The Even Higher Life

After my good times in the Qantas Lounge pretending to be a upper class flier I headed off to the gate.  I was on a British airways operated flight going from Syndey to Bangkok and continuing on to London.  It was a little strange when we began boarding and the announcers said first and business board at your leisure and then a bit later, everyone got to board.  No from the back, or by zone, just everybody go.  The first lady checking passports greeted me by first name which was a little weird.  Usually I find that they see the Frequent Flier tag on the pass address me by last name.  But sure.  The Mr sounds weird anyway.  The guy in front of me had some issues getting his boarding pass to scan so I waited a bit.  And on my turn the machine made some terrible noises and red lights came up.  The attendant went shuffling through a stack of boarding passes and handed me a new one.  I had moved up 13 rows.  Interesting.  It wasn't until half way down the jet way when I noticed at the top 'upgr'

As I boarded, there seemed to be no room between the business class seat where I entered and the economy some rows back for a Premium Economy.  And sure enough, 20G was the final row of Club World, BA's business class.  The person in front of me as we moved to our seats asked if there were any seats in that section free, pointing to business.  The attendant laughed and said something along the lines of, Yes, free for about 2000 pounds.  And then I sat in one of them.  And he kept walking.  Absurd.

Dinner was a 4 course meal of duck, salad, coconut baramundi and cherry streudel.  I enjoyed an Argentinian red wine which was topped off quite often by the attendants.  A port was opened for me for dessert.  The charming British flight attendants said cheerio and called me love.    I relaxed in my pod although I didn't try out the full sleeping position.  My flight into Bangkok arrived at an awkward time before my bus ride to the ferry.  I wasn't really sure whether to sleep or stay awake.  I ended up staying awake.  BA had a pretty good selection of movies, more than Qantas I'd say.  Arriving in Bangkok I received a customs express lane ticket, although there was hardly anyone there.

Bangkok airport is quite an interesting building and I'll try to take pictures when I return to Australia.  But for now, I have found a decent hotel near the ferry office where I need to be in the morning.  I got a discount since I'll only be here a few hours.  But they have free wifi and a shower to wash off the plane.  Even business class doesn't prevent the 9 hours of flying from getting to you from a hygiene standpoint.  The hotel and ferry office are on a busy street.  The cabbie explained to me that during the day he would be able to drive down, but at night there were too many people.  Too many people indeed.  The street is full of bars and restaurants, hostels and hotels.There are also lots of street vendors selling all sorts of food and stuff.  There was a bar out of the side of a VW van painted in all sorts of 60's colors and styles.        

So now, I rest before my 8 hour bus/ferry ride to Koh Tao.  Also, my Blogger links are in Thai. 

Living the High Life

One of my benefits as a Silver Flier, is a one off pass to the Qantas Club, the Frequent Flier Lounge.  Having a fair few hours between flights, I used it while in Sydney.  I wrote this post as I stayed, so you might get a lot of random seemingly disjointed thoughts.

Inside the lounge is a number of open spaces.  In the first one was seating on long benches and low chairs for general relaxing.  There were also two long counters where wine was being chilled and coffee served along with fresh muffins.  A power port let me keep my laptop going as I did a bit of school work.

In the second area was a row of iMacs dual booting OSX and Windows 7.  There didn't seem to be a dedicated lounge wifi, so this was where I was able to grab the internet for my stay.  Also in the area was more chairs and table for eating and a continetal breakfast since it was still early.  Because it's an international lounge, the Qantas website says that, to cater to customers changing time zones and long travel, there are no restrictions on servicing alcohol before noon like the domestic lounge.  More wine was in this area as well as pour your own spirits and three beers on tap.  They didn't include the $200 bottles of Johnny Walker Blue that the duty free was sampling downstairs.  Maybe that is in the dedicated First Class lounge. 

After the continental breakfast was taken away, a buffet of nibles was put out.  This included a variety of cheeses, breads, cold salads, soup and deli slices.  It was laid out along with the hideous silverware given to Premium economy customers on the plane. 
In addition to the buffet that was out, there was a plate of the date offered by the staff.  For this day it was a plate of smoked salmon with crackers and a bit of cream cheese.

I must say i was terribly jealous when the desk called out boarding calls for SanFran and Los Angeles, pronounces Angel-ease.

I went back up for a piece of cheesecake that I saw on my first (and second....) time at the lunch bar.  But, when I arrived I also found red Thai curry chicken that hadn't been there previous.  So I had some of that too.

Its very interesting the people coming in and out of the Qantas Club.  Theres me, obviously, and I feel quite strange with all the service being offered.  But there are also lots of mothers with small children and others.  I suppose I am here on a complimentary pass, so others could be as well.  It just seems a strange mix.  I suppose one first has to answer, what sort of people fly business and first class.  I suppose its these people?  I guess I was just expecting more suits and ties.  But they all seem to be better layover planners than I.  No one has been here as long as me.  They are squandering their opportunity.  No one appreciates free food and drink as much as a foreign master's student. 

I made it to the third area.  More of the same.  Another buffet, charis, tables.  There was also a family area with a tv hooked up to a video game console of some sort.  I didn't quite have the courage to sit down and play.  Plus I had to get back to my bag.  It's a miserable day in Sydney.  Very gray and drizzly.  And a bowl of mixed nuts, still warm from being roasted, and no peanuts.  High class here.  They are coated in something.  And it burns.  Not a spicy burn, just a terrible burning sensation in my chest. 

Despite the fact that the boarding calls up here are about 25 minutes after the time written on my boarding pass, its time to pack up and head down to the gate.  Perhaps the duty free people will still be giving samples.  And have changed shift.

Next stop Bangkok.

Blogger Issues and Thailand Update

Blogger is being a pain.  Not sure why.  Might be Firefox?  I'll look into it eventually.

I have made plans for my April dive trip to Thailand.  I'll be diving on Koh Tao and meeting my roommate from Webb there.  We did Mexico together so it should be fantastic time.  I think my Spanish is probably better than my Thai though.  But thats all part of the adventure.  Last year for my Easter dive trip I was on a tarp in a sleeping bag out in the Australian autumn.  This year I'll be on a Thai beach in a fan bungalow at 10 degrees north, so technically spring. 

Thailand is actually a bloody long way from Adelaide, about a 9-10 hour flight from Sydney, which is pretty close to the same distance as Hawaii actually.  Its also about the same price getting from Adelaide to Bangkok as it is from JFK.  But I used up the last of my miles and saved some money.  And I'll get this set plus a loyalty bonus from Qantas that I have been due for a while.  It seems you don't earn miles and status when you book free flights through miles like I did for Sydney and Cairns. 

As for school, its like senior year all over again.  Thesis and projects are all I have, and I'm sure they will sneak up on me.  But no spring break in the dark model basin this year.  I'm going to set my CFD to run like mad while I'm gone and come back with a tan, my fill of Thai food (and Mai Tai's...are they Thai?), a bunch more dives in my book and hopefully lots of good pictures again.