Introduction
ANA Business Class Chicago to Tokyo
United Club – Tokyo Narita
Thai Airways Business Class Tokyo to Bangkok
One Night in Bangkok
Thai Airways Business Class Bangkok to Bali
D’Wina Villa Kuta and Exploring Bali (Part 1)
Exploring Bali (Part 2)
Exploring Bali (Part 3)
Ethiopian Airlines Bangkok to Addis Ababa
Ethiopian Airlines Cloud Nine Lounge and Addis Ababa to Seychelles
Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and Exploring the Seychelles (Part 1)
Exploring the Seychelles (Part 2)
Exploring the Seychelles (Part 3)
Ethiopian Airlines Seychelles to Addis Ababa and Back to the US
After only a few short hours of sleep at the Greensboro Airport Marriott, our alarm went off at 4:07 (yes, I’m one of those people who never sets an alarm on an even time). We got ourselves into gear, and made our way to the lobby to grab the shuttle bus to the terminal. I’m not really sure who was more excited about the destination reveal (read: me), but the secret was finally ready to be shared. When we got inside the terminal, I handed Lauren a folded world map, on which I had drawn a line tracing our path around the world. She carefully opened it, followed the lines, and the looks on her face are beyond impossible to describe in words:
After a dozen or so “shut up’s” and “are you kidding me’s?” we made our way to the check in counter. There were about 8-10 people in line to check in, but fortunately the Premier Access line was empty, so since we were flying in all First and Business Class, we were helped almost immediately. About 47 “ka-chunks” later, as the kiosk printed all of our boarding passes for the first part of our trip, we were on our way to the gate.
Security in Greensboro was pretty quick and painless, as usual with it being a pretty small airport. Our flight to Chicago O’Hare left out of gate 24, which is a short 3 minute walk from security. Boarding was on-time and quick. We pushed back a few minutes early of the scheduled departure time of 6:00 am, and we were airborne just a few minutes later. After takeoff, we both dozed off for about 30 minutes, which put us both squarely on the struggle bus as we woke up and felt even more drowsy. But alas, as we talked a bit more about the trip we were embarking on, the drowsiness faded as excitement kicked back in. We landed in Chicago about 20 minutes early, with both of our cell phones buzzing with messages from family and friends who were starting to wake up back in North Carolina.
I checked my email, and saw an email from ANA, the Japanese airline that we would be flying from Chicago to Tokyo, with the subject line “Information regarding departure time changes.” I was a bit nervous to find out what the situation was, but fortunately it was only about an hour delay. A sign was posted at the gate with an estimated boarding time of 11:45 am for a departure at 12:05 pm (the scheduled departure was at 10:50 am). Interestingly, the delay was due to a typhoon that apparently was near Tokyo. It’s fascinating to me how much planning and analysis go into any airline flight, whether it’s 20 minutes or 12 hours. We headed to the United lounge near gate C16. We relaxed in there for a while, making phone calls to fill everyone in on the trip before leaving the country. The lounge started to fill up, since 4 777’s all leave for Asia within a 2 hour time span, from 4 gates surrounding the lounge (Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, and our flight to Tokyo).
Around 11:40, we left the lounge and walked 2 minutes down to gate C10, which is used by ANA for this flight. Many international airlines use the completely separate Terminal 5 at O’Hare, which requires exiting security, taking a train, and re-entering security, but fortunately ANA and United have agreed to share the gate in the main terminal. ANA really does a good job of organizing the boarding process, with separate lanes already setup for Economy, Business, and First Class. We joined the Business Class line, and excitedly waited to board. There were no fewer than 10 gate agents helping to organize the boarding process, politely verifying that everyone was in the correct line, and started checking passports down the line, which saved time at the front of the line. Fortunately, the delay stayed true to the original prediction – boarding began promptly at 11:45.
Lauren was clearly not excited at all as we headed down the jet bridge:
We were greeted at the door of the plane by several smiling Japanese faces. The Business Class cabin on this particularly aircraft is setup in a 1-2-1 configuration, so every seat has direct aisle access, which is a huge positive. I had booked us in 2 seats in the middle section, 12E and 12G. Lauren turned down the first aisle, and I crossed through the galley to the opposite aisle, where I was cheerily escorted to my seat.
