United States of America

On my journey back home from Canada I was using some frequent flyer miles I had accumulated, and booked AA169 LAX-NRT in First Class, seat 3J. I was quite excited for this, as it would be the first time flying in true 1st class cabin, sure Air Canada Executive First, close, but it's more like a business class product. So I was excited to see what the first class experience would be like, I checked how much it would cost to buy that ticket online, and it was over $12000usd so I had some high expectations.

It started out nice, being granted access to the first class Admirals lounge at LAX, which was nice, nothing to mind blowing, but some nice food, and comfy chairs, and a lot less crowded than the normal lounge.

It was time to board the flight, so I exited out the lounge and headed to the gate, walked through the 1st class line, and was greated at the door by a nice flight attendant, nice, but old, well into her 60's I would imagine, she greated me and escorted me to my seat, it's weird turning left to board a plane, and not right. I then got my first view of the American Airlines Cabin, and wow was I dissapointed, it was like being transported back in time, I am sure the cabin was 10+ years old, and I am sure was very nice in it's day, but it was very dated looking, ugly brown leather seats, they were full lay down, and you had a lot of space, but it was just old and tired looking. I took my seat, and had a look around, it was very dusty and a bit dirty, so when they came by with the warm face cloth, I decided to use it to clean the eating tray, and various other areas like the hand controls, the cloth was certainly not white anymore, it wasn't that dirty, just a lot of dust I guess.

Enjoyed a glass of champagne and took a look around at the other people in the cabin, it was quite empty, there are 16 seats, and there was 6 people in the cabin, and then the relief captain had a seat as well, so 7. And 2 flight attendants, both in there 60's so I figured service would be good, and it was, they were very friendly, and I think there goal was to get me drunk, as they kept offering me wines, I tried both of there white wines, and they were quite nice, can't recall the names though..

Dinner was also very good, and alot of it, again can't recall the exact menu, I should really start taking pictures of these menu's, or just take them with me, or write these reviews sooner! Oddly all I can recall is the very nice ice cream sundae for desert, so I have a sweet tooth!

The ammenity kit was typical, and contained everything you need for a long flight.

The entertainment system was as old as the cabin, I pulled out the screen from it's hidden compartment and saw what maybe was the first touch screen made, a small 6 or 7" screen with a visible grid of where you can touch, I watched one movie before going to sleep, and after a while you don't really notice the grid anymore, but still pretty crappy. I wanted to charge my ipod touch, as I played somegames, and I use it to read the news, and searched for the power outlet, I found it, and well it was the old cigarette style plug in, who on earth carry's one of those power adapters with them anymore! And of course no USB plug in, so the touch remained dead.

I had a nice sleep, the blanket and pillow were quite nice and comfy, and there was lots of room to lay down and get your self comfortable, and I guess that is the important part, however if I was to have paid $12k for that flight, I would have been rather dissapointed, considering there are so many options from LAX-NRT why would you choose to pay for AA?

Posted by Jason Willock

Last week I had to fly from LAX - Singapore. And luckily for me I got to fly with Thai Air via Bangkok on flight TG795, even more lucky I got to fly in Premium Economy, I sat in seat 34F, and the middle seat in the row was empty, which is nice, but with the space available, it would not have been too noticeable if someone was sitting there.

Thai Air's premium economy is much different than say United Airlines Premium Economy. It's a service in between Business and economy, your in your own cabin, and you get slightly nicer meals than in economy, but not as nice as Business Class.

The plane was a A340-500 with 42" Pitch and 19" Width with 122 degrees of recline, there are 42 seats in the Premium Economy Cabin, so it gives you a lot of space, and is quite quiet. The seats also come with a leg rest, but I actually found it rather useless unless I was sitting straight up. However I did get to sleep quite comfortably on the the long 17 hour journey from LAX-BKK. 3 Meals were served on this flight, all with numerous choices of main dish. I had a tasty chicken curry and a nice noodle dish, I slept through the 2nd meal service.

