OK, so I just had to include these adorable web cam photos that I took the Saturday before my trip.
The last time I went home, I was lucky enough to have been given a courtesy upgrade to business class. I was telling Roomie that I wondered if it was too much to ask for another one this time. Lo and behold, I get to the counter and the ground steward tells me that they were, once again, putting me in business class. Who am I to refuse???
Bye bye NY:
So I travel in style again. You just have to understand why I can't believe my luck. And as I've mentioned before, I was given a silver membership in the Cathay Pacific frequent flyers' Marco Polo Club. So even if I only got an upgrade for the NY-HK leg of my trip, I get access to the business lounge in HK. Damn. You have to give it to these HKers, they have a noodle bar in the lounge. I sat right next to the bar and tried all the noodles that my stomach would allow. And with a meal of noodles and dimsum, I can refuse the sub par sandwich that they serve on the HK-Manila flight. Good food will always make an almost 24 hour trip comfy. I actually almost skipped the sleeping for the entire trip and made the most of the gastronomic fare in the business lounges and in the plane. My only regret is that I missed snack time and wasn't able to try the beef brisket noodle soup on the plane. I guess I already had too much of the other offerings that I just wasn't hungry enough.
Another thing that kept me awake was the in-flight movie selection. They had all the Oscar winners, but I chose to keep it light and saw four movies (I swear, sometimes the trip is just too short!): Marley and Me, Red Cliff and Red Cliff 2, and Twilight.
It was good that I had my own cubicle in business class as I was bawling at Marley and Me. The movie had a simple plot: the relationship of a dog and a family. Although the story had few complications, it really tugged at the heartstrings. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston gave depth to their simple roles. I thought it was a good two hours spent.
Red Cliff and Red Cliff 2 are epic John Woo movies starring Tony Leung of Chungking Express fame. John Woo would probably be better known for directing Hollywood films such as MI2 and Face/Off. These two HK movies are war films about the battle for Red Cliff at the end of the Han Dynasty. Tony Leung plays Grand Viceroy Zhou Yu who, along with his allies, defends the Red Cliff with utmost skill and cunning. The action was very satisfying and the movie was aesthetically pleasing. Tony Leung. Need I say more? These movies occupied another good six hours of my trip.
With only a few hours left of the flight, I decided to see what all the Twilight hullabaloo was all about. Apologies to fans of the movie (I can only speak about the movie as I have no intention of reading the books), but I thought it was a complete waste of time. Good thing I didn't have anything better to do. I ended up fast forwarding through so many scenes because there was just too much heavy breathing and staring and blinking. To be honest, it seemed to me like a beautifully set B-movie. The film is like a painting... better if there was no movement.
So when I finally get to Manila, my bags were among the first ones out on the carousel. Darn, love these frequent flyer programs. Overall, the trip home was great. And I'm now enjoying the company of the twins and I think I won't be doing regressions any time soon. Have to get to planning the twins' first birthday party.
In transit HK-Manila:
Beautiful sunset greets me in Manila:
