Showing posts with label Nepal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nepal. Show all posts

Friday, November 04, 2011

Report on First Class YUL - ZRH on Swiss Air

Got out of the lounge at 5:33pm and my flight is supposed to board at 5:35pm. When i got to the gate there were lots of ppl already in line. Then it came to my mind that i have a F boarding pass so I should take the shorter line.

I never dress nicely when i go on trips so when i lined up at the priority line i think the agent had a funny expression on his face, as if he thought I made a mistake lining up there. Well, i showed him my boarding pass and got thru in 2 seconds. Looking at the plane i am hopping onto here:

I think nobody travel in F dressing in hiking attire lol. The gentleman at the door also didnt expect to point me to the left (the right is the econ cabin). Two stewardess were waiting for me already and we started chatting a bit. From my belongings they could tell already i am trekking. I got a glass of still water and got appetizer as well. Of coz there was hot towel service again

Have a look at my seat 2A. I chose this seat so that I am on the Swiss Alps side. The single seats are blocked off originally until 23 hrs prior. By the way, I found out that I was the only one in the F cabin! 有少少受寵若驚tim! That is why the stewardess said they will set up my bed on the other side so i can keep my seat as the living space! That sounds so luxurious!

One of the ladies brought me headsets and the amenity kit by Bally! Inside are skincare from la prairie! There are people who sells these kits on ebay for like $50-60! I dunno who would buy them but i am keeping mine :P

I told them i would change to PJ later so one of the lady got me a M. I hope it fits!

Dinner service starts! I will post the menu later but here are the foodz!!

This is Sauvignon blanc from Switzerland. Very fruity! I usually dont like whites but I like this one,

Setting of my table. The stewardess was so quick to set it up! They were top notch despite both ladies are older. When i said i was heading to nepal one already said oh you are gonna goto Kathmandu. Both of the ladies are very knowledgeable.

My bread tray. I could only ate half of the baguette but it was so good!

Appetizer 1: Balik Salmon! Heard a lot about it And it tasted great! Feels very fresh and 'solid'... Like organic food if u know what i mean. I am sure the salmon was living in good water without a lot of pollutants

Appetizer 2: shrimp on crab salad, chopped mango on the side with crouton stick. The menu is a la carte but coz i was the only passenger on board, there were a lot of flexibilities and i could pick whatever! :)

Appetizer 3: salad with swiss dressing. Fresh and i need the veg on board haha

My glass of Bordeaux from chateau simons haut lafite, 2007. Some of u may know that 2007 Bordeaux is considered one of the best year and i am lucky to have on board. Amazing nose! I am a big fan of bordeaux wines and I almost only drink reds from there :p

My main is steak in black bean sauce. Requested medium rare but came out medium, which was alright but a bit on the tough side. One lady checked and was not happy that it was medium. I told her it was alright :). She later came by with a veg tray and i got some brocollini as well.

Interrupting my dinner as I was playing around with the seat control. It really is amazing! There is even a massage function (but too light for my liking)

I got a bit of every cheese they had on board. Gruyere is still my fav cheese and i got 3 pieces of that hehe!

At this point i was soooo full, one stewardess came to show me my two choices of dessert (already assembled and ready to eat!) blueberry cheese cake or apple tarte with vanilla ice cream. I picked the tarte and was wondering what would happen to that cheese cake since she already plated it!

I asked for decaf nespresso which was quite nice. I really enjoyed my dinner though it took almost 2 hrs hahha it really feels like fine dining! The stewardess came by with a box of pralines from Sprungli which i picked two.

After dinner i went to the bathroom to change to my PJ, and when I got back, my bed was already made for me! Told you they are really on top of things! As i walked out of the bathroom one stewardess had a hanger and was ready to hang my clothes for me too!

I slept for probably 3 hours or so and woke up coz it was getting hot. This flight is really short (only 7 hrs) so it is difficult to have proper sleep i think. One stewardess came by and asked if i wanna drink anything. She actually promised to wake me up 50 min before landing for breakfast but she came by at 40 min :P. I have a feeling they want me to sleep more and also they can skip serving me breakfast wahaha... WRONG!

The other stewardness gave me this fruit booster drink which has mango and all sorts of other stuff in it. Then i also ordered a tomato juice.

Here is my breakfast: mixed fruit, muesli with honey (tasted great), coffee, bread tray and yogurt (didnt get a chance to eat and wa confisticated leaving ZRH argh

I got asked if there was anything else i like and i said i like hot eggs (by this time the plane was descending quickly already)....

Wahaha i got cheese and thyme omelette with bacon! Nice and hot!

Landing very soon! I already miss this flight!

The lounges in YUL

When I arrived at YUL @3pm, there was hardly a soul in the Europe side of the terminal. I walked around a bit and decided to head to a lounge.

I saw there is this TD first class visa lounge which seems nice and bright. Goodie i have that visa! So i walked in showing them the card. They made a carbon copy of my card (dunno why since they arent asking me to pay but may be for a record?) and I walked in. There were some ppl as u see....

I walked right to the computer room. There were two terminals but one was locked. I went onto the working one and started checking email and FB ... Nice and cozy. Got some juice from the kitchen. There were quite a bit of snacking foods around. I took a white choco cookie also keke!!

Found a seat with outlet so i can charge my iphone. Using the wireless there but it was not that fast a connection. Spent about 45 min and got up to leave coz I have to check out the maple leaf lounge to compare!!!

As i walked to the maple leaf lounge, i saw this 'line-up' outside. Whats going on? Then the door opened so i walked in with another lady. She complained to the front desk that they should have opened earlier. I guess i left the TD lounge at a good time otherwise i would be waiting in line too!

