Tag: Hong Kong Field Trip

View All Tags

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Inside and All Around CX City: Cathay Pacific's World Headquarters

May 20, 2011 at 10:37 AM | by | Comments (0)

Have you ever stood in the modern glass atrium of the headquarters of one of the world's top airlines? It's an impressive experience, to say the least, as it was for us recently when we spent an afternoon touring CX CIty, aka the home of Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific just outside of Chek Lap Kok Airport (HKG) on Lantau Island.

On the outside, CX City (or Cathay City, whichever), is a quiet and seemingly calm business block. Step inside, however, and you're immediately engulfed in the energy of a company that's got places to go and airplanes to fly. Flight attendants in their sharp red skirt suits powerwalk past, desk workers grab a candy bar from the atrium shop before going back to tweaking graphic design on an in-flight meal napkin, and pilots grab a post-flight beer in the pub.

It's an electric place, and the international ease is obvious; these people you see now could be in the sky over the Arctic in several hours, serving ramen noodles to anxious passengers on their flight long-haul. Can you tell we were kind of in heaven?

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

On the Helipad and Inside the China Clipper Lounge at The Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong

February 22, 2011 at 9:31 AM | by | Comments (0)

A couple months ago we took you inside a place very few get the privilege to see: The Peninsula Tokyo's Helicopter Lounge. Although the hotel doesn't have the go-ahead quite yet to begin helicopter transfers, that didn't stop them from looking ahead and building the space, complete with vintage airplane parts and Japanese aviation memorabilia.

Today however we have something perhaps even better—a tour of the Peninsula Hong Kong's functioning dual helipads and helicopter departure lounge, which sees actual passengers paying actual hundreds of dollars for either sightseeing tours or super-quick flights straight from their hotel to Hong Kong International Airport. In fact, while we were checking out the place, two ladies were awaiting the arrival of their heli pilot before taking off on a snappy spin around Victoria Harbour.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Inside Cathay Pacific's The Cabin Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport

Where: Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
December 24, 2010 at 1:47 PM | by | Comments (0)


Our lust for the wonders of airport lounges is far from a secret. Thus, during our recent trip to Hong Kong, we spent the time right before a 15-hour flight not chilling with a book and a tea, but running all around the ginormous terminal, hitting all three of the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounges.

Finally, after taking you inside both The Wing and The Pier, we're now inside The Cabin the newest and shiniest of the lounges, as it only just opened in fall 2010. We shot all of the pictures either right as the lounges were closing or opening, so just know that you'll rarely ever see them this empty.

Right Now: Inside The Cabin lounge at HKG.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Inside Cathay Pacific's The Pier Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport

Where: Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
December 24, 2010 at 9:05 AM | by | Comments (0)


One of the many sitting areas in the lounge

Our lust for the wonders of airport lounges is far from a secret. Thus, during our recent trip to Hong Kong, we spent the time right before a 15-hour flight not chilling with a book and a tea, but running all around the ginormous terminal, hitting all three of the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounges.

Finishing up today, we'll show you all we discovered in Cathay's The Wing, The Pier, and finally—the newest and shiniest—The Cabin. We shot all of the pictures either right as the lounges were closing or opening, so just know that you'll rarely ever see them this empty.

Right Now: Inside The Pier lounge at HKG.

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Inside Cathay Pacific's The Wing Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport

December 23, 2010 at 9:45 AM | by | Comments (0)


The lounge entrance

Our lust for the wonders of airport lounges is far from a secret. Thus, during our recent trip to Hong Kong, we spent the time right before a 15-hour flight not chilling with a book and a tea, but running all around the ginormous terminal, hitting all three of the Cathay Pacific Business Class lounges.

Over the next couple days, while everyone endures the cramped and frantic holiday travel season, we'll show you all we discovered in Cathay's The Wing, The Pier, and finally—the newest and shiniest—The Cabin. We shot all of the pictures either right as the lounges were closing or opening, so just know that you'll rarely ever see them this empty.

Right now: Inside The Wing lounge at HKG.

more ›

/ / / / /

The Time We Actually Ordered Beef on the In-Flight Food Menu

December 21, 2010 at 4:07 PM | by | Comments (0)

Believe it or not, what you see above is an in-flight meal, better known simply by the term with a bad reputation: airline food. Now knowing all we know about how bad, and plain gross, airline food is supposed to be, why did we order this beef entree on our recent Cathay Pacific? Well first off, just look at it. The fact that "grilled beef tenderloin, potato mash with sun-dried tomato, yellow zucchini, carrot and asparagus" can even be served in an appetizing manner while you're hurtling through space some 40,000-feet above Siberia, already 12+ hours away from where this meat was prepared in New York...that's just sort of a miracle. It's difficult to turn down such an experience.

That said, we rarely order red meat at altitude. We're far more likely to opt for the safer bets of the pasta dishes or whatever chicken they've cooked up, but this time, having been upgraded to Business Class at the last minute, we were feeling good about taking a chance.

Disclosure: We jetted off to Hong Kong for a Cathay Pacific event courtesy of the airline; read more about that here. Rest assured that all images and opinions are completely our own, however.

[Photo: Jaunted]

more ›

/ / / / /

Foreign Grocery Friday: Hong Kong is a Treasure Chest of Exotic Potato Chip Flavors

December 10, 2010 at 12:45 PM | by | Comments (0)

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

There's a world of potato chip flavors out there, and although we consider ourselves pretty well traveled through the exotic flavors, we realize there's still more to be discovered on grocery shelves around the globe...like Mongkok-Style Roasted Sausage Crisps. We picked up a bag of these magical things in a small market in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay neighborhood the other day, and it began a day of splurging on junk food, because Hong Kong has a little bit of everything and we want to eat it all.