The seat itself is incredible – it’s a brand new seat (ANA is still installing it on some of their planes), with a 17” LCD TV, cubby for shoes, and large side table next to the seat. Waiting at our seats for us were a pillow and comforter, as well as an additional mattress pad to lay on the seat to eliminate the small gaps between each cushion when the seat is laid flat.
We carefully arranged our belongings, and took our seats. As boarding finished up, we were offered a choice of sparkling wine or orange juice, started to push back around 12:15 pm. We taxied to the runway behind an Asiana 777 headed to Seoul, and held short of the runway to let a Hainan Airlines Airbus 340 from Beijing land before we could take off. Before we knew it, we were rumbling down the runway, feeling like we were really off on our adventure now.
Soon after takeoff, the flight attendants brought around refreshing hot towels, before the first course. We were then offered the option between a Japanese Cuisine or an International Cuisine.
While the International Cuisine looked delicious, we both opted not to go the “safe” route and go for the Japanese Cuisine, which had some very interesting courses. I tried everything except for the pickles, and Lauren did try everything.
Overall, I think we would describe the meal as diverse, beautifully presented, and ranging from “a bit odd” to “pretty good.” Even though several of the dishes were not exactly our cup of tea, we were both really glad that we decided to try it all. If you like truly authentic Japanese food, you would probably find the meal delicious, as it all seemed extremely well prepared, but the overall meal was a bit fishier and saltier than we prefer. We both finished off the meal with some good ole Haagan Daas ice cream, which was delicious.
By this time, our bodies were both desperate to sleep. I reclined the seat fully, placed the mattress pad down (which I thought really was a nice extra touch and did make the seat even more comfortable when in bed mode. Being able to lay flat and sleep makes a world of a difference, and a 12 hour flight goes by in no time. We both slept soundly for about 5 hours, and woke up as we were crossing over the international date line:
decided to watch a movie. The entertainment system had a good variety of newer movies, and we decided to watch “The Internship” with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson (starting it on each of our screens at the same time). It was ok, although a bit cheesy at times and more than a bit predictable throughout, but entertaining nonetheless.
After the movie, I realized that although I had tried just about everything in each of the lunch courses, I only finished a few of them so it was more of a sampling/tasting than a full meal. ANA offers a very generous list of on-demand items that can be ordered at any time during the flight, ranging from soup and salad to braised beef and onion over steamed rice, which I ordered. In less than 5 minutes, it was brought to my seat with a “thank you so much for waiting,” as if it had taken an hour to serve it.
If you have never flown on a Japanese airline, be prepared for the most polite service ever – you’ll receive either a thank you or an apology every 5 minutes. As I was getting ready to sleep earlier in the flight, a flight attendant came up to me and said “I’m so sorry to disturb, but can you please buckle your seat belt on the outside of your blanket?” Later in the flight, another flight attendant came through the cabin and apologized profusely that because of expected turbulence as we got closer to Japan, they would be serving the pre-arrival meals a little early. While some of the flight attendants on Lauren’s aisle seemed a little less polished/professional, the service overall is absolutely top-notch on ANA. They thank you when they serve you a drink, and never make any request sound like too much.
Lauren ordered a pre-arrival selection of bread and fruit, which had a great variety fresh kiwi, pineapple, and more. We both dozed for another hour or so before the flight attendants began preparing for arrival.
With sleeping for 6-7 hours, watching a movie, and eating several meals, the flight was overall very comfortable and smooth. I had only flown on ANA one other time (a short intra-Japan flight), and I was very impressed with their longhaul service. The new business class is excellent when it comes to comfort, and the service was overall fantastic. The only slight downside for us was that the seats are very private, which is great if you’re traveling solo, but if you’re traveling with someone, you have to lean forward a bit in order to see and talk to each other around the divider next to the side table. But since we were still catching up on sleep for a lot of the flight, it wasn’t really an issue. We landed in Tokyo at 3:20 pm, about 90 minutes after our scheduled arrival time of 1:45 pm.
Continue to Part 3: United Club – Tokyo Narita