Round The World and other travels

So I'd managed to get transferred onto an earlier flight and I'd been allocated the 'A' seat in the front row, for the second time in one day! And once again, I had no seat-mate, meaning that I could afford to spread out a bit - at least in terms of my belongings. Incidentally, the seats were of the chunkier design, as experienced on my HKG-KIX-HKG flights. For the first time since my last BA flight, my jacket was hung for me. I declined the offers of a blanket and a newspaper. (Barely) hot towels were distributed once the doors had been closed. As on previous Cathay flights, the in-flight magazine came in a sealed plastic wrapper, ensuring that it was in pristine condition.

We pushed back early at 1604. The Captain mentioned that there were thunderstorms around and indeed the sky was looking very threatening out of my side of the aircraft. I hoped we'd make it out in time! We did indeed, taking our leave of BKK at 1622. Once the cabin crew had been released from their seats, In-flight Service Manager Victor introduced himself in person. I noticed that he wasn't speaking to everybody; perhaps he was picking out the oneworld elites?

Recalling the rather hurried service on my previous HKG-BKK sector, it was interesting that things were much more laid-back in this direction with, for example, a leisurely drinks service prior to the meal being served. I had a glass of Champagne (which was generously topped up) and some warmed almonds. The menu was as follows :-

I stuck with Champagne for the starter and switched to the Bordeaux for my delicious beef main course. (Having already sampled the Burgundy on a previous flight, I thought I'd branch out a bit!) I had a nibble at the dessert and finished off with two cups of Earl Grey.

As we approached HKG via the Kowloon / Tsing Ma / Lantau route, the screen displayed the baggage reclaim carousel number and the gate numbers of connecting flights. We landed at Chek Lap Kok at 1935 and as we made our way to Gate 3, I spotted my TG A330 from earlier in the day! Arrival was ahead of schedule at 1947.