Dim Sum & Sky Suites

January 29, 2013
Hong Kong

We slept in a little today, which was nice. We grabbed a small snack for breakfast in the executive lounge before meeting Mom and Dad at 11:45AM to head out for dim sum at Din Tai Fung. Ben had read a bit about the place and it had also been recommended to him by his parents. It was delicious. I’m not sure if it was better than the best meal in the Maldives but it was definitely up there. We had all kinds of chicken, beef and pork buns along with kale, spinach and really good egg fried rice. Just thinking about it makes me want to eat there again, NOW.





Ben and l left Mom and Dad with plans to meet up with them again for more shopping after they had checked out of their room. We stopped by SOGO again to make sure they didn’t get any more of a specific toy we wanted. They hadn’t. Next we went back to our hotel to finish packing. We then checked out and took our checked bags to the central train station where we were able to check in for our flight and leave off our bags.

At 4PM we met up with Mom and Dad to explore the mall beneath our hotel. Ben checked out his favorite suit shop, Mom and I enjoyed a random housewares store and then Ben saw another ad for “moon luggage”. We then found the Zero Halliburton shop. Ben, Dad and I had fun investigating all of the luggage while Mom discovered a little stuffed toy for JT.


This is the window that made Ben straight up giddy. 

By the time we finished shopping it was nearing 6PM. I had spotted a hoop on Ben and my cab ride to central station earlier in the day and I wanted to see if I could find it. After 10 minutes or so walking outside I found the court. The only problem was the way onto it was not obvious. There were security signs all around it and very obvious video cameras. Mom and Dad weren’t up for what they knew could turn into a long exploration but Ben decided he wanted to tag along as I took off on my adventure. After a solid 30 minutes of running up stairs, over overpasses and through apartment complexes, I still couldn’t find the correct way in. This hoop has a lot of potential for a great shot. I will definitely need to investigate this place further prior to my next trip to HK.


I didn't get a hoop shot but Ben took this nice picture of the Lippo Center. 

We said bye to Mom and Dad who were off to the airport early. We then went to one final local store looking for the toy we wanted... and we found it! The shop “Log-on” aka City Super was actually pretty cool. I wish we would have had more time to investigate it.

Our final stop in HK was an attempt to get one final hoop shot with the lasers coming off the buildings. I said attempt, because unfortunately, that’s all it was. For some reason even though it was a beautiful night in HK, it seems as though the laser show was cancelled. I was pretty bummed because the picture had a good chance of being an iconic photo in the sense that HK’s laser show is known worldwide. I guess I’ll just have to take this as one more sign that I’m supposed to go back to HK.


The International Commerce Center disappointingly does NOT have lasers coming out of it. 


At least we got a beautiful full moon to enjoy over the water on the way back to the metro. 

After picking our carryon bags up at the hotel we took our final cab ride of the trip to central station to take the train out to the airport. Within 20 minutes of boarding we were there. Customs and security were both very quick. Before we knew it we had found Mom and Dad in the lounge. Dad was glowing with excitement because he was about to experience the highlight of his trip.

The plan for this whole adventure started when Singapore Airlines dumped a bunch of its premium inventory into United’s system in July. I was able to book my parents almost exclusively in Singapore’s First Class. After the flights were booked SIN changed the aircraft from HK - SFO to an Airbus 380. This meant that my parents would be flying in Singapore’s Sky Suites, which is basically the equivalent of a dream come true for my Dad. Historically these seats were only available for purchase at the bargain price of $25,000 a seat. Ben and I were “only” able to book business class (typically $10,000) but I was still quite excited since I’d never been on an A380 or experienced Singapore’s business class on a three class plane.

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We are now on board and all I can say is this plane is ridiculous. Only 21 of the 60 business class seats are full, so I feel like I have the run of the place. Ben and I are seated in row 24, which is upstairs. We have the middle two seats but the window seats on each side are empty, so we have the freedom to bounce around if we want. The service has been fantastic. I’ve made friends with Felicia who seems to be basically my own personal flight attendant. The purser did me a favor and helped my parents turn on their in flight phones so that we could enjoy seat to seat calling during the flight. I needed the purser to help me with this because commoners in business class are not allowed anywhere near the suites, even if their parents are in them. I think the best way to share this experience is through pictures.


Part of the business class cabin. Note that the flight attendants are actually smiling and there is artwork. 


You rarely board a flight hoping it will be longer than 11 hours and 33 minutes. This is one of those times. 


The dinner appetizer. 


The main dinner course. 


I talked to my parents on the in-flight phone system. 


I enjoyed that the remote listed the length of the program I was watching, along with the current time stamp of where I was in the program. 


You know your plane seat is awesome if it has a "do not disturb" botton. 


We made it. 


The flight attendant refused to let me take my own bag downstairs. 

After landing the purser of the flight allowed Ben and me to go and see Mom and Dad and the suites. If our experience was ridiculous in business, I don’t have words for what their’s must have been like in the suites. The suites are like having your own room on a cruise ship. Below are just a few of my Dad’s photos.













































Since we dinked around on the plane for a while after it landed, the customs line was HUGE by the time we made it there. This was no problem for Ben and me because we have Global Access. We used the kiosks and made it through in five minutes. Within another five minutes we had all the bags on carts. We then waited for 45 minutes for Mom and Dad to clear customs. We are now at the Double Tree SFO for one last hotel sleep before journeying home to Eugene in the morning.

All in it was a fantastic trip. If there are two takeaways, they are this: Save your points for Hilton and United. Cash them in for the Conrad Rangali Island and premium classes on Singapore Airlines. I feel truly blessed to now have another amazing trip under my belt... and I’m already looking forward to the next one!

Katy