Casual Cashmere

Well this Sunday was perfect weather! In honor of the occasion I brought out a bright coral colored cashmere sweater from JCrew - I love the boxy knit on this one.  Paired with my go-go Paige Ankle Peg jeans, leopard Jimmy Choo heels and my Burberry satchel this was perfect for Sunday Brunch!

Thai Airways Hong Kong to Sydney Australia

As we continued on our Around the World Journey, I choose to book us on Thai Airways from Hong Kong to Sydney Australia.  I choose this flight for a couple reasons, first,Thai Airways first class had amazing award availability about 10 months out, second, I was really interested in experiencing the Thai Airways First Class Lounge Bangkok, the Royal First Lounge.

Our flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok, while lasting only 3 hours, was on a double decker A380 and was an absolutely beautifully done first class cabin with huge seats and excellent foot space.  The service onboard was top notch, and I experienced my first ever minced chicken with spicy basil dish - a dish so divine I continue to scour every Thai place I see at home for a replica!!

Thai Airways A380 First Class

Thai Airways A380 First Class

Controls - Thai A380

Upon arrival into BKK, we were greeted at the end of the jet way by a golf cart and whisked away to the lounge by a very efficient Thai Airways representative.  I wish I would have taken some photos of this experience, but it was pretty interesting to be flying through the airport on a golf cart!  All in, it took about 15 minutes to get from the jet bridge, through the security checkpoint and up to the lounge.

Holy crap the lounge.  It is a large lounge with very personalized service.  The bar was stocked and small bites were out in a separate room.  Most importantly, the lounge offers full body massage services to first class passengers free of charge!  Business class passengers can get a neck and back massage at no charge.  Because we were tight on connection time due to leaving Hong Kong late, I sadly did not get to experience the full body massage I was hoping for.  I instead asked for the 30-minute neck and back massage and it was awesome!

Royal Orchid First Class Lounge BKK Image courtesy Thai Airways

After I settled back into the lounge with another drink and just relaxed in our very private lounge room.  I loved that the lounge had these little separate areas with a TV, chairs and sofa for you to relax in, instead of being spread out in the main area.

Finally, we were escorted down to our plane for our trip to Sydney!  The flight to Sydney was relatively uneventful, and was on a 747 with semi-private suites.  I found the A380 to be a much more comfortable ride, but the service and in flight options were excellent.

Review: A Day in Hong Kong

In previous posts I covered our Journey to Hong Kong and our Transportation and Hotel review.  We decided to spend a day and a half in Hong Kong before continuing on our trip to Australia, and wanted to make the most of our visit. Many people make this a quick stopover to break up long flights, and find themselves asking "what can I do in Hong Kong in 1 day"? My thought is always to get out and see something with some history or some cultural interest.  We opted to hit up one of Hong Kong's biggest attractions, The Big Buddha.
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The Big Buddha

The Big Buddha (or, Tian Tan) is located at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. Our adventure began by taking the MTR from Kowloon station through to the vest last stop, Tung Chung where we grabbed a cable car that would take us on a 4 mile long cable car ride high in the sky across the bay and over lush green land far far below.  We ended up in a glass bottom car for a few extra dollars because when we arrived we first waited for about an hour to buy our tickets and were informed at the ticket counter that the wait for a regular cable car was another hour, and the wait for the glass bottom car was 15 minutes - SOLD. And they were actually telling the truth so that was a wise decision on our part. 

I'm actually terrified of Cable cars....

Glass Bottom Cable Car

4 Miles of Cable Car!!

Lantau Island is pretty small, but there are a ton of shops, restaurants, and a Starbucks.  We made our way over to the Buddha first, then checked out the Monastery, and finally came back through the shopping area of Ngong Ping Village.  I was on a personal hunt for chopsticks, and low and behold The Chopstick Gallery is a store in the shopping village, we found a set of 6 beautiful ebony chopsticks for about $40 USD.  After, we stopped for lunch at AOK Hong Kong Cafe.  I stuffed my face with delicious Dim Sum. 

The Big Buddha

Po Lin Monastery

Po Lin Monastery

The Big Buddha

This is easily an attraction where you could spend most or all of your 1 day in Hong Kong.  If you are limited on time, this was a great spot to see with lots of local culture, conveniences, and interesting experiences.  If you are spending a longer time in Hong Kong, then this would be a great place to start your visit as it gives you some time to get used to the MTR.  

Military Inspired

Because who doesn't love their Military inspired attire with a little sparkle?!  This outfit is a combo of a Navy Blue Sheath Dress (mine is from The Limited, similar here, here).  Paired with a Military Style Jacket with just the right amount of sparkle and my trusty cranberry colored sparkle Ferragamo's!