This isn’t particularly surprising for those who fly out of JFK regularly:

The Middle Seat – WSJ.com
JFK had 316 flights that waited more than three hours to take off last year after pushing back from a gate, according to BTS data. Newark had 202; Dallas-Fort Worth had 159, and Philadelphia, New York LaGuardia and Chicago’s O’Hare each had 100 or more. Many big airports performed much better, such as Atlanta with only 31, Boston with 20, Detroit with six and Minneapolis with five.

Certain routes out of those problematic airports found themselves more often in taxi-out jail than others. From JFK, 60 of those 316 flights that sat more than three hours were bound for either Los Angeles or San Francisco. Planes flying the other direction didn’t have the problem — not a single flight in Los Angeles or San Francisco waited more than three hours to take off for JFK.

Why? To be sure, there are lots of flights from JFK to LAX and SFO, both heavily traveled routes. But airline officials say they are loath to cancel those high-revenue flights, often full of business travelers. Better to wait it out than try to rebook a big planeload of people.

I can’t remember the number of times that I’ve fallen asleep for a while after boarding an AA flight in JFK, and only woken up to discover that I was still at JFK.

It’s so rare to find good customer service these days that I’m surprised whenever I do. Yesterday I called PG&E to discuss a bill that I thought was unusually high. My December gas and electric bills were as high as my November one, despite the fact that we were in Asia for part of the month. The agent on the phone walked me through reading the dials on the meter to get an estimate for the current month, doing the math, and showing how the bill was accurate. The agent then gave me a plethora of energy saving ideas – including that it probably wasn’t worth it for me to try to save any more electricity since our usage is so low already.

Very impressed. Kudos to PG&E.

The City of Mountain View is pretty good about responding when you e-mail them. The other day I wrote about the awful traffic on Shoreline… this is the response I got today:

Good Morning Dennis,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding the operation of the traffic signal at Shoreline Boulevard and Pear Avenue. The signal has been operating on fixed time recently because trenching for the recycled water project on Pear Avenue went through the detector loops for the traffic signal. The work on Pear Avenue has been completed and new detector loops were installed yesterday. Signal operations at Shoreline/Pear should be improved next week. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me.

Thanks again,
Mike Vroman, P.E.
Traffic Engineer
City of Mountain View
Public Works Department

Hurray!

I find these videos prepared by the Intercontinental Hotel about travel destinations to be pretty good. Check them out. A text transcript would be helpful for some of the videos as they go pretty fast.

http://www.intercontinentalvideo.com/

I meant to write this up earlier and post it earlier, but man oh man this cold has been killing me. Here are my predictions for 2008. I’ve also tried to keep these predictions more tech-focused.

1. Broadband Adoption in the American home continues to stall or make very minor progress. Last summer, Pew Charitable Trusts reported that 47% of adult Americans have high-speed internet connections at home – up from 42%. This year, with consumers unable to use home equity as a source of income, energy prices continuing to soar, and wages continuing their meager growth, something has to give – and I’m pretty sure it won’t be heating or driving. Heck, just yesterday AT&T reported that they saw a spike in service disconnection. For many Americans, receiving a DVD via the Postal Service will be a high speed connection.

2. There will be a major privacy breach by some store/government agency/popular online site – it will make the news cycle for a day, but will then be replaced by a piece on Britney Spears. This is kind of cheating since this kind of stuff happens already, but the gist of this prediction is that in 2008, people will continue to not care about privacy as much as they should.

3.  Vonage dies. Have you seen their cash flow? Subscription businesses are tough!

4. Tivo dies. Or is acquired by another company. Again, subscription businesses are tough!

5. Web 2.0 shrinks a little. In the last 2 years, we’ve seen a dramatic growth in Web 2.0 UCG/Social Networking/Blog sites that received VC funding. Many have said that it feels kind of like 1999/2000. I agree. I think the number of these ventures will decrease in 2008, as will funding.

6. Gas will consistently stay at over $4 a gallon in the Bay Area this summer. In fact, gas will be more expensive everywhere than it was last year. But yet American driving habits won’t change – because we simply can’t due to the way we’ve built our suburban society. Cul-de-sac anyone?

7. Inflight wifi won’t fly. There were a few articles towards the end of last year about announcements about carriers offering inflight wifi. I believe some will offer it, but eventually they’ll abandon it. Either that, or the service will be very limited – for example, you won’t be able to access YouTube and you will only be allowed to use lynx and/or pine (but not together.)