The lounge is on the 3rd floor by elevator and let me tell you. It is night and day compare to the TD lounge: defintely better decor and million dollar view of the flights, unobstructed!! More food and boost but also way more people! Here are some photos

It also has a kids game room with tv and PSP! Gotta think about upgrading the kids too if i travel with them next time

I just took some veg sticks and tomato juice plus two clamatoes! The latter seemed to taste better, then i figured out why! Coz in my horror, it has MSG!! I better stay away from it next time

While waiting for the time to board, I watched today's episode of 法證先鋒3 on youtube. I wish it has a faster connection! The wireless is even worse than at the TD lounge!

Time to board! Will report on my first First experience next!

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Business class report: YYZ to YUL on Air Canada

I had an economy seat going to Montreal since all the reward seats were gone but the aeroplan agent said
she would put me on the waiting list.

When i got to the gate, i immediately went up to see if i was on the list. Of coz not!! Never trust the agents over the phone! The agent at the gate added me on immediately though and i got on!! Lucky day!!

The biz class area was actually full... Many biz men travelling. There was a family of four (2 young girls) in Biz class qlso though but they were well behaved. I got some orange juice when i sat there. After took off they had the hot towel service which I dont understand why stiIl. Feels like old style Chinese restaurant!

The stewardess was very nice and all smiles. I got this tray of food which was hard-rock chicken breast and potatoes plus tomatoes. Most people did not take the tray but I didnt have lunch so i was happy to see food!! It tasted good but just very difficult to cut thru. Got real silverware and napkins though. Also asked for tomato juice with my meal which came in a real glass tumbler!

The seat is just a wider seat than economy but of coz it feels good! The table is stored on the side which i didnt realize until my neighbor pointed out to me! 大鄉里is me wahaha...

The flight departed and arrived on time. One hour is really a short flight eh! I realize that En route magazine is free to take home. But I wonder if it is only for biz class or for everyone?

I think they are descending too quickly though... I can hardly hear anything the pressure in my ears were incredible arghhhh

I did get to leave the cabin early which is always nice! Bonjour Montreal!

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

The Art of Packing Light

Finally done my packing for my upcoming trip! Totally excited :). For most of my friends, you all know how I hate to have to check in stuff. So this time is no different, I plan to hand carry 'em all!

This time is a bit challenging as i am lugging over one -7C sleeping bag and TWO overbags!! But hey it is doable!

Check out my 8 litres stuff sacks! They are amazing and i got them from MEC. I fit my down sleeping bag in one, both overbags in another, and finally ALL my clothes in the third! They are making packing-impossible to be possible!

The leftmost one has been compressed a bit. I compressed down 40% or so of each!

All the stuff I am bringing goes into a black duffel and my deuter 28L daypack. You will see how compact it is in the next photo compare to the first photo...

I probably have to use an extra shopping bag for my rubber boots (coz Bangkok is flooding omg) but everything else is packed including my crocs and down jacket, both hanging off with cabiners attaching to my daypack.

I guess I am ready to go! :)

Here is my detailed packing list:

Clothings
3 short sleeve fastdry tee
1 Thermo long sleeve
2 Underjohns
1 Fleece pants
1 shell pants
2 long sleeves fleece
2 bras
20 disposable bra pads
14 disposable undies
2 fastdry undies
1 Down Jacket
1 Shell Jacket
1 Thin rain jacket
1 travel pants (convertible to shorts)
3 Smartwool socks
2 sock liners
1 pair of hiking shoes (bringing the ones I wore on Inca trail in Peru)
1 pair of crocs
1 pair of rubber boots (to tread through flooded water in Bangkok)
1 pair of liner gloves
1 pair of snow gloves
1 Balaclava
1 Winter hat (bringing over the cute 2010 winter olympics hat)

Gear
Sleeping bag liner (cotton)
Down sleeping bag
2 overbags (bringing over one for Marge)
Water bladder 2L
Nalgene bottle
Water purification tablets
Sunglasses
Thermometer keyring
Whistle
Microfiber cloth
3 carbiners
1 combination lock
Sleeping bag stuff sacks
Foldable duffel bag
Money belt
Bubble wraps (for delicate items i might buy)
Ziplock bags
Garbage bags

Food
Kool aid drink powder
Energy bars
SPAM and sausage
Fruit rolls
Candies

Electronics
Head lamp with extra batteries
Iphone
Iphone cable and wall charger
2 Solar charger (better utilize the sun more right?)
LX5 camera with UV an polarizing filters and 3 batteries
SD cards
Airstash (wireless SD card reader)
Travel adapters
Headphones
Gorillapod

Toiletries
Sunscreen
2 pack of Wet wipes
2 Toilet paper roll
Kleenex
Day/night cream
Toner
Lip Balm
Face masks (it is dusty in kathmandu and also lots of sick people on the trek)
Glasses
19 1-day contacts
Shower cap
Shower gel
Hair pins and elastics
Lipstick
Toothbrush and paste, floss
Listerine (serve as mosquito repellent and also good for Treating sore throat)
Hand sanitizer
Artificial tears to lubricate the eyes
Nail clipper

First Aid
Moleskin
Advil
Diamox
Dayquil and nightquil
Bandaids
Polysporin
Alcohol swabs
Antibiotics (prescribed)
Imodium

Essentials
Air tix info
Passport
Nexus card
Bangkok and Chiba/Narita maps
Cash (USD and CAD)
House key
Hotel Info
GAP voucher
Travel insurance voucher
2 passport photos
VISA / AE
Pen / paper