Asian Adventure: Cathay Pacific B777-300ER Business Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Asian Adventure: Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: The Cabin at HKG
Asian Adventure: Cathay Dragon A330-300 Business Class Hong Kong to Beijing
Asian Adventure: Regent Beijing Hotel
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Dongcheng District
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Great Wall
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Run-ze Jade Garden
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Legend of Kung Fu
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Tiananmen Square
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Forbidden City
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Hutong Tour via Rickshaw, Tea Tasting, Flying to Xi’an
Asian Adventure: Hotel Shangri-La Xi’an
Asian Adventure: Xi’an - Qing Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors
Asian Adventure: Xi’an - Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show
Asian Adventure: Xi’an Wrap-Up, Flying to Lhasa, Lhasa Home Visit
Asian Adventure: Shangri-La Hotel Lhasa
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Market
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Canggu Nunnery and Sera Monastery
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Potala Palace
Asian Adventure: Leaving Lhasa and Flying to Chongqing
Asian Adventure: Viking Emerald
Asian Adventure: Shibaozhai Temple
Asian Adventure: Cruising the Three Gorges
Asian Adventure: Three Gorges Dam
Asian Adventure: Jingzhou City Walls Tour
Asian Adventure: Wuhan - Hubei Bells Performance and Provincial Museum
Asian Adventure: Shanghai - Shanghai Museum
Asian Adventure: Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai
Asian Adventure: Shanghai - Old Shanghai and Yuyan Gardens
Asian Adventure: The New Otani Tokyo Hotel
Asian Adventure: Tokyo - City Tour
Asian Adventure: Mt. Fuji and Hakone Tour Returning by Shinkansen
Asian Adventure: ANA Suites Lounge Review, Tokyo Narita
Asian Adventure: All Nippon Airways B777-300ER First Class Tokyo Narita to Houston
J and I left The Cabin about 10 minutes before our flight to Beijing was due to board. Fortunately we only had to take the elevator up one level and our gate was very close by. M's flight was an hour later so he stuck around though his flight actually left from a different concourse so he had a bit more walking to do.
We boarded through door 1L and turned right, passing through the 8-seat first class cabin and into the first of the two business class cabins.
KA 900 – HKG-PEK
Departs: 8:00 AM
Arrives: 11:15 AM
Duration: 3h 20m
Aircraft: A330-300
Seat: 12C (Business Class)
Strangely I didn't get a photo of the seat itself though it reminded me a little of the seat I'd had on Turkish Airlines B777 when I returned from Istanbul. Seat controls were built into the side of the arm rest, which was just above the slot for the in-flight magazines.
The center armrest had a panel that flipped up to reveal the IFE controller. I always wondered why some airplanes had these fat seatbelts. I only recently learned that there are actually air bags inside those!
The tray table could be fully extended from the seat in front ....
Or you could choose to have it extend only halfway. I liked this compromise where the full tray might be in your way but you might still want a shelf.
Business class was split into two sections, each in a 2-2-2 configuration. The front section where we were had 4 rows while the cabin behind us had three rows. Our cabin was full.
Because it was a morning flight, it was time for breakfast - never mind that we'd had one breakfast on the flight from the US and had the opportunity for nibbles in the lounge! Here was the menu:
J had an OJ (or a mimosa?!) while I had water to start.
Once meal service began I had OJ too and we both ordered the fresh fruit.
And a croissant
She had the beef tenderloin entree
Having never had dim sum I thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it out because A) I was now in Asia so it should be authentic and B) if I didn't like it, I wasn't out any money and I could ask for something else.
I didn't like everything but I was trying to branch out of my comfort zone just a little. The phyllos were a little rubbery to my taste but I didn't go hungry.
We touched down on time in Beijing's Terminal 3. From our gate it was quite a long walk to reach immigration where naturally there was somebody with an issue that was holding up the line. Once we finally got through we then took the train to baggage claim and I was astonished at how long the train ride was. It was at least a 15 minute ride without stopping.
Once we claimed our bags we then waited for M's flight to land an hour later. His trek through immigration took even longer than ours, not due to his paperwork but by someone ahead of him in line. We had pre-booked a ride to the hotel and our driver/guide, who supposedly spoke English (and he did, but just a little) had us on our way fairly quickly. While there were only three of us, we each had a large suitcase and at least one carry-on. I was very glad we had booked a mini-van as we would have been extremely crowded had we just booked a car.
As much as I enjoy flying I was glad to have reached our destination and I was excited about discovering Beijing over the next few days.
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