Prestige Class to Manila

While I was getting back to the style of travel where it all started, some things have changed. For example, years of travel on Korean Air had resulted in enough miles for a business class plane ticket this time.

I was happy to see that Korean Air used the Delta lounge at Seattle’s International Airport, which is one of the nicer lounges. I enjoyed some food and a few drinks until boarding time. And for those of you who know me well that means I had a good three hours to kill here.

I was in what they referred to as apartment 10H. The seat went fully flat and when you closed the divider between the seats and the door to the isle you were in your own, well, your own little apartment.



Before take-off the flight attendant came by to ask which main course we would like for each of the two four course meals we would have in flight. I went Korean for both options with the Bibimbap for lunch and the Beef Bulgogi for dinner. I then toasted to a good trip with a glass of Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne followed by a nice glass of Bordeaux, or maybe eight, possibly ten, it’s hard to tell as the glasses were pretty small.



As we taxied I caught a glimpse of Amazon’s new fleet of planes.

Oh good the first course of my meal and a fresh glass of wine. Although I kind of expected better slippers in business class, these are the same ones you get in economy.

Second Course. Yes please I’d love another glass of wine.

My main course, Bibimbap, after assembly. You get a bowl of rice, a bowl of vegetables, a packet of sesame oil, and a tube of hot pepper paste. You then choose the amounts you want and mix them together. I go for the full amounts on everything, including the wine. Oh and a bowl of fish soup which has a smell that many westerners might find offensive.

My fourth and final course was a cheese platter which they cut in front of you before serving. No pun intended. It’s ok I’ll wait until you open a new bottle of wine thanks.

The wine did its job and I pressed the button that changed my seat into a bed, grabbed a pillow and blanket and fell asleep. It was a ten hour flight from Seattle to Seoul and I was happy to get a good six hours sleep. I went through transfers in Seoul and then boarded my flight to Manila, now only four hours away. I was in business class on this flight as well but this plane did not offer apartments. The seats still went fully flat and they offered another four course meal, same crappy slippers though.

After some crazy turbulence I finally arrived in Manila and cleared immigration, grabbing my bag and then going through customs. I was happy to see they did not have issue with my drone and found my ride to Hotel Jen. It was 11:30 at night and the hotel was about five minutes away, except that this was Manila, one of the worst cities in the world for traffic. By the time I checked in, showered, and got to bed it was 12:30. That’s 45 minutes drive time and 15 minutes to check in and shower. However, this was not my destination. I had a 6am departure time in the morning for my ten hour drive to Banaue, giving me a four hour nap. The reason I was going by car was because that was the only option, there are no airports in the north were I was headed.