Service on Thai Air is quite pleasant, with a very happy and friendly flight crew, and the on board entertainment system, with nice large touch screen helps the time go by on what is currently the 5th longest non-stop route at 8270miles.

The price of the ticket was also quite reasonable at just over $1500usd for a oneway last minute flight from LAX-SIN, only slightly more than most economy class tickets, I will certainly be asking to fly this airline again if at all possible, even in regular economy class you get more leg room than Singapore Air, and I prefer the long flight followed by a short 2 hour flight, as compared with the SQ LAX-NRT-SIN route, which is an 11.5 hour flight followed by a 7 hour flight.

Safe Travels.

Posted by Jason Willock

Well I am back from the little US Trip. I had typed out a long post a couple days ago, but a slight glitch and I lost it, so here it is again!

After a couple more nights in Houston, and some meals, mostly Mexican, but one which included a nice steak dinner at a place called the Taste Of Texas, it was good, but I still prefer good ole Alberta Beef.

We boarded a plane to Las Vegas, where we picked up the rental car, there wasn't much for me to choose from, so I was stuck with a Chrysler Sebring, at least it had Sirius Satellite Radio, which was handy for the long drives ahead. After we got the car we headed towards Hoover Dam, on the way I saw a convertible with Alberta license plates, jokingly I said, hmm I wonder if I know them. Oddly enough my friend Trevor who I worked with at Graycon was in the back seat, so we spoke briefly as we were stuck in traffic, small world!

The weather was quite nice, not to hot, but a tad bit dry, but still it made for a nice walk around the dam. I had been there when I was younger, I vaguely remembered it, but there were many more tourist buildings than I recall. After we checked it out, it was time to get back on the road. There truly isn't much to see out there in the desert, but it was a nice relaxing drive with little traffic. We pulled into Tusayan, a small little town just outside the Grand Canyon. Wow it was chilly there at night, it was nice to breath in the cool crisp air though!

We arose bright and early to get started on our Grand Canyon Tour. Again I had been here when I was young, but I don't think I appreciated it as much back then. It truly is a majestic sight, pictures really can't do it justice. We walked and drove around the park for a few hours, but even something so majestic starts to get a tad repetitive after a while. So it was time to head back to Vegas. This time we took a slight detour and drove on Route 66. I wasn't to sure why it was so popular, I guess it was just an iconic part of American history. The drive was nice, lots of small little towns along the way, however I think it would have been more exciting in the summer, as most of the towns were pretty empty.

We finally arrived to our hotel, the Luxor, in Vegas. It's nothing fancy, but I got a good price on it, and I thought it would remind me of my Egypt trip a bit. After a quick rest we went for a walk and dinner on the strip, it's mind blowing how much water and construction there is out there in the middle of the desert. We had a few drinks, and decided it was time for bed, the hiking and the long drive really wore us out. We explored the strip again the next day, the weather again was perfect, nice and sunny, and not overly hot. Vegas is a city in constant change, and I didn't recall much of it, other than the names of the hotels. It was nice to explore the strip, it certainly is different in the day. We had a buffet dinner, nothing to exciting, and rested up for the evening. Tried our luck in the casino, I lost a little, and Tan broke even, so not too bad. We then headed to a club called Jet. I wasn't sure it was going to be busy since it was a Monday night, but there was a line up when we got there, and it was packed inside. It was a fun night!

