This was my second time to the Australian Open so I was quite familiar with Melbourne.  Lots seemed to have changed though.

My flight landed on time and it took me about 30 minutes to clear the Immigration and Customs formalities even though I did not enter my middle name in my online visa (20 USD).  An official updated the record before I left the airport.

Outside the terminal, I asked by the hotels are for some local pricing.  The best she found was 185 AUD so I decided to try on my own in the city.  I had already checked out some hostels and also places on airbnb.com and the Hostels was 42 AUD while airbnb.com was 41 AUD.

The lady at the counter wanted to get me in the city for 15 AUD, so I asked if there was another way and she told me about the SkyBus which actually worked out better as it was 16 AUD one way and 26 AUD return; so I purchased the return as its good for a month.

They leave every 10 minutes and the route is well traveled.  Within 20 minutes I was at the Southern Cross Station in the heart of the city.  I looked up the Hostel using free WiFi from Hungry Jacks.  Burger King for the Americans .  I felt obliged to buy some fries so I did.

In about 30 minutes of leisurely walking I arrived at the Nomad Hostel found a room for two nights at about 50 AUD per night.  I got settled in and then headed out to the  Rod Lever Arena at the Open.

It was rather late now about 4p and people were already leaving the stadium.  I did meet two people who were quite cool so I snapped a photo with them.  I pressed on and joined a short queue for tickets.  I was told they were 25-32 AUD for ground passes which is all I wanted.  There was a guy selling two 66 AUD tickets for 100 AUD for a match in the Rod Laver Arena that night, but I had no interest.  As I waited, a guy came by and said he had two free gowned passes, did I want them; Why Yes I responded and gave one to a girl who was in a party of four next to me.

I scanned in and voila I was at the AUstralian Tennis Open 2012; what luck!

It was electric, there are people everywhere, booths and players.  I was able to see Kim Clijsters, Tomic and Andy Roddick practice which were all epic .

I just spent the rest of the time popping into matches in the various courts and left at about 7:05p as I was totally exhausted.  Here’s what I saw in pictures.

Although Hong Kong was handed over to China a few years back, a visa is not required if you are a U.S. citizen, so that makes it really easy to get to since there are several nonstop flights from the U.S. Including Continental Airlines (now United) from Newark, Chicago and San Francisco as well as Cathay Pacific from New York-JFK, Chicago and Los Angeles plus nonstop from Vancouver, BC Canada.  Air Canada (AC) also flies from Vancouver as well.

The likes of Air France (AF), British Airways (BA), KLM (KL), Lufthansa (LH) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS) will get you there from Europe.  So you can throw out the excuse you were cooking up.  This coupled with many connections out of Asia gives you no reason not to check out this great city.

You can decide to head east or west it does not matter you’ll get there about the same time on Sunday a.m. if you leave the U.S. Friday p.m.  The eastbound option allows you to work a full day while the westbound option have you working 1/2 a day or possibly taking the entire Friday off depending on where you live in the U.S.  If you are in Europe, you get even more time in Hong Kong.

Its very easy to get around the city, either by ferry or subway is the cheapest.  Getting from the airport to the city works well as you can take the train.  Once in the city, you can get to all parts of the city.

My favorite place to hang out is Stanley Market as the bargains are fantastic if you know what you are looking for.  Next stop would be to get some suits made from the many tailors around the city.  If you had time you could do a side trip to either Macau like I did (visa on arrival) via a CAT complete with airplane seats , or head to Shenzen on mainland China for more shopping.  You can also get to mainland China easily from the trains stations in Hong Kong.

I’ve not done Shenzen as yet, but have flown in one morning, had breakfast, went shopping, visited Macau, came back to Hong Kong, had dinner at my friend’s hotel, then headed back to the airport and caught a Cathay Pacific flight to Los Angeles, CA (LAX).  All in a weekend i.e. Friday to Sunday p.m. arriving at work on Monday a.m. on the red eye from LAX.

One of my favorite memories of Hong Kong are the landings at the old Kai Tak airport.  The planes used to come over the city so low, you could read the registration information under the airplane.  If you jumped high enough you could almost touch them.  The noise was immense, but everyone loved it.  Today, the new airport Chep Lap Kok sits on a bay some distance from the city.  I had the pleasure of flying in on the second to last day of Kai Tak and flying out on the first day of Chep Lap Kok, but that’s for another post.

