life. love. and the pursuit of miles.: Up in the Air

Ok, I didn't mean to lie to you and promise that I'd blog along the way of our trip. The internet is a funny thing you see. It's there when you only have a phone and "finished" when you have a computer. So, I apologize for the absence but I'm back and ready to tell you all about it!

We had a blast. :) We did so much during this trip that I might take a big nap in the middle of recapping because it makes me tired to think about it, haha! We easily walked about 500 miles on this trip making sure we were taking in all the cities had to offer. It was so much fun and we'd do it again in a heartbeat. :)

To start, I want to share our FABULOUS flying experiences with you! No sarcasm, I promise! The flight to LA was standard business in American on an older aircraft. We dined on a yummy meal and sipped champagne as we went to LA. Once there, we boarded what might be my favorite flight of the entire trip. The Cathay Pacific Business flight. Swoon...

The seat was set in a herringbone pattern and enclosed so the privacy in this seat was the best out of all we took. This is the older style seating but it ended up being wonderful! I found there to be plenty of space and the lack of "elbow room" wasn't bothersome at all. The seat laid down completely flat into a bed and you were given a real pillow (not a piece of cotton with some disposable surrounding) and a full sheet/comforter combo.

The best part? (besides service, great food, unlimited beverages, etc.) Sex and the City, unedited episodes, on-demand for me to watch at anytime. Let's just say that it was the shortest 14 hour flight I've ever been on. I started a movie and a screen popped up saying that there may not be enough time to finish it before we landed. I swore it was a mistake because it didn't feel or seem like it had even been 7 hours at that point!

Moving on, we flew Cathay again to Kuala Lumpur and this time, we got to enjoy a domestic-style of seating. It wasn't the full lay down beds but the seat did recline beyond what most chairs can do. :) The best part though of the entire HK to KL flying experience though was being able to enjoy Hong Kong's Cathay business lounge. We arrived to the airport early so we could enjoy it and so glad we did! It was peaceful, well stocked and it felt like the lobby of a nice hotel.

We took a train from KL to Singapore that proved to be the worst travel experience I've ever had, haha. It was about 100 years old, hadn't been touched since the early 60s and in really bad shape. The hubs and I were looking forward to relaxing on an easy going train ride and having dinner at the food/beverage cart but ended up not leaving our room out of fear. (that and there was no food/beverage cart) We were the first room in the first car but that ended up being the caboose for this leg of the trip and were next to the loud what-makes-the-train-go cart. To top it off, the tracks are super unstable there and we ended up being literally thrown out of our beds a few times in the middle of the night. Oh, and then there was the fact that the car behind us (the what-makes-the-train-go car) wasn't secured properly and would slam into the corner of our car. I could have slept better at a shooting range.

The Culprit

Enough Nancy Negative! :) From Singapore, we then flew to Bali and to Jakarta all on Air Asia. Since we paid separately for these flights, no miles used due to how cheap they were and times were perfect, we were in Economy. Well, everyone was as they don't offer Business Class on the flights we took. They were very clean planes, well kept and while the seats were small, they were comfortable enough for a few hours of travel. The major downside? They charge for every single thing. Including a glass of water. Other than that, it was good.

And finally, our Qantas flights. While I must say that the service wasn't as tip top as the Cathay flights, I was impressed with the flight crew and cleanliness of the planes. The seats weren't as comfy as the Cathay flights (in terms of cushion) but there was definitely more elbow room. Our main complaint was that the seat is an angled bed, so it never fully lays flat. It's great when watching movies but it's not really that comfy when it comes to sleeping. However, it beat a 13 hour flight in a seat that barely reclines so it was great in comparison.