I originally wasn't sure how long to spend in Vegas, but 2 nights was enough, we still had a lot we wanted to see on this trip. So we stopped off at a Outlet store, did a litttle shopping, and headed west. Another long drive trough a lot of nothing, however the sunset was quite nice. We ended up in Bakersfield California, not really much there. The next day it was off to Yosemite National Park. It was a fun drive, I think the joys of a US road trip is stopping off in the towns, small town America is an interesting place. The drive into the park was quite fun, it would have been more enjoyable with a little more sporty of a car, but the nice windy roads made fun drive, especially in the dark! We stayed right inside the park, at a nice lodge there. Joys of traveling in the offseason is it's cheaper, and less busy. I however was quite surprised to see how busy the lodge was, many cars in the parking lot, however it was quite chilly, we didn't really pack anything to warm, but we survived. They warned us to take everything out of the car, as the bears and raccoons would attempt to break in. I guess I missed something, as when we awoke there were many scratches on one of the doors of the car. Fortunately when I rented the car I told the guy that there was a big scratch on the trunk, and he just put scratches all over the car on the report.

It was nice and brisk in the morning as I was explored the park, the sequoia trees are truly amazing, some nearly 3000 years old, rather humbling to think how long they have been around! The views of the park were great, we finished it off with a nice little picnic by the river. It was now time to head to the coast, to Monterey.

Monterey is a nice little town on the coast, again being in the off season we had our pick of places to stay, and the restaurants weren't too busy, we had our best meal of the trip here at a place called Fish Hopper, great views of the bay at night, and nice and fresh food. The next day we checked out the Monterey Aquarium, it was nice, but not as spectacular as I had envisioned. Clam chowder and Salt Water Taffy on the Fisherman's Wharf for lunch, and we took a nice drive to San Francisco on the Pacific 1 highway, I had anticipated there were going to be more small seaside towns along the way, but for the most part the drive was just scenery.

Finally arrived to San Francisco, where we stayed 3 nights. A nice break from the go go go schedule. We took our time, and explored San Francisco and area, including Napa Valley and Muir Woods. I quite enjoyed San Francisco, even if it is a little dirty, and a bit cool. It is in a nice location, having access to beach, mountains, forrest, wine and a modern city all in a short drives distantce.

One last trip to an outlet store before heading to Oakland for a quick sleep before the long journey home. Strange how I always thought clothes were supposed to be cheaper in Asia, but we got some great deals in the states, I needed to update my wardrobe with some 'work' suitable clothes, as the time has come where I will need to find a job again. Scary Thought!

All in all it was a nice trip, maybe a little to fast paced, the next trip we take will be very slow and relaxed, but not sure when and where that will be!

Posted by Jason Willock

I never expected to be in this part of the world again so soon. Tan had to go to Houston for work for a week, so I thought I would tag along, and then we would have a short trip to see some of the states. Houston is an interesting city. very big, interesting mix of blacks, white, latino's and a fairly large asian population as well. I was craving some good mexican food, as it is hard to find in Singapore, and usually not too good. So I have had my fill while I have been here. The portions are huge, people here are quite large on a whole, there are of course some slim people, but there are also a lot of very large people, I feel quite skinny here!

Jet lag kind of knocked me out for the first couple of days, it was a long flight. Singapore to Moscow, to Houston, about 27 hours on the plane, and then another 2 or so as a layover in Moscow. I did get a whole row in the Moscow to Houston leg of the flight, but there was a screaming kid behind me so I didn't get that much sleep. I must say though Singapore Airlines is truly a nice airline, blows away Air Canada who I used to fly to and from Hong Kong, and Korea/Japan. Food was great, and even in economy the seats were quite spacious. So if your ever planning on visiting me in Singapore, then I would recommend Singapore Airlines, if there isn't too much difference in the price of the ticket!

Went out to a night club last night, it was Bun-B's (a houston rapper), girlfriends birthday party. It was kind of neat to be in a club filled with a bunch of rappers, and girls that were trying to perhaps get the attention of the rappers. I was the only white guy in the bar except for a bartender who was white, and Tan was the only Asian. It was a pretty fun night all in all.

We leave tomorrow for Las Vegas, but we are driving to the Grand Canyon first and spending a night there first before heading back to Vegas for a couple nights, and then we will drive towards San Francisco, and the Napa area before flying back home to Singapore on the 25th. So more to come on the little U.S. Roadtrip later.

Posted by Jason Willock