8. Consumer satisfaction with cell phone carriers will continue to suffer. Despite all the interesting announcements at the end of last year about open this, open that, the status quo will not change, and Americans will continue to rank their satisfaction with the mobile phone networks poorly. We will see more articles about bandwidth caps being reached by consumers They’ll continue to have low operating margins in the 5-6% range.

9. Blackout! This summer, there will be a regional that will make the national news due to ever increasing power consumption and a warm summer. Everyone will look back at the learnings from 2003 and realize that we still really didn’t do much to improve the situation.

10. Spending on online ads continues to soar, despite recession. The economy won’t be doing so well, but companies will finding that spending on online ads is cheaper and delivers a better return on investment than other advertising channels. As a result, while the economy shrinks, online ad spends will not.

Well, these are my 10 predictions for 2008. Let’s see how things pan out.

Today my wife received a parking ticket… from the City of Los Angeles.

It’s claimed that her car was parked at 14201 Dickens St on a Tuesday morning in a “No Park/Street Clean” [sic].

As you can imagine, this is mighty peculiar since the car was at work, in South San Francisco.

This is already turning out to be an interesting year…

Well, we’re back from our honeymoon. We had a blast! Actually we’ve been back for a few days now, but I’ve been incredibly sick with a nasty cold that I’m sure I caught while delayed at LAX. My doctor said that he’s seen nearly 4x+ patients with the same symptoms in the last 2 days, so I feel confident I didn’t bring the pandemic Asian bird flu over!

Being that I’m sick, instead of writing a flowing post about our travels, here’s a flat out semi-structured brain dump which may or may not have information that will be useful to you in the future.

Do let me know if you have any questions!

Bangkok

1. Thai ATMs dispense 1000 baht notes, but few restaurants/cabs take them. Some won’t even take 500 notes. Fortunately, hotels are ready to exchange them for you.
2. When arriving at Bangkok’s airport, look for the AOT (official airport agency) run Limo service. They have a big booth right outside arrivals. It’s a little pricey, but you don’t have to deal with waiting in line or the potential sketchiness of getting a cab. We paid 1500 baht (includes tolls) and got a MB e-class to our hotel.
3. Bangkok has terrible air pollution. I started coughing after 12 hours of being there – and it didn’t clear up for a week.
4. Bangkok has terrible traffic, especially during the holiday season (according to a taxi driver). Worse than traffic I have ever seen in the Bay Area or New York (barring major weather disasters).
5. Take SkyTrain whenever you can in Bangkok. Be sure to get a hotel near it. We stayed at the Intercontinental – I’d stay there again.
6. Bangkok has Dunkin’ Donuts and Au Bon Pain – it’s like being home! That said, the prices are closer to US prices and they didn’t seem all that popular.
7. Bangkok has a lot of new Western-style malls. Some of them are really glitzy and put up some good competition to Hong Kong’s glitzy malls. Siam Paragon has the most luxury stores. Sometimes in malls, stores are grouped together by type – so all the sporting good stores are on the same floor, all the watch stores are near each other.
8. Thai people are generally pretty friendly and mellow.
9. Hotels include free bottled water – do not drink the tap water. Be wary of ice.
10. There seemed to be a lot of people from Hong Kong visiting Bangkok. I overheard one person remark about food prices “Expensive, not expensive. Cheap, not cheap.” I think it’s a Cantonese saying which means “They’re fair.” Of course, coming from the expensive Bay Area, food prices seemed like incredible bargains.
11. Remember to dress appropriately (no bare shoulders, long pants) when entering Wats (temples). We some people get bounced, but some people got in anyway – and shame on them for not dressing appropriately.
12. That said, it’s really hard to dress appropriately – it was quite hot and humid in Bangkok while we were there. Convertible pants are handy!
13. When getting in a Taxi, you should always insist on the meter. That said, often times it is impossible to find a driver who will agree to that when leaving a major tourist attraction. Better get your negotiation skills honed!
14. Carry your hotel name and address written in Thai – it’ll help you get home.
15. The Taxi Driver dropped us off about 2 blocks away from the entrance to Grand Palace in Bangkok. Instantly, a exceedingly friendly tuk-tuk driver came over and started talking to us and told us that the Grand Palace was closed for the morning due to the King’s holiday, and that tuk-tuk tours were discounted as part of the celebration. Fortunately we didn’t fall for it. The Lonely Planet guide specifically warns about this.
16. The Chatuchak weekend market can be unbelievably hot, pungent, and packed. Not for the faint of heart – but it’s a sight to behold.