The Taste: We ended up with the above variety of chips. From top left, clockwise: Mongkok-style roasted sausage, soy sauce-flavor shrimp chips, MUJI pumpkin chips, Roast Ox chips from the UK, "firecracker lobster"-flavor chips also from the UK, Unagi Kabayaki (eel) chips, and Shichimi-flavor shrimp chips. Right after snapping this photo, we devoured the Mongkok bag and can comfirm that yes, there was a roasted meatiness to it and yes, it makes us crazy excited to dig into the eel-flavor crisps.

more ›

/ / / / /

Only a Few Hours Ago in Hong Kong, the Skyscrapers Were Going Crazy with Lasers

December 9, 2010 at 3:00 PM | by | Comments (0)

Hong Kong is a city of superlatives. Tallest...tastiest...techiest...this city knows what to do to attract the attention of the world. But what about the notoriously short attention spans of tourists? Hong Kong doesn't offer many free activities, unless you really love dawn tai chi in the park or long walks through malls, but they did devise the "Symphony of Lights" show in Victoria Harbour. Keeping to the superlatives, the Guinness Book of World Records named the skyscraping light performance "World's Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show," and it could also easily snatch the title of "World's Largest 20-Minute Gathering of Camera-toting Tourists."

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

Sharp, Subtly Sexy, and Red All Over: Cathay Pacific's New Flight Attendant Uniforms

December 8, 2010 at 9:27 AM | by | Comments (0)

How many airlines can you name whose flight attendants wear red uniforms? Probably more than you can count on one hand, right? Red—which stands for desire, luck, happiness, health and extroversion—is more than a popular, strong color choice, so it shouldn't be a surprise then that Cathay Pacific stuck with it for their new collection of uniforms, unveiled last night, along with the redesigned biz class seats, in Hong Kong.

We were there of course, because we're not about to turn down a chance to check out in-flight fashion from the moment it debuts. The new uniforms—which are for both male and female crew, from flight attendants on up to managers (but not pilots)—are designed by Hong Kong-born and bred Eddie Lau. His specialties lie more in the couture department, but he's been doing the Cathay uniforms since 1999, so hopefully he's got the whole fire retardant, high performance thing down as well.

more ›

/ / / / / / / / / / / / /

First Photos of Cathay Pacific's New Business Class Seats, Perfect for Sleeping 'In Any Position'

December 7, 2010 at 12:17 PM | by | Comments (2)

And we're back, live from Hong Kong, to reveal the big news that had Cathay Pacific inviting over 3,000 of their most frequent flyers to come check out. Many announcements dropped only a couple hours ago, the most important of which is the debut of newer, wider, fancier business class seats.

We've been rolling through our photos like gangbusters, after posting the very first images online of the new seats via Twitter, and now—without further ado—here are Cathay's new biz seats with lie-flat beds, with the space to allow "passengers to sleep in any position."

more ›

/ / / / / / / /

Greetings from The North Pole and How to Follow Our Travels This Week

December 6, 2010 at 5:15 PM | by | Comments (2)

Have you been making your Christmas list? Well, we wish you would have told us sooner because we could have dropped it off to The North Pole for you earlier today. So what if we didn't actually set our feet in the snow, but we did fly right over it on Cathay Pacific Flight 841, direct from New York-JFK to Hong Kong International. It's Cathay's longest flight at a hair over 14 hours flying time, and thus most passengers miss a map moment like the one above because they're busy sleeping through the long flight. Not us, though.

All this week we'll be in Hong Kong for two big reasons. One: Cathay Pacific is due to make many announcements at an event tomorrow and we'll be there, delivering the news fresh and toasty hot as always. Two: Hong Kong is a flippin' sweet city and we'll happily fly to the other side of the world at the drop of a hat for some pork floss buns and shopping at the I.T sale store.

more ›

/ / / /

Taxis, Cable Cars and Ferries, Oh My!: A Guide to Hong Kong Transportation

March 4, 2009 at 10:41 AM | by | Comments (0)

For a self-admitted transportation nerd, Hong Kong is dream come true. We just can't decide on a favorite way of conveyance, and thankfully with HK's bounty of trams, ferries, taxis and even a famous chain of escalators, we didn't have to--we rode them all! So for all of you daydreaming of 80-degree days spent hopping between ferries and funiculars on a single "Octopus" transit card, here's our short and saucy guide to the awesome transportation options of Hong Kong:

· Double-Decker Trams and Buses: The former British influence is still felt here, although they've long exchanged afternoon tea for a Starbucks latte. In Central on Hong Kong Island, the slice-thin double-decker trams pile up on commuters for short trips not worth the subway. Tapping your Octopus card also works on these, although during rush hour there's barely enough room to do even that. The buses, which match London Routemasters in size, are a better option for venturing into residential neighborhoods, and routes are clearly presented at each bus stop pole.

· Victoria Peak Funicular: Along with the Star Ferry, this ranks as a seriously touristy thing to do. Still, it's the most unique and direct way to mount Victoria Peak and take advantage of the jawdroppingly steep ascent. Heading up is often crowded, but the descent leaves plenty of room for picture taking and gawking at the skyscrapers below you.

more ›

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy (Revised 08/01/2011). © Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast Digital.
Ad Choices