Here’s what my friend did with two of her girlfriends on her weekend extravaganza from the U.S. doing the eastbound route via London-Heathrow with British Airways (BA), then returning via Los Angeles, CA on Cathay Pacific (CX).

For this weekend trip we had about 10 hours to explore the city and do a quick foodie trip as well. Chep Lap Kok, Hong Kong (HKG) is a great airport in which to have a layover as there’s great shopping and restaurants to occupy your time.

Once we arrived, we took the train into the city (100 HKD).  From the train station in the city, we grabbed a quick bite at a bakery and then took a bus to our first stop, Victoria Peak, it was a beautiful clear day so there were alot of people there. I’d advise you to get there early to avoid long lines.  The view there was amazing, it’s one of the places from where you can see almost all of Hong Kong.

After that we waved down a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the nearest Dim Sum and shopping place. He took us to Soho where we had the authentic local Dim Sum experience at Lin Heung. We had to fight for an open table as well as food with the other customers.

After what some would call a stressful brunch we walked around Soho and stumbled upon Mak’s Noodle, they had freshly made egg noodles with wantons (this place Anthony Bourdain had visited before).

Then we shopped around the street markets and decided to take the subway to the gaint Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha) on Lan Tau Island. When we got there we decided to pay a little extra for the crystal gondola (its the gondolas with the clear bottoms) it is worth it as the lines back were about 15-30mins longer for the regular gondolas.  The ride took about 30mins to reach Ngong Ping the village near the giant Buddha.

As we were limited on time we ran past all the shopping and restaurants in that village to get to the monastery (about a 15 min walk but with all the crowds about 10 mins longer). Once inside you can take a tour inside the Buddha and walk up all the stairs. Be sure to watch the times and the lines because the gondola rides end at 5:30 p.m. and you will have to take a bus into the city if you miss the last gondola.

From there we headed back to the airport, it was a short 15 min ride and cost about 4 HKD.

Have you been to Hong Kong? What was it like for you?

You must know that my first trip to Rome was fantastic although the thing that stood out in my mind was the graffiti on train ride from the Leonardo da Vinci Airport (FCO) to the city.  Also, despite my two tries, I’ve not yet seen Vatican City, which is its own country, but on my next visit, I will make it my point to do so.  I am however one degree of separation from the Pope as I have two friends who’ve met him in person in the Vatican.

My very vivid memory of Rome is the traffic and how difficult it was to traverse the streets.  Italy, Ireland and Jamaica are three of the countries that American Express does not cover you for car insurance due to the accident rates.  So watch out for the drivers when you go.

Here’s Dan’s story.

I just went to Rome a few months ago I don’t really remember where we stayed but I remember the sites pretty well.

Must sees:

1. The Colosseum
2. Palatine Hill
3. Pantheon
4. Vatican City
5. St. Peter’s Cathedral
6. Sistine Chapel
7. Several Piazzas and Fountains all over the city

The Colosseum is definitely worth seeing but don’t spend too much time there. Make it a quick stop before you visit Palatine Hill. Avoid tour guides for the Colosseum that promise line skipping and such, there were no significant lines and there is not a whole lot to see. There is a lot of historical information posted about if you want to take the time to read it.

Palatine Hill is a very nice site, lots of things to see and really nice grounds to walk around. A guide here might be nice if you want more information, a good tour book will cover most of the pertinent information as well though.

There are many piazzas and fountains to visit; Trevi Fountain is probably the most well known. It will be CROWDED, but it’s worth a quick visit. It is said that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you are ensured to return to Rome, so don’t forget to do that!

The Spanish Steps are a nice place to visit, sit around and enjoy the atmosphere, or you can climb the steps if you’re not too tired. It’s nice at night, it could be a good way to finish off your full day of walking around.

For the Vatican City, you want to get there EARLY, before it opens. Avoid the tour groups. One strategy is to skip EVERYTHING and move through the entire museum as quickly as possible so you can reach the Sistine Chapel before the other groups populate it. We didn’t do this and once we got there, there were hundreds of people inside. You are asked to be quiet and not take any pictures inside the Sistine Chapel, but when we were there it sounded like a cafeteria, and everyone was snapping photos. Everyone was practically shoulder to shoulder inside.

