Oh wow yet another year going by (why am I surprised, time doesn’t wait for anyone!) I literally had 0 blog entries in 2019 (if you don’t count the major edit I did to the financial planning blog), so I am sneaking in this quick one to fix that. 2019 was full of highlights and travel but the last month really topped it off. I went to India (third time this year, my personal record). While the stay itself was fun as always, the journey was especially memorable. A day spend each way in Hong Kong flying in Cathay Pacific! The first time I flew Cathay was for taking interviews at Google Bangalore and was on Premium Economy. I was completely blown away by the fancy aircraft and so this time when I had an opportunity to fly business I was ecstatic. I booked the trip on AA.com using 140k AA points. You can look into earning AA points by opening Citi AAdvantage cards (reach out to me if you have questions, I love talking points!).

So on to the fun stuff!

During the trip, I explored 3 Cathay lounges: one at SFO and two at HKG. I visited the Bridge and the Pier lounges at HKG and neither disappointed! These lounges offer a host of amenities like

  • shower
  • noodle bar
  • alcohol & hot meals
  • tea lounge
  • pizza and other baked goodies
  • WiFi and meditation and sleeping areas Here are some pictures from the lounge
Entrance to SFO Lounge, courtesy everybodyhatesatourist.net
Entrance to SFO Lounge, courtesy everybodyhatesatourist.net
Delicious noodles in SFO lounge.
Delicious noodles in SFO lounge.
Delicious loose-leaf tea and amazing cookies / pastries at The Pier lounge, HKG
Delicious loose-leaf tea and amazing cookies / pastries at The Pier lounge, HKG

All four flights (SFO -> HKG -> DEL -> HKG -> SFO) were a dream! Here are some pictures

Fully extendable bed
Fully extendable bed
The flight attendent gave me a menu and asked what I would want, and I basically said Everything! :)
The flight attendent gave me a menu and asked what I would want, and I basically said Everything! :)
Can't skip the ice-cream
Can't skip the ice-cream
Next morning's breakfast
Next morning's breakfast
Yummy soup that was really heavy
Yummy soup that was really heavy
Gotta think about health and fitness
Gotta think about health and fitness
Ok enough about health, where's em Carbs!
Ok enough about health, where's em Carbs!

Hong Kong itself did not disappoint! Such a beautiful city with so much to see and eat!

Hong Kong Kowloon skyline
Hong Kong Kowloon skyline
Hong Kong from Victoria Peak
Hong Kong from Victoria Peak
Hong Kong laser light show, the largest of its kind!
Hong Kong laser light show, the largest of its kind!
Bunch of callbacks to Victorian era as well!
Bunch of callbacks to Victorian era as well!

On my return trip, I used 5 means of transport on the same day: flight, taxi, bus, train and ferry! And celebrated Christmas 2019 in 3 cities: Delhi, Hong Kong and San Francisco!

On to 2020 and more such experiences! Seriously, everyone reading this, should look into travel hacking, it’s worth it! I am a terrible photographer so I haven’t done justice to the beauty of Hong Kong, so you must visit yourself!