Phuket and Ao Nang

1. Phuket around Patong beach is pretty touristy – and not terribly big. That said, there’s plenty to do in Phuket, and plenty of other beaches to go to. Fun place!
2. We took a 4 (5?) island tour – commonly known as the James Bond Island tour – well worth it. Anyone can book it.
3. You need black-belt level negotiation skills to deal with the Tuk-Tuk drivers in Phuket. I was never able to score a (short) ride for under 150 baht. Most rides were 200 baht. That’s actually a lot of money!
4. You can rent chairs on Patong beach, negotiating prices is very easy – you just have to try.
5. Internet cafes galore in Phuket, with many going for 1 or 2 baht per minute. Be sure to look out for minimum charges.
6. We stayed at the Amari Coral Beach – fantastic location. Every room has a great view. The breakfast buffet is pretty decent. However, looking back, it appears that I didn’t read one of the receipts clearly, and they charged my credit card using USD instead of Thai Baht. Why they did that is beyond me.
7. Ao Nang is a very small place, super touristy, and it is seemed at times that all the people there were from Germany and Nordic countries. Many shops/restaurants have translations in German/Swedish/etc.
8. Many locals there thought we were from Singapore – apparently, Chinese looking people who speak only English and are there are most likely from Singapore.
9. Ao Nang has mosquitoes up the wazoo. Be prepared… be very prepared.
10. We stayed at the Pakasai resort. The rooms had neat layouts. The breakfast buffet was eh – swarming with bugs. There were 2 free intermittently working Internet stations. However, mosquitoes galore – and the design of the rooms allowed them to seep in. We killed 8 in one night in our room – missing 1 which would eventually bite me while I was sleeping.
11. We took a snorkeling boat trip, which was fun. Again, there are many places that offer these trips. That said, be aware that there are jellyfish – I got stung below my face mask, above the snorkel – right under my nose. I never even saw it, but other people on my boat did.
12. The beaches at Ao Nang aren’t that great. Instead, there are “long tail” boats that take you to the beautiful Railay Beach.
13. If you do take a boat, be sure that you are getting off at Railay Beach and not Tonsai beach. Tonsai beach isn’t all that great – but it’s amazing for rock climbing (and watching people rock climb). That said, if you get off at Tonsai beach accidentally like we did, there’s a 20 minute hike that’s fairly challenging that will get you to Railay Beach. Or, you could pay a boatman to bring you there.
14. Restaurants in Ao Nang are a bit on the over priced side. Also, try to eat early – if you eat after 7:30, service becomes super super slow. At one restaurant, it took about an hour for most tables to get their food after ordering. Yeesh.

Thailand Air Travel and Airports

1. Thai Air Asia offers super low (~$50) flights within Thailand. Watch out though – their flights are almost always delayed. Our flight to Phuket was nearly canceled due to maintenance issues. We actually had to de-board the plane.
2. Thai Air Asia offers Express Boarding – it’s like $5 more. I felt it was worth it. Otherwise, there’s a Southwest style scramble for seats. Note that they charge for everything – including drinks. They also have somewhat low luggage weight allowances. I guess that’s their biz model: fees.
3. Security screening tends to happen right outside the gate. For SJC fliers, think Terminal C. There are no concessions after security – so be sure to do your shopping/eating/drinking before you enter security. That said, BKK has some fantastic shopping immediately before security screening.
4. If you buy any liquids at the airport, be it a bottle of water, or a giant bottle of vodka, be sure to ask them to give you a special secure sealed bag. This enables you to bring the bottle through security – but only for some flights I think. Regardless, we watched as a woman who just bought a giant bottle of whisky get into a row with security as she didn’t have it in the special secure sealed bag. They wanted her to throw it out – she claimed they didn’t offer her a bag. Oops.
5. There is a 700 baht fee to leave Thailand – it should be included in your ticket already. It doesn’t hurt to double check though!

Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong is a pretty packed place – but around the holiday season it’s even more packed since everyone is shopping and sight seeing. If you’re afraid of crowd, you might not want to go.
2. The first thing you should buy when you arrive is a pack of Tempo Tissues. Many restaurants will not give you cloth napkins – I understand this is a result of the SARS incident. Why they won’t even give you paper napkins is beyond me, so most people carry packs of Tempos. They’re kind of like Kleenex packs, but smaller and stronger. Otherwise, you may be left wiping your face on your sleeve.
3. A lot of things are open on January 1st. A lot.
4. If you plan on going to The Peak, which you should, go early! We went at 10am – there was no line. When we left at 11:30, there was a 2+ hr line.
5. If you want to see the Giant Buddha, I would recommend taking the tour offered by Splendid. I’ve taken it twice, and it’s pretty good. Note that the tour may or may not include a visit to the Cheung Sha Beach. Their office is near the front desk of the Sheraton in TST.
6. For those in NY who have been lucky enough to experience Muji in SoHo – be sure to check out the Muji’s in Hong Kong. The one at Langham Place is pretty big.
7. If you get an Octopus card, which is essentially a tap-and-go cash card that works in the subways/ferries/certain stores, be sure to consider returning it to get a portion of your $50 HKD deposit back.
8. Hong Kong is usually really hot and humid. But in the winter it can get down to the 50′s. Be aware that not all hotels may have a heater in the room – for example, in our room at the Marco Polo Prince, the thermostat could only turn on/off the AC. (As a side note, observe that local folks wear down filled coats at 57 degrees…)

LAX, NRT, HKG, JAL, Emirates, Cathay

1. Matt Damon with his family walked past me as I waited in line at the LAX Admiral’s Club. He was holding the baby seat. I then ended up watching Bourne Ultimatum as the in-flight movie.
2. The new Admiral’s Club in Narita is a real schlep to get to – especially if your arrival and departure flights are both in the satellite terminal.
3. JAL has a very unusual pre-flight movie about how seriously they take safety on their flights. They also claim they frequently wash their planes so they can go through the air with less friction – thus less pollution. The interior of the plane was in fantastic condition.
4. We took Emirates from BKK->HKG. Wowsers. Now I finally understand what Jimmy was raving about all these years. Amazing service, fantastic 777 interior, great food, fantastic IFE – with access to both forward camera and ground facing camera. It was a bit odd that the crew didn’t speak Cantonese (but Mandarin) despite the fact that it seemed that 80% of the pax were Hong Kongers.
5. Note that movies on Emirates are edited for violence and probably sexual content. I (unfortunately) watched Live Free or Die Hard – I think some of the showcase scenes/phrases were cut. Jean noted that Transformers was also edited.
6. We took Cathay Pacific from HKG->NRT – service was fantastic as usual. Even for this short flight, the inflight meal was pretty darn good. I also like how they have a sign in the bathroom which calls out the fact that the faucet water should not be drunk – unlike US carriers which still sometimes serve that water! (Watch out, it may have e-coli!) I seemed to remember that the food at their HKG lounge (The Wing) was better – but still, some of the best dim sum and jook period. (And Cathay doesn’t edit their movies – last time they had Open Waters which has some very graphic scenes.)
7. NRT and HKG continue to have unobtrusive screening of body temperature – to catch people who have fevers. Good for them! Maybe if we had that in the US, we would’ve caught the person who brought in drug resistant tuberculosis!

And here’s a photo of us on an elephant:

Well, we’re back from our honeymoon. We had a blast! Actually we’ve been back for a few days now, but I’ve been incredibly sick with a nasty cold that I’m sure I caught while delayed at LAX. My doctor said that he’s seen nearly 4x+ patients with the same symptoms in the last 2 days, so I feel confident I didn’t bring the pandemic Asian bird flu over!

Being that I’m sick, instead of writing a flowing post about our travels, here’s a flat out semi-structured brain dump which may or may not have information that will be useful to you in the future.

Do let me know if you have any questions!