It almost ruined the experience. It was a lot like people being herded through as fast as possible. However, if you do go straight to the Sistine Chapel, make sure to go back and see everything you skipped. Except the modern art section as it’s miserable and a horrible way to cap off the great things you see along the way.

St Peter’s Cathedral and Square are unbelievable. There will be a huge line to get inside, but don’t miss out. It is truly awe inspiring. The enormity of the cathedral cannot be fathomed until you step inside.

The Pantheon is a must see. There will be restaurants and gelaterias around the fountains and piazzas and Pantheon.  Find a good menu and enjoy a nice Italian dinner. Make sure to get gelato after dinner. Real gelato is served with a spatula, not a scoop, so be sure you get the real stuff.

The metro system is good, but be sure to check for any line closures. One of the main lines was closed for the weekend and we did a lot of walking because were not aware ahead of time. There are many water fountains all across Rome that are fed by an aquifer and flow constantly. The water is clean and drinkable. We filled our water bottles and drank freely from them throughout the day with no problems whatsoever.

So what was your visit like? Please leave a facebook comment or non-facebook comment below and LIKE and share this post with your friends.

But first let’s talk about how to get to Singapore from the U.S. which is where Anthony started.  When I went, I took the nonstop flight from Newark, NJ (EWR) on an Airbus A340-500; this is still the world’s longest flight at about 18 hours 50 minutes.  They have a similar flight from Los Angeles, CA (LAX) as well.  When I took the flight from Newark, it had Raffles and Executive Economy class; now it only has 100 seats in Raffles class.  Yes, you fly in the lap of luxury now.

You can also take connecting flights over various European cities with your favorite airline.  Or even connect via Australia or other Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Tokyo.  No matter which way you go, you won’t arrive until first thing in the morning two days later!  Yeah, Singapore is far.

Oh, its the only place I’ve visited where they make an announcement on the plane that if you’re caught with marijuana, the penalty is death; well maybe Thailand.

Here’s what three of my friends (all girls of three different ethnicity so it is great to see how they experienced Singapore.) did in 48 hours in their own words:

Shopping, eating, more shopping, more eating .

Where they stayed:

The Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore. Mostly we took cabs to get around.

We were there for 2 nights and one day. The first night we walked to a nearby street market and had the famous chilli crabs, some grilled prawn and dessert (you must have cash to eat here also make sure you get the price before you place your order or you will get surprised by the large bill at the end). The next morning we went to chinatown, then Little India where we had Masala Dosa filled with potatoes and with all the dipping sauces! That was really cheap – I think it was $5 local for a plate. Everyone spoke Tamil there.

We then took a cab for about 20 local dollars to Sentosa Island and we also paid the toll to cross the bridge. After that we shopped at Takashimaya mall then on our way to the Raffles Hotel we ate at a local restaurant (the Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore is to die for, I had it every time I could) and our day ended with the Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffles Hotel.

Singapore is an expensive Asian country…lol but I’d go back. I liked it there.

My other friend who went who is a guy who went for a wedding had this to say:

Where did he stayed:

Ibis Singapore on Bencoolen

He took a taxi from the airport to his I mostly went to Little India and Irish Bars. The waterfront where the locals go had great food. And I loved a cocktail at the Sands Rooftop Park which is cheaper and more leisurely than the tourist option.  You have to have a reservation at the hotel to swim in the pool.

On another visit, he stayed at the Moon Hotel, a more trendy boutique hotel.

And finally here’s what I did a few years ago; I’ve been to Singapore about three times or so.

The train from the airport to the city was not yet constructed on my visit or was not running at that time, so I took a bus into the city for cheap.  Another time I took a cab as I was lazy and did not want to wait.

My first time there, I headed into the city to my hotel where I took an immediate shower and changed clothing.  Then I left the hotel and headed out.  I walked around and ended up on Orchard Road where the expensive shopping is; then a fish market which was actually quite good.  I then did the trip over to Sentosa taking the gondolas that go across the bay; a must do in my book.

Of course I had to go to the Long Bar for a Singapore Sling.  The girls tells me that it is now 25 USD which is just a tad pricey.  Note that when you fly on Singapore Airlines, they serve them on the flight .

One of my memories is how clean and efficient the trains were.

