Jaunted

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Jaunted Contest: Win a Ticket to Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific's New Premium Economy

**UPDATE: CONTEST HAS ENDED**

"I'm going to Hong Kong."

Practice saying it. You have our permission to modify it to "I'm going to Hong m*thaf*ckin' Kong." They're five simple words and yet speaking them means you're about to jet into one of the world's most complex and colorful cities. Never been to Hong Kong? It's time. Been to Hong Kong before? It's time to go again. And we'll take you there.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's official airline and one we personally get excited to fly, has just introduced Premium Economy to their long-haul fleet and we've got a ticket to give away!

It's a super easy contest—no video pleas or written essays required—just be psyched to fly 16-ish hours in comfort for free, to the other side of the world. Enter here:

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The Little Things / Airlines / Cathay Pacific / HKG / SFO / Airline Lounges / Business Class Travel / First Class Travel / Food Travel / Hong Kong Travel / → All Tags

The Little Things: Dan Dan Mien on Cathay Pacific

In the midst of the bustle of travel, it's all too easy to overlook the details. We're talking about special touches others have stressed over just so you can enjoy a unique experience, whether you know it or not. Every so often we'll highlight The Little Things like this, so now you will know.

The Little Thing: Cathay Pacific's Dan Dan Mien noodles served in all of their airport lounges.

For China and Hong Kong-based flyers on Cathay Pacific, stepping onboard the aircraft means the start of a journey home. If you're flying in Business or First Class however, that feeling comes even earlier, when you're in one of Cathay's own airport lounges and ordering the Dan dan mien from the Noodle Bar.

Dan dan mien is a spicy noodle dish flavored with chilli, peanut, scallions, pork or chicken, sesame oil and soy, plus a few more ingredients here and there. Aside from being a staple of Sichuan cuisine, it's a staple in Cathay lounges and something for which frequent flyer's mouths start watering the moment they flash their boarding passes to enter a CX space.

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Inside 'The Wing': Cathay Pacific's Totally Redesigned Flagship Lounge at HKG

We're typing this while sitting at a bar, a bar overlooking half of the apron and one of the busy runways at Hong Kong International Airport. The view is unparalleled, a frequent flyer sweet secret, and it's only found on the upper level at Cathay Pacific's Business Class lounge The Wing.

The Wing itself is nothing new, but the layout and amenities of the place have recently been totally revamped, updated and kitted out with designer furniture, power outlets where you want them, and classic Asian touches like towering bamboo stalks. Even before the renovation, The Wing ranked as one of our favorite airline lounges in the world. Now, with the addition of a cozier lower level, a "Coffee Loft," and sexy wire Eames chairs, our heart starts racing at the thought of spending a few hours within its walls.

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Wish You Were Here: A Boat in Aberdeen Harbour

Just a moment. We don't mean we're on a boat in Aberdeen, Scotland. Nope—this boat and the quiet harbour and the 84-degree nighttime temperature are found in the Aberdeen Harbour of Hong Kong Island.

If you're familiar with Hong Kong at all, you'll know Aberdeen as the home of the floating "Jumbo" restaurant. If you're not familiar with Hong Kong, well...add it to the top of your to-do list.

So how did we end up on a boat in Aberdeen Harbour? Well, as the cost of living in the downtown parts of Hong Kong continues to shoot skyward, more enterprising folk are turning to the many harbours for residences, buying or renting vessels as homes. We've ditched hotel rooms to instead spend several nights on one such boat, and it's a pretty big boat—not the one pictured above.

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The Country That Put an Airport on Its Currency

Countries love to put dead people and big monuments on their currency; it's just a thing, Costa Rica's badass shark bills being an excellent exception. That said, we fully admit to flipping over bills in the hopes that something fresher, newer will be featured. Hong Kong (a "Special Administrative Region," not really a country) currently takes that prize, as we just today noticed that the rear of some of the 500 HKD bills ($64.45 USD) feature Chek Lap Kok/Hong Kong International Airport.

Sweeeeeet.

It only makes sense for Hong Kong to place HKIA so prominently; they built a whole island to house the freaking thing and the documentary on it—"Extreme Engineering: Building Hong Kong's Airport"—is a must-Netflix show. And don't get us started on the infamous aviation heritage of HK. Two words: Kai Tak.