Bangkok

1. Thai ATMs dispense 1000 baht notes, but few restaurants/cabs take them. Some won’t even take 500 notes. Fortunately, hotels are ready to exchange them for you.
2. When arriving at Bangkok’s airport, look for the AOT (official airport agency) run Limo service. They have a big booth right outside arrivals. It’s a little pricey, but you don’t have to deal with waiting in line or the potential sketchiness of getting a cab. We paid 1500 baht (includes tolls) and got a MB e-class to our hotel.
3. Bangkok has terrible air pollution. I started coughing after 12 hours of being there – and it didn’t clear up for a week.
4. Bangkok has terrible traffic, especially during the holiday season (according to a taxi driver). Worse than traffic I have ever seen in the Bay Area or New York (barring major weather disasters).
5. Take SkyTrain whenever you can in Bangkok. Be sure to get a hotel near it. We stayed at the Intercontinental – I’d stay there again.
6. Bangkok has Dunkin’ Donuts and Au Bon Pain – it’s like being home! That said, the prices are closer to US prices and they didn’t seem all that popular.
7. Bangkok has a lot of new Western-style malls. Some of them are really glitzy and put up some good competition to Hong Kong’s glitzy malls. Siam Paragon has the most luxury stores. Sometimes in malls, stores are grouped together by type – so all the sporting good stores are on the same floor, all the watch stores are near each other.
8. Thai people are generally pretty friendly and mellow.
9. Hotels include free bottled water – do not drink the tap water. Be wary of ice.
10. There seemed to be a lot of people from Hong Kong visiting Bangkok. I overheard one person remark about food prices “Expensive, not expensive. Cheap, not cheap.” I think it’s a Cantonese saying which means “They’re fair.” Of course, coming from the expensive Bay Area, food prices seemed like incredible bargains.
11. Remember to dress appropriately (no bare shoulders, long pants) when entering Wats (temples). We some people get bounced, but some people got in anyway – and shame on them for not dressing appropriately.
12. That said, it’s really hard to dress appropriately – it was quite hot and humid in Bangkok while we were there. Convertible pants are handy!
13. When getting in a Taxi, you should always insist on the meter. That said, often times it is impossible to find a driver who will agree to that when leaving a major tourist attraction. Better get your negotiation skills honed!
14. Carry your hotel name and address written in Thai – it’ll help you get home.
15. The Taxi Driver dropped us off about 2 blocks away from the entrance to Grand Palace in Bangkok. Instantly, a exceedingly friendly tuk-tuk driver came over and started talking to us and told us that the Grand Palace was closed for the morning due to the King’s holiday, and that tuk-tuk tours were discounted as part of the celebration. Fortunately we didn’t fall for it. The Lonely Planet guide specifically warns about this.
16. The Chatuchak weekend market can be unbelievably hot, pungent, and packed. Not for the faint of heart – but it’s a sight to behold.

Phuket and Ao Nang

1. Phuket around Patong beach is pretty touristy – and not terribly big. That said, there’s plenty to do in Phuket, and plenty of other beaches to go to. Fun place!
2. We took a 4 (5?) island tour – commonly known as the James Bond Island tour – well worth it. Anyone can book it.
3. You need black-belt level negotiation skills to deal with the Tuk-Tuk drivers in Phuket. I was never able to score a (short) ride for under 150 baht. Most rides were 200 baht. That’s actually a lot of money!
4. You can rent chairs on Patong beach, negotiating prices is very easy – you just have to try.
5. Internet cafes galore in Phuket, with many going for 1 or 2 baht per minute. Be sure to look out for minimum charges.
6. We stayed at the Amari Coral Beach – fantastic location. Every room has a great view. The breakfast buffet is pretty decent.
7. Ao Nang is a very small place, super touristy, and it is seemed at times that all the people there were from Germany and Nordic countries. Many shops/restaurants have translations in German/Swedish/etc.
8. Many locals there thought we were from Singapore – apparently, Chinese looking people who speak only English and are there are most likely from Singapore.
9. Ao Nang has mosquitoes up the wazoo. Be prepared… be very prepared.
10. We stayed at the Pakasai resort. The rooms had neat layouts. The breakfast buffet was eh – swarming with bugs. There were 2 free intermittently working Internet stations. However, mosquitoes galore – and the design of the rooms allowed them to seep in. We killed 8 in one night in our room – missing 1 which would eventually bite me while I was sleeping.
11. We took a snorkeling boat trip, which was fun. Again, there are many places that offer these trips. That said, be aware that there are jellyfish – I got stung below my face mask, above the snorkel – right under my nose. I never even saw it, but other people on my boat did.
12. The beaches at Ao Nang aren’t that great. Instead, there are “long tail” boats that take you to the beautiful Railay Beach.
13. If you do take a boat, be sure that you are getting off at Railay Beach and not Tonsai beach. Tonsai beach isn’t all that great – but it’s amazing for rock climbing (and watching people rock climb). That said, if you get off at Tonsai beach accidentally like we did, there’s a 20 minute hike that’s fairly challenging that will get you to Railay Beach. Or, you could pay a boatman to bring you there.
14. Restaurants in Ao Nang are a bit on the over priced side. Also, try to eat early – if you eat after 7:30, service becomes super super slow. At one restaurant, it took about an hour for most tables to get their food after ordering. Yeesh.