Another time I went, I went out to the tailors and got measured for shorts and a pants.  Eight hours later, I had two hand sewn tailor made silk shirts and a dress pant neatly wrapped dropped off at my hotel.  I still have those shirts today; now that’s Singapore!

What has your experience been like?

If successful, this will be my third time doing the Continental Island Hopper.  This flight starts in Guam and about 15 hours later you arrive in Honolulu at about 3:30a the same day having left at 9:00a that same day.  So you get to re-live 5.5 hours of the day you started.

Its a journey of man, machine and the elements.  Join me on this journey.

Have you ever done this journey?

It may have something to do with my President’s Club status with Avis.  You see they will always find me a car is their promise and today they lived up to that promise.  Thanks.

The car did not even have a full tank, but I just thanked my lucky stars and filled it up at $3.02/gallon.  It took about 1.5 gallons to top it off.  Of course later while checkin gout my Missouri neighborhood, I passed the same gas station and the cost was $2.99 .  I know that the airport will charge like $3.13/gallon, but the new car rental rules says you have to re-fill within 4 miles of the airport and if you drive less than 75 miles you MUST product a receipt that you purchased gas or be charged $13.99 or something odd like that…

Have you ever done this? Rented a car on the wrong date or booked a flight for the wrong date?

If so, what was the outcome?  Please leave a comment below.

As it turns out, this was aircraft JA802A, the second aircraft ANA received.  I was told that this was its maiden voyage with paying customers from Tokyo-Haneda (HND) to Okayama, Japan (OKJ).  It had only flew around on 29 Oct. but did not land at OKJ.  I was happy to fly it on the round trip flight and getting a beautiful view of the city of Okayama form the air and seeing the airport at least .

Its a beautiful airplane and congrats to Boeing and ANA for making it all happen.  I’ll add more pics as time progresses as I have plenty:-).

Here are my findings of my journey accompanied with some pictures.

Atmosphere – I did not notice any difference in the cabin atmosphere, but then again I have no issues with my ears popping when I fly.

Liked

• The windows – So this is the best part of the plane; they are huge and automatic, well, kind of .  You can adjust them electronically, no shades.  I have some pictures below and I’ll share a movie later.  It was fun watching people play with them too.
• The toilet with a window and all the features that comes with it, such as the auto flush option   Also, the water controls are auto, which I like and not so like.
• Special toilet for the ladies – This is a cool touch and I’m told by ANA that this toilet has a bidee in it.  The Japanese loves their toilets .  It one of my favorite things about Japan.  I always looks like you have to have a degree to install one of them.
• The cabin – Its nice and pretty high and the lighting is pretty cool.  ANA has a blue mood for takeoff and landing and during boarding and exiting, they throw in a rainbow colored set which is cool.
• The entertainment system  – Although this is not a function of the airplane; but ANA could have done crap with it and they did not; thanks.
• The extra armrest in the middle of the plane – So the seats in the middle of the plane have their own right and left armrest, so the middle seat people only have to fight with the folks in the aisle .  I personally think this is a mathematics thing as opposed to otherwise, but its cool if you ever have to sit in either of the two middle seats.
• The overhead bins – They are easy to open and slope upwards; once they are open it makes it easy for me to get up and stand up straight.  Not so much when they are open though; but that’s O.K.  The inner ones are a tad too high for some flight attendants to close.  You might run into an issue of your bag slaving forward though as the lip is about 2/3rds ways from the top of the bin.
• Seat Width – ANA did a good job on that; I was quite pleased.  Will see what the other airlines do.
• USB power – This is brilliant considering the popularity of the Apple products – in addition, you can plug a USB in it and listen to your stuff from it
• In-seat power – Every seat gets one; no more sharing with the neighbor who may not want to share.

Mixed

Configuration – Well, its a 2-4-2 setup with that double armrest in the middle.  Just wondered why they did not do 3-3-3.  But its cool.

Did not Like

• The inner bins – the poor flight attendants have some difficulty reaching them as they are so much higher than the ones on the sides.  There is a step built into each seat, but it only helps a little.
• The seat recline mechanism – Once you press the seat recline button, the seat cushion moves forward and the back of your seat moves downward.  This is a pretty cool design, except that if you are 6′ 1″ tall like I am, now you have no where to put your legs.  in ANA’s defense though, the majority of its customers are not 6′ 1″ and the seats have a decent recline already build in to compensate.
• Aircraft Noise – On landing, there is quite a bit of noise which is connected with the wing mechanism.  Its a combination of noises that occurs when the wings changes shapes as its being configured for landing.  I was sitting behind the wing, so I don’t know what its like forward of the wing.

