…. in international first class. Yeah, I figured I wouldn’t get much sympathy there. 😀
Two weeks to go till the big trip to Istanbul and Hong Kong. It’s worth noting that as of now my brother and I are the only passengers booked in first class for the Chicago to Zurich, London to Istanbul, and Istanbul to Hong Kong portions of the trip. While I doubt it’ll stay that way, I’ve always dreamed of having an entire international first class cabin to myself. In all fairness, my March trip on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong with only one other passenger in first class was pretty darn comfortable as well, though.
I’ve also decided on hotels. In Istanbul we’ll be staying at the InterContinental, where we snagged a 100 Euro Friends & Family rate. We’re already confirmed in a Bosphorus View Club room thanks to Royal Ambassador status. We’ll be in Hong Kong for three nights and will split our stay between the InterContinental Grand Stanford, which is a modest $140/night and arguably the hotel where I get the best value as a Royal Ambassador. A harbor view room with club access, free internet, free minibar, nice welcome gift, etc., makes the hotel switch worthwhile. We’ll be spending the last two nights at the awesome InterContinental Hong Kong, which in my mind has rooms which boast the best views of just about any hotel in the world (pardon the lady in the rose pedal filled bathtub). What am I most excited about? Check out how they serve Diet Coke in the club lounge.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to it, and you can expect a full trip report as usual. This time around I’ll try to update my Flickr photostream while traveling to make the trip a bit more “live” for anyone interested in follow along.
my heart bleeds for you :-p sounds like a great itinerary, can't wait to see the trip report :)
@ andrewwm -- I'll do my best, I promise.
@ Scholar in Training -- Nah, I don't eat fast food (or at least not McD's). I just lived on club lounge food. It was part of maximizing value for me.
@ caelus -- Yeah, the weather in Asia in August sucks, but I've gone there that time of year for the past few years, and I've survived. I'm in Florida, so there's not that huge...
@ andrewwm -- I'll do my best, I promise.
@ Scholar in Training -- Nah, I don't eat fast food (or at least not McD's). I just lived on club lounge food. It was part of maximizing value for me.
@ caelus -- Yeah, the weather in Asia in August sucks, but I've gone there that time of year for the past few years, and I've survived. I'm in Florida, so there's not that huge of a difference. I wanted to do London, but we have a limited amount of time there and my brother was there just a few months ago, so we had to skip it. I plan on making a trip in the fall.
ohhhhh, you are going to Asia in August, good luck with the heat and humidity! say hi to the pandas for me! :)
So no London for you this time?
The IC Hong Kong has the best views from a hotel room on planet Earth, in my humble opinion.
And yes, you have to try the food. What did you eat last time you were there, McDonald's?
This time you're actually going to try local food in Hong Kong though right? It's practically criminal to go to Hong Kong and not at least eat one local dim sum place ;)