am the only one here with at least 3 people to help me with anything - including watching some of the Super Bowl (now in the 3rd quarter, with Chinese commentary - no English-language feed available) - I had a lovely shower and used the nice amenities like body wash, moisturizer, face cleanser and super-hydrating lotion - I did get an unfortunate glimpse of my tummy in the mirror and it's pretty big after all this food - including a little extra few centimeters layer from that Haagen Dazs - but i am feeling a bit peckish again so i'll be signing off for now and will continue from Bangkok!