All in all, I had a great flight and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  If you flew it, what are your thoughts? If you did not, what do you think of my findings?

My friend Seth also flew the Dreamliner, but on 3 Nov.  Here is his 787 Dreamliner report.

• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Massive windows

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Welcome Aboard

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the gate in Okayama, Japan (OKJ) flight attendant closing bins

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the gate in Okayama, Japan (OKJ) boarding colors

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the gate in Okayama, Japan (OKJ) thumbs up from pilot

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the gate in Okayama, Japan (OKJ)

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Economy class cabin

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Economy class cabin

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Toilet

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Folded headrest

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the gate in Tokyo-Narita

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the gate in Tokyo-Narita

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Toilet sink

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner toilet window with Mt. Fuji in the background

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Toilet Controls

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Non-reclined seat

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner reclined seat

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Left Rolls Royce Engine

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner In-seat power

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Folded headrest

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Headrest

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Galley Oops...

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Ceiling

   

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• ANA's Boeing 787 Dreamliner Aisle seat

   

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The flight is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as being 2 minutes. After the flight you get an official certificate and in true Scottish style, a small bottle of Scottish Whiskey with which to celebrate the event. It is even of the right size to fit in your carry on baggage.

The world’s shortest scheduled flight is operated by Soctland’s Loganair on a single piloted twin-engined Briton Norman Islander. The flight starts in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands Scotland (KOI) as LOG377 departing at 15:00 (3p for the Americans). It then heads for Papa Westray, then to Westray and back to Kirkwall for a total scheduled time of 0:44.  Here is the complete itinerary:

1. Kirkwall to Papa Westray        15:00 15:16
2. Papa Westray to Westray     15:21 15:23
3. Westray to Kirkwall                   15:28 15:44

Of all the small airlines I’ve flown, this one impressed me the most. Simplicity is its name. I e-mail them and got an immediate reply, well in a few hours as it was late at night their time when I e-mailed. The guy who responded was courteous and explained the whole process. As it turns out, when I arrived in Kirkwall from Aberdeen, Scotland (ABZ) he was at the counter.  You see he is the reservations agent, the e-mail response guy, the check-in clerk and the lone ground handling personnel.  He is one of four he tells me in a fantastic Scottish accent.  It was fun to watch him at work.

When I e-mailed, he advised that the price is 39 GBP and hat I needed to call on the day of travel once they open the office so I can book.  You see if the weather is bad then the flight won’t operate. Once I got to Kirkwall, I introduced myself and he booked me on the flight and told me to pay the next day when I arrived as I was rushing to get the 1.20 GBP bus to the city. You can check this page at http://www.loganair.co.uk/reservations/ for reservations information including the schedules.  The schedule I used is located at http://www.loganair.co.uk/xtra_files/OrkneyTimetable_31oct10.pdf in PDf format.

The next day I arrived early as I wanted to check out the operations and the bus from the city was ill timed for that flight so I had to take the 12:45p bus; the journey is about 15 minutes. No worries it was fun to watch the airport operations.

There were four of us booked on the flight. Two locals, a guy from Italy and myself. Check-in, well, there was no check-in, we just followed the agent to the plane and boarded.  How simple was that.  I sat behind the right seat, the Italian dude next to me and the couple behind us.  The lone pilot gave us the safety briefing and we were off.

As we approached Papa Westray, the Captain pointed it out.  We then flew over Westray made a right turn and landed on the grass runway at Papa Westray, a two-room single building terminal. One room for passengers and staff, the other housed the “fire truck,” which actually had the license plate with the letters “LHR” in it.  Go figure.  Do you think that was on purpose? I say fire truck as it is really an SUV with fire stuff behind it.

We picked up two ladies who sat behind the couple, got some cargo (a little box) and we were off down the gravel runway this time.  We then made a right hand turn, then a left hand turn and landed about 2 minutes later on the grass runway in Westray as it had started to rain.  We then taxied up to a similar building as at Papa Westray, except it said Westray on it; yes a SUV in the garage as well.