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The 'Twisted Donut Ricesheet Roll' is Must-Have Airport Food at HKG

You know, we were just going to Instagram this and call it a day, but our dinner this evening in the Arrivals Hall at Hong Kong International Airport deserves so much more than that, especially when we're talking about a dish named "Twisted Donut Ricesheet Roll."

Now, we thought we knew Hong Kong Airport's food offerings pretty well, until we noticed a little side counter to the left of the larger Burger King. This place, Ocean Empire, is a small branch of a large Hong Kong-area chain. They specialize in congee, but the bilingual menu drew our attention to other items, and we saw it: the twisted donut thingamabob.

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The Adventures of Travel Cat: Tai O, Hong Kong

Kitty cats. They rule the internet and, whether we realize it or not, pretty much the world too. Ever noticed how cats sometimes stake out the coolest spots in a city? This new feature—Travel Cat—focuses on exactly that. Submit a photo to be featured by tweeting or Instagramming it to us (details below).

Travel Cat spotted at: Tai O village in Hong Kong.

This week's Travel Cat comes from John Walton of Australian Business Traveller. He submitted this via Instagram, and you follow all his (super, ridiculously awesome) travel photos on Instagram at "thatjohn." About this kitty, he says:

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LCCs / New Airlines / Jetstar / Asian Travel / Airline News / Jetstar Hong Kong / Jetstar Japan / Jetstar Asia / Qantas / China Eastern Airlines / Hong Kong Travel / → All Tags

New Airline Alert: Jetstar Hong Kong Will Happen in 2013

After a challenging time finding the right dance partner to waltz around the floor, Qantas came up empty on their plans to create an all-premium airline based in Kuala Lumpur. On the other hand, they've had a win in Hong Kong. No, not with the creation of an all-business class carrier. but instead to go low-cost again with Jetstar, Qantas' budget off-shoot.

On Monday, on that side of the world, Jetstar partnered with Shanghai-based China Eastern, to create Jetstar Hong Kong. Yes, the bright orange star will be flying happy passengers all around Asia for a fraction of the cost of other airlines.

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The World's First Airport IMAX Screen Set to Debut in Hong Kong

We kind of already have our favorite international airport picked out, as the place where the airplanes do their thing over in Singapore is pretty much second to none. However, it looks like Hong Kong Airport is continuing to try their very best to woo travelers heading to—and through—the airport, as they're about to have something that no other airport in the world has.

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Cathay Pacific's New Economy Seats: The End of Numb Butt Syndrome?

Every once in a great while, an airline decides it's finally time to do something for the flyers in the back of the plane. Yep, we're talking about Economy Class. For 2012, the big Economy seat news comes from Cathay Pacific, who've just taken delivery of a shiny Boeing 777-300ER outfitted not only with the new Premium Economy class, but with totally redesigned seats for Economy.

The differences between old and new Economy are huge. Old Cathay econ meant shell seats, which had the upside of not reclining back onto the person behind you, but the downside that, instead, you reclined in a slide down and forward, which limited knee space and quickly made your butt go numb. We say this from experience as frequent Cathay economy flyers who've experienced the economy class Numb Butt Syndrome far too many times.

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Hong Kong Airlines Will Also Birth a Baby Budget Carrier in 2012

Asia seems to be the breeding ground for LCCs with announcements about Peach, Scoot, and Jetstar Japan. Last week the chief at Hong Kong Airlines announced that they'd be doing a regional subsidiary as well. Hong Kong Express will be re-branded and operate as a low-cost carrier to compete with the slew of budget airlines popping up all over the region.

The full transition will take place middle of 2012 and flights will serve mainland China, South Korea, Japan and southeast Asia. Airbus A320s will hit the skies, but what the livery will look like (or even the airline's name), we can't yet be sure.

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Video Interlude: One Night as a Hong Kong Taxi Driver

Have you ever been to Hong Kong? If your answer is "yes," HIGH FIVE! If your answer is "not yet," then that's one place that should be moved toward the top of your list for 2012. We can't say enough good things about it, but perhaps one of the best is that, while the US is in the blustery throes of winter, Hong Kong is usually sitting pretty with 72-degree weather and sunshine.

And when that sun isn't shining, it's all about the dining and nightlife. the energy of which is captured by a new AFP time-lapse video, following a Hong Kong taxi driver on a typical graveyard shift.

Their YouTube settings don't allow for us to post it here, so you'll have to watch the brilliant video over at YouTube, but trust us that it's worth it. Just try to stay away from checking out flight deals to HKG after it.