The seat controls are intuitive and conveniently, you'll find a plug right there as well to charge electronic devices in-flight, which is always appreciated. Each passenger in Business class also has a set of Bose headphones to use during the flight and the televisions are quite large and swing out when you're ready to watch.

Shortly after takeoff, amenity kits were handed out. The kits featured bags and accessories by agnès b. with toiletries by Jurlique including hand cream, lip balm, and day care cream. At the end of the flight, I also managed to grab an unopened men's kit while deplaning, so I was able to get a look at that version in addition to the women's.

Just a short while later, it was time for the lunch meal service to start. Not long after takeoff, the attendants had all come by and introduced themselves, while referring to each of the passengers by name, which is always a nice touch, and asked for our entree selections. Once the service began, the flight attendants first passed out warm nuts and offered drinks to start. 

The lunch menu read as follows:

...

Starters
Cajun spiced prawns with green mango salad

Mixed salad w/Italian vinaigrette

Mains
Sautéed pork spare ribs with Chinese sauce, steamed jasmine rice and choy sum

Grilled Australian prime beef tenderloin on braised lentils with roasted pumpkin and French beans

Yellow curry halibut with steamed rice and spicy green beans

Mezzi rigatoni tossed with parmesan, zucchini cream, carrot and artichoke

Dessert
Pecorino, St. Paulin, Camembert, crackers and spiced pear paste

Fresh seasonal fruit

Sacher cake

Coffee and assorted teas

Pralines

...

I decided to try the vegetarian rigatoni dish, which was pretty good. It had good flavor and was cooked well, which I appreciated and which can be difficult when eating an airplane meal. I also had to have a couple of pieces of Cathay's amazing garlic bread on the side. For dessert, I guess I was feeling gluttonous, so I had both the fresh fruit and the Sacher cake, which was great. 

After lunch, I watched a few movies, but I knew I wanted to get at least a little bit of sleep on the flight since I was arriving home at 10 in the morning in San Francisco and would need to stay up all day long to get back on Pacific time. I made the seat into a bed, which indeed does become fully flat, and situated myself away from the galley so as not to be distracted by the light or activity coming from it. The pillow and blanket you get are pretty nice and keep you warm while you sleep, which is something I always struggle with on airplanes - they are always either too hot or too cold. 

After a few hours of sleep, I woke up as the lights were turned back on with about two hours left in the flight. It was time for "brunch". The brunch menu read as follows: 

...

Orange or apple juice

Mango and passion fruit smoothie

Fresh seasonal fruit

Natural or fruit yoghurt

Assorted cereals

Followed by
Omelette with pan-fried streaky bacon, Lyonnaise potatoes, sautéed shimeji mushrooms and roasted vine ripened tomato

Dim sum with chili sauce

Shredded kwai fa chicken with bean curd skin congee, served with stir-fried rice roll with dried shrimp and spring onion in X.O. sauce

Bread Basket
Assorted breakfast bread served with preserves, honey and butter

...

I chose to have some more fresh fruit, a croissant from the bread basket, and the omelette with bacon, potatoes, and tomatoes. You really can't expect much from in-flight eggs, to be honest. I never find them to be great, but I never feel like anything too savory in the "morning", so the other choices were out. The meal was fine and I was just looking forward to being back home in the US.

Overall, there really isn't a better way to fly from Hong Kong to San Francisco than flying Cathay Pacific. Service is always prompt, friendly, and attentive, which is definitely different from flying a US carrier like American, where I have literally had hours pass without anyone stopping to remove extra dishes or glasses. The added bonus of lie-flat seats is perfect for a long-haul flight and makes everything so much more comfortable. I now quite literally go out of my way to book all of my travel to and from Asia on Cathay and I'm always happy I've made that choice. 

Review: Park Hyatt Shanghai
City Guide: 5 Things to Do in Shanghai
Review: Grand Hyatt Shenzhen
Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Bridge” Lounge
Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG - SFO


Now that I've spent quite a bit of time in Asia, I've flown Cathay Pacific a handful of times and I'm so glad to get the chance. I really do love Cathay's high-quality service and I definitely appreciate that they have reliably good hard products, especially in First class. Not only are those qualities amazing, but the amenities you get with Cathay are really second to none - especially if you are flying through Cathay's home base in Hong Kong. Cathay has a whopping five lounges available in the HKG airport, with four airside (The Wing, The Pier, The Bridge, The Cabin) and one landside (The Arrival). The Wing and The Pier have both First and Business class sections, while The Bridge and The Cabin are simple Business class lounges.

The Bridge is located on Level 5 of the West Concourse, with an entrance near gate 35 at Level 6. It's open daily from 5:30AM until last departure. As I mentioned, The Bridge is a Business class lounge and permits entrance to any oneworld travelers flying Business class or above, as well as oneworld Emerald & Sapphire members. 

Since I visited The Wing last time I was at HKG, I decided to try out The Bridge on my way home last November. Thus far, I have visited The Wing, The Bridge, and The Cabin (review coming eventually!) and The Bridge is actually my favorite (although The Pier just reopened after extensive renovations and it may be my new favorite once I visit). The entrance to The Bridge is impossible to miss and from the main concourse, you'll take an escalator down a level to the front desk.

The lounge is situated on both sides of the front desk. If you go left (south), you'll find the Bistro, showers, the IT Zone, and the Coffee Loft. To the right (north), you will find the Bakery, the Long Bar, and the TV Lounge. Because of how the lounge is situated, it's very long on either side, but not as narrow as The Cabin, which gives it a more open feel. The lounge has extensive seating and is tastefully decorated with multiple seating areas divided to make everything appear to be more cozy. As opposed to the somewhat sterile decor and very open style of The Wing, The Bridge is so much more quiet and comfortable. 

Situated towards the inside of the lounge, away from the runway, you'll find the Bistro, which offers a pretty extensive variety of Asian and Western cuisine. You'll find soups, noodles, small sandwiches, salads and plenty of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. 

Continuing on, you'll find the IT Zone, which has workstations for setting up your own laptop to get some work done as well as iMacs and printers available to use. At the end of the left side of the lounge is the Coffee Loft, which has a wonderful selection of coffee and alcoholic drinks (after 5PM) and serves what I think may very well be the best mocha I've ever had in my life.

Heading over to the right side of the lounge, you'll find more dedicated seating areas and the first thing on the inner part of the lounge is the Bakery, which serves more Western options than the Bistro and had things like pizza available alongside salads, noodles, finger sandwiches, etc.

Past the Bakery, you'll find the Long Bar and the TV Lounge. Just as it sounds, the Long Bar is a very long bar serving a variety of hot and cold, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages with a stunning view of the runway. The TV Lounge offers comfortable seating and a few TVs, but not so many that I would really call it a "TV lounge", it's really just more of a "lounge".

As with all Cathay lounges, you'll find a wide variety of international magazines and newspapers available to read while you're in the lounge, but they come with explicit instructions to put them back when you're finished reading. 

I didn't check out the showers on this visit, but the restrooms are nice and carry the same aesthetic as the rest of the lounge with individual cubicles that are completely closed off, which is always appreciated. 

As I said, The Bridge is my favorite of the HKG Cathay lounges so far. It's cozy and comfortable and very tastefully decorated and has plenty of options to make your layover more comfortable. Unfortunately, my flights back to San Francisco are almost always departing out of the South side of the airport right by The Wing, so it's really much easier to just go there rather than need to budget 10-15 minutes to walk back from The Bridge. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Review: Park Hyatt Shanghai
City Guide: 5 Things to Do in Shanghai
Review: Grand Hyatt Shenzhen
Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Bridge” Lounge
Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG - SFO


Last November, I spent several nights at the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen and I returned to spend two more nights there in March of this year. Shenzhen is a surprisingly beautiful city and it's full of high-end shops, beautiful manicured plant-lined streets, and fun architecture that becomes a neon lover's dream each night. The Grand Hyatt Shenzhen is located about 5-10 minutes by taxi from the border with Hong Kong, so it's pretty conveniently located if arriving from the Hong Kong (HKG) airport. The Shenzhen airport (SZX) is about 45 minutes away with no traffic. 

As with many hotels in China, the Grand Hyatt is attached to a mall (in this case, the MixC Shopping Center), which features all the luxury shopping you could ever want. The hotel is housed in a 38 story building and has 471 rooms and 8 restaurants, which offer a pretty good variety of foods. 

Somewhat oddly, the lobby is located on the 33rd floor of the hotel, which is above all of the guest rooms. So upon arrival, you will get into an elevator to the 33rd floor and then will need to transfer to another elevator once in the lobby that will take you down to your room. The lobby itself is quite dramatic, with extremely high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. Each time I arrived, my check in was processed quickly and my Diamond status was recognized. I always opt for the points rather than the amenity when traveling by myself as I spend most of the time in my room working or sleeping.

During my first stay last November, I had leftover suite upgrades that would go unused, so for fun, I applied one to that stay and was upgraded to a Grand Suite King. For my second stay in March, I had a Standard King room and I actually preferred it to the suite. More on that later. 

The halls in the Grand Hyatt are extremely dark, which is something I honestly don't love when traveling alone, although the room numbers and doors are somewhat lit up. You will notice upon arrival that the entire hotel is accented with a reddish wood throughout, including the guest room doors, but the wood somehow lends an odd smell to the hotel hallways and rooms. It's nothing terrible,  but it's noticeable and since the hotel is several years old now, it doesn't seem like it will be going away anytime soon. 

Standard King

As I mentioned, I preferred the Standard King room over the suite that I had on my first stay, although the layout of the Standard rooms is extremely odd, to say the least. I have never encountered this before, but upon walking into the room, you'll find yourself in the bathroom. No kidding. Immediately, you will see the shower right in front of you, which is centered in the bathroom and surrounded by glass (imagine if you forgot to lock the door and a housekeeper walked in while you were in the shower! omg, the horror!), then the toilet has a separate compartment on the left, and on the right is a closet area and the sink and minibar.  The entire bathroom is covered in what I consider to be a hideous sort of green material (marble?), but it's still quite nice regardless. Amenities are June Jacobs, which actually smell really nice.

You'll proceed through the bathroom into the bedroom which is nicely appointed and looks like your standard hotel room (albeit a luxurious and modern one). There's a bed, a desk, and a chair with floor to ceiling windows and the room is nicely accented with wood and glass doors which can be closed all the way to separate the bathroom from the bedroom. As with many of the Hyatts in China, the window coverings are controlled by a switch next to the bed, which is always a nice touch. 

Review: Park Hyatt Shanghai
City Guide: 5 Things to Do in Shanghai
Review: Grand Hyatt Shenzhen
Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Bridge” Lounge
Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG - SFO


Shanghai is one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I have ever visited. When I first arrived in mainland China, I was absolutely shocked at how manicured and beautiful the large cities are (I've so far visited Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou in mainland China). The roads are lined with flowers, trees, grass, and all kinds of foliage and it is all very well maintained and extremely beautiful. The architecture is really just incredible. China really seems to love pushing the envelope when it comes to architecture and the accompanying lights that adorn said architecture. The city is really a treat for the eyes and is at its most stunning at night when everything is lit up and you can fully appreciate the architecture in all its glory.

All of this being said, there isn't a whole lot to actually do in Shanghai unless you're eating or shopping. During my first visit last November, I had a free day between work and decided to venture out into the city to see what it had to offer. I actually had a pretty difficult time finding things to do and since that visit, I haven't really done much on free days other than sleep or catch up on things back home. This is honestly a bit disappointing to me, but I haven't felt compelled to see anything other than what I will mention here.

Pudong

Pudong can be found on the "other side" of the river from the rest of Shanghai. When you're looking across the water at the Pearl Tower and surrounding buildings, you're looking at Pudong, which is essentially the financial district of Shanghai. Really, there's not much here other than some malls and the three tallest buildings in the city. It's not quite worth the trip unless you're already staying on this side of the river, but it sure is pretty to look at!

Yuyuan Bazaar

The Yuyuan Bazaar was actually something I found by mistake because it's directly outside of the Yu Garden. If you want to visit someplace with traditional looking buildings and what you probably think of when you think of China, the Yuyuan Bazaar is a fun stop. It's full of bustling shops and restaurants and has a beautiful huge koi pond. It's definitely a massive tourist trap, but don't worry, it's full of Chinese tourists too!

Yu Garden

The Yu Garden is hands down my favorite attraction in Shanghai and one that I always recommend to friends and colleagues. It's the most beautiful traditional Chinese garden and I honestly could spend hours getting lost inside. Admission during low/high season is ¥30/40, which is about $5-7 and it's completely worth it. 

The garden is huge and winds around for quite a long time. It's full of traditional looking temples, bridges, beautifully intricate carvings, walls, doorways, windows, and ponds and water features full of koi fish. 

I visited on a cloudy, rainy day and while the garden was full of people, it was still peaceful inside - especially compared to the extremely busy Yuyuan Bazaar just outside the walls. Once inside, it's so easy to forget you're in the middle of a massive metropolitan city with huge skyscrapers and a visit is one of the best ways to decompress after a long week.

Tian Zi Fang

A coworker recommended we check out Tian Zi Fang and I really enjoyed it. Tian Zi Fang is a collection of old houses that have been converted into both low- and high-end shops, galleries, studios and restaurants in the French Concession neighborhood of Shanghai. 

You'll wander through many small alleyways and see all kinds of shops, foods, and people while visiting. If  you're shopping for gifts to bring back home, I would definitely recommend stopping here, because it's full of souvenirs and interesting items. Honestly, even if you're not shopping for anything, it's still worth a visit just for the novelty.

The Bund

Perhaps the most famous vista in China can be seen when looking across the Huangpu river at Pudong while walking along the Bund. Located in the heart of Shanghai, the Bund is a walkway along the river with many restaurants and shops running alongside it. If you can, try to visit on a clear night, which will make it much easier to take photos and take in the view. 

BONUS: Ride the Maglev

The Shanghai Maglev train is a comically excessive addition to Shanghai that cost $1.2 billion to build and is currently the world's fastest train in regular commercial service. The Maglev runs from Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) into Shanghai city center (which is honestly not close to anything) in 8 minutes and 10 seconds most of the day and in only 7 minutes and 10 seconds during special operating hours. The max speed for the 8 minute ride is 301 km/h (187 mph) and the max speed for the 7 minute ride reaches 431 km/h (268 mph). If you can, try to catch the quicker ride, which runs from 9:00AM–10:45AM and 3:00PM–3:45PM each day.

Shanghai is a gorgeous city and if nothing else, it can truly be described as a feast for the eyes. No matter where you look, there's something unique and interesting and I am so impressed each time I visit. I honestly believe that you can catch most of the highlights in a day or two, but I like to run through things quickly, so take that for what it's worth. Enjoy!