The couple disembarked and a lone male passenger boarded.  There was a “welcoming” committee at the terminal waiving and taking pictures.  I felt like I did when I flew in the Micronesian Islands, it was so cool. Some pleasantries were exchanged by the ground crew and the Captain and we were off as it started to rain heavier.  We made it down the gravel runway turned around and took off in no time.

We initially flew back at about 5,000 feet as it was raining above, then later climbed back up to our original cruisin’ altitude of 7,000′ until we descended into Kirkwall about 5 minutes early ending the journey of the world’s shortest scheduled commercial flight. I was elated and extremely happy.  Once inside the terminal, myself and the Italian guy were presented our certificates with our names on it and signed by the Captain plus our little bottle of Scotch whiskey.

Well, enough of that here are the pictures.  Enjoy them and please leave a comment.  Have you taken this flight before?

Papa Westray to Westray in the Orkney Islands

• The perspective of where the Orkney Islands are located

   

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• The route flown from Papa Westray to Westray on 18 July 2010

   

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• Kirkwall Airport in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands Scotland (KOI)

   

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• Loganair ticket counter and departure gate in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

   

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• The star if the day, the 10-seater Briton Norman Islander (BN1)

   

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• Walking out to the plane in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

   

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• The tail and registration of my Norman Islander in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

   

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• Oh Captain, my Captain of my Norman Islander in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

   

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• Kirkwall Bay in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands

   

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• A Lighthouse in the Orkney Islands

   

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• The tip of one of the many islands in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A House on one of the many Orkney Islands

   

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• Another House on one of the many Orkney Islands

   

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• The Coastline on one of the many Orkney Islands

   

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• A tiny Orkney Island

   

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• Westray airport with Papa Westray in the distance

   

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• Papa Westray from the air

   

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• The island between Papa Westray and West Ray (Middle Island) in the Orkney Islands

   

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• Flying overhead West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• The Coastline of Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• Landing in Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• The terminal at Papa Westray, Orkney Islands (PPW)

   

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• 9bwryfromairfromppw20100718ppw

   

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• The terminal at Westray, Orkney Islands (WRY)

   

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• Taking off from West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A House on West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A House on West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A House on West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• Houses on West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A Silo on West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A Port on the coast of West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• Another View of the Lighthouse in West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A Lighthouse in West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A Cliff off the coast of West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• A house on the island of West Ray in the Orkney Islands

   

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• Landing on runway 27 in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

   

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• The Norman Islander in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands

   

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• The Norman Islander in Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands

   

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• The control tower at Kirkwall, Orkney Islands (KOI)

   

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• Back in Kirkwall

   

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• The Arrival FIDS and we got in early to boot

   

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Video of the flight

Click here to view the embedded video.

Video of the landing in Kirkwall

Click here to view the embedded video.

A lofty goal?  Absolutely!

I looked at various routings and of course they were all very full.  Alas, I found one that worked.  If I could get to Mumbai, India (BOM) I could take a Jet Airways (9W) flight to Johannesburg arriving first thing in the morning.  This would give me time to get to a game at about 4p and then head back out on a late flight.

I had a few choices to get back:

1. Air France (AF) Airbus A380 to Paris, France (CDG) at 7:30p (kind of early, but it is the A380)
2. British Airways (BA) has two flight to London-Heathrow (LHR) (three flights including one at 11:30p)
3. Virgin Atlantic (VS) to London-Heathrow, England (LHR)
4. Delta Air Lines (DL) to Atlanta, GA (ATL) (they had two flights as they had two wingtip flights the day before due to the amount of people going to South Africa from the U.S.)

There were other flights, but they did not leave late enough.   So getting back would not be an issue at all, I just had to get there.  I was also thrilled about the possibility of taking the Airbus A380 back.  Let’s see what ends up happening.

Leaving Houston

The Continental flights to London from Hosuton were full, so I decided to try the British Airways (BA) to London.  After a tense wait I was given a seat in World Traveler class.  I lucked out as the seat next to me was empty.

British Airways Houston, TX to London 10 June 2010

We had an ontime puchback and were airborne pretty soon after.  It was a great flight with a fantastic meal and complimentary wine.

There was not much to watch on the entertainment system and I soon fell asleep after dinner, but did get up later and got some snacks from the rear galley.  Soon after we had breakfast, then about 0:45 later, we landed with minimal delays into London-Heathrow.

I made it to London and connected from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 for the Air India flight to Mumbai.  As it turns out, we were delayed leaving London due to ATC and the fact that the inbound aircraft was a tad late.

Air India 107 London to Mumbai 11 June 2010

Once we were airborne, it was a brilliantly long flight.   Good food; audio/video on demand and good service.

As time progressed, I noted that our arrival time was 12:47a .  I think I’m gonna miss the flight.  This was due to additional delay in Mumbai due to rainy weather there.

It was 12:59a when we touched down and 1:14a when I made it to the gate.  This will be close.

In Mumbai, India

As soon as I was able to get off the airplane I did.  I started to make a bee line for the Transfer Desk if there was one.  I did find an area with a very long line.  Many flights, all delayed had arrived at the same time so it was a zoo.  I saw a security officer and asked him for the Jet Airways Transfer counter.  He looked around and saw a Jet Airways agent coming and motioned her over.

I told her my predicament mentioning the delay in Heathrow as wella s the landing delay as well.  She says the flight is closed, but that she would call to see what can be done.  There was some talk in Hindi on the phone and although it was in a different language, I knew it was no.

Once she got off the phone, she told me that her supervisor said no.  I took the next five minutes or so asking to speak to the supervisor myself, but she said no as if there was anything the supervisor could do she would have.  Dejected, I thanked her and walked away.

I had missed my only long shot chance to see a game at the World Cup 2010.

I entered the country and then talked my way into the departure lounge by showing my tickets.  I was bent on leaving right away back to Europe.  I checked with British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, Jet Airways and Air India and as all their flights were within 30 minutes of departure I was either told the flight was full or closed even after explaining my predicament.  They all suggested I come back later tonight.  Good grief I thought, is there no compassion left in the world.

I went and found a seat near to an electrical outlet so that I could at least charge my appliances and work on my computer until the sun came up.  Spending the night in the Mumbai airport is interesting.  They do have flights to the Middle East that keeps the airport going, but they subside about 4a and then there is one around 7:30a so people keep coming and waiting for their flights.  The airport workers comes inside and sleep on the chairs, so that is fun to watch.

Once the sun came up I went outside looking for a cab to take me into the city for breakfast.  It was loud, hot, sticky and smoky from the exhaust of the cars.  Yup, that’s the Mumbai I remembered.  I watched people for a bit and also walked around the airport quite a bit.  I did not see any taxi drivers whom I thought I’d trust to just drive me to get food and back.

I eventually made my way back to the departure level.  This airport is quite dirty and complicated.  It needs a makeover and soon.  Actually they did complete some renovation of the arrivals hall.  But the Departure area is a dump.  You can’t get inside unless you have a ticket and you can only get in if your flight departs within 3 hours.  So outside is a mess of people, airport carts and vehicles which includes buses with bad exhausts.

I had noticed earlier that there was a Kingfisher flight to London about an hour before a British Airways flight.  Not having flown Kingfisher, I figured this would be a good chance to do so.  I might as well get some satisfaction out of this failed objective trip, I thought. It leaves at 12:20p so I’ll come back at about 9:20a so I can get it all worked out I thought.

As I waited to get back inside; a taxi pulled up and a two guys came out.  I started talking to the passenger guy and as it turns out he owns the cab and has contacts with local hotels.  We chatted for a while and he offered to take me into the city.  I told him it was to late to do so as I feared I’d get stuck in traffic and miss my flight.  of course he told me there was no traffic and that the hotel and food place was just a short distance.  Having been to Mumbai before and seen the traffic I knew that there was no way I’d be back in time.  We continued talking and as it turns out, he is just two weeks younger than I am; coincidence?

As my entry time arrived i showed my documents and was rejected entry as my ticket said “OPEN” I tried to explain to the security guard the deal, but he would have none of it.  He sent me away so I went to another entry and the guard there was fine with my documents.

I went to Kingfisher and checked in, but my ticket was on British Airways so they had to endorse it to Kingfisher.  This simple transaction took almost two hour to accomplish.  Between that and the security line I made it to the gate five minutes before departure!

I barely had enough time to list myself on the 6:30p flight from London to Newark on Continental.  I’ll have to check-in when I get to Heathrow I thought.  I hope I have enough time.  Otherwise, I’ll just spend the night in London and head back the next day.

