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- Dag 25
- donderdag 20 juni 2024 om 20:30
- ⛅ 9 °C
- Hoogte: 118 m
AustraliëTullamarine Airport37°40’3” S 144°51’8” E
Day 25

Paying extra for Premium Economy certainly pays off, as I managed to get at least five hours sleep during the flight. Whilst having a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, I watched the movie Parasite, which I only found mediocre. Before I knew it, we had arrived in Hong Kong!
After a pretty quick disembarkation, I was hoping the whole immigration and bag collection process wouldn’t take too long, as I only had 45 minutes to catch an 8:30am transfer bus to my hotel (or wait another hour for the next one). Luckily it didn’t, but the only problem was dragging my broken bag all the way through Terminal 1 to the pick up area!
I managed to get onto the bus with ten minutes to spare, which was easier said than done as the pick up area was outside the airport, and the Hong Kong heat was oppressive. The bus was air conditioned though and I ended up being the only passenger for the quick ten minute drive to the hotel.
The hotel was amazing! After taking the elevator to reception, they kindly gave me my room early (it wasn’t meant to be ready until 10am). The room is beautiful, modern and quiet. I considered sleeping or showering, but instead decided to get changed and buy some food and water first.
The hotel was directly above a huge shopping centre but since it was still early, I wandered around it before finding a cheap restaurant named Law Mark Kee which offered a $HK36 (about $7) breakfast of porridge, scrambled eggs on toast, and coffee. It was definitely a deal I couldn’t refuse, although it did feel interesting being the only Westerner in the restaurant!
After getting some water and a sandwich from a 7-11, I went back to the room for an amazing shower and nap. I’d set my alarm for 3pm although doubted I would need that much sleep. It turns out I was wrong as I kept sleeping until a few minutes before the alarm sounded. I then packed up my bag, ironed a shirt and went downstairs to check out. I would definitely stay at this hotel again in similar circumstances. The airport transfer left at 4pm, so I waited downstairs until being taken to the airport.
Fortunately we were dropped outside the terminal instead of being taken to the car park area. The airport terminal though was still hot, as the heat and humidity made it uncomfortable. One good thing is that I received a boarding pass for Premium Economy straightaway, so I had to wait to see if I would receive an upgrade at the boarding gate.
After paying $AUD11 for an iced coffee to cool down, I went through security and straight to the boarding gate until the flight boarding time started. Since the staff at the boarding gate were unable to tell me if I’d received an upgrade yet, I waited in the Premium Economy queue until boarding commenced. When I scanned my pass, the machine beeped and advised me to speak to the boarding desk. The agent took my pass, checked her computer and advised me….
…I’d been upgraded to Business Class! Woohoo! I did a little happy dance before making my way down the separate boarding entrance. I had my own pod in 22K which is beautiful and better than the current Qantas product. Of course I couldn’t resist taking photos and a video, as well as posting my status on Instagram before our departure.
The cabin crew have been lovely too. When my entertainment system stopped working, they let me move to the one spare business seat so I could still watch my movie. When the last vegetarian option wasn’t available, they managed to find me one when a passenger changed their order. The dessert of panna cotta was wonderful too.
As I’ve now finished my dinner, I’m going to settle down for a sleep in my Skybed.Meer informatie