Jo’burg is a strange place. We’ve been to some pretty dangerous destinations, but Jo’burg was odd in that every residence had huge walls and barbed wire. Private security guards roamed the streets with machine guns, and we were told by the hotel what outdoor walk would be safe for us: the five minute walk from the hotel to the nearby mall. Jo’burg had a compound feel to it that we did not like.
The 747 uses the old First Class product. Compared to the new product, there isn’t much difference in the look of it, other than the fact it looks a little more worn, and the paneling is more plastic looking. Substantially, the cushioning on the seat felt noticeably worse than on the new First Class product. I would rather fly on the new First rather than on the Old version.
To be honest, I'm not too fond of Hong Kong. I've been here before, and I find the city kind of lifeless, each district is more-or-less the same. However, Hong Kong has fabulous food, and prices in the city are surprisingly reasonable.
On day 1 we went to Macau, which was quite an experience. When we went to Macau, there was a 'Tier 3' typhoon warning, which meant that the ferry to and from Macau was extremely turbulent. We were knocked around, and a number of folks were puking throughout the journey.
Cathay puts their First Class passengers in the BA First Class lounge at JFK. Note that BA First Class passengers actually use the Concorde Room, not this lounge.
On the whole, this lounge is 'meh'. It's a good business class lounge, but is not fit for First Class. Their food offerings were sparse, mostly fruit and some stale sushi, and they had no hot food. The liquor selection was decent, with Grey Goose and Laurent-Perrier on offer.
I woke up nice and early to catch my 5:40AM flight from Kingston YGK to Toronto YYZ. I absolutely love the YGK airport: it's very small, clean, efficient, and their operations just work. The agents were able to through-check my luggage all the way to Hong Kong, even though that flight was on a separate itinerary. Another great feature of the YGK airport (except for the microwave being the centre point of their cafeteria!), is that only a Beechcraft services the airport. The Beechcraft is an old-timey plane, with no cockpit door, a bathroom without a door, and loud-as-hell propellors.
Thanks for reading this trip report! Because I am posting the numerous parts of this report while I'm travelling, they will be published over the course of the next couple weeks. Enjoy!