Kingfisher 107 Mumbai to London

The door closed soon and we got headsets followed by an amenity kit. then a menu.

We then started our taxi out to the runway and in no time were airborne in this Airbus A330.  The service started with an appetizer plus drinks and then the main meal.  Interestingly enough the interior is much like Air India’s.  Not sure who is copying whom.  I started to watch some Bollywood movie after dinner actually finishing up the one I was watching on the flight down.  Then another one that seems to last forever.

Finally we started our descent into London landing at about 5:05p.  As soon as I touched down, I got online and checked in for my flight to Newark.  Now I don’t have to worry about getting there before 5:30p.

As we were in the Terminal 4, it was easy to switch to Continental.  Well, so I thought.  The airport security folks only had one area open and the line was pretty long.  So it did take some time to get to the gate.  No worries as I was already checked in.

Eventually, I made it to the gate in time for boarding.

Continental 19 London to Newark, NJ

We pushed back ontime at 6:30p and headed for the runway.  Takeoff was quick as there are not many planes leaving at that time of the night.

This airplane has audio/video on demand which was really cool.  We started with some pretzels and then a choice of chicken or beef.  I had the beef.  I was really tired so I went to sleep right after.  I awoke later and had an arrival snack just before landing in Newark.

After clearing security, I found a hotel as I really needed to take a nap in a real bed.  Thursday was the last time I do so and today was Saturday.  It was a great trip despite not making it to South Africa for the World Cup 2010.

Did anyone else make it to the World Cup 2010?

Enjoy the pictures.

I was the last person to board this Boeing 737-900ER flight; at the door, there was a sticker with the DIRECTV logo, just in case you were not sure.  As I boarded, the flight attendant pointed me to a box on the right in the closet.  It said “Take a free headset,” so I did.  The flight attendant then advised me that there was a charge for DIRECTV and the directions were on the screen at my seat.

As I made my way to my seat, I noticed that everyone had headsets in and were all quiet and watching TV.  I remembered this same experience on jetBlue when I flew them for a month back in September/October 2009.  It was the quietest I’ve ever seen a boarded airplane.

I eventually got the attention of the passenger at the aisle as I had the middle seat.  He was really into the TV in front of him.  I moved into my seat and settled in then started sampling the offerings myself.  You can view the offerings at http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/entertainment/directv/default.aspx on the Continental Airlines Web site.

On the tip of the armrest to my left, the system has a GUIDE button which tells you what is available onscreen.  This is in addition to the normal channel and volume buttons plus a SELECT button and brightness controls.  There was a message on screen that advised that the charge was 6.00 USD and that you can use a credit/debit card to swipe on the right.  The same message also advised that you were receiving a free preview so you should go ahead and swipe your credit/debit card now so you don’t get interrupted later.

I played around with it for a bit checking out the channels.  There were lots of sports stuff going on as well as movies.  I did take note that Harry Potter was starting in ten minutes which would have been 3:00a on the East coast of the U.S.  I don’t have DIRECTV at home so this was all new to me.

I did notice that there is a power plug just under my seat to the right; yea.  I had run down both the computer and my phone batteries in the airport, so this would be very useful during the flight.  I had to wait to get above 10,000′ to plug in though.

The door soon closed, then the flight attendants gave the safety demo manually as there is not a recorded one on the system.  We then headed out to the runway and as it was so late, we departed fairly quickly into the cold night skies.

My free time had run out just before we left the ground, so I swiped my card when we got airborne and followed the instructions to activate the system.  There is no charge in First class by the way.  I was not really watching anything, just surfing channels.  It was late and not much to see on TV anyways.  I looked around and the folks I could see were not watching TV as they had the “your free time is up” screen up; I guess they were asleep. I was trying to find some audio channels, but could not, so I nodded off, just as the beverage service started.  I did have some cranapple juice, but not the pretzels before going to sleep.

I was awoken a few hours later as we were preparing for landing in Houston.  I put my stuff (computer, cell phone and electrical plugs) away and went back to sleep awaking when I got to the gate and heard the ding from the seatbelt sign going off.

All in all, it was a good experience; I have to plan a long flight during the daytime so I can experience it all without falling asleep.

Have you flown an airplane with DIRECTV?  If so, how was your experience?