In general, I don't usually talk about my return flights as they are usually uneventful. On this particular occasion, I went through an extra layover due to the airplane crash at SFO. The crash shut down the airport for half a day which created havoc for lots of people including yours truly.
My original flight was DPS to SIN and overnighting at Changi for 8 hours. I opted to avoid getting a hotel room and hung out at the Kris Lounges. Since I was now on a Star Alliance flight, the folks at the lounge allowed me access.
Singapore Airlines has several lounges depending on class of service. Gold is for the Star Alliance Gold folks, Silver is for the Business and First Class passengers. The Silver Lounge actually segregates Business and First Class passengers from the Economy Class passengers. They also segragate the Singapore Airlines First Class versus Star Alliance First Class passengers as there is a segmented part of the Lounge for those folks. After wandering into the Gold lounge, I wanted to see the Silver lounge. Luckily, I was upgraded to Business and could enter the Silver Lounge. The facilities are nice in each respective lounge but I was a little surprised to see that bathroom access was actually outside of the lounges. I suspect the First Class folks did not have to go outside to go to the bathroom. I did not investigate much but I did wonder if there were shower facilities in this particular lounge. The Gold definitely did not but I could see the Silver having it somewhere if I had asked about it.
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| SilverKris Lounge at Changi |
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In the morning, I was able to get my boarding pass from the
United Airlines folks at the transfer desk. As I was boarding my flight, I saw the news of the crash happening at SFO. It didn't dawn on me to ask if I should be rerouted as I boarded the plane. There was a flight leaving SIN at the same time to ORD and it might have been a good option for me instead of HKG. Once I landed at HKG, I found out that the HKG to SFO flight was cancelled. After being in line for a few hours at the transfer desk, I busied myself with trying to connect via Skype United's reservation desk. I was able to rebook a flight out the next day but I had wanted to get out the same day. Unfortunately, the flight to ORD was leaving and I wasn't able to get to the desk fast enough to get on the flight. I didn't opt to go to the actual gate because I didn't know if I could find United personnel fast enough if that flight didn't materialize for me. I will say that I'm impressed on the internet stability at HKG as it allowed me to talk to a US based desk agent without issue. The agent was really pleasant with me despite the major meltdown on air travel. I had hoped she would put me onto First Class but was not able to snag it. I was still happy to find a flight home the next day rather than staying in Hong Kong for two nights. Once I reached the counter agent, the agent gave me hotel and meal vouchers. I was actually surprised that United was willing to give me these since it wasn't a mechanical issue but an act of God event. Although I was pleasantly surprised, my fellow passengers seemed to think that it was due. I didn't say anything but I did want to tell the people in front of me that the airlines have no duty to put you up in a hotel and give you free food. A plane crashed at a major international airport and it shut down! How is that the airline's responsibility to house and feed you in the interim? Mentally shaking my head, I was happy that I didn't need to make a hotel reservation of my own. United gave me a voucher for the
Regal Hong Kong International Airport hotel which is attached to the airport via a pedestrian walkway.
I spent the afternoon and evening exploring the arrival hall of HKG and the Regal hotel. The hotel was actually quite nice for a business hotel. Indoor and outdoor pools, full service spa, and a myriad of restaurants. When I checked into the hotel, I decided to upgrade to the Club level for about $70 USD. Since it was early, the hotel appeared very strict about check in times for the regular rooms. The upgraded rooms seemed to operate differently and gave you access to all the hotel facilities including shuttle service to the Hong Kong center, internet, pool and gym use, 6 pm late checkout, and lounge access where the happy hour and breakfast was served. Apparently, Chinese hotels charge a la carte for such amenities rather than be inclusive to the room rate. I suppose for $80 USD for a regular room, one cannot expect anything additional.
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| Regal Hong Kong Airport Hotel |
After getting settled into the room, I went out with meal vouchers in hand back to the Arrivals Hall to scope out my eating options. I decided to go to
McDonald's because I wanted a fried pie. I was sad to see when I got to the counter that pies were not available as part of the menu. I'm not sure why but it wasn't there on the menu. So I ordered two meals because the voucher was for $10 USD and apparently can go very far in Hong Kong. You can't buy two fast food meals for under $10 in the States. I also tried their ChocoNana McFlurry. It was pretty tasty even though it was half melted by the time I got back to my room. I ordered the GCB and a McSpicy Chicken meal sets. I will say that the sandwiches definitely used real chicken rather than the patties found in America. The GCB was a marinated dark meat chicken sandwich and the McSpicy Chicken reminded me of katsu chicken. Not bad.
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| GCB at McDonald's |
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| Great Chicken Burger |
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| Choconana McFlurry |
After eating my late lunch, I went to the lounge to maximize on my upgrade and had a few drinks before heading back to the food court at HKG. I found that
Crystal Jade has an outpost and I wanted to have spicy noodle soup. My friend had recommended me to visit Hui Shua Lan for dessert and they happened to be next to Crystal Jade. Any plans I had to venture into Hong Kong was shot at that point and I retired for the night.
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| Spicy Noodle Soup from Crystal Jade |
The next day, I got on my flight heading to
O'Hare Airport and crossing my fingers that I would not experience any delays from summer thunderstorms. The midwest is notorious for having weather issues in the summer. Unlike the SFO-HKG flight, the HKG/ORD flight on United does not have wifi. A shame because I was willing to pay the internet fee this time around. I will add that I normally don't order chicken breast on flights but the attendants gave me the chicken breast by mistake and I was able to get a bite before realizing that it was the wrong meal. After I received my correct meal of cod, I wished I had the chicken back!
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| Meal 1 - Chicken (better of the two) |
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| Replacement meal |
After getting off the plane in O'hare and settled into the United Club in B terminal (the only one with shower facilities), I realized I had forgotten my reader. At the time, I didn't know if it was still on the plane or back at the hotel. I filed a claim on United but I don't hope to hear from them. Regal Hotel was really nice in their response to me making me feel they did everything they could to look for the reader. The email was one of the most well composed and thorough response I have ever seen ANYWHERE. I wish my staff would type emails as nice as this one. If you ever needed to stay at a Regal Hotel, I think you'll find the experience quite nice. :)
I will say that this is the longest continuous period I have ever been in airports/planes in my entire life. By my calculations, I spent almost 36 hours either at the airport or on a plane. I think I could have flown around the world in that time frame!
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