Thailand Air Travel and Airports

1. Thai Air Asia offers super low (~$50) flights within Thailand. Watch out though – their flights are almost always delayed. Our flight to Phuket was nearly canceled due to maintenance issues. We actually had to de-board the plane.
2. Thai Air Asia offers Express Boarding – it’s like $5 more. I felt it was worth it. Otherwise, there’s a Southwest style scramble for seats. Note that they charge for everything – including drinks. They also have somewhat low luggage weight allowances. I guess that’s their biz model: fees.
3. Security screening tends to happen right outside the gate. For SJC fliers, think Terminal C. There are no concessions after security – so be sure to do your shopping/eating/drinking before you enter security. That said, BKK has some fantastic shopping immediately before security screening.
4. If you buy any liquids at the airport, be it a bottle of water, or a giant bottle of vodka, be sure to ask them to give you a special secure sealed bag. This enables you to bring the bottle through security – but only for some flights I think. Regardless, we watched as a woman who just bought a giant bottle of whisky get into a row with security as she didn’t have it in the special secure sealed bag. They wanted her to throw it out – she claimed they didn’t offer her a bag. Oops.
5. There is a 700 baht fee to leave Thailand – it should be included in your ticket already. It doesn’t hurt to double check though!

Hong Kong

1. Hong Kong is a pretty packed place – but around the holiday season it’s even more packed since everyone is shopping and sight seeing. If you’re afraid of crowd, you might not want to go.
2. The first thing you should buy when you arrive is a pack of Tempo Tissues. Many restaurants will not give you cloth napkins – I understand this is a result of the SARS incident. Why they won’t even give you paper napkins is beyond me, so most people carry packs of Tempos. They’re kind of like Kleenex packs, but smaller and stronger. Otherwise, you may be left wiping your face on your sleeve.
3. A lot of things are open on January 1st. A lot.
4. If you plan on going to The Peak, which you should, go early! We went at 10am – there was no line. When we left at 11:30, there was a 2+ hr line.
5. If you want to see the Giant Buddha, I would recommend taking the tour offered by Splendid. I’ve taken it twice, and it’s pretty good. Note that the tour may or may not include a visit to the Cheung Sha Beach. Their office is near the front desk of the Sheraton in TST.
6. For those in NY who have been lucky enough to experience Muji in SoHo – be sure to check out the Muji’s in Hong Kong. The one at Langham Place is pretty big.
7. If you get an Octopus card, which is essentially a tap-and-go cash card that works in the subways/ferries/certain stores, be sure to consider returning it to get a portion of your $50 HKD deposit back.
8. Hong Kong is usually really hot and humid. But in the winter it can get down to the 50′s. Be aware that not all hotels may have a heater in the room – for example, in our room at the Marco Polo Prince, the thermostat could only turn on/off the AC. (As a side note, observe that local folks wear down filled coats at 57 degrees…)

LAX, NRT, HKG, JAL, Emirates, Cathay

1. Matt Damon with his family walked past me as I waited in line at the LAX Admiral’s Club. He was holding the baby seat. I then ended up watching Bourne Ultimatum as the in-flight movie.
2. The new Admiral’s Club in Narita is a real schlep to get to – especially if your arrival and departure flights are both in the satellite terminal.
3. JAL has a very unusual pre-flight movie about how seriously they take safety on their flights. They also claim they frequently wash their planes so they can go through the air with less friction – thus less pollution. The interior of the plane was in fantastic condition.
4. We took Emirates from BKK->HKG. Wowsers. Now I finally understand what Jimmy was raving about all these years. Amazing service, fantastic 777 interior, great food, fantastic IFE – with access to both forward camera and ground facing camera. It was a bit odd that the crew didn’t speak Cantonese (but Mandarin) despite the fact that it seemed that 80% of the pax were Hong Kongers.
5. Note that movies on Emirates are edited for violence and probably sexual content. I (unfortunately) watched Live Free or Die Hard – I think some of the showcase scenes/phrases were cut. Jean noted that Transformers was also edited.
6. We took Cathay Pacific from HKG->NRT – service was fantastic as usual. Even for this short flight, the inflight meal was pretty darn good. I also like how they have a sign in the bathroom which calls out the fact that the faucet water should not be drunk – unlike US carriers which still sometimes serve that water! (Watch out, it may have e-coli!) I seemed to remember that the food at their HKG lounge (The Wing) was better – but still, some of the best dim sum and jook period. (And Cathay doesn’t edit their movies – last time they had Open Waters which has some very graphic scenes.)
7. NRT and HKG continue to have unobtrusive screening of body temperature – to catch people who have fevers. Good for them! Maybe if we had that in the US, we would’ve caught the person who brought in drug resistant tuberculosis!

And here’s a photo of us on an elephant: