The Emirates' car picked us up from our friend's place and it took about twenty minutes to get to Changi airport. As we arrived at the kerb an Emirates representative organised a free skycap and escorted us directly to the First check in - awesome service!
We went straight through security and unexpectedly we went overboard in duty free. I bought some shirts and a belt while the GF bought her and me some sunnies. We then went to the lounge that's shared with Cathay for a while until the flight was called.
Once called, we went to the gate close by, where for the first time we boarded right away without having to stand around.
The usual welcome awaited us where we again shown to seats 2A and 2B. The aircraft was a 777-300 but there were no privacy hoods on the seats and the IFE screens were only about 7'.
On this segment, there were only four passengers, and still four crew. As it was a night flight, we received the same amenity kits as before, as well as slippers and eye shades.
Well I won't bore you with the usual setup; suffice to say that everything was 'as normal'.
Service started with dinner. Canap_s to begin, then appetisers were Caviar, Prawn and Glass Noodle Salad and Roasted Beef Tenderloin. Like a bloke on death row asking for his last cigarette, no prizes for guessing I had the Caviar.
Again I missed the soup and salad courses.
Mains were Salmon Fillet Wellington, Thai Style Chicken Curry, Fettuccini with Green Asparagus and Braised Lamb Shanks. I took the Thai curry with rice and bok choy and it was excellent - again, like the stir fry, this is a meal that really can be done well at 35,000 feet. Although there was a reasonable Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc (Kim Crawford 2005), I took the oaked 2003 Semillon Sauvignon Pessac Leognan with it: perfection!
Then I remembered that today it was my Birthday! When you get beyond the big four-zero, I just cannot get over excited anymore, but once I'd mentioned it, suddenly three flight attendants rushed over and several more glasses appeared on the table and were filled up. So for a few minutes the FA to pax ratio went from 1:1 to 3:1! From then on I was on a mission. I tried all the wines on offer and all were superb, but for the record...
1998 Dom Perignon - Full flavoured, you can tell this ain't your usual fizz from the deep colour and taste. This works well with the canapes and the fish dishes on offer - and the caviar of course.
2001 Ch Fuiss_ Pouilly Fuiss_ Vieilles Vignes, Vincent & Fils - lightly oaked Burgundy chard, I prefer them more oaky with a bit more bottle age but this was still a great drop;
2005 Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignan Blanc - although I'm a certified NZ sauv blanc lover, sometimes I find the bottom end of the market too nettly. This one wasn't too green, but also is not the best Marlborough has to offer.
2003 Ch La Louviere Pessac Leognan - Awesome. Like the Pouilly Fuisse, lacking in bottle age, but still a great drop, I shan't advertise it too much or else Bordeaux dry whites might start attracting similar premium prices to the reds. In my opinion, this was a better alternative to the NZ Sauv Blanc for those spicy dishes.
1996 Ch Lynch Bages Pauillac - A big Bordeaux, but lacking the smoothness of the 1995 Pichon Baron on the LON-DXB routes. Not really ready yet unless you can leave it to open up for an hour or so.
2002 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz - I admit I'm not a Shiraz drinker, but this was still a better glug than the Lynch Bages.
2001 Domaine des Perdrix, Nuit St Georges, Premier Cru Aux Perdrix - Very drinkable right now, this red Burgundy is light enough to be recommended as an alternative to the chard for the fish dishes if you prefer red pinot noirs to whites.
1998 Croft LBV - I'm not a great port lover so it was probably wasted on me. However I did get them to pour it into a 'proper' wine glass rather than the thimbles they were offering it in.
The desserts were Almond and Cardamom Pudding and Natural Cappucino Ice Cream. I missed these and the Fruit course and went for the cheese board to help me with the wine. My own personal dinner then took me through to breakfast while everyone else slept for three or four hours.
For breakfast, I had a cheese selection (goat cheese, boursin, feta and gruyere) with the Dom Perignon, the Pouilly Fuisse and the red Burgundy. Yum yum yum.
We arrived at Brisbane for a stop for an hour, but I was starting to feel a bit tired...
Deplaning and transfer at Brisbane was fairly painless, and Emirates' lounge in Brisbane is a good size. Food on offer was a large selection of cold finger buffet food, all of good quality.
I took a shower and a change of clothes before we re-boarded, again with little problem, for the final segment to Auckland.
On board, there was a new crew and before takeoff I took another DP and Arabic coffee, but I decided perhaps it was time for a sleep so there's not much to say about the final three and half hours.
Landing at Auckland we headed off to the passport control to be met with an officious immigration officer. Once we'd made his day, we picked up our bags straight away, met with the helicopter pilot waiting for us landside who took us the 100 yards to the chopper pad. Two minutes later we were airborne again, landing on Waiheke Island at one of our favourite places (http://www.boatshed.co.nz) within 30 minutes of landing at Auckland.
The personal attention was of course exemplary with four FAs and four pax, and the attention at Changi at the kerbside was second to none. The only downside was no in-seat laptop power and the idiot at Auckland immigration. Again although the seats and IFE were hardly state of the art, they were certainly good enough for my comfort and enjoyment.
DP Consumption so far this trip: 3 5/6 bottles.
